Chipper DR Chipper Reliability

[MFL]

Hey Guys,

Two weeks ago I rented a tow-behind chipper to get rid of some brush and really liked how well it worked and how easy it was to use. The chips it produced were a little more course than I thought I was going to get, but mostly it was a very useable end product to use as mulch, spreading on pathways, etc. I liked that I had a useable product when I finished instead of a burn pile. Anyway, I'm thinking about buying one, but I would prefer to have a 3pt. mount than a seperate gas engine unit. The one I've been looking at is the DR 3pt Chipper. It lists for about $1800.00, and fits well with the specs of the B7800.

Has anybody had any experience with this brand of chippers? I see DR equipement advertised all over, but I don't know anyone that has any of their gear. I would also be interested in any other brand that would work with my little tractor, if anyone had a different suggestion.

Thanks for your input.

 

[cisco]

There's been a number of posts on DR chippers. I've the pto model, and it has worked fine, for more than 100 hours, with caveats that 4" limbs are too much (despite the advertisement) and I stick with 3" or less. My pto power is 29.5.
Remember the DR is manual feed, and that takes more time than just tossing stuff onto a motorized feed.
Do not buy the unit until on sale (which DR frequently has), sometimes with free or reduced shipping. Most the the DR stuff is good, and I've 3 of their products, but they are overpriced compared to similar quality products unless on sale.

 

[MFL]

Thanks Cisco. The unit I rented was also a manual feed and it went pretty quickly. I guess since I haven't used any other kind, I don't no what I'm missing. I appreciate the tips on using and buying. The guy at the rental yard also warned me about trying to feed the listed size on the rental chipper. He said the same thing...it might be rated for 4 1/2", but don't go above 3.

Glad to hear it's a reliable unit, I'll keep my eye open for a sale.

 

[ADin]

Cisco,

Regarding the limitation/recommendation of staying below 3" on a machine claimed to support 4.5", to what degree is this a function of PTO HP (since you made note in the post) or general limitation of overall machine/cutter design (or both)? I'm curious because I'm also interested in eventually purchasing a chipper and have only ~18 HP pto and I'm trying to extrapolate performance expectations.

 

[RalphVa]

The guy who bought my McKissic I had for my Gravely had a DR on his small JD. I've a McKissic like you can get from Northern Tool for my 4010, which has only about 15-16 PTO hp. Have NEVER bogged it down like I used to on the McKissic on the 12 hp Gravely or my 8 hp TroyBilt. The mac does up to 3". The hp requirement goes up by the square root of the diameter ratio.

The size of the chips is dependent on the screen that you use. My TroyBilt had 3 screens. Could make anything from about 1/2" chips to very fine stuff, depending on which screen I installed.

The MacKissic on the 4010 is a very nice unit. Wish it had through-bolted screws to hold the chipper blade in place like on my TroyBilt. Just get yourself a good socket-handle-driven allen wrench for it and use the right blue thread antiseize. Have yet to have to turn the hammers on it. That was a job on the TroyBilt but will be easier on the MacKissic because the top chute removes; whereas, you had to wallow around on the floor/ground to remove the hammers on the TroyBilt.

Haven't heard from anyone regarding maintenance on the DR units. Most of them are chipper-only. Think you can get one that is a shredder/chipper like the MacKissic, but you'll pay probably about $1,000 more IF they still make them.

MacKissic is a very old American manufacturer. This unit and the one I had for the Gravely both are very quiet. The TroyBilt was a beasty noisey unit.

Ralph

 

[rickmacheske]

I ordered a chipper from Emerybuilt and plan to pick it up on Saturday. I'll post my experiences after I get it put together and working.... This one was very inexpensive and is supposed to handle 6" limbs...

http://www.emerybuilt.com/

 

[VT_Kioti]

I ordered a chipper from Emerybuilt and plan to pick it up on Saturday. I'll post my experiences after I get it put together and working.... This one was very inexpensive and is supposed to handle 6" limbs...

You will like the chipper you bought. Go back through the posts here on setting up the Jinma Chipper and follow the experance of the others who use them. Pay particular attention to the directions on ajusting the feed drive shaft. The best advice I have recieved about lubing the ends of the shaft was...Clean the ends out once a year with spray brake cleaner and then inject new grease with a needle grease gun end. This procedure works very good.
Once you have done the setup it runs great. I have run it on a 30hp machine and put through pieces close to 6" and never slowed the tractor at all. I think that is because of the very heavy flywheel. Green wood chips best.

Enjoy the chipper, it sure beats looking at brush piles.

 

[rickmacheske]

Will do..... I've been following them somewhat. Can't wait to get rid of the brush piles (my wife told me that I must think that way )

 

[rswyan]

If you wipe out the universal joint (one is apparently more prone to it than the other) for the feed roller driveshaft, a fairly easy fix is to weld a 1/2" impact universal joint on to replace it. The square female end is almost a perfect fit for the square drive on the gearbox. I did this recently with a cheapie from Harbor Freight (<$5) and it seems to be holding up pretty well thus far.

 

[MFL]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I just went to the emorybuilt site to take a look and it seems really impressive. Saves me about $500 over the DR and it comes with a top load chute. On the DR that would make it even more expensive!!. Rick, please post your experience with the one you ordered. Here, or on a new thread, I'm really interested on how this unit works out! I probably won't buy until the fall so I have some time to evaluate other models before buying. If your Jinma works as good as it looks, it would go to the top of the list.