Chipper Adding a Chute to DR Chipper

[dillo99]

For those of you that own a DR 3PH Chipper, you may have noticed that the adjustable chute was about a $400 add on. I could not justify that so I have been planning to attempt adding a chute. Here is the result - it cost about $20 and took about 1 hour to do. It is pretty ugly right now because I did not want to spend 8 hours building something that I was not sure would work. So far, this thing works pretty well. I can shoot chips into a small trailer or just shoot them on the ground without worrying about the pile building up and clogging the chipper. I am sure some of you can probably improve on this design, but here is the basic approach.

Picture 1: First I needed to find an easy option for a chute. I thought about a plastic fence post (square) but they were a little too big. I then stumbled upon the Rubber Maid mailbox post....a perfect fit.

Picture 2: Close up of mailbox post.

Picture 3: First step is to cut the mailbox post in half just above the rippled part. There is a small line there - just cut at that point. Then cut back one side only - about 3 inches.

Picture 4: This is the chipper before any changes are made...remove the chute guard.

Picture 5: Test fit of the new chute - held on with a clamp. Note: I decided I wanted it to fit down a little further so I cut more off the one side (about another inch - taking it to 4 inches) and then I cut 1 inch off of the opposite side (the bottom of the chute). Sorry I did not take a picture of this change.

Picture 6&7: I then cut the end off at the top of the chute...and also cut the lower side to make sure there was plenty of room for discharge.

Picture 8: I added a piece of sheet metal folded over the top to direct the output down a bit. (yea, I know this part is really ugly....I may change it later but it works. I did not make it adjustable but you could easily do that). Note: I did run into a slight bit of clogging when testing this so I reduced the angle of this (sorry no pics). The sheet metal chute is now basically parallel to the ground - no more clogging.

After test run I drilled a hole in the chute that corresponded with one of the existing holes in the chipper. Used the chute guard bolt to attach the new chute. I still use the clamp as well because the chute only hit one of the guard holes.

That's it! Works pretty well and I can't beat 1 hour and twenty bucks for a $400 modification. PS - Chippers are dangerous - modify at your own risk!

 

[19977]

Nice job Mike,great pictures.Thanks for sharing your idea,i'm sure somebody can use it.Beats spending $400.
Mike

 

[Deerlope]

Nice idea, where there is a will one can always find a way.Happy new year.

 

[Tom_H]

Thanks Mike,

I'm going to copy that, maybe try some little tweaking. I'd thought about using some flex hose in a manner that would allow laying the end of the hose into a large hand cart.

I received my DR and just finished building a dolly for it. I have some cradle slots where the feet sit, designed so that they can't move. I built a post that fits snugly into the top link connection spot and locks at the bottom, easily removed when time to hook to the tractor. My camera makes pictures with 1M pixels and I think 100K pixels is the most you can upload here, so I'm still trying to figure uot how to reduce the # of pixels on the camera so I don't go over the limit. If I figure out how to do that, I'll post some photos.

Thanks again for the photos of the chute, great $$ saver, great engineering.

 

[Thomas]

Evening Mike.
Great idea and looks like safety was consider also.

 

[dillo99]

Thanks Mike,

I'm going to copy that, maybe try some little tweaking. I'd thought about using some flex hose in a manner that would allow laying the end of the hose into a large hand cart.

I received my DR and just finished building a dolly for it. I have some cradle slots where the feet sit, designed so that they can't move. I built a post that fits snugly into the top link connection spot and locks at the bottom, easily removed when time to hook to the tractor. My camera makes pictures with 1M pixels and I think 100K pixels is the most you can upload here, so I'm still trying to figure uot how to reduce the # of pixels on the camera so I don't go over the limit. If I figure out how to do that, I'll post some photos.

Thanks again for the photos of the chute, great $$ saver, great engineering.

Tom,

Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of a nice place to store the chipper - it is definitely tippy when disconnected. I had mine unhooked and knocked it over by accident - naturally it hit my leg on the way over - that felt great! I am probably going to put pressure treated lumber feet on mine. It sits in a gravel floored barn and eventually those feet will start to rust. I should be able to reduce that plus make it a little more stable.

I don't know if flex hose will work with the chipper - I think the chute needs a smooth interior or the chips will gradually collect in there...but I may be wrong.

To fix your photos, all you have to do is open them with Microsoft's Picture Manager - it should be on your computer. Either double click on the photo in a folder or right click on it and select "open with" and then choose Picture Manager. Once in that software, select the picture menu at the top and then pick re-size. You should be able to choose one of the standard settings - "web large". Save it and you should be all set. If you don't happen to have picture manager, double click on the picture and some other program will open - it should have a resize option too. Hope that helps.

 

[Boondox]

Thanks for posting this, Mike! When the elevated chute model came out I asked DR about modifying mine and was told in no uncertain terms that mine could not be retrofitted because the new model had a bigger flywheel needed to generate the extra oooomph needed for the longer chute.

Looks like they were blowing smoke when they talked to me! It sure would be nice to blow chips right where I want them instead of moving them tote by tote.

Pete

 

[weldingisfun]

Mike and Tom,
Great ideas from both of you!
Mike, would it be possible for you to post another picture of your finished project from about the same angle as your "before pic"?
I too, was told that a chute could not be added. After seeing yours, I will be building one for mine.
Have you had any problems with it clogging? Or any problems that you have had to fix since adding it that you can share with us?

Tom, I am looking forward to seeing your pictures. Mine sits on a concrete floor but, it is not very solid. Having it fall over onto my leg is not something I want to experience. I'd like to see your fix.

___
Lee

 

[Boondox]

On the topic of tipping, I simply slip a 2x4 under the leading edge of the skids when storing it for the off season. It moves the CG back far enough that even with the PTO shaft hanging from the front it's quite stable.

Pete

 

[dillo99]

Lee,

Here is a picture very similar to the original. I have not had any clogging problems once I adjusted the top piece of metal so it is aimed parallel to the ground (I originally had it turned down a bit). Notice that the chute is not very long and is not angled too steeply - longer or steeper might not work.

Hope this helps - good luck. Let me know how you make out.