Jinma 6" (24") Wood Chipper

[Anonymous Poster]

I have seen ads for Jinma Brush Chippers for 3 point
hitch tractors (compact utilities). They appear to be under $2,000.

The high end 3pth units like Vermeer and others can go over $6,000
new.

Considering these things don't have an engine, they're basically bearings, a big drum, some bolt-on knives, shafts, pullies and belts and sheet metal.

We're not talking close tolerances or sophisticated design technology like you would with engines and/or transmissions.

I'm leery of buying a "used up" unit likely to have come from a power equipment rental company and likely abused.

I kind of like Chinese products for the price. I've purchased quite a lot from Harbor Freight and USUALLY feel I get my money's worth. I don't like Northern because of their shipping costs.

I know that there are hundreds of different manufacturing companies in China and the only way an importer can truly be sure of his product is to have reps on-site insuring he gets first class production runs. From what I understand two imported units can essentially be the exact same item but one can have a brand name on it and the other from a catalog outfit might be a "second" or "third" that was rejected by the company with on-site QC inspectors. Fit, finish, and sometimes quality can be the differences. I would
imagine sometimes the "seconds" are just "over runs" but the whole point it that we the end user don't know this until be unpack and begin to use these items.

I don't mind buying a Chinese power planer out of a catalog for $150 and take my chances that I will be able to adjust it and get a good result. It may be worth the $300 I save by not buying a name brand, especially since I don't earn my living as a woodworker.

Spending close to $2,000 for a wood chipper is still a big
investment, even if it "saves" me $4,000.

So I'm interested in hearing from anyone with experience with Jinma equipment in general and/or Jinma chippers in particular.

I understand that both Bolton in MA and Coastal Tractor in ? are in my Northeast area. Anyone had any dealings with them?

I've seen the same pictures of this unit on several sites and one site had some good pictures of his chipper in operation but I haven't seen much in the way of user comments either pro or con.

How do you go about going the "direct import" route? I live about 1/2 hour from Newark, NJ which I understand is probably the port of entry for this stuff.

Thanks in advance for any help/comments.

Thanks,
Charlie

PS By the way, I'm using a JD870 with 3 cylinder 28hp with probably 25 PTO hp and FEL.

cdm

[DIYGuy]

My Chipper is due in a few weeks. If you want to wait, I'll be able to report on how it works then.

I can highly recommend either Bolton Power or Coastal and have purchased items from both.

I did get to look at a chipper at Bolton Power and they are definately no frills units, and based on discussions on the previous CTOA boards, highly reliable and serviceable.

DIYGuy

[Anonymous Poster]

I've seen several comments on Chinese chippers at CTOA, and I think it was quite positive. You should go to that message board and ask, and I expect you'll get input from owners.

[SPIKER]

I posted message to same question at the CTOA site here

http://b5.boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?&user=ctoa

Mark M [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[heith]

The reason they are so expensive is because of there commercial uses.When something makes money it tends to be reflected in its price.

[EFC]

The chippers are a great homeowners unit. Vermeer is the top of the line industrial duty unit. If you plan to make a living then it would be top on my list. I will not sell the Chinese chipper to contractors. I have over 200 chippers out in the world to date and have had no major problems. In fact even the minor problems are truly minor. A fair amount of them went to local orchard owners and they have nothing bad to say. Both Bolton and coastal are great guys and will give you the straight story. Call them and ask how there units that are out in the world are holding up. Also check with your local state tax dept. Most states offer a tax breaks for buying one vs. burning. Oregon lets you write off 50% of the price over 3 years

[SHIFTY]

Overall I have had good luck with the chippers,I have some due in anyday,Connecticut doesnt offer any tax savings that im aware of,I also carry a canidian 6" chipper ,it costs more and it does not have any sort of self feeding mechanism but still priced in the reasonable catagory .,On the last unit that was sold to my neighbor I tested it with a 8' 4x4 and it ate it up,green wood chips and feeds better than dry wood,C. T. & EQU

[DIYGuy]

Greetings All,

I picked up the chipper this past weekend, however a change in work (hi-tech to Carpenter) has left me with no time off for the next couple of weeks. As soon as I can squeeze a day out, I'll assemble and test, then let y'all know how well it works. Yes, with pictures... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[tractorErnie]

I have a chinese chipper and I like it lots.
I have used it to grind 3 trees and cleaned up my front property with it.
My neighbor bought one too, he's used his over 80 hrs. he sharpened the blades and replaced the gear box belt once. Not bad for heavy use!!
I refuse to lay out the big $$ for the others so the import one fit the bill [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
By the way ,I bought mine at EFC construction (no regrets)

[DIYGuy]

I posted pictures and a review in the implement section a couple of days ago. You'll have to wade through some real uninformed opinions on Chinese Labor if you read through the end of the thread, but the first half dozen postings are pictures of my 6" Chipper. It's down in the middle of page 2 last time I checked.

DIYGuy (MarkS)