Gravity feed vs mechanical feed wood chipper

[dennisgw]

Ditto on the Wallenstein. I have the BX-42 on a BX2200. Absolutely no need for mechanical feed. At times it is almost pulling branches in too quickly. You don't want to be hanging on to them. Good machine. Solid. Blades still fine after running for two years but I guess that depends on how much you are chipping and how dirty your wood is. Direct drive simplicity is best, no belts or things to worry about. Heavy rotor is good for BX2200 since it is on the lower end of recommended power.

 

[newbury]

This is why you need to be careful!!
Worker pulled through woodchipper - YouTube

I actually had a similar but lot smaller, accident where I was trying to clear a jam in a Gravely snow blower with a stick. The stick got yanked in, caught my glove, and my forefinger got yanked in. The doc had to tear my nail off, and the bone grew back.

 

[bikerdib]

Yep, I've seen that video before. I was an iron worker for many years and personally witnessed a couple of bad accidents. One was a forklift operator wasn't watching his boom and ran into some high voltage power lines. Another was a fellow wanted to get some shade during lunch so he foolishly crawled under the raised but unlocked boom of a backhoe. Unfortunately someone else climbed onto the seat for a more comfortable place to sit and hit the lever. The bucket teeth went right into the other fellows head. Not a pretty sight. In both of those incidents, no one else was around close enough to shout a warning. Speed and trying to work too quickly (and downright stupidity) are really not your friend around any kind of heavy equipment. Over the years I have caught myself lots of times and think; man that was a really stupid move!! Anyone can have a careless moment, hopefully we learn from each one and go on and on and on, getting smarter all the time.

 

[CHDinCT]

Speaking of that sturdy steel bracket they secure the chipper to the pallet with, does this valve mount look familiar? That bracket was just too nice to throw away. Worked out great when I needed to make a mounting plate for my auxiliary remotes. A little cutting and welding and viola! Oh, and the BX42 chipper it was attached too ain't bad either. :laughing:

 

[bikerdib]

Great recycling job there Chris. I very seldom throw anything metal away. Sooner or later I seem to find a use for it. I added the brackets to my scrap pile.

 

[bikerdib]

I have a question to those of you that have experience using your Wallenstein. I set the blade/anvil clearance according to the instructions. They give a range between 1/32 to 1/16 inch. I found a piece of plastic that measured very close to 1/32 and set the clearance to that thinking that after the paint wore off the blades I would be somewhere in the middle of the range. I don't know what the factory had it set at but I know it was more than I now have it, possibly even more than 1/16 inch. I think I remember reading somewhere that a wider clearance will make the machine feed better? What are you guys setting yours at?

 

[s219]

I eyeballed mine right in that range (and if you rotate through all the blades, you will see some slight variations anyhow). You're probably OK to start -- you can always fine tune it later if needed.