Chip or burn wood?

[lagomasino]

I wonder what is the forum wisdom on whether to chip scrap wood - that is branches or anything you wouldn't use as fire wood, or just pile it and burn it.

The related questions are:
Is it the same amount of work or is one method simpler than the other?
Is it worth investing on a wood chipper? Even if you are not interested in making mulch.
About safety - is one method safer than the other?
Any other thoughts about what is better to chip or burn?

As you can tell, I am clueless about this, but I need to do something about 20 acres of hickory and oak trees that is a mess.

 

[vic4news]

My chipper will only chip up to 3 1/2" diameter limbs.
I find chipping to be more work than burning.

I only chip because we use the chips on several paths we have,
and my wife uses them on places we previously used to buy mulch for.



Vic

 

[EddieWalker]

If you chip the wood, you will need to cut the branches off of the tree so that you don't have anything bigger then the chipper can handle. The size of the wood a chipper can handle depends no how much money that you want to spend. They all have their limits, and the bigger you go, the more they cost to buy, maintain and operate. So depending on your budget, will decide on how big you can leave the branches. If you have to keep them at 4 inches or less, then you are cutting everything off that's bigger then four inches. What will you do with that wood? What will you do with the chips after you have chipped them? What will it cost you to run the chipper? Fuel, blades and repairs?

If you burn the wood, you have to get it to the burn pile. You have to light it on fire. Then after so many fires, you have to clean up the ash.

I burn allot of trees. It's fast, easy and simple. About once or twice a year, I clean up the burn pile by hauling off the ash to an area that I'm building up behind my dam. Usually I haul off 20 to 25 yards of mixed material from unburnt wood to ash and clay all mixed together.

I'd say it's cheaper and easier to burn it then to do anything else with it.

Eddie

 

[smudgedad]

I like chipping what I can, just burning dirty stumps and such. Not because it's cheaper, just because I like reducing smoke polutants and I like having the chips for dust and weed abatement on paths and the like. Besides, it means more quality time with my tractor. I suppose I might eventually recoup the cost of my chipper, but probably not.

 

[BobRip]

I like chipping what I can, just burning dirty stumps and such. Not because it's cheaper, just because I like reducing smoke polutants and I like having the chips for dust and weed abatement on paths and the like. Besides, it means more quality time with my tractor. I suppose I might eventually recoup the cost of my chipper, but probably not.

If let the wood decay naturally you also get smoke and pollutants it just takes longer. Hence the Smokey Mountains. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

My very limited experience with chippers (Sears 7.5 HP) says they take a lot of maintenance and you have to feed carefully. They also burn fuel and precious resource.

 

[/pine]

If let the wood decay naturally you also get smoke and pollutants it just takes longer. Hence the Smokey Mountains. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

actually if we are talking about greenhouse gasses (supposedly detrimental to the Ozone layer and contributing to the theory of global warming)...Methane (the gas that is emitted by decaying organic matter) is 20X worse than Carbon Dioxide (the main gas emitted by the rapid oxidation (burning) of organic matter)

as for the "Smokey Mountains" The haze is caused by evaporation

from wikipedia:

The name "Smoky" comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog, which is most common in the morning and after rainfall, is the result of warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico cooling rapidly in the higher elevations of Southern Appalachia.

 

[studor]

Unless you invest in a good PTO driven chipper or a large horsepower standalone there is no comparison , burning is much easier and definitely faster. Propane torch $50 chipper--$2500. If you are not going to use the mulch - why bother? Safety -- can' t be stupid with either method -- JMHO

 

[herd]

I live in the country on 50 acres, I would never consider chipping. I am always it seems burning limbs and debris. It's primarily a matter of piling up the limbs, leaving them a while and then burning. It is far less work that chipping and the chip would serve no purpose in these parts for mulch, esp around structures.

 

[LarryD]

I guess that really depends on the situation.

Eddie, it sounds like you're making piles with a dozer and I wouldn't even consider anything but 5GL of deisel and a match.

For me however, I'm selectively thinning the forest leaving healthy trees 6'-8' apart. I can put the chipper on the tractor and be finished with 90% of the disposal right in the forest with only small root balls left to burn. No way I could burn anything in there without harm to the trees. Of course I only bought the chinese chipper and it has worked well after making sure all shaft/pulleys/flywheels were aligned.

 

[Just2quickz28]

Here in the North East most towns only allow burn permits in the winter time. My town does not issue burn permits from April through October. While I am still allowed to burn in my campfire sized burn pit its just not worth going through the hassle of cutting all the stuff up to fit into that burn pit. Also stacking the brush till the winter is never a good idea last year I ended up with a FisherCat living in the pile and neighbors were noticing their cats going missing. I am all for getting rid of it as soon as I can so I chip as I am cutting and pruning. branches that fall go into a small pile till I have enough to justify putting the chipper on the tractor.