Chipper bearcat chipper problems

[dogday]

I just bought a used, but in great shape bearcat pto chipper. I believe it is model 57334 but I could be wrong. All of the specs say the chipper will take up to a 5" limb but any time a put a limb over 2" into the chipper it really bogs down. I put the limb in, it chips it, then I have to pull the limb out and wait for the chips to clear and the blade to rev back up to speed. Tractor is running great and it just appears that the blade on the chipper gets bogged down. The shredder portion works fine. Does anyone know if there could be a belt adjustment that needs to be done or have any other ideas.
Thanks for the help.

 

[J_J]

dogday,

I have a smaller 4 in Bearcat PTO chipper/shredders. If your belts are tight, and you have the rpm up on the tractor, about the only other thing would be the blades are not sharp enough. Are the chips flowing out with out clogging. I also have the optional blower on mine.

Make sure it is not running, then

Reach inside and rub your finger over the blade. You can tell if it needs sharpening. There might be two blades.

 

[dogday]

Thanks for the help. The chips fly out fine for the first few seconds and then it just bogs down and you have to stop chipping for a few and wait for the blades to get back up to speed. Using a 40hp tractor at about 2200 rpm. The blades felt sharp and I thought the belt was pretty tight but would have to recheck it. I looks like the drivline spins but the belt doesn't turn when it gets bogged down. Would that be an indication of a loose belt?
Thanks

 

[J_J]

Yes. You might also add some grease to the bearings. Take your side cover off and check the pulleys for rust, and tighten up on the tension. Check and see if the belts need replacement.

 

[Scooby074]

If the belts look good then Id REALLY check the blades. You got lots of HP there. They can feel sharp, but really arent. When sharp they will feel like a good kitchen knife. You should be able to shave the top of your fingernail when theyre really sharp. When i sharpen my chipper, thats how sharp i get mine. Its tool steel and will take a razor edge. Big difference in performance with a well sharpened blade,

 

[ddivinia]

If the belts look good then Id REALLY check the blades. You got lots of HP there. They can feel sharp, but really arent. When sharp they will feel like a good kitchen knife. You should be able to shave the top of your fingernail when theyre really sharp. When i sharpen my chipper, thats how sharp i get mine. Its tool steel and will take a razor edge. Big difference in performance with a well sharpened blade,

Sometimes sharp blades seem to make it bog down quicker because it pulls the log in quickly.

D.

 

[FarmGeek]

I've not used a Bearcat but I did drool over them for a while. My Pequea chipper is sensitive to the adjustment between the anvil and the knives. The book says only 1/32 of an inch between the anvil and the closest blade.

You might want to check that adjustment. It makes a big difference for me.

Jeff

 

[Scooby074]

Sometimes sharp blades seem to make it bog down quicker because it pulls the log in quickly.

D.

I agree. Luckly they dont stay that sharp for long . On my chipper all i can feed it through the chute is 3" anyways, and it handles it pretty well but you really can notice the performance drop as the blades dull.

In the sawmill we ran a whole log chipper. Around 10 blades. 500hp. It would eat a 12" x8' tree in the blink of an eye. Literally. Scary machine. Blades were sharp enough to shave with and changed every 4 hours.

 

[Stradbash]

Thanks for the help. The chips fly out fine for the first few seconds and then it just bogs down and you have to stop chipping for a few and wait for the blades to get back up to speed. Using a 40hp tractor at about 2200 rpm.

Is it the tractor motor that is bogging down or just the flywheel and blades?
If it's just the flywheel and blades/knives, then your belts are likely slipping and need to be adjusted (or possibly replaced).
Or as another poster suggested, you might have too much friction in the pully system. Check the bearings etc. I know I can easily turn my 3" chipper by hand when it is not connected to the PTO.
Sounds like power should not be a problem.

Good Luck!

 

[dogday]

Tractor does not bog down it is the flywheel and blades. I opened it up and and I can pretty easily turn it by hand.

 

[ddivinia]

Tractor does not bog down it is the flywheel and blades. I opened it up and and I can pretty easily turn it by hand.

If the tractor is not bogging - you should have smoke pouring off the belt. Atleast that is what happens with mine. Any smoke?

D.

 

[pennwalk]

I think there is a spring loaded idler pulley that tensions the belts.Is it there and tensioning the belts? It is possible that someone switched to incorrect belts? You can download the parts manual from Echo/Bearcat. Jason it right on about the blades. If you touch them they will cut you if they are sharp. Did you mean model 73554? My Bearcat (70554) will stop the tractor engine before it bogs down.

Chris

 

[ddivinia]

I think there is a spring loaded idler pulley that tensions the belts.Is it there and tensioning the belts? It is possible that someone switched to incorrect belts? You can download the parts manual from Echo/Bearcat. Jason it right on about the blades. If you touch them they will cut you if they are sharp. Did you mean model 73554? My Bearcat (70554) will stop the tractor engine before it bogs down.

Chris

There is a tensioner.

I can bring my tractor to it's knees also, but it depends on how the load is applied. If it is a gradual load increase like chipping a big log and the rotation speed slowly decreases - the tractor slows down and I suspect would stall if I didn't stop the feeding of the material.

If the load is immediate - the belt will slip and start smoking.

D.

 

[Deerlope]

I have a Bearcat 5 " PTO chipper but I am not sure of the model. I would have to go look. If you ask Bearcat they would probably send you a manual for it. Belts are important,knives and anvil adjustments are also. The knives are reverseable. If they have never been turned over then do so.

 

[dogday]

Thanks, I will check the blades again and make sure they are sharp and take a better look at the belt. The blades seemed pretty sharp before. The chipper has around 10hrs of use. With big logs/limbs it chips great at the very start and then just a little in it bogs down. I can see the pto shaft spinning but flywheel slows down drematically. No smoke from the belt. If I take the large limb out of the chipper the flywheel will regain regain speed and clear the debris left in the chipper.

 

[pennwalk]

10 hours is about the time I would be thinking about sharpening my knives in a manual feed machine. My bearcat has 4 knives. 2 inside and 2 outside which can be swapped to get a few more hours of chipping. Some of the newer bearcats have double sided knives which can be turned over.

Let us know what you find.

Chris

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

If your blades are sharp then check the clearance of the blades to the flywheel. If its too high, the machine will want to grab more. What I do sometimes is when the blades are newly sharpened (enough to take the hair off the arm) I set the clearance low. Then as the blades dull a bit, if I don't have time to sharpen, I open up the clearance so it continues to cut at about the same rate. HP and belt tension are importance, but don't forget about blade clearance.
Its like sharpening the teeth on your chainsaw, if you don't have the rakes filed to the right height, it won't matter how sharp the teeth are, the saw won't cut proper.

 

[yankeerider]

You might want to check for a sheared key between the pulley and the shaft. There could be enough friction to spin the flywheel up to speed with no load, but not maintain drive under load.