Help deciding between 3PH PTO Chipper, or standalone Vermeer or Morbark.

[Pete Judd]

A stand alone unit makes more cents, you can use your tractor to drag what needs to be chipped, and will save labor. I looked at the PTO units, and have found the I can put my smaller unit on a trailer behind the tractor, and tow it around the place, unhook the trailer, and use the tractor to drag the branches to the chipper.

 

[motownbrowne]

the wench is needed because it can eat a tree in 1 gulp.

I think you mean winch. A wench is something different.

 

[motownbrowne]

One thing to think about with the Vermeer vs. The Morbark is the size of the opening you're feeding material into. The larger the opening, the easier it is to get twiggy, tangled wads of branches into. I've used three standalone Vermeers, and they were all good machines. A 1600A with a Ford 300, and two 1000s one with a Cummins and one with the smaller Cat. The 1000s were really nice, safety bars, smart feed, etc. The 1600A was a little frightening. No safety features, the feed mechanism is essentially, push the branch in until it hits the knives and let the f@#$ go. That thing would yank stuff out of your hands at about 60mph. Did a good job, though.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

We have a Salsco 627XT PTO powered chipper. It has hydraulic feed rollers. It's a 6 inch machine, but it's a beast. One less engine to worry about. Quality is very good.

 

[oosik]

I've only ever had Wallenstein pto chippers - first the BX42 and now the BX62. I've really never had or understood the need for a hydraulic in-feed. The manual units are exceedingly aggressive. I chip unlimbed ponderosa pine - 6" and smaller. I wonder how are you ever going to man handle something bigger than 6" out of the woods and up and into the infeed of the chipper. My biggest chore in chipping is just that. Once I get the tree up and into the infeed - the hard work is over. The manual chipper sucks it up and chips it like a kid eating a candy cane.
In any case, I've had the Wally chippers since about '05 and never had a moments problem with either one.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Only thing with the manual units being aggressive, is just that, they're aggressive and have an inherent danger of not being able to reverse it in a safety situation. Once they start pulling in the material, there's not much stopping. If someone ever got hung up on a branch, bad things are going to happen. Hydraulic feed rollers also allow you to slow the feed on bigger pieces as well. If you really want to rip em in turn up the speed on the rollers. Once you get the butt on the table, the rollers do all the work, if anything does get hung up, reverse it, reposition the limb and feed it back in.

 

[oosik]

Safety issues - yes, I see your point. I never wear long sleeve shirts or gloves just for that reason. The scratches on my arms and pitch on my hands are small concerns. Nobody wants to trim their nails on the blades of a chipper.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Safety issues - yes, I see your point. I never wear long sleeve shirts or gloves just for that reason. The scratches on my arms and pitch on my hands are small concerns. Nobody wants to trim their nails on the blades of a chipper.

No, definately not, something about manicures doesn't appeal to me :laughing:

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Any luck with a chipper tom?

 

[tommcafee]

No luck yet, I am still deciding between either the Wallenstein BX 72R and a Vermeer. Did find a nice older PATU DC 65 with hydraulic feed, but its a long ways away and again, unknown history, and has a bent pto shaft. In the end, likely end up with the Wallenstein.