Rent or buy a chipper-- I need to decide soon

[Jack Yuan]

I am hiring a company to trim the huge oak trees at our property in a few weeks. These are mature, huge oak trees. Everyone that sees these trees calls them gigantic. Unbelievably the all-in cost for end weight reduction and trimming is upward of $10k -- after getting multiple bids. They are just that big, needing that much work needing specialized equipment with a very high reach.

I will process the downed limbs into firewood, using my tractor/grapple/splitter/etc. But for the debris, I need to rent or buy a chipper. I am looking at the Woodland Mills chipper, or the Woodmax 8H with hydraulic feed. Locally I can rent a Bearcat chipper or Vermeer 1000 chipper.

The decision is difficult-- I need strong chipping capacity soon, so a rental unit could handle that. But I could also use a chipper throughout the year chipping up trees and using the chips to lay down on roads and trails. I've heard that the chippers you own require a lot of maintenance-- making renting more attractive. But I also prefer to own, so I don't have to go through the hassles of renting.

Any voices of experience out there that could supply some insight?

Here is 9" wood chipper from Nova Tractor Nova Tractor BX12 wood chipper
They has working video here Nova Tractor BX12 - YouTube

I think the best advantage of Nova Tractor BX102 chipper is that it is really easy for maintenance. If you watch Woodmaxx 8H, you can image how difficult it could be if there is something stuck inside the rotor housing. At this point, Woodland and Nova Tractor is much better.

What's the biggest wood diameter you will deal with? As I know, in this winter they will promote BX72 chipper which is a little smaller than BX102 chipper.

 

[PJohnson]

I was in a similar quandary - for over a year i had the same mental debate. For me the issue with rentals is the time spent on pick up/delivery and having to fit my work into their operating hours. While it is not insurmountable, I did not want the stress of get it done an hour before they close to bring it back.

My research began and with patience I found one on craigslist. The seller lived close by and brought it to me. The cost was 1/3 of retail. I took possession last weekend.

 

[plowhog]

What's the biggest wood diameter you will deal with?

Have never used a chipper, but I am guessing anything 4" diameter or larger will get kept and split for firewood.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Yes. No fly by night hack artists-- It's been hard to get quotes because most tree professionals are out of County fighting fires ..

Good for you.

In most cases it costs very little more to hire a qualified arborist rather than a crew of local chainsaw jockeys. Of course, if you're just getting rid of a tree, esp if not near any structure, it's not so important. But I never let anyone other than a qualified arborist touch any tree that I care about.

Sounds like your trees are magnificent. Would love to see some pics.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Have never used a chipper, but I am guessing anything 4" diameter or larger will get kept and split for firewood.

If so, then Nova Tractor BX52 chipper is correct size for your need. It could cut wood diameter up to 5", that's enough.
Nova Tractor BX52 wood chipper shredder in action - YouTube
Nova Tractor BX52 wood chipper

 

[oosik]

I've owned two chippers in the 36 years out here. Wallenstein BX42S and now Wallenstein BX62S. I can only speak on Wally's - maintenance has been almost zero. You have two zerks to grease and I grease the four cutting blades before putting it up for the winter. Oh, and grease the PTO shaft once a year also.

Both my Wallys were/are manual feed. Every year I thin my pine stands and chip approximately 900 or more small pines( 1" to 6" on the butt). There is nothing quite as easy to chip as a fresh cut pine - soft wood - full of juicy sap - no limbs to trim - just cut - drag - pile - grunt/lift into the chipper.

I would imagine your oak limbs will be twisted and gnarly. You would be best served to get a chipper with hydraulic in-feed. Controls the feed speed and can back out those limbs that will tend to get stuck in the chute.

But again and at least for my manual feed chippers - - maintenance is just one tick above what is required for a hand shovel.

My thinning project is every spring - takes about six weeks - worse part is dragging all the cut pine out and piling them. The chipping part is the fun part.

For me the choice of buy or rent was never a problem. In the middle of millions of acres of cattle ranching - I am 80 acres of tree farming. My choice was - which brand. Beyond Wallenstein I looked at Woodmax and Vermeer. I wanted a PTO driven chipper - the local Kubota dealer gave me good prices on Wallenstein - - this choice was simple also.

 

[Beltzington]

Rent a large self-powered hydraulic feed chipper.

You will be surprised how easily an 12" chippers can get bogged down while chipping even smaller diameter limbs. Chipping is enough work without having to fight with the chipper. Once you have some experience using a chipper you can make a better decision on your purchase.

 

[plowhog]

The chipping part is the fun part.

Yes from a previous thread I recall you have girls in bikinis dancing around while chipping ....

 

[plowhog]

Once you have some experience using a chipper you can make a better decision on your purchase.

I might do this, and yes I value getting some actual experience before making the decision on which brand or how big to buy. I will check today and see what the cost is. I saw the Bandit and the Vermeer rental units yesterday so I know they are locally available.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Rent a large self-powered hydraulic feed chipper.

You will be surprised how easily an 12" chippers can get bogged down while chipping even smaller diameter limbs. Chipping is enough work without having to fight with the chipper. Once you have some experience using a chipper you can make a better decision on your purchase.

Endorse.

Or, you could simply put the debris in large piles out of sight. Brush piles attract wildlife, and they will slowly compost over time.