What not to feed a woodchipper

[cqaigy2]

I rarely throw something in the chipper that shouldn't be there. Somehow missed a piece of 8 gauge brace wire, chewed up most of it, i think, and threw a junk back out.

 

[OldPaint]

Hugel

ever looked into hugelculture

Actually, yes and I have been doing it (before I knew what it was) since 2005 in a lot of the erosion ditches on my property. Learning about it has encouraged me to refine my processes and selectivity a little.

Pine/conifer species don't work well for hügelkultur as a general rule. Hügelkultur needs coarse grain wood species with low tannins and non-aromatic/non-volatile resins that will easily absorb water and rot. Pine/Cedar will tend to repel the very things (bacteria/insects) you want in that pile to break down the solids. It's OK to put a well-rotted pine log in a hügelkultur, as long as there's no 'seasoned' wood in the center that's waterproofed with solidified resins. Save that stuff to make pine kindling for starting campfires. Chip your cedar and seasoned pine into stuff you want to use for flower bed covering. It'll keep some of the unwanted critters off your flowers, but may also detract from favorable dirt dwellers, too. But it won't rot as fast as hardwood mulch. DO NOT use any untreated chips for mulch near your house. Not unless you want to turn your home into a buffet for termites. Anything 50 feet or more away gets the stuff from my clearing activities. Those beds tend to have the better flowers.

It's best to avoid denser grained woods like cherry and black walnut, too. Denser grained woods are typically not well suited to hügelkultur because they don't absorb water fast enough. They chip pretty darn good, though, which helps break up the grain and fiber, and promotes water absorption. Dried cherry can be a little hazardous because it shatters and flies apart. Use that kinda stuff mixed with other softer species for the filler between the logs before you cover with mulched leaves, then soil. If you're doing this on a sloped and eroded lot like mine, the soil will cover it nicely as the leading edges decay, and it will hold water in very well. Some of mine seep water for weeks after a good rain. This also tends to make them self-leveling and encourages grass growth in the sandy run-off soil.

Anything that's chipped up will decay faster than large solid pieces. Large solid pieces have the advantage of filling the holes quicker and decaying slower, but they will leave voids that will encourage burrowing rodents and pests, even larger critters like fox. Dunno if yellow jackets have a presence in Germany, but a hügelkultur is a haven for them because it's easy for them to burrow in the very same soil that promotes good growth. Keep that in mind. I do not encourage yellow jackets to do anything but die. I usually take out at least 3 nests every year.

Damaged knives are almost a foregone conclusion with a chipper. A very small quartzite rock (river rock) can do a ton of damage. For that reason, I try not to put anything that's been in the soil in my chipper. I never chip stumps or roots, and NEVER put raked up matter in my chipper. I have a flail shredder/chipper for that stuff if I don't decide to just rake it in on top of any logs that I haven't covered yet.. The shredder has a small chopper blade in the center that looks like an edger blade, but it's only for hacking bits off larger chunks. If it's too big for that, it gets laid in with the log bits.

Just start with the big stuff, and work your way down to grass clippings (if you don't treat your yard with pesticides). Clippings/leaves from a treated yard will likely be counterproductive in a hügelkultur.

 

[Raul-02]

Hügelkultur needs coarse grain wood species with low tannins and non-aromatic/non-volatile resins that will easily absorb water and rot. Pine/Cedar will tend to repel the very things (bacteria/insects) you want in that pile to break down the solids.

Of all the vids I've seen and web articles I've read; that painfully obvious information was never mentioned.
I've had the same experience with the internet when wanting to do a meaningful dive into a topic. The internet is plagued with large informational voids. I guess you really do get what you paid for.

 

[OldPaint]

Of all the vids I've seen and web articles I've read; that painfully obvious information was never mentioned.
I've had the same experience with the internet when wanting to do a meaningful dive into a topic. The internet is plagued with large informational voids. I guess you really do get what you paid for.

It really is a balancing act.

To your point, it's no wonder so many are confused or misinformed. They read a biased part of something on the internet and decide it MUST be true, and sadly, that's because they're too lazy to completely inform themselves. The first thing they read, especially if it fits their mantra, is the only "fact" they know. I'm still wondering whatever happened to common sense about free information. It's worth exactly what you pay for it. I rarely read something and assume it's fact. I normally try to read at least one opposing view about anything before making a decision. If I see something that makes me go "Hmmmm", I read a LOT more, pros and cons. I don't like making uninformed or rash decisions. They usually bite me on the butt. Maybe that's why I became an engineer a long time ago.

 

[arto98607]

Sure so many of "them" are misinformed, but not us - no way!

Yes Sir

 

[oosik]

Raul-02 No, I've never heard of hugelculture - until this thread. I had to look it up. When we had a garden we had raised beds. But nothing as extensive as used in hugelculture.

I don't garden any more. I hate weeding - I hate having half my garden eaten by the local wildlife. Let somebody else fight for their garden. I'll buy my produce from them.

However - I do have MANY extensive piles of pine chips - all over the property. I drive my JD riding mower up on a pile - lower the cutter - on with the blades - let the chips scour the underside clean.

Works like a champ.

 

[groundcover]

Friend of mine has a PTO chipper and when I sent him a pic of my Brush Bandit his comment was wow, mine won't even chip pipe !

 

[oosik]

It's rather frightening to see how those knives broke up. I think 5030 was correct - something was drastically wrong with the knives.

Somebody is very fortunate that they didn't stop a piece of those knives with a body or body part.

 

[Oz_Kioti]

I have a magnetic broom (old broom with powerful magnets taped all along the head) which I used to find one major fragment, the piece of steel rod, and lots of smaller chips, but I could not find the second major fragment.

It must have been ejected via the chute along with all the other bits, as nothing remained in the flywheel housing. I'll have to widen the search area, as I don't want it lying there to cause future mischief. I usually chip alone, and on the occasions when I do have a helper, nothing goes in while they're in the arc of the discharge.

And following 5030's caution, I had another close examination of the anvil mounts, and no sign of anything amiss or bent there. It is one tough and solidly made machine.

On this model chipper, while the PTO shaft utilises a shear pin, the flywheel is belt driven, so unlikely to do much damage if there were to be a major slowing down/stoppage of the flywheel. The geometry of the belts and pulleys also gives the flywheel it's high rotational speed which contributes to efficient discharge, and clogging of the outlet chute is rare. It also means, of course, that the missing fragment could have travelled some distance! I've heard anecdotally that smaller models with direct drive are more susceptible to clogging due to the slower flywheel RPM (540 vs 1100), however I have never seen or operated a smaller model.

Time to widen the search area...

 

[oosik]

I'm going to start blowing the chips into my farm wagon. Spread them on the driveway. They tend to cut down on dust. My mile long, gravel driveway has slowly been blanketed with wind blown dust and volcanic ash. Open areas being much more than the tree lined areas. Put them to some use as they decompose.

 

[5030]

I have a magnetic broom (old broom with powerful magnets taped all along the head) which I used to find one major fragment, the piece of steel rod, and lots of smaller chips, but I could not find the second major fragment.

It must have been ejected via the chute along with all the other bits, as nothing remained in the flywheel housing. I'll have to widen the search area, as I don't want it lying there to cause future mischief. I usually chip alone, and on the occasions when I do have a helper, nothing goes in while they're in the arc of the discharge.

And following 5030's caution, I had another close examination of the anvil mounts, and no sign of anything amiss or bent there. It is one tough and solidly made machine.

On this model chipper, while the PTO shaft utilises a shear pin, the flywheel is belt driven, so unlikely to do much damage if there were to be a major slowing down/stoppage of the flywheel. The geometry of the belts and pulleys also gives the flywheel it's high rotational speed which contributes to efficient discharge, and clogging of the outlet chute is rare. It also means, of course, that the missing fragment could have travelled some distance! I've heard anecdotally that smaller models with direct drive are more susceptible to clogging due to the slower flywheel RPM (540 vs 1100), however I have never seen or operated a smaller model.

Time to widen the search area...

You are very lucky it didn't come apart. Those flywheels have a lot of inertia all by themselves.

Years ago I bought a used (and abused) Jinma Chinese chipper (6" infeed) and rebuilt it and I ran it behind one of my M9 Kubota's (83 pto horsepower) which is about 3 times what they are rated for. I added a Weasler slip clutch on the output shaft of the chipper so I wouldn't destroy it. Worked pretty well but the vibration from feeding it about ruined my hands so I sold it for more than I paid for it and I'm back to roasting limbs in a burn pile. Much easier on my hands. Besides, I'm a pyro.

 

[oosik]

It's always been my hands that take the most abuse in the thinning process. Just that momentary time when the butt contacts the chipper flywheel. Do this for six to eight hours a day - for a week or so. Sure puts a lot of wear on a new pair of Elk Skin Ropers from Aerostich.

Dragging the cut trees to a unified pile is hard on the knees and shins. Tripping, stumbling, falling - all part of the game.

 

[OldPaint]

It's always been my hands that take the most abuse in the thinning process. Just that momentary time when the butt contacts the chipper flywheel. Do this for six to eight hours a day - for a week or so. Sure puts a lot of wear on a new pair of Elk Skin Ropers from Aerostich.

Dragging the cut trees to a unified pile is hard on the knees and shins. Tripping, stumbling, falling - all part of the game.

I feel your pain. Gettin old ain't for sissies. Now I know why my grandparents always wobbled and groaned so much. Gettin old is EXACTLY why I bought a tractor.

I buy inexpensive (but good) leather gloves in bulk. I don't know how many pairs I've worn the fingers off handling brush, especially if I do it while the brush is wet. Occasionally the stitching lets go, but I can get decent leather glove at a pretty cheap price. Anything where I'm using a long-handled tool like a shovel or axe, I wear deerskin gloves because they still give me protection but they're a lot softer and more comfortable. The cheaper leather gloves are just fine for grabbing brush and protecting me from thorns. I'd rather tear up cheap gloves than more expensive ones.

 

[GeneV]

I feel your pain. Gettin old ain't for sissies. Now I know why my grandparents always wobbled and groaned so much. Gettin old is EXACTLY why I bought a tractor.

I buy inexpensive (but good) leather gloves in bulk. I don't know how many pairs I've worn the fingers off handling brush, especially if I do it while the brush is wet. Occasionally the stitching lets go, but I can get decent leather glove at a pretty cheap price. Anything where I'm using a long-handled tool like a shovel or axe, I wear deerskin gloves because they still give me protection but they're a lot softer and more comfortable. The cheaper leather gloves are just fine for grabbing brush and protecting me from thorns. I'd rather tear up cheap gloves than more expensive ones.

Same here, I buy a cheap pair of leather work gloves from walmart. I do everything with them, including welding. And then when they wear through the fingers and/or the stitching comes apart, I just go get another pair.

 

[RolandW]

When I was a kid my Dad was working on the forage harvester ("chopper") out in the field. He set his toolbox in a handy spot, on the wide chain that carried the corn into the blades. You can guess what happened next: He got in a hurry and forgot about the toolbox. Large noise. I think I still have a couple of the bent wrenches.

 

[cqaigy2]

Ouch!

 

[5030]

It's always been my hands that take the most abuse in the thinning process. Just that momentary time when the butt contacts the chipper flywheel. Do this for six to eight hours a day - for a week or so. Sure puts a lot of wear on a new pair of Elk Skin Ropers from Aerostich.

Dragging the cut trees to a unified pile is hard on the knees and shins. Tripping, stumbling, falling - all part of the game.

I use the grapple I adapted to my bucket. Also fits my pallet forks.

Nothing beats a good blaze, besides, I get rid of my oily rags too.

 

[oosik]

I pile up all the trees that die from pine bark beetle. The only time I burn is with snow on the ground. Chances of wildfires are just to great at other times.

My tractor and grapple just aren't the correct tools for retrieving all the fallen pines - when I thin my stands in the spring. I've tried and end up damaging those left standing. It ends up being a real PITA. Especially when I want all the butt ends facing one way on the pile.

I grouse now but always look forward to this spring project. I just take my time and it all comes out fine in the end. Fortunately - when retired - time - I have lots of.

 

[Surshot]

My chipper went down the road. I dropped a dried out hardwood root ball into it by accident. It was laying on the ground, I picked up a stack of limbs, dropped them in, bang, after the detonation, the root ball was not there.

That chipper came apart like a 2 bit watch. One piece of steel broke off inside and it then proceed to eat itself.

That was it for me, been burning everything since.

That 20 hp chipper coming apart was quite disconcerting, especially the steel pieces and parts coming through the sides of the steel box.

 

[oosik]

I've noticed - several chipper brands recommend to not chip lumber. Must be the fear of nails and other metal parts that could be attached/inbeded in the lumber.