TMG chipper

[CFar45]

Just an additional manufacturer to consider-Victory. I shopped the usual suspects and was pretty much set on the 8H before stumbling on Victory- their 8” hydraulic indeed model is a virtual clone of the 8H at a lower price point (and free shipping as well). Final decider for me was lead time.

Been very happy with mine-we’ve been chirping limb piles left over from clearing various build sites around our place. Time consuming process for sure but, for us, more convenient and less risky than burning.

Thanks! Hadn’t run across victory, but will check it out. Have to admit, I don’t need a chipper so badly that I’ve been actively shopping, but whenever I stumble across one, I get to thinking.

 

[CFar45]

I love that term. Seems to me it was invented by someone who had never used a manual feed chipper and needed to justify paying more than he had to for occasional use.

As one who has owned and used manual feed chippers for 25 years as an "occasional use" homeowner, unless you're made of money, I strongly suggest you pass on this needless option and spend your money someplace more worthwhile.

Power feed make sense for those who do a lot of chipping. But not for the typical property owner with occasional need for a chipper.

Thanks. It seems there’s a lot of manual feed out there, so they can’t be entirely ineffective. I’ve never used a manual infeed, but more people than not seem to tell me to avoid them. People are definitely fans of their power infeed models and it seems that new prices for manual and power infeed aren’t too far apart in many cases.

 

[RoyJackson]

I love that term. Seems to me it was invented by someone who had never used a manual feed chipper and needed to justify paying more than he had to for occasional use.

"Chuck and Duck" refers to the big self-powered commercial chippers...man killers...especially the older machines.
If you've ever been around one, you know how fast they pull material in...you'll also know they occasionally kick material back out...hence, the "duck".
Manual home machines, like the Woodmaxx 8M are ok...the advantage of hydraulics is one can walk away to get the get another branch while the chipper is pulling in what you've already loaded. After 3-4 years, I've never had a kick-back...I have had a couple jams due to a branch being too big to feed. Then it's a matter of reversing the feed roller.
With any chipper, never feed from directly behind the infeed chute....stand to the side. Wear gloves that are snug about the wrists. I wear a forestry helmet too

 

[Captain Dirty]

The purchase of my 6" Salsco "Chuch and Duck" chipper several years ago was in agreement with TerryR's opinion that the extra expense (and possibility of failures of the hydraulic feed mechanism) was not worth the price for my use. I disagree with ericm979's statement that you must lift the entire tree. I have often dragged a tree, rested the butt on the lip of the in-feed chute, and walked back to tip the crown so gravity takes over.

The gravity feed is not as aggressive as a roller. Often the resistance of splayed branches against the tapered sides of the in-feed chute is greater than the pull of the blades necessitating tamping or pushing the stuck branch with another. Safety has a lot to do with situational awareness. Look at the branch you are about to chip to check for an errant limb that might snag you, feed from a balanced position, quit before fatigue clouds your judgement.

 

[RoyJackson]

I disagree with ericm979's statement that you must lift the entire tree. I have often dragged a tree, rested the butt on the lip of the in-feed chute, and walked back to tip the crown so gravity takes over.

When I had the Woods 5000 chipper, I normally cut the trunks to 5 or 6 foot lengths for easier handling.

The 5000 was a great chipper/shredder, but I wanted more capacity (my Woodmaxx will chip up to 8", but I rarely go larger the 6").
I do miss the 5000's shredder though...
Only thing I didn't like about the 5000 was it dropped the chips below the chipper

 

[oldballs]

As my life moved on around here in years, I ended up with two machines........

1. MacKissic Mighty Mac shredder / chipper....SC1650 HTE It still serves me the past 13 years. It is electric start ...gasoline powered ..4" maximum capacity chipping. It is really good at shedding small stuff....but can chip larger branches as well.

2. Woodland Mills WC68 PTO powered chipper. As time went on I needed a bigger machine to handle bigger stuff in larger amounts. Have used it over 3 years now.

I really like both machines to match the job at hand.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[RalphVa]

We went to the WM WC46 so that we don't have to lift stuff very high to get them into the chute. Before, I'd used a MacKissic TPH-122 for about 16 years. It chipped up to 3 1/2 inches and did shredding in a separate chute. My source of leaves dried up; so, don't have much use for the shredding any more: just chop such up with the bush hog. Getting older and not as strong to lift stuff very high into the chute.

The WM unit with hydraulic feed is A LOT less dangerous for chipping vines. The Mac would whip them around and very quickly pull them in. The input feed roller controls the input rate to the WM unit. However, the WM unit whips whole trees around and tosses them mostly to the right side of the chute. One wants to stand back and to the left of the chute, but starting bigger pieces requires a pretty good jab to get the roller started on them, often starting with a smaller piece first.

The hydraulic part has been essentially maintenance free except for setting the safety bar tension at which it shuts the feed down. It's adjusted by a little screw set by a lock nut at the bottom of the unit.

Have yet to rotate the chipper blades (they have 2 sharp sides) after going through 2 seasons of use.

I carry a low lift hydraulic jack in the FEL to lift the feed roller whenever it jams. A scissor jack or very long pry bar would work as well. The Woodmax has an included lever for this. This is the reason why they do not provide a folding chute for storage.

 

[ericm979]

I love that term. Seems to me it was invented by someone who had never used a manual feed chipper and needed to justify paying more than he had to for occasional use.

You know, it's possible to disagree without insulting the people you disagree with.


I have both kinds of chippers. "Chuck and duck" is not my term but it's commonly used. More accurately my experience would be push and push and push, then when it catches let go and turn away real quick so you're not pulled against the chute or whacked by branches Then stay out of the firing line so the stub that often shoots out won't hit you. Unless it's a very straight branch that's not too long, you may have to help it by repositioning or lifting the branch.

With the power feed chipper it's much easier to get branches to feed. They feed at a controlled rate and there's no stubs shooting out of the chute. I often can get a branch started and then walk away for another one while the chipper chews away. It's much better at handling irregular shaped branches but part of that is the larger throat.

For my use there's no comparison. Of course my experience is with these two chippers and the kinds of material that I have here to chip (brush and branches of the trees that grow here). Someone else's experience may differ.

Right now the list price on the MacKissick TPH185 chipper/shredder I have is $200 more than the list price of the Woodmaxx 8H. It's also got a shredder, which I used mostly because feeding small material was so difficult. When I bought it many years ago it was the only small chipper I could find. When I got the 8H the chipper/shredder was relegated to shredding leaves for my wife's compost piles. That's the one thing that it does better than the 8H.

 

[TerryR]

I have both kinds of chippers. "Chuck and duck" is not my term but it's commonly used. More accurately my experience would be push and push and push...

That exactly is my point. "Chuck and duck" doesn't describe the way it works at all. So why is it used to disparage manual feed?

Then stay out of the firing line so the stub that often shoots out won't hit you.

I see that comment often, but in 25+ years of using a PTO chipper I've never had it happen.

 

[ning]

I see a lot of TMG stuff for sale at the local monthly auction listings (chippers, augers, flails, greenhouses just to name a few). I've looked at a few different products of theirs online where I could find reviews, and in general the reviews aren't particularly favorable.