Chipper 6" PTO Chipper Questions and Options

[daveinnh]

Slaken,

We have a Salsco 627XT 6" x 8" opening with hydraulic feed - Made in CT. Works fine on our Kubota 4310 HST. Bought ~ 2009 from a local vendor who went belly-up (Keats - Keene, NH).

Before I bought, I reviewed TBN threads on experience and found many members noted problems with Chinese made products and parts availability. The Wallenstein was a close second but the tray was really heavy to pick-up for transport mode.

If you can wait, some chippers pop up on Craigslist...

 

[mmurphydds]

I've got 1 full year on my Wallenstein BX62. Love it love it love it. Bought an extra set of knives when I bought it, but I haven't even flipped the first set yet. I am careful not to get muddy/dirty ends into the chipper. If you're going to chip up dead/hard/dry wood that's 6" in diam, get lots of shear bolts! Fresh cut live wood will present no problems at 6", but as another poster mentioned, that's what we call firewood!! Don't feel I'm missing a thing by not having hydraulics (my bank account looks better, too!). As other posters have noted, the Wallenstein design is truly self-feeding, and aggressive.

I've seen a couple listed on Craigslist in this last year, and they were no bargain, which means they hold their value, which might make my wife smile when she gets almost all her money back at the auction sale someday after I croak.

It's so nice to not have all those slash piles sitting around when you've done some clearing, and the chips are great for de-mudification of trails through the woods!

Go for it! Have a ball!

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have a BX62 as well, and it works great. I have managed to break a few shear bolts when pushing the 6" limit with hardwoods, but the Wallenstein works as advertised. Even after a couple of years of use, I still find the aggressive self-feed action frightening (maybe a good thing!).
I was irritated, though, that it would have been cheaper to import this Canadian-made chipper from a US supplier in Iowa than to buy it from a Candian dealer (I finally did buy locally...though with a bit of resentment!).
Bob

 

[oosik]

Hmmmm. I also have a BX62 and have never sheared a bolt. I 'm sure its because I only chip pine and a very occasional green apple tree. The aggressive self-feed action is so great that I actually tried to reach the blades with my hand. This was when the chipper was not attached to the tractor. Try as I might I could not reach the rotor with the blades on it. I might have if I were 6' 6" or taller or were standing on a ladder but not from standing on the ground. I did this the first week I had the chipper because I too was somewhat frightened by the aggressive pulling action of the chipper.
And with pine trees - you only forget to wear heavy work gloves once and get the palms of your hands shredded by the bark on the pines.
Otherwise, I put 15-20 hours per year on the chipper - chipping all the small pines I thin on my property.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I actually tried to adjust the chips to be smaller so it would feed slower, but ended up with a blade ticking the anvil (?), which isn't good. I have jammed the chipper a couple of times (5" maple) without shearing a bolt and was surprised that my tractor kept running, albeit at considerably reduced rpm. It is disconcerting to think of the internal PTO clutch slipping, so I'd prefer to have the chipper shear bolt go instead.
Bob