Chipper Anybody using a Liberty Chipper?

[Old School]

I have the chipper from KPX/Liberty. I know that there is some site that claims that this is an improved version of the jinma, but I think it's BS.

Overall, I'm glad I have it, but I'll never buy anything from KPX/Liberty again!

Phineas7 and SuprDuprMn Thank You!

We all might not realize it but it's important to let others know about these kind of businesses through forums like this.

I just about placed a big order with a company called TruckAddOns.com only to find out they have shafted people left and right. Instead I orders some of what I needed from a place called SamsOffroad.com and these guys bent over backwards for me. I found out about both places through forums like these.

Letting others know about both the good and bad is what makes these forums so great!

 

[annapolistractorsales]

I've been selling the Liberty Chipper for years, and I can tell you a few things:

1) Everyone we sell the chipper to absolutely loves their chipper. If you read negative posts about the chipper, I would tend to believe that it is caused by a) the fact that this site has a ton of users who sell the product themselves and are thus unlikely to say anything nice about a competitor or b) the rare customer who has a bad experience is much more likely to be vocal online. Lots of things can go wrong with a wood chipper, and some people just like to vent when they have problems.

2) Jinma is not a real company that makes wood chippers. You can do all the research you want, and you will never find a Jinma Corporation that makes chippers. It's simply the name of a design style that no one owns the rights to.

3) The Liberty Chipper is different from the "Jinma" that many tractor dealerships sell for several reasons, including aspects of the design, components used (down to the screws, thickness of steel, blades, etc), precession of manufacturing, 2 year warranty (I don't think anyone else in the business offers a warranty like this), and high level quality assurance/testing performed before shipping out the products.

The truth is that the Liberty Wood Chipper is an outstanding machine. I sell the Bearcat Chipper as well, and it is an excellent machine, but it's price point makes it unaffordable for most of my customers.

 

[choffman41]

I recently bought an "Agri-Machinery" WC-6 that looks like the same chipper. I was quite happy with the quality and workmanship of the unit. I have only given it a test run so far, but have 8 acres of 30 year old logging debris to clean up so it will get a real workout. I got it on the auction site (seller Betstco) for 1349 and think it was a good deal. We'll see..........

 

[moot]

I purchased the WC-8 Liberty Implements Wood Chipper on Sept. 20th, 2008.
The chipper was delivered on Sept. 30th, 2008. Good marks so far.
The assembly was a bear... I did it by myself ... wish I would of had a extra pair of hands and an engine hoist. Using the loader to lift it on the base was scary as the lift ring was not at the center of balance and the chipper tended to lean to one side and spin.
It took me about 4 hours to put the unit together and do the initial greasing.
Attaching it to the tractor was easy and only needed some minor adjustment to get things straight and level.
I was very happy at the way the chipper ran without vibration and pretty quite. I started chipping small stuff and worked up to 4" - 5" branches of Yellow Pine. Even though I only have about 25HP @ PTO the engine only bogged down a little with the large 5"+ pieces.
After about an hour I had a nice pile of chips... and then...
The failure was on the right arm of the Feed Roller Arm, ( see image below)right where the one inch pipe was flattened and welded to the plate where the Roller Bearing Pad is bolted. The weld did not break... it was apparent that the break was caused by a manufacturing defect, i.e., the break operator crushed the wall of the pipe. The fracture was perfectly straight.
Of course when that jammed the roller I attempted to disengage the Roller Gearbox only to have the Lever break... luckily the Gearbox Driveshaft did disengage, but not before smoking the Roller Drive Belt.
The design of the Roller Arm assembly was the biggest problem. Because it was welded into the Feed Chute and not removable, the only way to repair the Arm was to weld in place. It would have been better to make the Arms out of flat-bar and at least attach/bolt the Arms to the pivot under the Chute. That way they could be removed if necessary. It cost me $170 to get a welder to come on site and weld the pipe and the Roller Disengage Lever. Taking everything apart and putting it back together cost me another day of down time.
Contacting KPXTRACTORS was not easy and very frustrating. It took two days until I got to talk to a human being and get things documented. They say they will reimburse me for the welding... we will see.
I posted pictures but seem to have a problem with publishing the Album.
I'm hoping for the best.
I started chipping again and about an hour into it I had a chip wedge between the Roller and the side of the Chute. When I tried to disengage the Roller the Lever bent.
Good news is nothing broke. Bad news is that I can't disengage the Roller.
Looks like I will have to fabricate a new lever that is much stronger than the soft metal that was used in the original. Seems someone thought they could save some money...
More updates as needed will be posted...

 

[moot]

Just had a blade break. Again, it was frustrating to try and get hold of anyone from KPX. Their 'tech' number just went to a generic mailbox. Called the 800# and after about 15 minutes finally got a rep. He asked for pictures and said they would ship out new blades and bolts in 3 to 5 business days... no charge.
I think the blades are of very poor quality. I do not believe that the bolts are Grade 8. Also, when I was removing what was left of the blade it appeared that the bolts were over torqued... a real bear to get off.

 

[moot]

Received the bolts Friday afternoon (late). Today, Sunday, I decided to use the extra set of blades I purchased with the chipper. On inspection I saw that one blade already had a nick in it (pic attached).
I did not get the blades KPX promised.

Another thing! I read in the manual that the blade bolts should be torqued to 50 lbs. The safety label on the chipper says 30-40 lbs. What is it?

Also, I had noticed that when I removed the broken blades, there was the bolt and a nylon lock nut. The parts manual says there should be a bolt, washer, lock washer and nut. I was sent the parts from the manual - BUT - there is no way to get the nut started if you put on the washer and lock washer! The recessed holes were milled/bored 2mm to shallow!

Again the lack of communication by KPX/Liberty is frustrating...!

 

[Rara Avis]

I've been selling the Liberty Chipper for years, and I can tell you a few things:

1) Everyone we sell the chipper to absolutely loves their chipper. If you read negative posts about the chipper, I would tend to believe that it is caused by a) the fact that this site has a ton of users who sell the product themselves and are thus unlikely to say anything nice about a competitor or b) the rare customer who has a bad experience is much more likely to be vocal online. Lots of things can go wrong with a wood chipper, and some people just like to vent when they have problems.

2) Jinma is not a real company that makes wood chippers. You can do all the research you want, and you will never find a Jinma Corporation that makes chippers. It's simply the name of a design style that no one owns the rights to.

3) The Liberty Chipper is different from the "Jinma" that many tractor dealerships sell for several reasons, including aspects of the design, components used (down to the screws, thickness of steel, blades, etc), precession of manufacturing, 2 year warranty (I don't think anyone else in the business offers a warranty like this), and high level quality assurance/testing performed before shipping out the products.

The truth is that the Liberty Wood Chipper is an outstanding machine. I sell the Bearcat Chipper as well, and it is an excellent machine, but it's price point makes it unaffordable for most of my customers.

Could you help Moot out?...

 

[wedge40]

I've been selling the Liberty Chipper for years, and I can tell you a few things:

1) Everyone we sell the chipper to absolutely loves their chipper. If you read negative posts about the chipper, I would tend to believe that it is caused by a) the fact that this site has a ton of users who sell the product themselves and are thus unlikely to say anything nice about a competitor or b) the rare customer who has a bad experience is much more likely to be vocal online. Lots of things can go wrong with a wood chipper, and some people just like to vent when they have problems.

2) Jinma is not a real company that makes wood chippers. You can do all the research you want, and you will never find a Jinma Corporation that makes chippers. It's simply the name of a design style that no one owns the rights to.

3) The Liberty Chipper is different from the "Jinma" that many tractor dealerships sell for several reasons, including aspects of the design, components used (down to the screws, thickness of steel, blades, etc), precession of manufacturing, 2 year warranty (I don't think anyone else in the business offers a warranty like this), and high level quality assurance/testing performed before shipping out the products.

The truth is that the Liberty Wood Chipper is an outstanding machine. I sell the Bearcat Chipper as well, and it is an excellent machine, but it's price point makes it unaffordable for most of my customers.

Pretty bold statement.
But lets look at the op post. Right now he has broken blades and sounds like very poor customer service. There are two people on here who support the Jinma chipper, just like you support (?) the Liberty. Both of the those would be jumping at the opportunity to help this person fix the chipper, even phone support if needed. Right now I dont see that from the Liberty dealer. Just someone making statements about how good their (broken) product is. In any business customer service sells the product. Lets face it, if it has moving parts, ITS GOING TO BREAK. It's what happens when it does break that counts.

When I was looking at chippers about year ago I looked at the Liberty and was warned of their poor customer service. I own a Jimna.



Wedge

 

[mjdtexan]

So, how much is the comparable Jimna?

I learned two things from this site today

1 there are pto chippers
2 there are pto generators

I would like to have one of each

I am new to tractors. There are so many implements that I want. Gonna go look at Affordables website now

 

[mjdtexan]

I should have looked at his site before I asked the question. Theirs are $1600 dollars. Got to look in the piggy bank. Maybe he will tell me he's got a good used trade-in he wants to sell me