Anyone ever have a bad experience with a Wallenstein chipper?

[minibike hero]

So I'm currently in the market for a chipper/shredder to put on the back of my BX25. After doing a bit of reading up on the various models that might be suitable for a subcompact with 17 hp on the PTO, I'd more or less settled on the Wallenstein BXM-32 (I also looked at MacKissic and the Woods/Bearcat models).

So, I send an email to the dealership that sold us the tractor to get a quote. Somewhat surprisingly, he told me that all the ones they'd sold "came apart" and had to come back for repair. He recommended the Salsco 600 instead.

Now, I've done a fair amount of searching online, and I haven't been able to find anyone else with anything bad to say about the Wallenstein chippers. Closest I could find was one thread on TBN with someone who had a defective part on their unit, but that got replaced under warranty with minimal fuss. Usually, when some product does have issues, people tend to not be shy about complaining about it on the internet ("OMG, the BX24 hydro suuuuuuuuucks!")

So is my sales guy just blowing smoke, or did Wallenstein actually have a bad run of chipper/shredders at some point? The Salsco 600 looks like a decent unit, but it lacks the shredding function, which I need to deal with stuff like plant stalks and smaller twigs.

 

[ayelvington]

I run a BX-42 on my BX-24 and it rocks! I've lent it to folks with much larger tractors, and they have all been thoroughly impressed.

I think you deal is smoking crack...

 

[Ductape]

Your sales guy is blowing smoke where the sun don't shine. The Wallensteins are dead reliable, and very well made.

 

[jmanatee2]

Your sales guy is blowing smoke where the sun don't shine. The Wallensteins are dead reliable, and very well made.

Ditto!

 

[nickel plate]

I also have the BX42 and other than too many twig jambs in the shoot, all is good. I've learned to mix heavy with light to keep the shoot clear-most of the time.

 

[roman]

I have a bx42 and love it. Your dealer may have a line on some salsco units that he can sell at a greater margin(more profit). Find another dealer or buy one on-line.

 

[ctgoldwing]

The Salsco's are made 5 miles from my house, across the street from the motorcycle dealer I go to. I bought a BX42 for my L3400. Great little accessory, not a single issue!

 

[redsox1]

My only issue w/ BX42 was it tends to jam if I feed it w/ a lot of branches loaded w/ green leaves. The quality of the machine itself seems great.

 

[Dargo]

Your sales guy is blowing smoke where the sun don't shine. The Wallensteins are dead reliable, and very well made.

I also agree. I sold mine and wish I hadn't. I didn't use it very much so I thought I'd recoup some of my money. About 3 months ago we got hit with a tornado and I lost 87 full grown trees. Besides those, I could have stayed busy for months doing side work with it. But, to your point, IMHO, I think they are very well built.

 

[kiotimiike]

I've had both a 4" and 6" . The 4" jammed and plugged up all the time but the 6" worked good.

 

[sunshine coaster]

Local guy here has a engine driven one and it is just junk, very light duty and has needed some major repairs to date... basically it shakes itself apart ], is hard on bearings, welds breaking ect. I would not buy this one even if it was cheap.
I hope the PTO versions are better which they seem to be from the internet reports...

 

[gtrippleb]

The strait chipper units don't do much with leafy stuff or small twigs which is what causes the bx42 to clog up every now and then. I have a bx42 and if I'm chipping leafy stuff, I try and alternate a thicker branch to help push the stuff out. Most the time the leaves just get shot through untouched.

If you are going to be chipping a bunch of leaves and small diameter stuff, I think the bxm-32 would work great. I've been thinking of getting one also.

 

[texas42]

I have a BX 42 and think its great. No problems and chips what I want with no problems. Well made, simple design, no belts to adjust, chute turns and knives are fairly easy to mantain. Have plugged it a couple times chipping fresh cut green leafy stuff but learned if I let the leafy branches sit a couple days till the leaves turn brown - no problems.
One of the main reasons I bought a Wallenstein was the great reviews it got on this forum and I'm not disappointed in any way.
By the way I'm chipping mainly pecan, which is a relative of the hickory tree - very hard and very dense.

 

[gtrippleb]

Well made, simple design, no belts to adjust, chute turns and knives are fairly easy to mantain.

This was one of the biggest reason I went with the Wallenstein bx 42 chipper. I hate messing with belts. I love the rotating chute as I can point the chips where I want them to go very easily.

 

[rd_macgregor]

If the BXM quality parallels that of the BX models, then you should be good to go. Users of the BX42 and BX62 (like me) seem pretty satisfied, except for the leaves and twigs issue. Since you know you want a chipper/shredder, it would be nice if somebody on TBN actually had one of those units to comment on.
BOB

 

[gtrippleb]

Here's a review from clarksvilleal on his bxm32.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/174821-wallenstein-bxm32-one-heckuva-chipper.html#post1992476

 

[DemcoEd]

I have a BX42 and love it.

 

[donn12]

I think the dealer is crazy. I dont know about the shredder because I have lots of woods and I dont need to clean that stuff up, but my BX42 is bullet proof. Only one moving part besides the chute!

 

[minibike hero]

Ended up going to a different dealer and picked up a BXM-32 over the weekend. Excited as I am to try it out, I wasn't terribly inclined to go out in a tropical storm to chip brush. It does look like a nice unit. Hopefully get to give it a good workout next weekend.