Chipper Anyone use a PTO chipper?

[greg_g]

ADDED: Although I was surprised to find it on the Deere website, there it was:
JohnDeere 3720 Compact Utility Tractor 3000 Series Compact Tractors JohnDeere.com
under the specifications tab.

There you go. I learned something new about my tractor, thanks. And hopefully you learned that fact checking before speculating actually has merit.

//greg//

 

[RoyJackson]

There you go. I learned something new about my tractor, thanks. And hopefully you learned at least that fact checking before speculating actually has merit.

//greg//

I believe your comment about speculating applies to both of us, right?

I'm in QA and actually worked at a Deere supplier years ago (early 1990's). I was quite confident in what I wrote...just hadn't had all the supporting documentation earlier.

 

[Willl]

Greg, wouldn't you've notice the braking action on your 3720 PTO during shutdown ?

My late fathers 4410 was quote violent at both start up and shut down, even at low rpm's. And that was with the RC. Often wondered how violent it would of been with my 6" chipper. Guessing alot of belt complaints.

 

[greg_g]

Greg, wouldn't you've notice the braking action on

You would think so. The fact that it spins down on its own - combined with no mention of a brake in the O&M manual - led me to conclude there was no not so equipped. But given the plethora of electronics on this new eHydro series of compacts, perhaps it's one of those features that has to be "enabled" by the dealer. Either way, it's not worth a special trip to the dealer to find out.

And by way of explanation, the complexity of this machine is why I didn't bother investing in a service manual. I used to fix all my stuff, until computers took over. Now I just let the dealers handle it.

//greg//

 

[RoyJackson]

Greg, wouldn't you've notice the braking action on your 3720 PTO during shutdown ?

My late fathers 4410 was quote violent at both start up and shut down, even at low rpm's. And that was with the RC. Often wondered how violent it would of been with my 6" chipper. Guessing alot of belt complaints.

My 4400 engages pretty smoothly...although my old 790 was smoother yet (you could feather the engagement with the 2-stage clutch). I just pull the PTO lever smartly at about 800-1000 RPM (disengage at the same RPM).
I've never watched the stub shaft "brake" upon disengagement, but I guess you could see how well it works by having someone engage and disengage it with no implement hooked up. The way I read it, it should stop within a few RPM. Any implement (such as your Dad's cutter) would likely have enough inertia to keep everything spinning longer.
Speaking of cutters...I haven't seen one yet that didn't shake, rattle and roll upon start up (that imbalance before the blades fully extend).
My chipper/shredder torques a bit, but it's a lot smoother then my cutter.

 

[FLHayman]

In case anybody is still wanting to know about chipper experience, I have a Wallenstein 62, and it works very well, is easy to hook up and use. I use an old JD gas 3010 at full PTO rpm, and a manual PTO lever.

BTW, just try to turn your pto shaft while the tractor is off, and you can see whether or not there is any resistance, such as a brake. Mine has a well worn brake, and I always slow it down to engage/disengage.

If you mix just-cut branches with dried ones, you won't have to clean the chute. It's super easy to direct the chips to a truck, over a fence, or into a pile, since there's a distance deflector at the top that adjusts with a small chain, plus you can instantly rotate the chute to direct the angle.

The advantage of the 6inch is huge, since the opening is more like 6x10". If you're going to put solid 6" logs in, you will need a big tractor, but the real advantage is not having to cut down all the branch intersections. This doesn't have hydraulic feed option, but the angled feed design pulls the branches in. It's possible to have a 'Y' branch go through that wouldn't fit if you measured it, because the machine constantly pulls whatever it can through, until the remaining piece goes in. I wish it had a 12" opening, just so I wouldn't have to bend over with the chain saw to reduce those gnarly, junctions of the branches, ever.

I stopped my tractor cold, once, with a very hard knotted piece that would just barely fit, about 6" thick. It was a test, and convinced me that the chipper could handle more horsepower than I could give it, but for 95% of the time, the large size opening was used to accomodate irregular branch intersections. BTW, they recommend full power, full speed.....the full power comes in as the load begins to slow the governed speed down, but will mostly be a small % of power with branches.

I feed large end first, so the branches will bend and fit in the opening. With mine, I can start it, then turn to get another one while it feeds. For liability reasons, I don't have any helpers, and it does wear you out, but it is very nice to produce a truck full of useful chips in a few minutes and clean up at the same time.

 

[tractchores]

In case anybody is still wanting to know about chipper experience, I have a Wallenstein 62, and it works very well, is easy to hook up and use. I use an old JD gas 3010 at full PTO rpm, and a manual PTO lever.

BTW, just try to turn your pto shaft while the tractor is off, and you can see whether or not there is any resistance, such as a brake. Mine has a well worn brake, and I always slow it down to engage/disengage.

If you mix just-cut branches with dried ones, you won't have to clean the chute. It's super easy to direct the chips to a truck, over a fence, or into a pile, since there's a distance deflector at the top that adjusts with a small chain, plus you can instantly rotate the chute to direct the angle.

The advantage of the 6inch is huge, since the opening is more like 6x10". If you're going to put solid 6" logs in, you will need a big tractor, but the real advantage is not having to cut down all the branch intersections. This doesn't have hydraulic feed option, but the angled feed design pulls the branches in. It's possible to have a 'Y' branch go through that wouldn't fit if you measured it, because the branches will bend and fit in the opening. With mine, I can start it, then turn to get another one while it feeds. For liability reasons, I don't have any helpers, and it does wear you out, but it is very nice to produce a truck full of useful chips in a few minutes and clean up at the same time.

whats the pto hp on that machine? I was looking at a used bx62 but think it may need power at the pto than i've got.

 

[RoyJackson]

whats the pto hp on that machine? I was looking at a used bx62 but think it may need power at the pto than i've got.

You've got 21 PTO HP and the BX62 recommended minimum is 30 PTO HP
(BXs Series Wood Chippers - Wallenstein)
I think you'd be disappointed....

 

[Swiftriver]

You've got 21 PTO HP and the BX62 recommended minimum is 30 PTO HP
(BXs Series Wood Chippers - Wallenstein)
I think you'd be disappointed....

My B3200 has 23 PTO HP and it runs my BX62 fine. Can I feed 6" hardwood down the throat? No, but I would use that for firewood for the woodstove and hottub anyway. It has no problem with 3"-4" hardwood and 4"-5" softwood. I have fed larger but I have to pull back and let it pick up speed. I wouldn't make a habit of it though. I bought this one slightly used at a ridiculous price and also, you never know when you might trade up. :laughing: according to the wife. Another thing I have found, when you're chipping fir branches if you feed a hardwood stick through occasionally it plugs up less. I don't regret buying an oversized unit at all.

 

[grsthegreat]

Geesh...my over-running clutch cost $30.00 at BigR supply. It hooks on be simply slipping back the collar and slipping it on. Takes 3 seconds to install and uninstall. Seems like something this easy isn't worth all the arguing. Dont care if my pto freewheels or not. Im using a cheap protection method none the less for mower and chipper.