Chipper Mods

[grsthegreat]

A dime by the way is about .045". I have heard the dime trick before, but when I measured one and found it measured at 45 thousandths, I opted for the feeler gauges. I set mine around .022". I guess set so a dime just won't fit would also be pretty close to 30 thousandths, but how much under .045" you get would be a guess... If you were working with large pieces or hard woods, a dime sized gap might really load up the rotor/cutters...

I welded some on my roller teeth and reground them sharper and that makes a big difference on how well it feeds and eats material.

Well the new set of blades that i bought from ranch hand supply, i was told to set them at .030" or the width of a dime to prevent too large of a cut and possible jambing, Seems to work greatat that width.

 

[Short Game]

I went out today to find out why the Bearcat was smoking the belts every time I put a limb bigger than a couple of inches while doing the four and a half trailer loads. It never did it when I had it on the 27 HP Cub Cadet. But with a load like that, those limbs would bog down the engine. Not so with the new 41 horse.

I took off the belt guard and expected to find the belts wearing in their pulley grooves. That wasn't it either. The working wear was negligible. But there was rubber piled up at one end of the guard by the smaller pulley. I took off the belts and idler arm, thinking maybe the spring was too weak and letting the belts slip. I did find that the bushing on the idler arm pivot post was frozen and the arm was now swinging on the bolt, if it was swinging much at all. I drove out the bushing and chucked it into the drill press and hit it with emery cloth. I got it turning freely in its tube and put the idler arm back.

I was just about to put the belt guard back on when I spotted where the back of the belts were rubbing on the bottom of the guard. I guess when the drive pulley is pulling extra hard to turn the machine under a bigger load, it stretches the top of the belt slightly and throws a little more slack in the bottom, allowing the idler to push the belt into the guard. Then I noticed that a lot of rubber had worn off the outsides of the belts. It was getting to cords in places. But, I'm pretty sure I caught it in time and the belts will keep on pulling for a good long time to come.

And now for the high tech fix: I placed the bottom of the guard up on two 2X6 scraps and hit the area where the wear was with a three pound hammer repeatedly until it had about a 1/4 inch more clearance.

I won't get to test this out until next spring. The chipper is put to bed for the winter.

 

[RoyJackson]

Aren't sharp blades the cat's meow? What a difference they make.

I've been filing and grinding and sharpening stuff for 40 years. I ran into all the right old-timers when I left LA without a clue to come up to the Washington Coast. I had a natural talent for making things dull and then running them that way. The old guys had to get me turned around.

The chipper blades on the flywheel were a piece of cake....the shredder blades (32 of them, IIRC) were a bit more of a challenge.

I'll probably have mine out one more time before winter if it stays dry long enough. With the weather we've had (parts of Irene and Lee) and the rain (wettest year on record in PA), I've got a lot of small stuff (and a couple larger trees) down. It's been too wet to chip the stuff though, so I'm just collecting it in a pile right now.

 

[Scooby074]

Subscribed.

A blower is something ive been considering for my troybuilt chipper shredder. I hate the buildup under the machine.

I also got to mod the intake chute. there's a bump out in it, probably 1" or so that makes feeding difficult. Id like to increase the capacity too.

 

[Short Game]

I will never know if my shredder blades are dull. I have stopped using that side of the machine. When I put a big branch into the chipper, the brushy end goes right in with it. I put even the small stuff in the chipper.

 

[Short Game]

What's the method for posting linking thumbnails?

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[jimgerken]

Where is the Bearcat manufactured? With all those problems, it sounds like another China deal to me.

 

[Short Game]

USA, I believe.

Roy is pretty much right. Most user reviews are positive. I just seem to have got snake-bit.

 

[RoyJackson]

Where is the Bearcat manufactured? With all those problems, it sounds like another China deal to me.

North Dakota...and they're manufactured by Crary Industries (which explains Short Game calling it a Crary chipper...I learned something today!).

As Short Game wrote, most reviews are quite positive (although I think everyone complains about the chips falling under the chipper). I can't complain as I knew that before I bought the machine.

One thing I noticed in the pictures Short Game has posted is he appears to do a lot of chipping! I'm going to guess he uses his chipper more then many residential/small farm owners do.

 

[Combustix]

Aren't sharp blades the cat's meow? What a difference they make.

I've been filing and grinding and sharpening stuff for 40 years. I ran into all the right old-timers when I left LA without a clue to come up to the Washington Coast. I had a natural talent for making things dull and then running them that way. The old guys had to get me turned around.

I think I have your old talent. When I get home I'm pulling my blades and seeing if I can get them sharp.

 

[Short Game]

...(although I think everyone complains about the chips falling under the chipper). I can't complain as I knew that before I bought the machine.

One thing I noticed in the pictures Short Game has posted is he appears to do a lot of chipping! I'm going to guess he uses his chipper more then many residential/small farm owners do.

I lived with the chips blowing out on the ground for the first few months. I even spent that few months building my trailer dumping device just to deal with it. Even with that, it was still a pain getting them into the trailer, so then I built the blower. As many chips as I was making, I knew I would want more.

Between our combined pieces of property, I and my neighbors have quite a bit of woodlot. I get everyone's woodshed filled each year as a service project. This makes for lots of branches and brush to chip. At first I combined the chips with cow manure from a local farmer to make compost. The manure was so dirty and full of rocks that I stopped that and got given a fairly worn out sickle bar and started combining chips and fresh cut grass. That worked better anyway. Now we just top-dress with the chips.

I have an interest in learning to grow mushrooms. I have done shiitake logs, inoculated with sawdust spawn. But I want to try, along with more logs, growing them on plastic bags of chips.

This pic is from yesterday. I'm picking these after lunch. Those logs are four years old and I don't know for how much longer they'll produce. I am going to be making mushroom logs for my next try today. Should be better with a little experience under my belt.

 

[RoyJackson]

I lived with the chips blowing out on the ground for the first few months. I even spent that few months building my trailer dumping device just to deal with it. Even with that, it was still a pain getting them into the trailer

Just out of curiousity, why did you buy a chipper/shredder you knew dropped the chips under it?
When I bought my used Woods 5000, it was the nicest PTO driven chipper/shredder I could find for the money I budgeted ($1000-$1500). Can't say I really cared about the shredder part, but it is a lot handier then I expected.
My use is 4-8 hours chipping/shredding 3-4 times a year. My total amount of chips in a year might be what you get in one or two sessions, based upon the pictures you attached.
In retrospect, you probably didn't buy the best chipper for your needs. A Valby 140 or 160 would likely have been a better choice (more money though).

 

[Short Game]

Let's just say I started out ignorant and was about to learn something. Yes, as I said earlier, I would opt out of a shredder and the straight chippers mostly don't even need blowers.

Thirty eight years ago, I tried to borrow from a bank to get a shredder and a rear-tine tiller. The banker took one look at the hippies across his desk and sent us packing. I was reading my Mother Earth News and Organic Farming and Gardening and thought I had to have one. I eventually got a used gas powered five horse and learned what torture they are for a pitiful few chips. I gave that machine to a community garden group in town.

Still trying to get by on the land. The hair is cut short to keep it out of power tools. The pastures are now a top grade disc golf course. And my blood pressure is 110 over 70.

 

[Gordon Gould]

My experience is the same as Roy's. I bought my BearCat used about 6 years ago and have never had any trouble with it.
It's to bad that you are having so many problems - doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Short Game]

Maybe it's because it's color coordinated with your tractor.

You must have had to jump to get that pic with the chips still flying.

 

[teg]

What's the method for posting linking thumbnails?

Either click on the "paperclip" on the top line of the reply box... Or scroll down below the Submit Reply and Preview Post buttons to the Additional Options, to the Attach Files... click on "Manage Attachments"

 

[Short Game]

Either click on the "paperclip" on the top line of the reply box... Or scroll down below the Submit Reply and Preview Post buttons to the Additional Options, to the Attach Files... click on "Manage Attachments"

Ah. A mystery solved. Thank you. I've asked that question before and no one ever told me. Soon I may get the secret handshake and decoder ring.