I have searched and read all of the info I can find.. But haven't really answered my questions.
Anyone have a bearcat or similar chipper with a 24 horse or smaller tractor? The bearcat website says it can be used with down to 13HP diesel. That seems a bit low. The weight of the unit with self feed (either via PTO power or rear remote) is near 1000 lbs. I havent seen many tractors that small that could lift the weight.
Anyone have a self feed chipper? which one, and what are your HP recommendations?
There is a slight terminology issue here. Almost all chippers powered by tractors are "self-feeding" in that once you start a branch into the chipper chute, the cutting action, gravity, and geometry will gradually pull the branch inward.
In contrast, higher end chippers have "powered feeding" which utilizes hydraulics or mechanical drives to rotate gathering rollers to pull the material into the chipper.
My chipper-shredder is based on a Crary Bearcat 70554 design and it is self-feeding. (This unit is marketed by numerous companies including Woods, Steiner, and others.) This unit is designed to handle branches up to 5 inches in diameter. I power it with a 31 hp tractor and it works quite well. I have run it on a 20 hp tractor, and it worked OK but just not as fast.
The main limiting factor I have found with the self-feeding design is that the limbs have to be fairly straight to feed. It will not pull in large limbs with sharp kinks or thick multi-branches. I have to chain saw them into straight sections to get them to feed. For my needs I can live with this. A commercial operator would probably find it too limiting and go for a "power feed" model. The price goes up considerably for Power feed.
I have a Woods 5000 chipper/shredder which is the same as the Bearcat 70554. I have driven it with a 12hp PTO. Just work slower. This is a good machine and extremely well built.
I would want power feed. 70 acres and it has a lot of mess. Plan on chipping for years clearing paths, and chipping limbs from cutting 10 to 15 cords of firewood per year.
I guess a 29 horse tractor (approx 25 PTO hp) would work fine then. I cant imagine that the power feed takes more than a HP or two, or a GPM or two if set up hydraulic.
Most likely scenario is that I buy a cheaper old tractor in the 35 to 40HP range. Ill run the chipper with that (I know im looking at 5k for a chipper)
Then, down the road I can buy a little nicer CUT.. after i have paths and have all the rough stuff done by the old tractor.
We have a Crary Bear Cat chipper. I don't know the model # off hand but it has always worked well and is well built. We use it on our 33 horse tractor and 63 horse tractor with no problems. It is just the standard feed with no fancy hydraulics but it has 2 chutes to put sticks down. The shredder on the top and the chipper on the side.
I looked at their website and we have the 5'' chipper/shredder. I love it and ours is fairly old from 1992 and never had a problem although it is used once a year if that.
Take a look at a Valby CH160 w/ hydraulic feed. I've had both a CH150 self feed and the 160 with hydraulic and there is no comparison. I usually run it on my Ford 2120 34.5 PTO hp. It is rated for from 17 to 50 PTO hp. The chipper works great and is very well build. Numerous TBN members have them. Valby Chipper
