Chipper Choosing proper Wallenstein Chipper for old Ford tractor or late model JD 1025R

[koakley255]

Hi All,

I have an old Ford 660 Tractor and a 5 year old JD 1025R. I have all but decided to get a Wallenstein PTO wood chipper. My research and budget have pointed me towards the Wallenstein BXS36 or the BXS52. Ideally, I would like to have the BXS52, but it's not recommended for the JD. I"m having difficulty finding reliable information on the PTO rating for the Ford 660. If I knew that the Ford could handle the BXS52, I would seriously consider that one. But even if it can handle it, I don't know how well it would run the larger wood chipper. Maybe it would run it perfectly fine, but I"m just not sure. The Ford tractor is old, but it runs pretty well so I suspect I'll keep it around the farm even if I don't use it that much. It was my father's tractor so it has sentimental value. With that said, I don't know if that tractor is well suited to run at high RPM's when you have a chipper attached to it. Again, maybe it would run perfectly fine. As for the JD, it's been a nice little tractor to get some things done. I know the BXS36 would work well with that, but I have to assume the BXS52 would not since the PTO rating for the JD is 18 HP. If anyone has any experience running PTO chipper with old tractors, I suppose that would help with my decision. The easy thing to do would be to run the BXS36 on the JD and that may be what I do, but need a little help getting clarity.

Thanks in advance.

Kevin

 

[cglaser104]

A quick check shows me your looking at about 28hp on a gasoline engine with the Ford 660. The 36S will run on both tractors which would be nice for convenience.

Since you have 2 tractors and no need to rid yourself of one the question really becomes how healthy and vibrant is the ford 660 to handle this task? How many hours is there on that old gas motor and can you realistically expect it to power that chipper for years to come? If the answer is yes, then you've got yourself a purpose for sentimental piece of machinery that was once your father's. If the answer is no, then your safer buying the one that can be powered by either machine.

 

[ericm979]

A larger chipper opening means less trimming. It also means you can chip larger diameter branches. You don't have to of course. But if you do, the added hp will make a significant difference.
Ford tractor parts are inexpensive and widely available. If it was me I'd get the larger chipper and run it on the ford.

My tractor has 32 pto hp to run my Woodmaxx 8" chipper. It does fine on brush but when I chip larger material I have to turn the hydraulic feed rate way down. Chipping it the one task where I wish I had more power.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

A half wore out "farm" tractor will still "out last" one of these new yuppie tractors! lol

SR

 

[oosik]

I ran a Wallenstein BX42S on a Ford 1700 ( 25 hp ) and now a Wallenstein BX62S on my Kubota M6040 ( 64 hp ). Both did/do just fine right up to their max diameter tree. About four years ago I chipped up four - old, age hardened apple trees. That definitely put the BX62S to its limits. Otherwise, I chip green pine trees. Butt first - no limbs removed.

 

[texas42]

Maybe this will help. I have a BX 42 Wallenstein which has a 4 x 10 inch opening.
I run it with a 2320 JD which is 18 pto hp.
I chip up to 3 inch hardwood (pecan ) with no issues.
At 4 inch it struggles but usually gets thru it. 4 inch pine no problem.

 

[DingDangKid]

A half wore out "farm" tractor will still "out last" one of these new yuppie tractors! lol

SR

My thoughts exactly! I've thought about picking up another 661 or 861 for winching and skidding work. I love my Kubota and it has it's places but those old farm tractors are built like tanks.

 

[Captain Dirty]

With a chipper I would rather an underpowered tractor and oversized chipper than the other way around. The larger chipper will likely have a heavier flywheel that will store more energy. Experience will tell you pretty quickly what size, type, dryness, knotted grain you can get away with. You can also tweak the knife to anvil distance to compensate somewhat for power. The large chipper will have a larger opening to accept the crooks and forks that are found in the real world rather than the bean-pole straight sections shown in the marketing videos.

That said, there are some physical size considerations. Will the 3 point lift the chipper's weight? Will the comparative heights of the tractor and chipper PTOs give a shaft angle less than 15ｰ? Weight might be a show stopper. There are work-arounds for the shaft angle that boil down to lifting logs higher or replacing shafts more often.

 

[Everhard]

My tractor with similar pto hp runs a 4" chipper without flinching, different unit than you're looking at but I also agree with Captain Dirty - better to underpower the tractor. As you're working away you'll know if you're starting to overload the tractor. And likely the old tractor will be able to run anything thru the chipper so leave the very heavy loads for that.