Chpper adjustment

[rd_macgregor]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread on chippers with my question, hence the new thread. I have a Wallenstein BX62 that I bought last year, but my question is more generic for chippers in general. I'd like to know what the effect of different blade spacing is. Does a slightly wider spacing make the chipper take bigger bites, feed faster and risk jamming more frequently? I presume that a smaller blade spacing would make finer chips, but would it prevent the chipper from self-feeding or cause some other operational problem?

I don't have a feeler gauge, but my Wallenstein apparently specifies a blade setting about halfway between the thickness of a dime and the thickness of a hacksaw blade. How precisely do others set their blade spacing (relative to what factory spec is)?

Thanks,
BOB

 

[s219]

I seem to recall that the factory specs are somewhere between 1/32" and 1/16" for my BX-42. I eyeball it to about 1/16".

If the gap is too big, I think the bites will be too aggressive and the chipper will struggle. Too small and it won't be productive. I'll take the factory on their word that between 1/32" and 1/16" is about right. The chipper works darn good at that setting.

 

[rd_macgregor]

It sounds like I'm in the ballpark, then, since a dime is just under 1/16" and a hacksaw blade is (usually) pretty close to 1/32".
Thanks,
BOB

 

[Red Horse]

Well I have been wrestling with a Valby 150 for a month now. I think this is about the same size as your BX -62. Self feed, does 6" logs (supposedly!) and the flywheel weight is about 215 pds. When I bought it in Jan and started using it, worked fine until I broke a belt-my fault I had never read the manual on belt tension. So I replaced belts (not a fun job with a 60 lb pulley assembly and a 200+ pd flywheel) and had the knioves sharpenbed-by a pro outfit. worked fairly wellbut would not self feed. I then had the anvils sharpened.

Has not worked well. You can't feed a 3" branch without the vibration ripping it out of your hands. My spec is .020 to .033". And I'm using feeler gauge. I got it down to a reasonable feed but next step is to get the blades sharpened again. US distributor (grest people-Northeast Imp. in Spencer NY) tells me knife angle (30degrees) ismost critical.

My tractor by the way is a JD 4720 with 50 PTO HP. so it is NOT a power issue. In fact one of my kidsused it with his 2520 with no problem hndling 2" stuff.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I haven't tried to put anything quite 6" through mine yet, but last year had some issues with green spruce saplings. These are field-grown and tend to be fatter at the base. The first jam stopped the chipper, but didn't shear the pin...worse, it didn't stall the tractor, either; the tractor dropped a bunch of rpms, but kept running, presumably slipping the pto clutch until I could shut 'er down.
The second jam sheared the pin. Since the chips seemed pretty large/coarse, I thought maybe a tighter blade setting would reduce the bite size and feed rate making jams less likely...but I was worried that it might not self-feed anymore.
Having said that, the unit REALLY chews up brush (kind of scary to this newbie [maybe a good thing!]), so it sounds like I'm still a bit better off than you. I hope you get it tweaked to work just right; there are few things more frustrating than a (new, expensive!) piece of equipment that won't do its job as it should.
BOB