Gravity feed vs mechanical feed wood chipper

[Art812]

I wouldn't want a gravity feed chipper if you gave it to me. The blades have to be really sharp in order for them to draw the material in, after a short time the blades dull and you have to stuff the branches in by hand. I would lean toward the mechanical self feeding chipper (although I wouldn't buy a jimna, heard to many horror stories about them) My neighbor has a Woodmaxx and he doesn't ***** about it, so it must be OK since he bitches about anything he doesn't like. :thumbsup:

Art

 

[Viat]

We bought a Wallenstein BX62 a few years ago and were debating the manual vs automatic feed. In the end we pulled the trigger on the automatic feed and I'm very glad we did. When you hold onto a branch and it hits the spinning rotor it creates some serious vibration. I couldn't imagine chipping all the branches we do and manually feeding them -- not to mention how much faster and easier it is. I'd imagine it's a bit safer too.

It seems to be a pretty solid unit and I would recommend it. We are running it behind an old IH 856 (95 HP).

Another possibility is that you can buy the chipper without the automatic feed and then install the automatic feed chute on later. You can purchase the whole chute independent of the chipping unit.

 

[JOHNINMA]

I think as stated earlier it depends on the amount of usage you intend. I have the Bearcat sc5540 gravity fed chipper with shredder hopper and it works amazing for everything from leaves up to 5 inch limbs. I have it attached to my L3540 and after last years remnants of Hurricane Irene went thru I was able to clean up my yard as well as the surrounding neighbors with very little effort. I have had no feed problems although I admit if I were going to use the chipper all the time I would probably want one with the ability to feed limbs.

 

[apease]

I bought a gas-powered, gravity-feed chipper ten years ago for my house on 3/4 acre, to chip yearly tree trimmings. I haven't used it in years because it's such a pain. You have to stand there forcing trimmings into it, rather than placing material into the hopper and having it do the work. It's faster to pile trimmings in my trailer and take them to the dump 1/2 hr away. I wish I had spent three times as much and gotten something that works. Maybe other gravity-fed chippers are better, but I would certainly get a mechanical feed.

 

[Brant]

It really depends on your needs and budget. I've had a manual Patu DC65 for about 10 years. It's not really "gravity feed" as the knives do pull the material in. It's fine for general cleanup and very low maintenance. Cost was $2k used in great condition with extra knives. I personally would not a buy a mechanical power feed; I would only buy a hydraulic feed if I thought it was worth the (substantial) extra money for my needs.

 

[bikerdib]

Thanks for all the info everyone. As I stated, the only "gravity" feed unit I'm considering is the Wallenstein because from previous threads Iots of people with this brand said they were totally happy with gravity feed. Again, this is apparently because of 4 cutting blades instead of 2 plus the fact that the feed is at an angle to the flywheel instead of 90 degrees allowing the wood to be drawn in by the blades? I've kinda narrowed it down to either the Wallenstein or the Woodmaxx. I know there are even better machines out there but for my needs the extra cost isn't justified (remember, I said for my needs). I looked at the Tomcat in person and I don't like how difficult it would be to clear a clog. I can get a Woodmaxx 8" with Hydraulic feed shipped to my door for $2649 but I'm unsure about how difficult it will be to clear a clog. Also, it weighs 990# so I wonder if my B3300 will suffer. A local dealer said he could get the Wallenstein for me at $3000 plus local sales tax. I'll be using the machine mostly to dispose of dry limbs up to 3" in diameter, chip size doesn't matter to me.

 

[bikerdib]

BTW, one thing I do like about the Wallenstein is the simplicity of the unit, a lot less to give problems. It is also designed to be very easy to clear clogs as well as get to the blades for sharpening or replacement. I wish I could find someplace that offered free shipping on the Wallenstein which would put it at the same price as the Woodmaxx.

 

[bikerdib]

Anyone out there that can give me some hands on input about the Woodmaxx unit?

 

[Brant]

I can't help with hands-on experience with the Woodmaxxx, but I did just look at the website. It looks like a lot of chipper for the money but it's a far more complex design than than the Wallenstein. In the long term, I'd be shocked if there were not far more maintenance issues. On the upside, the belt drive for the chipping disc will give higher rpm and better chipping performance. On the downside, feeding the wood straight into the disc (not at an angle) is less efficient. Think about how you would use a wood chisel. This may not really matter though if you are only chipping dry 3-inch wood though.

 

[s219]

I took my time shopping around, and really didn't see a better option than the Wallensteins in terms of features, design, and price. Gravity feed pulls limbs in surprisingly well. I have a BX-42 chipper, running on a Kubota B2920.