Hydraulic Chipper/Shredder Project

[smartguyz]

However, the trade off is you have another engine to maintain. Personally, I want to have as few engines to maintain as possible... (snip)

Lots to consider for each person.

Yes, Mossy is right. When I was a teenager, I LOVED small engines, and thought that they represented power and freedom in the yard. Now, I see them as ANOTHER thing to maintain.

That's part of why I lean towards a hydro shredder solution - it would be very low maintenance. The rough cut mower is like that - it only gets used a few times a year (although it does quite a bit of work during those times) and then gets cleaned and greased and put away, usually for several months. So long as I keep it dry, I don't have to worry about it - no gas, no spark plugs, no fuel, no belts, nothing. Very very low maintenance. Love it!

-Rob

 

[BobRip]

As J_J mentioned, it appears to be only a shredder, not a chipper/shredder.

Having operated a shred only unit in my youth and I gotta tell you I would not proceed with the project. Burning fuel to shred leaves that will rot on their own with little labor on my part never made sense. My dad made me operate the unit for days on end each fall. Rake, haul, dump, pick up by hand, put in shredder, repeat.

I finally convinced him to push the leaves into a corner of the yard and let them rot into compost. I still do that in my yard to this day, only with a twist. I mow the leaves with my PT, which shreds them, and I TOW a Brinley lawn sweeper cart behind the PT as I go. The leaves get shredded AND picked up in the same motion. Then I dump them in a corner of my yard and use them in flower beds, garden, etc... as needed.

I don't mean to be a downer. If you have a use for the shredder, I think you have the perfect donor unit there. Low, low cost and should be easy to swap out the gas motor for a hydraulic motor.

I think your calculations are correct. You have to decide on the size of the motor and pulley. You might want to pose the question in the hydraulics forums as to if it is better to use gear up, gear down, or 1:1 on the motor and see if anyone can give you an advantage for either way to achieve the proper RPM of the shaft.

Just to back Moss up, my father had the same unit when I was a kid and it seemed of marginal or even negative value. A five horse power shredder is just too small to be of value.

 

[smartguyz]

UPDATE: After ripping the cylinder head off and cleaning all the carbon off the valves and piston, etc., I did start it up, and it was smoking and shooting flames. I started it again today, and allowed it to run for a few more minutes to burn off all the extra oils and solvents I used on it. Lo and behold! It stopped smoking and stopped shooting flames. Eureka! It's cured. Power is what you would expect for a 5HP Briggs of that vintage.

OK, BobRip and Moss are totally right. 5HP Shredder is pretty wimpy. It does a stellar job on branches up to about 3/4" in diameter, 1" if they are green. That said, it's not the worlds best device, and is of less value than I thought. On the plus side, it is very solidly constructed, and with proper care, and perhaps a repower (I would do an 8 or even a 10-11HP modern engine) it would do a fine job shredding.

I've convinced myself I want a combo chipper shredder. For my property, a chipper is as important as the shredder, if not more so. Now that this little guy is up and running properly, I think I'll clean it up (wire brush off all the unslightly surface rust) and hit it with a little glossy green paint, then put it up for sale. Someone must have a lot of shrubs to shred around here.

Thanks for the input guys, I'm now trolling for a more robust donor platform for my hairbrained project.

-Rob

 

[smartguyz]

By the way, I did see an Ingersol Hydro chipper/shredder on the auction site, Item 270527922135 Starting bid is $599, and he just keep popping it up there every week with a lower starting price. I figured if I could get it cheap and get it shipped to Oregon cheap, that would be the way to go!

I emailed him asking about the PTO requirements, and got this response:

"11.25 @ 3600 rpm
Can be safley opperated between 9pmg-13gpm"

Well, if I interpret that correctly, the 425 is just too small to do the job.

Oh well, it looks like $500 worth of shipping from PA, so that's a no-go! Boo!

-Rob

 

[MossRoad]

Check with some of your local lawn mower repair shops and see if they have any with blown engines. I was going down this path a few years ago until I realized I didn't really need one. A local shop had several older used units in back, but all had good engines. He said he would remove an engine for me and knock a hundred bucks off of it if I really wanted it. At the time, that was a pretty good offer, looking back on it.

So, just a thought for other possible sources.

 

[smartguyz]

UPDATE:

After solvent washing, wire-brushing, pressure washing, air-drying, and then painting the circa 1976-shredder, I was ready to re-power it.

After calculating out the costs of my hydro project, I happened upon a Harbor Freight flyer in the paper. Good grief, a cheapo Chinese 6.5HP engine for $99. Wow. That will be significantly less expensive than trying to convert this to hydro. *Sigh*

Well, I went ahead and picked up an engine, and here's what she looks like now...

I filled the engine with 30wt non-detergent oil, warmed her up, and 'broke her in' by shredding a bunch of brush and branches (some up to 1 3/4" thick!). Wow. It is simply unstoppable. Moss was right - it's like some kind of giant blender. The 6.5HP Chinese Clone engine, which appears to be a copy of a Honda GX200, starts easily, and is quite powerful. It is easy to start, runs quietly, and has a fair amount of torque. It has transformed this shredder into a beast!

I have found that this model of Hammer Mill Shredder-Grinder, MacKissic model 9PT, is designed to ingest virtually any kind of organic yard debris, up to and including mid-sized branches. It makes a racket, but doesn't really throw debris far or hard. It mostly captures stuff in the shredding chamber and beats the snot out of it using 24 swinging pieces of hardened bar stock.

It is very very tough. I don't think that anything short of a largish rock would stop this thing. I'll have to take a video.

Anyway, my hydro shredder project didn't end up as a hydro anything. Boo. At least I have a pretty decent shredder that is doing a good job clearing yard waste.

Thanks for all the kind replies and suggestions. I appreciate you guys.

-Rob

 

[KentT]

I have the same Mighty Mac, about the same vintage, except mine has the side-feed chipper/flywheel in addition to the shredder. Someone has replaced the original white 5HP Briggs with a later model 5HP black Briggs. It does well on smaller stuff 2" or so, but chips slowly when the limbs are bigger. It's easy to bog the engine down with bigger limbs. I've meant to yank the side off and see if the chipper blades need sharpening or adjusting -- but that hasn't made it to the top of the list yet.

I picked it up for $250 with the thought of possibly driving it with one of the old 12.5ci wheel motors that I replaced on my PT. But after using it, I've found that I prefer having the PT unattached so I can use the grapple bucket to haul the stuff to the chipper. Plus, hydraulic systems are only about 80% efficient anyway due to heat/friction, so I think it's terrible overkill to use a 25HP engine in lieu of a 5 -12 HP engine (12HP is the largest size MacKissic has used on this size chipper)...

Now, I'm thinking of using that good 5HP engine to replace the oriiginal on my old 1989 model Troybilt Pony tiller that's starting to smoke a little -- and just putting a larger engine on the chipper. I've been looking at those Chinese clones too. A friend has one of the 3" water pumps with the 6.5HP engine on it, and it's doing well for the last three years or so. So, I've looked at the 6.5 - 13HP Chinese clones as a possible replacement. Keep us posted on how you like yours!

For some unexplainable reason, the 13HP engines are cheaper than the 11HP engines at some places:
http://www.homier.com/blue-max-13-hp-ohv-gasoline-engine-with-horizontal-shaft.html



No more than I use this thing, I just can't see spending big $$ for an engine for it...

 

[MossRoad]

UPDATE:

After solvent washing, wire-brushing, pressure washing, air-drying, and then painting the circa 1976-shredder, I was ready to re-power it.

After calculating out the costs of my hydro project, I happened upon a Harbor Freight flyer in the paper. Good grief, a cheapo Chinese 6.5HP engine for $99. Wow. That will be significantly less expensive than trying to convert this to hydro. *Sigh*

Well, I went ahead and picked up an engine, and here's what she looks like now...

I filled the engine with 30wt non-detergent oil, warmed her up, and 'broke her in' by shredding a bunch of brush and branches (some up to 1 3/4" thick!). Wow. It is simply unstoppable. Moss was right - it's like some kind of giant blender. The 6.5HP Chinese Clone engine, which appears to be a copy of a Honda GX200, starts easily, and is quite powerful. It is easy to start, runs quietly, and has a fair amount of torque. It has transformed this shredder into a beast!

I have found that this model of Hammer Mill Shredder-Grinder, MacKissic model 9PT, is designed to ingest virtually any kind of organic yard debris, up to and including mid-sized branches. It makes a racket, but doesn't really throw debris far or hard. It mostly captures stuff in the shredding chamber and beats the snot out of it using 24 swinging pieces of hardened bar stock.

It is very very tough. I don't think that anything short of a largish rock would stop this thing. I'll have to take a video.

Anyway, my hydro shredder project didn't end up as a hydro anything. Boo. At least I have a pretty decent shredder that is doing a good job clearing yard waste.

Thanks for all the kind replies and suggestions. I appreciate you guys.

-Rob

Hey, that looks real nice. Good to hear it is working for you. I like the third picture with the flowers the best. Looks like something out of Home & Garden.

 

[smartguyz]

KentT,

The 6.5HP works really well on the shredder. I think it would work well on other units.

I am amazed at how well the Chinese Clone engine is working. Granted, it is NOT as nice as a genuine Honda. The amount of metal chips and debris coming out of the engine during break-in is absolutely phenomenal. I have already changed the oil 4x, after 20 minutes, and after each 40 minutes of use. The Hondas, when new, would have a few chips after the first 20 minutes, and then never again after that. After 4 changes, the Chinese clone is still spitting out chips. Wow. However, it costs about 1/4 of the price of a new Honda, so 4x the chips is perhaps appropriate?

Anyway, it seems to be holding together well. The 6.5HP Chinese Clone is a LOT more powerful than the old 5HP Briggs.

The top-of-line MacKisssic has an 8HP Honda GX240, an engine with which I am quite familiar. It comes on a lot of rental equipment. A new one would set you back anywhere from $500-700 depending where you buy it. Is is a VERY nice small engine, however. That's without a centrifugal clutch.

If you are on a tight budget, I think that the 6.5HP Chinese Clone, especially if you can get one for around $99 at Harbor Freight, is the deal to beat.

You will need to figure out how to get the centrifugal clutch off the Briggs, however. Good luck with that. I realized after a couple of days trying, that it was just futile. I actually drilled out the two set screws, and used a 4 Ton puller and a LOT of PB Blaster in an attempt to pull the old clutch off. No joy. I felt I would destroy the engine shaft before the clutch would move. The clutch, which had rusted onto the output shaft for the last 35 years, was 'as one' with the shaft and would not be parted.

I bought a new clutch from gokartsupply dot com for around $65 delivered. Lowest price on the net I could find. All the clutches are made by TorqueMaster. So, the total cost of a re-power is around $165 if you follow my fiendish plan.

IF you decide you want bigger, I'd look at the 11HP clone of the GX340, which would be quite powerful. It has electric start as well. They sell for around $250 on-sale at Harbor Freight. However, it would require a centrifugal clutch with a 1" bore, which typically go for around $150. This would put you at $400 to repower, but it would be unstoppable.

Personally, it seems to me that the 6.5HP clone is the value to beat at this point.

Good luck, let us know what you do.

-Rob

P.S. The OHV Clone is a LOT easier to start than the old 5HP Briggs. Can do it with one quick and easy pull.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Rob,

Nice project. I have a MacKisssic PTO version with a chipper and shredder together. I find when I use the shredder if you do not let go fast enough when putting brush into the hopper it will pull your hand/forearm into the top of the hopper. Do that a few times and it HURTS. What I did was add 3/4 heater hose and then 1" pipe insulation over the metal lip. Tied it on with a few plastic wire wraps. It takes the sting out now.:thumbsup: