Leaf Vac/Chipper/Shreadder

[Browneyesvictim]

I'm in the market for a chipper/shredder. I've also been toying with the idea of self feeding the shredder from the Mid Mount Mower "on the fly" for leaf cleanup in the fall. Perhaps I'm asking too much versatility to do both, but I'm thinking that shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
I am coveting the Wallenstein BXM32 but looking for input for ideas. Is there another unit that is better suited for what I want to do?

Here are my questions:
- Will the shredder have enough vacuum to keep the mower discharge ductwork flowing?
- Can the shredder keep up?
- I want to attach a small tow behind trailer to the Wally to catch the leaf mulch coming out of the chute. Is this feasible or must the BHM32 be set on the ground to operate only? I realize I may have to fab up reinforcement or add framework for adding the hitch.
- Should I forgo the 3-pt mount PTO drive chipper/shredder and go with an engine driven unit to mount on the tow behind trailer?

Last summer I experimented with a Stihl leaf blower/vac that I have and attached it to the discharge chute of the mower with 5" flexible ducting. The concept proved out ok, but the Stihl lacked the power and size I need to keep up effectively. Ive looked at tow-behind units like the Trac-Vacs, Agri-Fab, and DR PRO XL, Cyclone Rake, etc but they look like too small of a wood chipper to me. I keep going back to the Wally.

 

[Amvcane]

I find that a chipper/shredder does just that, it's not a vacuum. I used an 8hp unit that had a 6" hose to vacuum and it was a waste of time, not much suction at all. There was no impeller (like a walk behind leaf blower or vac) just a bunch of flying knives to shred and provide air flow. You will be better off making a leaf collection system (eg. Cyclone rake) and have a separate wood chipper. I have an old 8hp Billy Goat leaf vac that I plan to use in a leaf collection system. Even a walk behind leaf blower will work. As for chipping , I just pile all the branches in the corner of the property. Crush them down with the loader a couple times a year.

 

[Bill Hoffman]

I think you're looking at 2 different attachments.

 

[Browneyesvictim]

The Echo Bearcat 5540 has a blower attachment for an additional $800 (or $2K for the 2-speed). They also offer a vacuum hose kit that may work
ECHO Bear Cat | Products

The Wallenstein discharges the material by means of an impeller in the rotor design which eliminates the need for the blower.

That is why I am deducing there is the vacuum on The Wallenstein unit unlike most all other chipper/shredders. Perhaps I'm all wet...

 

[CalG]

I think what you are wanting is a very logical request.

I have the McKissick 3pt C/S unit that is pretty much equal to the Bear Cat or Wally on rough terms. The "blower" attachment would definitely be required to extract leaves from a mower and send them through the shredder. The shredder it's self pulls almost no air. If the Wally has a useful blower "built in", that would be a boon.

It all would seem to get a bit bulky to trailer around a small yard with LOT'S of leaves.

But I'm all ears though!

 

[CalG]

removed. 'not sure how the post got in this thread ;-)

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Hmmm...Nice idea, but not sure it will work. I haven't run it since last fall, but I have a BXM32 and I don't recall there being any noticeable "suction" either the chipper chute or the shredder hopper. Maybe if you sealed up the chute/hopper well...Also, the shredder hopper is way up on top, not the best path for smooth flow of material. Since I don't think it will have much suction, and I doubt the mower deck won't be able to push any quantity of leaves all the way up there either....

I also have a PTO powered, hard shell, quick dump grass catcher. It mounts on the 3 pt hitch and uses a pto powered impeller to create suction.

I know some trailer style machines, like the trac vac 880 I believe, or the larger DR models, have a small capacity chipper chute on them, but no shredder style hopper..

 

[CalG]

It's only a matter of design
Salsco 616CSV 4-Inch 16HP Tow-Behind Chipper Shredder Vacuum

 

[Fiziksgeek]

It's only a matter of design
Salsco 616CSV 4-Inch 16HP Tow-Behind Chipper Shredder Vacuum

Boy, that's pricey...But it does seems to hit most of the desires. Chips/shredds/vacuums. Looks like with a mower deck adapter, that hose could take the output from a MMM. The only downside (besides price) I see is the collection bag. Doesn't look very big. Maybe some sort of custom built hopper would solve that..?

 

[Browneyesvictim]

Yowza! That is a bit pricey. That could work, but still doesn't hit all my wickets. Why spend the labor to feed a leaf shredder by hand when you can mow/suck process it I would prefer PTO drive as it would save cost and save space. I cant tell by the video if this one is shredding at all as it vacs. I'm coming to the conclusion that vacs don't shred and shredders don't vac.

Bummer about no vacuum on the Wally BXM but thank you for answering that question. Now I'm definitely leaning towards a Woods or Bearcat and adding the blower and hose attachment.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

I think you are right, the two principles seem to be mutually exclusive. Suction is created by a fan, shredding in created by hammer or knives. In general, there is a small reduction in volume with the leaf catchers/vacs, but nothing like you would get with a nice shredder. In fact, if reducing leaves is part of your plan, you may want to look at a chipper/shredder with an output screen, like a Mackissick. You can get various size output screens for them.

I wonder how much suction the blower kit creates on the Woods or Bearcat chippers? Since they are bottom discharge units, you need to blower kit to get the chips to go up and out a top discharge chute. The Wally is designed to top discharge fro the get go. There is definitely wind coming out of it, and it can blows the chips quite far, but again, my impression is that that does not lead to lots of suction on the intake.

 

[CalG]

Watching the video, I didn't notice much "vacuum" action at the shredder hopper. I wonder how well the system works.

 

[Browneyesvictim]

Fast forward to 1:55 to get an idea of the suction power of the Bearcat.
https://youtu.be/O_5uM1YGnWg
Certainly looks like plenty, and will work for me! But that dang 2-speed blower is almost as much as the chipper!
Bearcat MSRP:
Chipper=$2995
Blower= $2299
Hose kit $ 799
Total $6093

(Not including shipping, screens or mower discharge adapter) Although I see there is a $500 discount sale for this size chipper from Bearcat starting Monday.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Fast forward to 1:55 to get an idea of the suction power of the Bearcat.
https://youtu.be/O_5uM1YGnWg
Certainly looks like plenty, and will work for me! But that dang 2-speed blower is almost as much as the chipper!
Bearcat MSRP:
Chipper=$2995
Blower= $2299
Hose kit $ 799
Total $6093

(Not including shipping, screens or mower discharge adapter) Although I see there is a $500 discount sale for this size chipper from Bearcat starting Monday.

Well that certainly seems like plenty of suction with those block off plates to seal the inputs up nicely. Makes me wonder if the Wally would produce enough suction for your needs with block off plates like those.

So the bearcat, with the blower option would hit all your needs, just need a mower deck adapter and some sort of hopper to hold the leaves. Might be able to attached some sort of hitch to the back on the chipper/shredder and tow a trailer to catch the leaves...?

 

[Browneyesvictim]

Well, I pulled the trigger on a used Bearcat with the 2-speed blower on Ebay. Now just working on freight to get here so I can get some actual measurements.

This is all getting installed on a Mahindra MAX 25 with 60" MMM. Mahindra does not offer a mower deck boot/chute. I think the Cyclone Rake Mower Deck Adapter with hose and connections should do the trick. Cyclone Rake Mower Deck Adapter

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Trac-vac would be another option for a mower deck adapter, cyclone rake might be cheaper/easier to get. Just make sure it matches the hose size from Bearcat. I don't see the pics, but it says tractor and trailer, do you plan to modify the trailer to collect the leaves as you drive along?

 

[Browneyesvictim]

That's the idea. (Im having technical difficulties uploading the pics. Sorry.) The Bearcat Vacuum hose is 8" and so is the mower deck adapter for Cyclone Rake. Trac-vac would be another good choice.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

I'm excited to see how this turns out!

 

[Browneyesvictim]

Think it will work?




Looks like I can attach a piece of square tubing underneath the right-hand 3-pt attachment arm of the bearcat for the hitch stinger.

You can see the angle of the PTO shaft is pretty sharp when the 3-pt is raised very far so I'm limited a bit on "on the fly" clearances.

Ordered a metal trac-vac chute that is made to fit my 60" Mahindra belly mower deck. Actually its the only one I could find for it that wasn't "universal" or "custom" fit.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Got busy for a few days there. Made any more progress? With the chipper and a trailer attached, you'll have a lot of weight on the rear of the tractor. I'd guess you'll need to leave the FEL on, or add some front weights to counter balance. As you mentioned, not a lot of ground clearance back there also, watch transitions between flat and slopes and bumps etc where the unit might drag on the ground.