Chipper Liberty Chipper clogging

[Justus14]

I bought an 8 Pro series PTO Chipper from Liberty implements High Quality Chippers & Implements, they also make backhoes, tillers and mowers. From the day I received it I致e had problems with the unit clogging up. I have to shut down and clear it twice for every hour of operation. The blades are sharp, belts aligned and in good shape, running at 540 RPM on my B3200 Kubota. Chipping mostly 1 3 green hardwood, occasionally larger pine; do not see any pattern to what I feed it and when it clogs. Liberty thought it was a bad fitting discharge chute so they sent me a new one, fits as badly as the last one so I duct taped up the gap and it still clogs. Now Liberty is totally unresponsive. I think the unit has a design flaw or it痴 just cheap Chinese junk. Has anyone had a similar problem or found any solutions?

 

[RPW]

Before it clogs are the chips cutting cleanly or are they long and stringy?

 

[Lloyd_E]

My 4" wallenstein chipper clogs with small(1" or smaller) hardwood branches as well as soft wood branches. I find it I alternate small with large wood(2-4") the larger wood/chips helps keep the shut clear.
This happens when the blades are sharp as well as dull. I find when the shut is positioned to help create a nice curve/arc for material to travel it is less of a problem... of course alternating wood size and shut direction is not often possible. Hope this helps.

 

[RoyJackson]

If it's clogging on smaller stuff (an inch diameter), try feeding a bunch in at a time...say, 6-8 pcs (more, if possible). I have read that works better with dedicated chippers.
Mine is a chipper shredder...smaller stuff (at inch or less) goes in the shredder chute.

 

[Justus14]

RPW, thanks for the interest. Chips are clean. I've seen the long stringy ones produced by dull or damaged blades. The machine runs well just clogs. Very frustrating.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have heard that a silicone (? sp ) spray will help. Just something I heard somewhere.

 

[Justus14]

Gordon,

Thanks. I'll give it a try. WD-40 seems to fix about everything else.

Regards

 

[oosik]

My 4" wallenstein would choke on green pine needles. Too much pitch. I found running an old dry pine limb thru every 5 minuets or so would help a lot. Cheaper than WD-40 and probably just as effective - turpentine in a spray bottle. The idea is to clean out the pitch and lube the chute somewhat.

 

[oldballs]

Although my stand alone chipper/shredder is different than your Liberty chipper, I've found that it takes some time to learn the variations of material being fed, how dry/wet/green it is, how fast to feed, etc. Justus14, maybe a little more experience will help with the clogging problem. For example, I've found that there is no way my machine will do anything with yucca. It just balls up in the shredder. Good luck with your solution.

 

[Justus14]

Thanks Oosik, will give it a try.

 

[JRobyn]

My Morbank generates the draft for the discharge with "vanes" consisting of 4 pieces of angle iron about 3"x3"x4" long bolted to the back side of the cutter disk. The only time I have clogged mine is when I simultaneously fed some punky, crumbly, rotten pine and the RPMs bogged down to low to keep a really good draft going. Does yours possibly have a similar design except that some of the vanes are missing or bent flat?

- Jay

 

[Justus14]

Jay

My Liberty chipper does not have discharge vanes as you describe. Thinking about it I can see how such a feature would help to keep the unit clear. Something to think about, maybe I could build something like that, not a fun project. Would be changing the manufacturer's design which is concerning but I am coming to the conclusion that the unit has a design problem and some modification will be required. Thanks for the thought. Happy New Year.

 

[Herkypilot]

So far, so good with my Woodmaxx chipper. I've chipped a lot of pine branches without issue. I believe they claim the vent holes on the side of the chipper housing assist in keeping the chips moving. These small holes are on the PTO side of the chipper and just above the shaft/flywheel.

 

[oosik]

Strong air flow, however your unit achieves it, is important. I now cut my small pines and let them dry for a year before chipping. NEVER any problems if handled that way. And if I do chip green pines and green pine limbs - slow down the stuffing into the chute - let the unit clear the chips before feeding more and I seldom have plugging. Its when I get in a hurry and feed as fast as I can - then I can get problems.

And I use turpentine in two ways. Spray right down the chute while the unit is running or spray some on the smaller pine trees before chipping. I prefer right down the chute - not near as messy!