Looking for pto chipper--hard decisions

[bher]

I have been following chipper posts on tractorbynet and other places over the past couple of years. I am in the market for a chipper for my tractor (~25 pto hp). I have 14 acres of woodland and I want to clear out about 1 acre for a partially wooded pasture. I also cut firewood and do general cleanup in selected areas of the property. After the pasture clearing, I would expect to use the chipper maybe 5 or 6 times per year. I may eventually clear out a few more acres of debris and undergrowth from the woods. I will do much of the work by myself. I suspect a powerfeed chipper would be more to my liking but at about double the cost, I am really struggling with the decision. Used chippers have been nearly impossible to find. The brands that I am considering are Salsco, Valby, Wallenstein, and Patu. The chinese chipper is not an option for me. The bearcats seem overpriced for what they are. I really like the Salsco 824, but at $5k+, it is a hard decision. I also looked at the Salco 627. This looks like a pretty nice unit for $2900. It seems much like the Wallenstein BX60, but with the better customer service that I would likely get from Salsco. I really don't want to make a decision that I will regret and it is hard to get any real feedback. I have used a powerfeed rental chipper, but I do not have experience with a manual feed unit. What do you think? Know of any dealers in my area?

 

[dsgsr]

My neighbor has the Wallenstein, Power feed is not an issue. The feed throat is on an incline and gravity feeds the chipper. Seldom do you have to force something in. It also seems to be very well built.

David

 

[kully]

I used a valby ch140 with manuel feed all I can tell you is it gets old fast, I bought a beefco with 2 speed feed roll system I have had good luck with it and easy to used ,just put the branches in and walk away to get some more . the valby you had to stay with it ,when the branches got stuck you had to help push it in , it even had new blades on it ,work good but you had to stay with it

 

[Deerlope]

I have a Bear Cat 5" hyd feed and would not trade it for a Salsco on a bet. Believe me I looked at them all, did searchs for months. It finally came down to a Salsco or a Bear Cat at that point I campare item for item. Salsco had 2 chipper knives, BC had 4. BC had a heavyer rotor tham salsco. It does not take a chipper long to pull the RPM's down on these small tractors so the heavyer the rotor the better off you are. The more knives the smaller the chips will be.

 

[bher]

I am seeing prices of about $6500 for the 5" hyd feed bearcat. My local dealer quoted me $7000+freight. This seems really high. I am not sure if it has self-contained hydraulics or not. I think the Salsco 824 has a heavier (160 lb) rotor verses the bearcat (140). Also, it has a wider (8") opening. I know it matters to some people, but I could care less about the size of the chips. I would certainly consider a used bearcat <font color="red"> if </font> I could find one, but a new just does not seem like a very good value to me. Looks like I got two different opinions from the others posts. Easy feeding verses gets old fast. You guys are not making a hard decision much easier. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[markie61]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The chinese chipper is not an option for me. )</font>

Just curious - why not?

Mark

 

[AndyMA]

I have had a Valby CH150 manual feed and now have a CH160 hydraulic feed. They are both excellent chippers but there is no comparison. The hydraulic feed is so much easier on the operator. The manual feel is okay, but expect to be "bumped" arond quite a bit when you feed long brush. The hydraulic feed unit is so smooth that I acdiently left a can of soda on the unit and chipped for over an hour with out spilling a drop. I think the Valby line is tops in chippers. Line it up against the others and I think you 'll agree. Andy

 

[eee]

Could you use something like this to make mulch ?

 

[bher]

I did consider it for some time. But I decided that if I buy a piece of new equipment, I want to work with it and not on it. The chinese chipper has well known feed problems right out of the carton. I want a chipper that will last as long as the tractor. Some of you guys have "fixed" the feed problem, but I have to wonder if problems will happen again later.

 

[bher]

The powerfeed Valby is nice, but I have been concerned with the weight. I have a TC 29. Any thoughts as to how hard it is to lift?