Looking to purchase chipper for JD3720

[a330driver]

I'd like some opinions on purchasing a chipper for taking care of 60 acres of hardwoods. Want to know which models are considered the most reliable and effective for taking care of hardwood trees up to 8" in diameter. Also would like to know pluses, and minuses of a hydraulic feed system.

 

[greg_g]

A 3720 isn't really a 60 acre tractor. I have a 6" Chinese chipper behind mine, and - whereas it will accept up to a 6" softwood, I have to draw a 4" line at the hardwoods. The time it would take to do 60 acres would - to me - seem to be undue wear and tear on a rather over-priced little CUT. Have you considered renting a commercical-grade self-powered chipper? That then frees up the 3720 for other less demanding tasks.

//greg//

 

[a330driver]

A 3720 isn't really a 60 acre tractor. I have a 6" Chinese chipper behind mine, and - whereas it will accept up to a 6" softwood, I have to draw a 4" line at the hardwoods. The time it would take to do 60 acres would - to me - seem to be undue wear and tear on a rather over-priced little CUT. Have you considered renting a commercical-grade self-powered chipper? That then frees up the 3720 for other less demanding tasks.

//greg//

Hi Greg...I just have to manage it. Not taking it all out. I have some soft wood as well. Aspen,poplar,basswood,etc. Some box elder, and elm need to be taken out as well as thinning some soft maple. I am clearing two, or three areas to re-plant with chestnut, and sawtooth white oaks. Also wanted to get some opinions on how/what you do with the chips? Let them just lay on the ground and become mulch, or do you remove, and burn? I am not really concerned with anything more than just managing the land for hunting deer, and Turkey..except near my house, and adjacent to and along our 1/4 mile drive.

 

[tractchores]

It won't get you 8"' but the wallenstein bx62 would be a good fit for that tractor and job. I have the 4" on a 29 hp tractor and it works great even on max sized hardwoods.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Do you burn wood at all or have friends or family that do? Chipping up stuff at 8" takes a larger chipper. Myself I am into the towable chippers with Vermeer being one of the best you can get. You are looking for an attached chipper for your tractor which I have no experience. Cutting wood 6" and larger for firewood to burn, sell, or give away would be and option to consider. Hydraulic feed in my opinion is the best way to go also. Again just my bias since that is what I own. Having the wood pulled in while you grab more to keep feeding speeds up the whole process.
I am sure you will get plenty of advice on here about the good bad and ugly of chippers. :confused2:

 

[greg_g]

what you do with the chips?

Well, I use mine to keep the treeline from infringing on my fencelines. I need enough room behind the fence to mow. So if the discharge chute happens to be facing the trees, I leave the chips as is. Raising the chute to it's highest level spreads the chips out over the widest area. If the chute is facing the pasture, I spread the chips by back-dragging with my front loader. Then I let them rot for compost. Any hardwood over 4" gets set aside to be section for firewood. I don't use it myself, but it firewood is a salable item that pays for the diesel fuel.

//greg//

 

[90cummins]

The feed opening is 12" which makes feeding twisted branches & complete trees much easier.
I have quite a few PTO powered items but I felt my 1720 ford was too small for what I needed to chip.
I position the chipper with my ford and then cut & drag the trees to the chipper using the bucket to lift & start feeding the tree into the chute.
This works for me as I work alone most of the time.

 

[a330driver]

Do you burn wood at all or have friends or family that do? Chipping up stuff at 8" takes a larger chipper. Myself I am into the towable chippers with Vermeer being one of the best you can get. You are looking for an attached chipper for your tractor which I have no experience. Cutting wood 6" and larger for firewood to burn, sell, or give away would be and option to consider. Hydraulic feed in my opinion is the best way to go also. Again just my bias since that is what I own. Having the wood pulled in while you grab more to keep feeding speeds up the whole process.
I am sure you will get plenty of advice on here about the good bad and ugly of chippers. :confused2:

Yes, and I also give it away to friends when it is good enough to try and burn. But unfortunately aspen/poplar, basswood,box elder is all "GOPHER" wood. As soon as it's put on a fire your (Going for more). So I guess that will be a job for a heavy duty rental in the 12" range.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Around here a free sign on wood even if it is junk wood like cottonwood and people come and haul it away. The stuff is very low heat content wood. The timber companies here grow it because it is fast growing and use it to make toilet paper because that's all it is good for is c----y jobs. So the name A330 driver wouldn't be a reference to piloting a rival jet manufacturer would it?

 

[Gordon Gould]

Welcome to TBN.
Why chip it at all ?? I have a large wood lot to manage also. I have a chipper too. I cant imagine chipping everything that I cut or falls in the woods. What a tremendous amount of work. I only chip stuff around the house and along the road. For anything in the woods I take what firewod I want and just cut the rest up a little so it lays close to the ground and rots quicker. All that woody debris is great for wildlife of all kinds and it is also fertilizer for the trees you leave. It provides the bottom level of the food chain as it rots. Leave it where it lays or build some brush piles for small mamals and birds. Do mother nature a favor.
Of course this is only my opinion. If you want to chip it all that is fine with me - more power to you.

 

[a330driver]

Around here a free sign on wood even if it is junk wood like cottonwood and people come and haul it away. The stuff is very low heat content wood. The timber companies here grow it because it is fast growing and use it to make toilet paper because that's all it is good for is c----y jobs. So the name A330 driver wouldn't be a reference to piloting a rival jet manufacturer would it?

Yes but it's because of the NWA merger with Delta..I was on the 747- 400 but will never get back in lieu of a seniority issue of ..24 years at 54 looking at 45 year old pilots I used to train in the Navy with 1800 numbers on me ?...Should have washed their asses out..LOL!

 

[XSKIER]

It won't get you 8"' but the wallenstein bx62 would be a good fit for that tractor and job. I have the 4" on a 29 hp tractor and it works great even on max sized hardwoods.

My neighbor has a bx62 mounted to a Deere 1020. Very nice! Smooth, feeds itself easily, and high quality unit.

 

[Lebneh]

I've got a 3720 and I picked up a Frontier WC1205. I don't have a ton of time on the machine but I haven't had any problems. We chip mostly small oak trees and pine. The hydraulic feed is nice because you can reverse if anything gets jammed up and because it doesn't rely on gravity the feeding mouth is much easier to access.

the machine if pretty large. It looks a little funky on the 3720 but other than that I have not had any problems. Let me know of you have any specific questions and I can try t answer.

 

[a330driver]

I've got a 3720 and I picked up a Frontier WC1205. I don't have a ton of time on the machine but I haven't had any problems. We chip mostly small oak trees and pine. The hydraulic feed is nice because you can reverse if anything gets jammed up and because it doesn't rely on gravity the feeding mouth is much easier to access.

the machine if pretty large. It looks a little funky on the 3720 but other than that I have not had any problems. Let me know of you have any specific questions and I can try t answer.

YEs ..What size diameter trees can you effectively chip without bogging down the tractor, and are the blades quality steel?..Thanx!

 

[Lebneh]

Here are a couple pics of the type of stuff I chip.

 

[Sterff]

Have you considered renting a large portable chipper? Id imagine it would be cheaper than buying a new one if it's a one time job.

 

[a330driver]

Have you considered renting a large portable chipper? Id imagine it would be cheaper than buying a new one if it's a one time job.

Yes! As a matter of fact I decided to first get a NAI light root grapple for getting all of the stuff piled up, and then will rent from a local implement rental store. I have too much big stuff right now. But I would still like to get one sooner, or later!...Thanks for all of your help!