Fiziksgeek
Platinum Member
As the past weekend was coming to an end, and the wife and I were picking up the prunings from the days work, my wife turned to me and said "We need a chipper".
That seems to be a clear message to me, buy a new toy!
We produce a cargo van sized pile of small, ~1.5" or less prunings every year. Anything bigger than ~3" goes into the fireplace.
I have a Massey Ferguson GC2400 with 18.7 PTO hp.
I want a chipper/shredder, not just a chipper.
Budget ~$3000
There are 3 models that come to mind immediately.
Mackissic TPH-184
Wallenstein BXM32
Bear Cat SC5540
MacKissic is american made, good quality, been arond forever, always gets great reviews. They also have the smaller unit, TPH-123 which might do what I need, but I would prefer the slightly bigger unit for power/longevity. They are also sold under the Merry Mac name.
I like the high discharge chute on the Wallenstein. On the other two, the chips just fall out the lower side of the unit and pile up. Maybe that is not a big deal since I am not doing big commercial jobs, but the high chute would allow me to point it into the trailer or a truck if I were moving the chips around. It's the only unit without a discharge screen, so the chips may be not as even as the other two units, however, it won't clog either.
I might be a little underpowered for the Bear Cat, but I've seen people post good reqults with less hp than me. I wouldn't get full chipping capacity, but I am unlikely to need it. The chipper disk is 112lbs vs ~70 on the other two. I would think this would make it easier on the tractor. More mass, less power to keep up momentum on larger or harder wood. It also has 4 chipping blades, vs, 2 on the others.
What other brands/models are out there for consideration?
I know DR has one, but it looks darn similar to the Mackissic, and is $500 more expensive MSRP. I also kow Woods sells the Bear-cat unit under their own name (Woods 5000 chipper/shredder).
Opinions/comments/ramblings welcome!
That seems to be a clear message to me, buy a new toy!
We produce a cargo van sized pile of small, ~1.5" or less prunings every year. Anything bigger than ~3" goes into the fireplace.
I have a Massey Ferguson GC2400 with 18.7 PTO hp.
I want a chipper/shredder, not just a chipper.
Budget ~$3000
There are 3 models that come to mind immediately.
Mackissic TPH-184
Wallenstein BXM32
Bear Cat SC5540
MacKissic is american made, good quality, been arond forever, always gets great reviews. They also have the smaller unit, TPH-123 which might do what I need, but I would prefer the slightly bigger unit for power/longevity. They are also sold under the Merry Mac name.
I like the high discharge chute on the Wallenstein. On the other two, the chips just fall out the lower side of the unit and pile up. Maybe that is not a big deal since I am not doing big commercial jobs, but the high chute would allow me to point it into the trailer or a truck if I were moving the chips around. It's the only unit without a discharge screen, so the chips may be not as even as the other two units, however, it won't clog either.
I might be a little underpowered for the Bear Cat, but I've seen people post good reqults with less hp than me. I wouldn't get full chipping capacity, but I am unlikely to need it. The chipper disk is 112lbs vs ~70 on the other two. I would think this would make it easier on the tractor. More mass, less power to keep up momentum on larger or harder wood. It also has 4 chipping blades, vs, 2 on the others.
What other brands/models are out there for consideration?
I know DR has one, but it looks darn similar to the Mackissic, and is $500 more expensive MSRP. I also kow Woods sells the Bear-cat unit under their own name (Woods 5000 chipper/shredder).
Opinions/comments/ramblings welcome!