Buying Advice PTO chippers

rlfoisy · Oct 28, 2015

I have a 50 tree orchard that I prune once a year. It takes me two weeks to prune and chip all of the branches. My small Bear Cat chipper died, and so I am faced with the decision of what to replace it with a new chipper. The people at Wallenstein tell me that my Kubota L 3010 does not have enough horsepower to run their PTO driven hydraulic feed units. Woodmaxx tells me that my tractor would be fine to run their hydraulic feed models. I see a huge difference in models made either completely or partially in China and the ones made totally in the USA. The Woodmaxx MX 9900 is made completely in the USA, but is twice the money. I have no idea if it is worth the extra money, and there are no on-line reviews for the MX9900. Perhaps for only using a chipper two weeks out of the year, I would be better off renting a bigger chipper for a few days than buying one. Or perhaps, since I only use it once a year, perhaps the Chinese made units would last me. I don't even know how long these units last. The one I just wore out seemed to be sort of self destructive.
I would really appreciate some advice from someone in a similar situation.

davesl708 · Oct 28, 2015

Here we clear brush and dead trees twice a year. We rent a 9" chipper. Only a few hundred and get the wood ready before getting the chipper. Then there is no storage or maintenance.

Sawyer Rob · Oct 28, 2015

A thousand acres of orchard tree's start half mile east of me, NO ONE here chips the limbs off their tree's...

ALL of them (including me) moves the trimmings to the middle of the rows and runs them over with their tractor/rotary cutter...

It's MUCH faster, much less labor and works just fine!

SR

jeff9366 · Oct 28, 2015

I used a Wallenstein manual feed BX42s behind my Kubota for three years.

It never failed to feed pruned branches perfectly so long as the chipping blades (4) were reasonably sharp.

I chipped pruned Oak branches and grape vines, mostly.

Wallensteins are made in Canada.

tractorslinger · Oct 28, 2015

We are a full line Wallenstein dealer.

Parts - Sales - Service | Mutton Power Equipment - Fort Wayne Indiana

Fiziksgeek · Oct 28, 2015

If your only use is one time a year, renting sounds like the better option to me.

tman1020 · Oct 28, 2015

I have a Chinese made six-inch PTO chipper. It is a chipping son of a gun when it's working. But it has been problematic I have had to upgrade the driveshaft that powers the feed wheel and have had to change some bearings and belts and I don't have a ton of hours on it. It is handy to have around for the price I paid for it. One thing I wanted to mention the last time I trimmed up apple trees I saved all the chippings they make fantastic smoker chips. Bag up a bunch of them after they've dried up reasonably and throw A handful of them in one of those little smoker boxes for barbecue grills. Could possibly even sell them.

jloven · Oct 29, 2015

I have owned a woodmaxx chipper for over two years and it has been great! I did a ton of research before I purchased and really liked the features as well as the price compared to others. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the hydraulic feed wood maxx line of chippers.

oosik · Oct 29, 2015

I used a Wallenstien BX42 for years with no problems. When I purchased my new Kubota I also upgraded to a Wallenstein BX62. I thin stands of Ponderosa pines and chip them whole. In a normal year I will thin and chip 750-900 small pines. I've never found a need for a hydraulic in-feed system.

rlfoisy · Oct 29, 2015

I think you are probably all right. I probably should not buy a chipper. I like the idea of running a bushhog over the trimmings. Some of the trees I prune grow up to two inch branches each year. Do you suppose I would be able to chop up those branches with the bushhog?

DB Pilot · Oct 29, 2015

I've had my Wallenstein BX42 for 3 years now with no problems. What I like is the ease of blade sharpening and the nice chips it makes. :2cents:

Sawyer Rob · Oct 29, 2015

rlfoisy said:
I think you are probably all right. I probably should not buy a chipper. I like the idea of running a bushhog over the trimmings. Some of the trees I prune grow up to two inch branches each year. Do you suppose I would be able to chop up those branches with the bushhog?

A "good" rotary cutter will eat up 2" limbs, no problem at all...

SR

jeff9366 · Oct 29, 2015

rlfoisy said:
I like the idea of running a bushhog over the trimmings. Some of the trees I prune grow up to two inch branches each year. Do you suppose I would be able to chop up those branches with the bushhog?

You have 25-hp/PTO. I have run both a 48" King Kutter Rotary Cutter and my current Land Pride 60" Rotary Cutter behind tractors with 25-hp/PTO.

For chopping 2" trimmings I would buy a heavy weight 48" width RC rather than a moderate weight 60". You need to be able to spin the RC all the way to operating speed and have it maintain there. Heavier RC will have more momentum stored in its thicker revolving parts. Gear box ratings and implement weight are what you want to research. Heavy gauge deck is worth paying for. Chopped branches will be slamming agains the deck before being ejected out the rear.

There is a noticeable difference spinning a 48" Vs 60" RC with 25-hp/PTO.

Forty-eight inch cutter will also be more agile in your orchard.

Probably 95% of RC blades, bearings, gearboxes and other moving RC parts come from two plants in China, shipped here in bulk. When you buy a "brand" of RC, you are buying a brand name deck/housing and assembly skill. Gearbox on my Land Pride has "made in China" cast in the housing.

The other 5% are the humongous commercial models, like Brown Tree Cutters, origin Ohio.

The "standard" service 48" King Kutter was 100% reliable and the implement which established KK in the implement business. I recommend KK RC's.

I have never used one, but heavy duty KODIAK RC's get good reviews on T-B-N for value.

sixdogs · Oct 29, 2015

I recently rented a Vermeer 7" engine powered chipper and it was so good I chipped in 2 1/2 hours what I figured would take all day with a smaller PTO chipper. $160 for the day. Rent a chipper.

roadhunter · Jan 14, 2016

oosik said:
I used a Wallenstien BX42 for years with no problems. When I purchased my new Kubota I also upgraded to a Wallenstein BX62. I thin stands of Ponderosa pines and chip them whole. In a normal year I will thin and chip 750-900 small pines. I've never found a need for a hydraulic in-feed system.

How big of ponderosa pine trees are you chipping with the BX62?

I"m looking for a chipper to use on chunks of dried pine. Stuff about the size of split firewood. I really like the simple in feed system on this unit. How do you think this chipper would do feeding 5" pieces of pine that are a 2-5 ft long?

CDennyRun · Jan 15, 2016

roadhunter said:
How big of ponderosa pine trees are you chipping with the BX62?

I"m looking for a chipper to use on chunks of dried pine. Stuff about the size of split firewood. I really like the simple in feed system on this unit. How do you think this chipper would do feeding 5" pieces of pine that are a 2-5 ft long?

Pine is pretty soft. I would imagine any chipper rated for 5" or bigger would have no problem.

Chirs

oosik · Jan 15, 2016

roadhunter -
As I keep chipping my stands of pines - the pines get bigger and the stands have fewer trees. The upgrade to the BX62 has allowed me to chip the biggest trees that I can manhandle. Anything bigger than a 6" pine is just too darn big for me to pull out of the stand and lift up to the chipper. THE UNIT WOULD EASILY CHIP THE SIZE YOU SUGGEST - 5" by 5' and dried.

Believe me, a pine 25 to 30 feet tall and 6" on the butt is not an easy thing to pull around. I've tried limbing the trees and it does make it easier to move. But then I have to go back, gather up all the limbs and get them to the chipper. Since I chip so darn many every year I have a lot of opportunities to explore the quickest and easiest method of getting these buggers out of the stand and into the chipper. So far leaving them un-limbed - dragging them out - letting them sit for around 6 months to dry out somewhat appears to be the easiest. Having my son come out and help goes a long way also - ha,ha.

I have chipped some trees that chip easier than pine - birch, alder & quaken asp. These chip just like a big long candle. They chip so smooth that I don't even think the chipper notices.

The only problem I ever had with the Wallensteins was with the BX42S - the discharge chute was smaller than the BX62S. The smaller chute would at times plug from all the sap from the fresh cut pines. The inside of the chute would become coated with pine sap and the chips would stick to the sap and eventually I'd have to shut down, clean out the chips and clear out the sap with a rag soaked in kerosene. I solved that situation by cutting, hauling & stacking one year and chipping the following year. I've not had that problem with the larger chute on the BX62S.

Anybody that says they can handle & chip 25 foot tall by 6" butt cut trees all day long must be second cousin to a gorilla. I can go for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then I have to shut down and rest for a while.