Chipper PTO vs Gas Chipper

[Piston]

I was asking about the large logs, like the 6" ones people are saying that they chip. I am not a small guy, but I can't imagine picking up a 6" 15' log and dragging it into the chipper, maybe there is procedure that you guys use, but the way I am thinking about it doesn't sound like fun.

All I am saying is that for my needs, where I cut down a tree for the wood I would only be chipping stuff smaller than 1 1/2 inches... I think a smaller one would be more useful and economical. If I had 100 acres of woods to maintain or a tree business where time is money and you just want to get rid of the wood, the bigger one makes more sense.

It sounds like a smaller chipper would work very well in your case, and possibly the best solution! :thumbsup:

My chipper can chip 6" diameter "logs", however, it's only the butt end that is 6", branches usually taper down quickly and it's rare that anymore than the first few feet actually stay near 6". To address your question though, I lift up the branch/log and place the end on the chipper, then pull it until it contacts the rollers, push the hydraulic feed bar and let the chipper take care of the rest. That is the beauty of the hydraulic feed, you just get the log to the rollers and it does the rest of the work, it draws the entire log/branch right in, all the while I'm collecting more brush to keep feeding the beast.

If it's too heavy, one could just cut it into shorter pieces like Roy mentioned. I haven't had to do this yet though. Any hardwoods over 3" or so I keep as firewood unless I'm just in a "rush" or don't want to deal with it. Most of the larger stuff I chip is pine, which is half the weight of some hardwoods.

 

[newbury]

I've only chipped a few logs 6" and greater on my Jinma. All less than 8' long. Just got one end up and in and fed it thru. However USUALLY it's not the diameter of the solid wood, rather the overall diameter that branches can be squeezed down to, the size of the bends and crotches squeezing down the chipper throat. If all branches were perfectly straight it wouldn't be a problem.

I've an old Kemp 8hp where everything has to fit into a 3" hole. I spent a LOT of time clipping limbs so I had straight sections. With my 8" Jinma I can force a LOT down the throat.

As far as getting wood "ready" what I had done was pile it up with my pallet forks


Or have my son pile it



Then work thru the pile. But that can get tangled and it's a lot easier if I process one tree at a time.

/edit - and per http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pla 6" diameter 15' long red maple only weighs 161 lbs. If the 6" tapers down to 4" it's only about 121 lbs. Thus picking up one end is not to difficult. I've moved 10' long 20" diameter sweetgum with only a pair of peaveys across my driveway and onto my Woodmizer LT10 sawmill, and that weighed about 1,000 lbs.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a Kubota B3300SU.....about the same power as your L3200. I run a Wallenstein BX42s PTO Chipper.

Great tool. Simplicity itself. Extremely well finished including the best paint of any implement I own.

The ability to rotate discharge chute 360 degrees is very convenient. I often chip into a trailer.

This is a CHIPPER. It will handle a limited amount of brush but if you push in too much brush it will clog.

I have used my BX42s with Oak quite a lot the last eighteen months. Just reversed the chipper knives to fresh edges a month ago.

If you intend to process-to-mulch a good bit of brush go with BXM42 which is a CHIPPER/SHREDDER.

 

[bcjmmac]

I had a 13HP MTD chipper/shredder - bought it before I got my JD. Used it to chip/shred alders (mainly) - nothing bigger than 1.5". It lasted about 1 year - jammed on a knot & broke the driveshaft & cracked the engine block//no built in protection on those small units (i.e. no shear bolts, etc). Anyhow, picked up a used bearcat echo on Kijiji - I can now do in a couple of hours what would have taken me all day with the MTD & it wasn't much more $ than what I had paid for the MTD.

 

[City Farmer]

I have to agree with everyone else, 3pt chipper all the way. I'm giving away a small 8hp chipper to a buddy this week. I have a continual willow mess, a few pines I cut down and some property clearing. The small chipper can't keep up. If you decide to go with a small 8-10hp chipper the best advice I can give you is, never stall it. You'll spend more time swearing and tearing that thing apart, pulling branches and twigs out of it than using it. I bought a used Goossen 3pt chipper(One of my best CL finds) with shredder that I use on my 3000 Ford. Anything 1-1/2" and smaller get shredded, 1-1/2 - 3" get chipped. Two guys throwing branches in the shredder non stop as fast as you can work can't slow it down. The only down side is it drops the chips through the bottom. Its not that big of a deal because your usually moving the tractor to the next pile anyway.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Definitely go with the PTO driven chipper!

Self powered chippers, other then the big commercial units (which cost ten's of thousands dollars), are quite underpowered. Twigs and small branches are all they can handle...but you pay more for one then you'd pay for a PTO driven chipper (of the same capacity) since you're paying for the engine.

AGREE.
PTO chipper is used for work, gas chipper is used for lawn. This is an opinion from manufacturer.