Recommendations for wood chipper for small material

[beowulf]

Our situation: We have a lot of wood of all sizes from trees that fall or ones we take down. A lot. We have been harvesting the wood if over 3-4" and sometimes even keep the some of smaller stuff - all for firewood. But in the process we generate piles of the brushy/small limbed/twiggy stuff. We have been pulling burn permits and burning it but we think we would like to get a chipper for that stuff. I don't think that we would not be using it much for the thicker stuff - but maybe we would as we have way too much wood. I don't know if there would be units more suitable for the smaller stuff, or whether a robust 4" plus unit would be better at the small stuff as well. I know you are not supposed to try to shed vines and such, but it would be great if we could shred the brushy stuff. I am looking at the gas powered units and also at PTO models. Any recommendations as to types or brands? We would want one we could pull to different areas on the property (90) acres.

Note: we have an ATV to pull a unit around as well as a tractor.

 

[ericm979]

I've chipped a lot of brush with my Woodmaxx 8H. It does fine even on stuff that's under 1/2". It's only when the stem is down to 1/8" that the rollers may not grab. Having an 8" throat means less trimming is needed to get the brush to feed.

 

[1Mech]

I have an older Yardmaster 3 way chipper/shredder 6.5 hp that has done a wonderful job over the years. The hopper will lay down at ground level, if you want to rake in leaves or other small debris, or you can tilt it up and drop small branches in. It will handle up to 3" branches on the chipper end. Makes a little pile out of a big pile! I am debating fixing it or replacing it now, something ended up in the combustion chamber which didn't belong, a small pin, no idea where it came from.

This is what mine looks like, the large hopper folds down to ground level for leaves and other small yard debris, the wood goes in the smaller chute on the front.

 

[Hughman]

We are in the California foothills too, so probably doing the same type of material. I'm happy with the woodland mills wc68 I bought last year. Cost around $3k if I remember correctly. Works great behind my little tractor. Took them less than a week to ship it to me.

We got fed up with burning because of all the wildfire smoke we've been putting up with the last few years. Oak chips make great mulch in the garden.

 

[bigtiller]

We are in the California foothills too, so probably doing the same type of material. I'm happy with the woodland mills wc68 I bought last year. Cost around $3k if I remember correctly. Works great behind my little tractor. Took them less than a week to ship it to me.

We got fed up with burning because of all the wildfire smoke we've been putting up with the last few years. Oak chips make great mulch in the garden.

The same here. 6" x 8" hydraulic feed rollers and priced now at 2999 with free shipping. I even opted for the trailer hitch on the back and chainsaw carrier.

 

[oldballs]

My experience started 15 years ago when I bought my first machine.....a MacKissic Mighty Mac SC1650HTE. It is a gas powered chipper/shredder that I tow around with my garden tractor. It has served me well for the small stuff.....generally shrub/brush trimmings...garden residue...windstorm tree limbs/stix trash dropping.

Then, several years ago I got into greater volumes of tree trimming and larger stuff. So I bought the Woodland Mills WC68 chipper. It will take the small stuff, but I generally don't hook it up for small stuff.

Between the two machines, I get away from burning..........except for some really big tree work.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[34Willys]

Just ordered a WC68 yesterday.
Enjoy the burn piles, but, messy drops from the grapple and muckin' up the property with R1 tires, back and forth to the piles? Enough.
Patrick

 

[ponytug]

I've chipped a lot of brush with my Woodmaxx 8H. It does fine even on stuff that's under 1/2". It's only when the stem is down to 1/8" that the rollers may not grab. Having an 8" throat means less trimming is needed to get the brush to feed.

I have the same chipper. It really transformed tree maintenance for me. Previously, I was renting chippers, which was pricey, and after the tractor, the heavy chipper and I slid down a hillside for a bit, I resized my chipper and bought the 8H.

I think that works great, except for the small flexible whippy twigs down around 1/8" as @ericm979 says. I played with the tension and the clearance on the hydraulic feed so that it feeds the small stuff readily now. I think it is just that some twigs end up more parallel to the knives and don't get chopped as much. For me it only really happens with bay branches.

The rental chippers would chip 8" logs. I find the 8H maxes out at around 4-5" for me, but I am definitely at the low end of power with a PTO of 25HP or so. I have seen a similar unit with 70HP PTO have no issues.

All the best,

Peter

 

[oosik]

I thin my pine stands and chip the felled trees. It's 100% pine - 1" to 6" on the butt. I power my Wallenstein BX62S with my Kubota M6040. I do this thinning project ever two or there years. It takes two months to complete this project. A thinned stand looks like a giants game of Pick-Up-Sticks. Dragging all these felled trees to piles is the most difficult part. I slip, stumble, fall, bleed, curse - but in the end they are all in several piles. Chipping is the fun part.

600 to 800 small trees go into the chipper. Butt first - no need to trim any limbs. Also - no need for any type of hydraulic in-feed system. The limbs are folded in and chipped along with the main trunk.

 

[34Willys]

For me it only really happens with bay branches.

Good for the Sinuses!
A while back, I had a client bring by some roasted Pepperwood/Bay Laurel nuts. A common tree in the riparian/Northern shaded areas.
Wow!!!! Super complex flavors of the nuts, coffee, chocolate, and more.

ROASTED BAY NUTS | Edible East Bay

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