Skid Steer mounted chipper

[QwikDraw]

Anyone use one? I have been looking at two models but would like some opinions..are they worth 9-10K? I will be putting them on an ASV SR80 or RC100.

Valby
Skid Steer Woodchipper

Bearcat
Wood Chippers Chipper Shredders Stump Grinders Vacuums Trim Mowers & Truck Loaders by Bear Cat

The Bearcat rep seemed very helpful and is trying to get a demo up my way to try. I am having trouble getting the Valby rep to call me back.

Thanks! Ted

 

[burnetma]

Ted,

I am not familiar with these units, but I could not help but comment about one thing I saw on the Valby site. The Valby site gives uses for the chips post processing. One of which is animal bedding. I just want to warn you that only softwoods are acceptable as animal bedding. Some hardwoods are poisonous to horses (possibly other large animals??). So, if you are chipping a mixed lot, do yourself a favor and do not sell/give the material to horse owners. Best use it

FYI, Northeast Implement is about 20 miles from me, but I can not picture where in Spencer they are located for the life of me. Interesting...

Mark

 

[QwikDraw]

Thanks Mark.

Although I had not thought of selling the chips as bedding, you never know and that bit of info may have kept me from future troubles...
I am in Connecticut.

Thanks again,
Ted

 

[burnetma]

Ted,

I am glad you are in Connecticut. No risk of competition

Below is a partial list of woody plants that are dangerous to horses and some other livestock:
Cherry #1
Yew #2 (Poisonous to all livestock)
Peach
Black Walnut
Black Locust
Poison Sumac
Poison Wood
Rhododendron
Azalea
Laurel/Mountain Laurel
Kalmia
Some Oak Acorns
Fiddleneck
Mimosa Trees
Ponderosa Pine Needles (abortion)
Red Maple (also called swamp maple, soft maple or Acer rubrum)

For more information:
Horse Owner's Field Guide to Toxic Plants by Sandra M. Burger
Published in 1996 by Breakthrough Publications

So like I started to say before, do yourself a favor and do not sell/give this mulched material to people as animal bedding. It is best used for other agricultural/ornamental purposes.

Best of luck.
Mark

 

[QwikDraw]

Whoa...that's a lot more then I thought. Whenever I chip though, it's normally just blown and spread. If this attachment makes "nice" chips maybe I could use them for planting beds and such...but no live stock! I also just posted to the other SR80 thread, a machine I really want! and am hoping it is just what I need.(looking at the Timber AX too)

Thanks,
Ted

 

[Haoleguy]

QuikDraw - This past year I was thinking of a similar attachment for my tractor. The choices, as you are seeing, are for 5-6" diameter wood. I rented a 6" Salsco and a 12" Brush Bandit stand alone units to see what diameter I needed. I found the larger unit made the work go so easily I decided to bypass the tractor mount unit and in fact I can pile up a bunch of limbs, brush, etc. and rent the 12" periodically. The ASV units you are talking about have sufficient hp and flow you could potentially handle much larger diameter chipper if it is available. Have you considered a used 9-12" stand alone wood chipper for slightly more dollars. If you had pretty good volume then you could use the tracksteere to feed the chipper. Just a thought.

 

[QwikDraw]

Haoleguy,

Some good thoughts. I just priced used chippers on machine trader and found the prices were better than I expected. I will have to think about it more, the skid steer could get places that a truck/chipper combo could not but a bigger chipper would be faster. I won't know until I demo one of the SS models. Also, price wise, a new SS model versus a used tow behind. As for volume, I only do the occasional chipping job now and rent but I do not advertise for such services. I don't want to compete with the bigger tree guys around here, I don't climb or do crane work. I mostly work alone so maybe the smaller SS unit would work for me. I have been thinking about this for months and everyday I change my mind on what to get.

Thanks for the help,
Ted

 

[capt_met]

i rent larger vermeer chippers when i have the need. i will use a root grapple to bring limbs and branches to the chipper. this has worked very good so far. i can tow the chipper to a central spot and ferry the branches while it is being fed.. i like renting chippers because for the amount of times a year i need one it doesn;t pay. i don't have to worry about maintenance or sharpening the blades.
good luck with your decision,

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Qwikdraw, Maybe I missed the original reason you needed a chipper. We also list that service but we do not use a chipper. We use a 100H.P. mulcher mounted to a RC-100. I don't know why I didn't mention this earlier. Save yourself,oh about 10k, put that towards capital and one less machine to maintain. There is a technique to mulching brush piles but I can tell you that.
Robbie

 

[QwikDraw]

Robbie,

I thought that too...but wasn't sure what the finished product would be (with the Timber AX). I am pruning an apple orchard starting in January and the owned wanted some of the chips for landscaping. They also have an 7-8 foot high pile of brush, can the timber ax tackle a pile like that? and what does the finished product look like? a big mess or does everything get chipped (mulched) up small? If the Timbr Ax could do a faster job but not good enough for landscape chips it still may be worth buying a load of chips and reducing the brush with the AX. Then I can put all my $$ into the Loftness attachment.

So many questions...

Thanks for the help!
Ted
PS - the orchard owners are old friend, if I purchased the Timber AX and advertised, I could fill in with orchard work while waiting for mulching work. Maybe that's the "new" plan....as of tonight

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Hey Qwikdraw, Your later plan is the ticket. Yes if you need to capture the chips than the chipper is the way. I believe renting is the best route too. Yes the timberax will handle big piles the only catch is being as the material is dead its best if size is under 6". Being dry and hard it sometimes doesn't bite the stuff as well and can throw it also. There are techniques, Just think a 7' pile by hand into a chipper of 5 min. tops with the timberax!! If nothing else the timberax would be funner. Your new plan works for me about the orchard. You gotta make that note. And if your starting in Jan you better deicde quick on your tractor and buy! I can let you in on all the secrets of the timberax. There easy to implement just hard to figure out. Robbie

 

[burnetma]

Being dry and hard it sometimes doesn't bite the stuff as well and can throw it also. There are techniques, Just think a 7' pile by hand into a chipper of 5 min. tops with the timberax!!

Throw it up to 300 feet, correct?

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Not qiute 300. It will get them out there about 100' but only if you have the head tilted back as far as possible. That was a technique thing, you can tilt the head forward as you set it down onto the pile to limit this. But it still commands respect. Side note, to mulch a big pile you will have to tilt the head back to throw the chips away from the pile if not the chips will fall back down into the pile and you'll be mulching the same material over and over. Mulching a large pile I found extremely difficult with a carbide head. Not saying it couldn't be done, it just seemed hard. Robbie

 

[QwikDraw]

OK...an update.

I have two ASV dealers taking a look at my Volvo MC70 this week for trade in value. Really, I am hoping to break even.

Although I like the SR80 because of the new track design and it is a little faster and a little more clearance I have to lean toward the RC100 just for the 304ft/lbs of torque compared to the 186ft/lbs of the 80. (But I really like the design of the SR80).

I am still most interested in the Timber AX but another member brought up a question on how it would hold an edge in rocky terrain (which we have here). I do have a good friend that is a Bradco Magnum dealer and he could get me one well under list price...descisions, descisions...

How does the finished product compare of the Timber AX and a grinder type machine, I would think the Timber AX would leave a better finished product (chip size) and smooth cut stumps (flush to ground) but the grinder would actually get below grade but leave bigger chips and have a less finished look.

Robbie....would $500 an acres be a good place to start for pricing?

Thanks,
Ted

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Hey Ted, I think the safe route for you would be the RC-100. It's tried and true in this setup, I'd hate for you to run into trouble down the road because of unforseen problems with the SR. I'm sure it's a great machine in it's proper environment. And a big ol yes on the torque, I did not know there was that much difference. Almost double and these heads would show that. Make SURE you get some type of forestry package when buying, I know it will add cost but is easier on you to add into the financing than go out of pocket.

As far as heads the timberax cuts the best to me bar none. But that being said they do not deal with rocks. If you are rough with a timberax the blades could go dule in as little as an hour causing it to not grab material well at all. In my opinion you would be better off with an carbide of some sort in rocky conditions. Plus it would be less down time for you also,{not sharpening}

I do not have any experience with a magnum head so you'll have to feel out that one with a demo yourself. I've heard of vibration problems with them so just demo to check for yourself. And a good deal is a good deal. When your talking close to 20k every little bit helps.

As far as finished product you can always reprocess the material, and honestly unless your dealing with someone who has had this done before I don't think chip size is going to be a huge concern. That can be easily felt out be talking to the customer. I just do alot of residental work that is close to homes and therefore they are a little pickier and so am I.

As far as how close to the ground you can get, Regardless of teeth/blades the skids on the head will limit how close you can get to the ground. Most heads have different height setting and will allow lite 'grading' but not the rotor tilling effect your thinking of. But a carbide will do that where a timberax shouldn't for blade's sake.

Yes 500 an acre would be a good starting point, it leaves a cushion for your cost and the customer. That is about what I charge if its a solid acre, my jobs rarely consist of solid acreage. Usually alittle here or a row or two here or a trail there. Do yourself a favor and buy a measuring wheel from northern or somewhere to protect your interest. I believe an acre is 43,000 or so sq. ft.

I hope your trade-in goes in your favor and you have you an RC-100 soon. Keep me posted. Robbie

 

[davidseaquist]

You could buy a three point hitch adaptor with a hydraulic motor to run a pto shaft. At Skid Steer Solutions. Then you could buy one of those chineese chippers self feeding with a 6" capacity for $ 3000.- or so total. The three point inpliments are a lot cheaper.You could also run a regular brush hog. David