small chipper

[Soundguy]

I think the reason my lawn mower is almost 14ys old is because I "don't" treat it like that... not sure I wan't to drive a rider mower all around the pasture either.....

soundguy

 

[bigtiller]

I like the little ones because they are easy starting, easy to move around, compact, not too loud, and run for a long time on a quart of gas.

I run the big end of the stick ( -2" ) down the chipper side until it gets near the end and throw the brushy end down the shredder side. I try to keep the shredding size branches under 3 feet long so they don't bog down the motor too much.

 

[wedge40]

I think the reason my lawn mower is almost 14ys old is because I "don't" treat it like that... not sure I wan't to drive a rider mower all around the pasture either.....

soundguy

Mines 21.. And still going strong. I was being facetious when I said to do that. I get mad when ever I hit a twig that I didn't pick up.

Wedge

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. I just put new blades on the lawn mower too.. I try to avoid 1/2" material if I can help it..

soundguy

 

[RalphVa]

I once used a small electric Black & Decker shredder/chipper. It was okay for the small stuff I had on our 1/3 of an acre in NJ.

In Baton Rouge, the house came with an 8 hp Troy Bilt Tomahawk. That thing would do up to around 2". Got lots of exercise bending down and poking stuff into it and even more exercise going through numerous rotation of the hammers and sharpening of the chipper blade. That thing was an absolute beast to maintain.

Have a MacKissic TPH 122 on the PTO of my 18.5 hp JD now, and it's great. Paid about $1,800 for it. I got it from my JD dealer. You can get them from MacKissic and from the DR folks. It's a dream to maintain compared to the TroyBilt. On the TroyBilt, the spacers between the hammers would get totally messed up and required a lot of hammering to get the shafts out. Also, the little keeper pins were a pain to get out first. On the Mac, the keeper pins come out no sweat, and the shafts just practically slide out. The spacers don't get beat up and require replacement. Removing the chipper blade requires a good allen wrench of the right size and cleaning of the allen screw depressions, etc., but once you get that technique down, this job is easy. The Troy Bilt had bolts on the chipper blades. Getting a wrench on the back side of the bolt required some contortions but not near as bad as laying on the ground, etc. to pound those shafts out to rotate the hammers (they have 4 corners; only one corner "grabs" stuff and eventually gets rounded off).

I've seen some of the little units where it was virtually impossible to insert trash branches straight into it. The chute had a severe curve, undoubtedly to keep fools from putting their hands into them past the curve. The curved chute made them virtually useless.

Ralph

 

[jbooth]

I think the reason my lawn mower is almost 14ys old is because I "don't" treat it like that... not sure I wan't to drive a rider mower all around the pasture either.....

soundguy

My motives are not to get in an argument, but my Cub Cadet 682 is close to 30 years old with 2500 hrs. The motor was overhauled at 1600 hrs. I have always cut all my wife's bush/flower trimming and small tree limbs up with the mower. I have never replaced a mower spindle. I have never seen a blade nicked by wood. Rocks are a different story. I mowed around my pasture fence for a year (120 acres) until I got a brush mower for my skid steer. Granted I had cut all the larger trees out of with a skid steer saw, but the 682 cut buck brush easier than it did grass. Recently retired the 682 to be used only as a tiller tractor. I am getting to old to change the heavy rear mount tiller out every time I want to mow. Incidently the 682 survived 2 teenagers too. Wish they still made them like that. If I knew the 682 was going to outlast last me I would have bought the 782 which had the hydraulic lift.

PS; Mower blades are consumables.

 

[Soundguy]

HUGE difference in that 682 vs a commercially produced, designed as a throw away, rider mower that most companiesz have been building for hte last 20 years.

soundguy

 

[beltfed]

Have a MacKissic TPH 122 on the PTO of my 18.5 hp JD now, and it's great. Paid about $1,800 for it. I got it from my JD dealer. You can get them from MacKissic and from the DR folks. Ralph

Ralph, Do you have any video of that chipper in action? I'm seriously thinking of picking one up but I'd like to see it in action first. I've found nothing online for this chipper/shredder.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I dont know the hp of my chipper as the sticker is gone but it sure does a great job at chipping. :thumbsup: Its a troy built tomahawk. Has buth pull and electric start. Love that engine on it, purrs like a kitten, a really loud kitten. :laughing::laughing: The best part was that i got it for $150.

 

[slaveToHorses]

I had a Tomahawk chipper just like that. Mine was 8hp.
Like the other poster said, they are a serious pain to maintain.
But I beat the bloody heck out of mine and it just kept on shredding.
I made up some custom screens for the bottom, for various types of material.

The chipper portion was pretty worthless. But the main shreader was good.

I can't imagine shredding with anything less powerful.

 

[slaveToHorses]

HUGE difference in that 682 vs a commercially produced, designed as a throw away, rider mower that most companiesz have been building for hte last 20 years.
soundguy

My JD LX280 is built like a tank. I have been using it to mow a couple of small pastures, my house lawns and all the paths through the woods. The paths are full of ivy and maple shoots.
I have had it for at least 5 years and am still using the same mulching blades. I only had to sharpen them once and they still do a nice job on the lawn.
The turning radius is good enough that I can snake it around the fence posts. The deck fits under the lower rails. A pass on the inside and one on the outside and I hardly have any weed wacking to do.

Maybe instead of a shredder, you should apply the money to an upgrade on the mower?

 

[frogfish]

I inherited a Troy from my father. He bought it in the '90s. This past year I took down 6 trees and used the Troy for all the small stuff, I don't think I tried anything over 2 inches and it handled it with out a problem. Well except for one problem, engine just quit on me and well ... turns out you have to put gas in these things

 

[TWD]

How are those for 3" or less branches with lots of leaves?

I use the larger wood for kindling, and burn the scrap wood w/out leaves during winter. I try to avoid burning leaves since they FLY all over... I'd love to get a chipper that size that was reliable for chipping/shredding leaves and 3" or smaller branches/twigs.

Let me know what you do!

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

I just bought an electric 2.5 HP chipper/shredder from Harbor Freight. I'm in the same boat as Soundguy. I didn't want to maintain another gasoline engine, and it was on sale for $120, so I figured what the heck.
Thing 1: It's slow, as has been mentioned.
Thing 2: It's a chipper, not a shredder. It says it handles 'branches up to 1 1/4".' It should say, 'handles branches from 3/8" to 1 1/4".' Anything a quarter-inch or less gets turned sideways and gums up the works, until you get the hang of the best order to run things through it. I found myself promising it, "if you're good and you eat all your forsythia, you can have a cherry branch for dessert".
Thing 3: It almost exactly complements my lawnmower. Anything the lawnmower can vacuum up, this thing won't chop. By the end of the exercise, I was splitting my brush piles between the two machines. A lot of work, though.

Conclusion: I'm getting use out of it, but I don't recommend it.

 

[chopped]

is this the unit?
2-1/2 HP Chipper Shredder

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I have a 20 year or so old Troy Bilt 8 hp chipper shredder. It is built like a tank and a lot heavier (and MUCH more expensive) than the ones by that brand today. It might sound a little strange at first, but shredding piles of leaves or small branches with a lot of leaves is a much heavier use of the machine than old dry twigs and such. Old dry branches virtually explode when they hit the machine. Green branches are much more fibrous (hawthorn is about the worst here in the Catskills, and the nemesis of my machine.) For chipping, it is adequate for 3 inch straight pieces, but I certainly wouldnl't consider anything less powerful for that kind of duty. Processing leaves is a difficult task and although the small machines you mention will probably do the job if you have the patience, I would think that the 5.5 hp gas would be a minimal size for that kind of job. Of course, if you have a couple trees on a quarter acre, it would probably be overkill. Leaf shredding dulls the flail hammers faster than just about anything else, though it's not that big a deal, as they have four edges and I got my first new set last year after two decades of use. But then, I don't do leaves any more, either, as I found it just too timie consuming. When you think about it, about how many pounds of stuff you are actually feeding through the shredder, leaves are much more dense than brush, so two equal sized piles would mean the leaves probably have three or four times the material.

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

is this the unit?

Yep, that's it. Looks like an extra from "Star Wars". By the way, I also had to lengthen the axle with some extra-long 8mm bolts and a handful of washers, or the wheels wouldn't turn.

 

[scottduck]

I have a 1975 MacKissic 12p. It's real $$$ new but I purchased and re-habed it for under $450.
That may be close to same $ as a new smaller unit

 

[BethesdaEC]

I have one and have used it very little, just too small and too slow. I kind of inherited it but would recomend you by a better self feed unit such as a Wallensteen.

I originally purchased a DR 16.50 Pro and after a year and less than 10 hours I ebayed it and lost 50 cents on the dollar and got myself a Wallenstein BX42r with the hydro autofeed. What a difference, the DR would take a 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 branch but it was underpowered and if the branch splayed too much it would be very difficult to get in. The wallenstein has a 4 x 10 opening and with the hydro autofeed the branches are compressed and fed with no intervention. I have a quick hitch and I can pick it up, connect the PTO and hydro in one or two minutes and can haul it anywhere on the property. Don't make the mistake that I made, get something that will do the job.

 

[RanchHand2520]

BethesdaEC -

I know this post is a bit old (and has been completely hijacked from the OP), but I also have a JD 2520 and have been looking at a Wallenstein BX-42. I was wondering if you ever experienced your BX-42 taking a bigger stick than your 2520 could power through?

Thanks