Talk to me about chippers

[JeepHead]

Let me begin buy saying I have never owned or used a chipper but I have considered getting one. I am considering a stand-alone chipper that can be towed behind my ATV and used wherever. My goal isn't as much to chip material to get rid of it but chip material just to get the chippings to be used around the property. So my question is, are these little chippers with 6-15HP engines any good? Are there some better than others? Mot all what I am seeing have around a 6.5HP engine on them but I have seen a couple older models on market place with 10-15hp engines. So educate me on these chippers, please.

 

[oldnslo]

What size material are you wanting to chip? I have a PTO driven unit for my tractor with approx 19 HP available. Green limbs 3 to 4” is pushing the limit and does spit out some uncut twigs. We use this in areas were looks are not critical since is not the same texture as store bought wood chip mulch.

 

[JeepHead]

What size material are you wanting to chip? I have a PTO driven unit for my tractor with approx 19 HP available. Green limbs 3 to 4” is pushing the limit and does spit out some uncut twigs. We use this in areas were looks are not critical since is not the same texture as store bought wood chip mulch.

I am wanting to line all the trails in my woods with the chips so whatever would be needed for that. Owning a power washing business and seeing the issues mulch creates, I would never consider using chips around my home or close to it.

 

[oosik]

I have a Wallenstein BX62S. I connect it via PTO shaft to my Kubota M6040. This chipper has around 50 PTO hp available.

Every other year or so I will use this chipper when I thin my pine stands. This means 800 to 1000 small pines - down the chipper chute.

The pines I chip are from 1" to 6" on the butt.

The chips are left in long piles. About three feet wide - twenty or so feet long and two feet high.

Every so often I will chip small pines that line my mile long gravel driveway. The chips tend to reduce the driveway dust.

 

[alexpops]

I've used both the PTO driven (WM - 8H) and the smaller gas driven versions (Craftsman standalone and AgriFab Chip-N-Vac). Night & day difference in usability & materials they handle. IMO.

The smaller stand-alone ones are ok for grass clippings/twigs that can be fed into the hopper for the hammers. Anything thicker than 1-1.5 inches that isn't broom handle straight is a pain to feed into the dedicated chipper port. All output accumulates under bottom of machine & needs to be cleared occasionally. Unattended operation is pretty dismal, so count on needing a dedicated "feeder" to push the branches in.

The Agri-Fab unit is slightly better but will jam if branches aren't cut to manageable straightish sections. I've found it will handle 2 inch if soft wood/green, but any real hardwoods will bog it down. slightly easier to feed branches than the stand-alones (unattended can be accomplished if the branch stays in the chute). Good for mulching fall leaves/grass clippings thrown out by mower, but if too wet, hose can plug up. Biggest advantage is the enclosed hopper that collects all output & can be towed to where you want to dump it. Need to pay attention to the dust cloud blowing out the back of the hopper since it can compact inside -- making hose clogs more likely AND dumping more difficult. You will need a rake/shovel to empty the hopper since there isn't enough slope to fully dump.

The PTO unit with hydraulic feed is the most useful for limb chipping. Will handle the 6-8 inch it's advertised for as long as the branches are relatively straight. Hydro WILL pull Y's together on thinner stuff, but unless really bendy, a crotch with 4" legs will jam in the hopper & need to be reversed. Chute output can be directed into a trailer or "final destination", and unattended operation is easy, once the hydro grabs your branch.

 

[alexpops]

You're going to need lots of chips if you want trails covered, so the PTO versions will be much more usable/faster. Forget about the small units.

 

[BlueKnife]

So my question is, are these little chippers with 6-15HP engines any good?

No, not really. They're a waste of time. It'll take forever to get any significant amount of chips. If your goal is to have chips for paths, your best bet is to call local tree services and see if they'll dump chips at your place. If you're not near or on the way from where they're working you'll probably need to pay a bit. Do keep in mind that chips hold moisture in the ground really well. What that means is that they work fine for walking paths, but for paths that will be used for an ATV or tractor, they will keep it muddier longer. I owned a tree service for 20 years. My last chipper had a 100 HP Cummins engine and would chip 12" logs.

 

[JeepHead]

Thanks guys! I think I have read enough to know what I don't want to buy.

 

[5030]

You need to peruse Facebook Marketplace for a used one or Craigslist. No point in buying new.

 

[ericm979]

We started with a 10hp home store unit. It was pretty much useless. And it was hard to start- there was no clutch so you were pulling over the engine and the chipper rotor. We then got a 16hp tractor and a 4.5" PTO chipper. This chipper has manual feed, or self-feeding. When it grabs something it sucks it in FAST. You better not be holding on to the branch or standing anywhere near when it does. It could pull your arm into the chute or whack you on the head.

Then we got a 37hp tractor and a Woodmaxx 8H hydraulic feed 8" chipper. That works so much better and is much safer. The chips it makes are smaller than the ones from a big tree service chipper so they rot faster. Which can be good or bad depending on what you are doing with them.

However to put chips down on roads or paths, you'll need more equipment. I use an ATV dump trailer to chip into and then to carry the chips to the roads I want to lay chips on. I have yet to come up with a good machine assisted way to distribute chips so I shovel them out and spread them by hand. That does not scale to long paths.

If you have paths wider than a tractor width you can use a tractor to spread the chips. Chips in a pile are not as easy as dirt to scoop up with the loader. The tree service chips are harder than the chips from my PTO chipper. I can do it, especially with a tooth bar, but its more difficult. Chips also do not spread as easily as dirt. You may want different tools than dirt working tools like a loader and box blade.

The pto chipper on the 37hp tractor takes care of brush and tree parts much better than the smaller units I've had. But you'd have to have a lot of tree parts, and a lot of time, to make a significant amount of chips. It takes time to process tree parts into chippable piles and feed the chipper.

You might look into getting chips from a tree service. Often they will be happy to dump chips on your property instead of driving them to the dump and paying to dump them. You'll need a way to move them though. But you can get a lot of chips with no effort on your part.