Chipper Wallenstein BX40 Chipper

/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #2  
I have a 6 inch Wallenstein, (BX60). My B3030 handles 5 inch soft wood logs without any problems. The chipper shoot and blade design pull the material in with a minimum of effort. Most of the material I am chiooing is in the 1 to 4 inch softwood. I burn the hardwood except for the branches which the chipper handles without problems.

With branches from hemlock or fir or branches with lots of wet leaves I have to be careful not to plug the discharge shoot. I selected the 6 inch unit because it is easier to feed odd shaped branches and the larger softwood. I haven't tried 6 inch material but the occasional 5 inch plus material feeds without problem.

I have 15 to 20 hours on the chipper and wondering when to give the knives a touch up. I have avoided a steady feed of dead drive braches. My thought is the green material runs cooler on the knives so I have mixed the green and dead material. I don't go crazy worrying about it but it seems to have helped.

I don't remember the exact price but I'll look it up when I'm in the shop. If your interested I'll have a try at inserting a picture.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Regards,
DandB
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks Danb,
I want a rig to chip up alders and spruce limbs ect mostly under 3", I am concerned with the ability of the unit to self feed without a power feed unit. The 6" unit I think will be to big for my L245DT Kubota, 25hp tractor.
Waltert
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #4  
I was concerned about not having a power feed when I bought the BX60. The dealer convinced me to give it a try. If anything I have to be careful with the larger material. The chipper will pull it out of my hands. So far I'm happy with the manual feed.

DandB
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #5  
I demoed a BX40 this summer (before I bought another brand). I fed 3"+ green willow trees/branches up to maybe 25' long. Admittedly pretty soft stuff, but the BX40 sucked it in until the branch tips got to ~ 1/2" and all leaves. In addition, this unit seems very well built. I've visited with an owner who has had a BX40 for more than a year, chipping cherry (!!), hawthorne, and scrub maple. He's very happy with this unit.
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks for the replies, I ordered one yesterday, I am in Nova Scotia, Canada, and am happy to buy Canadian made gear. I will post my thoughts on the unit after some use.
Walter
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #8  
I'm pretty certain that the Split-Fire is not the same as the Wallenstein. From the picture on the S-F site, the base of the S-F chipper is quite different from the Wallenstein, as is the exhaust chute. The feed chute is also different: it looks to be detachable or swing away like the Valby CH140. Specs (total weight, size of chipping flywheel) don't match either. Somewhere I have a tear sheet from the US distributor of the Split-Fire. I *think* I remember that this chipper is belted up to run at greater than PTO speed (but hey, I've been wrong before!). I'll see if I can find the sheet.
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #9  
Rugs,
Based on your prior research, I trust your opinion.
For those of you who didn't see Rugs post a couple weeks ago check out his summary of the research he did before buying ....truly THE definative work on chippers and chipper/shreaders that are available /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Check out his site:

http://www.rugwire.com/chipper/index.html
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #10  
I also purchased a BX60 this summer and had very different results. My chipper would not feed good at all. I had to push & push and the wood would chatter real bad. It was brand new but maybe something was wrong with it. I ended up returning it and purchasing a BX60 w/ power feed. Now that's a sweet chipper. You can put anything in it and it pushes it through, and pushes it hard so the knives cut large chips and keep the cool. Sometimes I have the speed set a little too high and it puts out chips the size of charcoal briquettes.

I'm very happy with my Wallenstein.....
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #11  
I've posted a copy of the info I got about Split-Fire chippers here . In June, 2005 I was quoted $3,725 (!) for the 4003 model (this is the 3pt hitch chipper). I have not actually seen one of these chippers, but the spec sheet sez: "Final drive: pto with gearbox." The trailer mounted units clearly use a belted up drive system, and I assume the PTO unit is similar.

FL-Cracker--
Your hands-on experience is troubling. I spent about 45 min this summer feeding stuff into a BX40 hooked up to a small Kioti (I used up most of the "demo" material the dealer had out back). The bigger in diameter the material, the better the chipper fed. With 3-4" stuff, the chipper pulled in the material; I just guided and supported the end of the branch or small tree. As the branch got feathery, with lots of leaves, the material would stop feeding, and I'd have to start another, larger piece behind it.
Even with 4" stuff there seemed no strain at all on the chipper or tractor (the Kioti was a CK30, which I think is 24 hp at the PTO). There was no chatter or hesitation; the chipper just ate it up and spit it out. Of course, I was mostly chipping green willow--probably the easiest of any possible material to handle. I wish I could have justified the $$ (and had a large enough tractor) for a hydraulic feed unit!

On another note, I think people should think carefully about their needs when choosing a chipper. If it's mostly brush and little stuff (2"+ and smaller), I think a chipper/shredder is the way to go. Well designed c/shredders are effortless to use: you just drop in the material and it disappears. If you'll be doing mostly solid stuff 2" and bigger, I like the simplicity and (usually) lower cost of a straight chipper. As always, your mileage may vary.
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #12  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ...On another note, I think people should think carefully about their needs when choosing a chipper. If it's mostly brush and little stuff (2"+ and smaller), I think a chipper/shredder is the way to go. Well designed c/shredders are effortless to use: you just drop in the material and it disappears. If you'll be doing mostly solid stuff 2" and bigger, I like the simplicity and (usually) lower cost of a straight chipper. As always, your mileage may vary.)</font>

I got lucky when I was shopping and found a used Bush Hog chipper/shredder with the optional blower, which is the Goossen, private labeled for Bush Hog. I was out yesterday thinning the edge of our woods. I was taking out mostly Eastern Red Cedar from sapling to 3 inch. What is nice about the chipper/shredder design is that you can feed the trunk through the chipper, then when it gets to the leafy/needly stuff, just throw it into the shredder and it is gone. Rugs, that was a nice write up from your research. It was reassuring to see my unit at the top of your list, since my research was not nearly as extensive as yours.
 
/ Wallenstein BX40 Chipper #13  
Jeffinsgf--

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think you've got the best of both worlds. If I had a slightly bigger tractor, and a *much* fatter wallet, it would have been a tough choice between the Goossen and a Valby. I do think the Goossen gets the nod for all-round utility. A new CS5400PTO with blower would have cost me over $4k this summer... let me know if you get tired of your unit!
 
 

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