Wallenstein v. Woods 5000 going to buy today?

[GregJ]

Here's a picture of one of the piles I did last year. I did 3 piles about that size before I had to sharpen my blades. A lot of the stuff I was chipping and shredding was covered with mud. I was amazed at how long the blades stayed sharp with that kind of abuse. I guess that's why they're so expensive. I also like the fact that the chips are very small, so they compost quickly. Most of the commercial chippers I have seen create large shredded chips. This chipper makes very small chips. I'll attach a photo of the chips as well.

Greg

 

[GregJ]

Here is a picture of the chips. To get a perspective, the largest chip is about 3/8" to 1/2" wide. This stuff composts quickly and makes great mulch.

Greg

 

[GregJ]

This is really sick, but I guess TBN does this to ya..... I just walked out in the dark, at great risk of stepping in a Golden Retriever land mine, in 31 degree weather with a 20 MPH wind to scoop a bit of composted mulch, to take a picture and post it, so that you can see what it looks like after about a year of composting..... I think I may need serious therapy. I just hope my wife didn't see me. Anyway.... here is a picture of some composted mulch from a Bearcat 70554.

Greg

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Greg,
I appreciate your sickness! It's 4:42 am and I'm reading TBN. My dad is coming up for Thanksgiving and I can get the Wallenstein delivered on Tues. (their distribution center is 1/2 hour away). Now I think I should cool my jets and wait for my dealer to get the Woods in for me in Dec. It seems like the sentiment here is that the shredder is definately useful.

So is there any material difference between the Woods 5000 and the similar Bearcat?
As always gentlemen thanks so much for your feedback.
Lar

 

[GregJ]

Larry,
As far as I know, they are identical. The parent company is Crary. One word of caution about the shredder. It REALLY grabs stuff out of your hands and sucks it in. If you get this unit, be careful the first time you put small brush into it. I have read some complaints from people about this unit regarding this as a safety issue. The reality is that there are a lot of ways to hurt yourself using a chipper/shredder. I treat mine with a lot of respect. I am sure that you will be impressed with the quality and durability of the unit. Keep us posted. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Greg

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Greg and Jim,
You two almost have me convinced to go with the Woods because of the shredder. Your discussion is thoughtful. However if the shredder is so valuable why is the case that as soon as you get larger than the chippers we are talking about, say the 824 or larger bearcats they no longer have the shredder. I presume that those folks pass their small stuff through the chipper as well.

I look at the hopper for the chipper on your units and it looks like you would need to strip all the small stuff to pass anything into it. The shredder hopper is 20" x 30" however . The wallenstein's hopper (for the chipper is 22" x 22"). It seems like with the larger hopper you could feed brush fat end first and let it go, whereas it would not be possible to do that with the chipper you guys have given what appears from the photo to be a smaller opening.

Never used them just looking for information.
Thanks guys,
Larry

 

[GregJ]

Larry,
I put small stuff through the chipper all the time. I use the shredder to process small stuff rapidly. The reality is, I use the chipper probably 80% of the time, but it really all depends on what you are working with. If I have a bunch of stuff that is 3/4", I put it all through the shredder because it processes it so fast. If I am doing a combination of sizes, I use the chipper. The real advantage of the shredder is how fast it works. Otherwise, I could put everything down the chipper chute. Small stuff will clog the chute every now and then, but can easily be pushed in with a stick. Shredders are nice, but personally I wouldn't consider them the deal breaker. The chipper is what really does the work, so be sure to look at things like flywheel weight, how many blades, accessibility and ease of maintenance, etc. Hope this helps.

Greg

 

[jinman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The shredder hopper is 20" x 30" however . The wallenstein's hopper (for the chipper is 22" x 22"). )</font>

Larry, don't be confused by the size of the opening to the chute. The size at the "business end" of the chute has lots more to do with efficiency. The input chute to my shredder will allow bushy material to fit, but as soon as any part of that brush hits the shredder, it self-feeds the rest of the material right into the blades through a 14"x12" opening. On the chipper side, the chute tapers down to a 5"x 6" opening. You have to poke pretty hard with a stick to get that brushy top of a limb down far enough to be chipped. On the other hand, you just drop the material into the shredder and even if you have to poke it down with a stick, you only have to do that once and it is gone. Whoosh! Just look at the design of the shredder drum here: Chipper-shredder

My guess is that the larger machines have a much larger opening into their chipper and so the shredder is not required. Also, as the chipper wheel gets larger, it's much more expensive. If you would have to charge $6,000 to make this machine a chipper-shredder, then you have to compete with the hydraulic, self-feed guys at about the same price. I think everyone here would agree that if you can find the funds to buy one of those machines, we'd all be sending you replies about how jealous we are rather than giving you advise. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Jim,
Had my dealer measure the business end of the hopper on the Wallenstein and it was 7" x 13". I think that would make a difference on feeding stuff.
Lar

 

[jinman]

Well, Larry, that big of an opening would surely make a difference. Could you get a demo from your dealer or get him to tell you someone who has one who would maybe demo it for you? If you could just see a demo of the Wallenstein and the Woods, you could be really happy with your choice. I sure wish you were near me because I'd be happy to demo my unit.