Wood chippers

[Spindifferent]

I use an old Bear Cat SC5540 with my JD 3520 that has 30hp at the PTO.

Some other advice on chippers:

Keep the blades sharp, know how to remove the blades, know how to sharpen the blades, invest in a replacement set of blades.

Ear and eye protection are a must have.

Enjoy (and be VERY careful with) whatever you end up with!

 

[oosik]

A short story. I have a Wallenstein BX62S. It's considered a manual chipper. IE - no hydraulic in-feed. It's rated to handle up to 6" round stuff. It's designed for 35 to 100 engine hp. So with my M6040 being 62 engine hp - I'm nowhere near the top of the range.

I thin my pine stands every other year. I identify, fell, drag to pile, chip approximately 800 to 1200 small Ponderosa pines during this month long project.

For me - this means pines from 1" to 6" on the butt. With my setup this chipper chips faster than I'm able to retrieve the pines off the pile. I have no need for a larger chipper nor more tractor hp.

Bottom line - I think you will find that the chipper you are considering will be more than adequate for your projects.

One of the main reasons I didn't go for a larger chipper. A green Ponderosa pine that is 6" on the butt is all I want to drag around to the pile. It is a bulky and long thing. Plus - when I'm finished felling all the small pines in one stand - it looks like a giants game of Pick-Up-Sticks. Trees are lying everywhere and in all directions. Crawling over this mess and dragging a 6" pine is neither easy nor fun.

 

[justman777]

If you can burn a match is alot cheaper than a chipper....if you want chips call a tree company and offer a free dump site.

I have cleared acres and used many hundreds of yards of chips with no chipper.

I agree with the above. If someone gave me a chipper, I'd probably use it for a bit and then sell it to someone actually needed it. My preference is to burn. If it's big enough to burn in a wood stove, then I give it to someone who can use it. Otherwise, it's going in the burn pile and I'm done with it. The only thing it'll cost me after that is a few hours sitting around the fire to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. No fuel costs. No hours on the tractor. No wear and tear on my body. No danger of getting sucked inside the spinning chopper vortex of doom.

I know this doesn't contribute to your original question, but I figured I'd offer a perspective that may save you some time and energy in the future.

 

[oosik]

I chip because wildfire is so prevalent from April thru October. During this time we are dry as a popcorn fart. It's just not worth the chance. And then there is right now - foot of snow on the ground and 14F outside. I really don't like monitoring a burn in this cold wx. Right now - in the house with a hot cup of coffee and JD.

Different strokes for different folks.............

 

[TerryR]

Different strokes for different folks.............

For sure. I mainly chip limbs downed by nature or brush from downed trees. Being able to drive around the property and chip where the stuff lies, blowing the chips into the woods is great. No hauling stuff to a burn pile and then spending hours tending the fire.

 

[sambota]

My neighbor had a chipper that didn’t have hydraulic feed. It would chip small diameter, firewood ready logs very well. It did not work well on stuff he wanted to chip (brush, limbs with leaves, etc.).
He sold it and we went in on a Woodmaxx WM8H 50/50. Worked great on stuff we wanted to get rid off, even pine with all the needles. I ran it with a 29 hp Kubota B, his tractor was a mid sized Kubota L.
I never used his non-hydraulic feed chipper. He told me back when he had it that I could use it any time, but it wouldn’t work for what I wanted to chip.

 

[mikester]

I use an old Bear Cat SC5540 with my JD 3520 that has 30hp at the PTO.

Some other advice on chippers:

Keep the blades sharp, know how to remove the blades, know how to sharpen the blades, invest in a replacement set of blades.

Ear and eye protection are a must have.

Enjoy (and be VERY careful with) whatever you end up with!

Get a face shield too!
https://en.stihl.ca/STIHL-Products/Accessories/Head-Eye-and-Ear-protection/274807-74782/‘A’-Helmet-System-(Type-1-2-Class-E).aspx

 

[Tropical Jack]

I run a Woodmaxx WM8H with my L3301. We are at an elevation above 4,000 ft. 4“ is about the max I chip, because everything else gets cut and split for the wood stove. Power has not been an issue whatsoever; and 2 power feed rollers is a great feature; not to mention the ability to instantly reverse the feed if the material gets stuck.

Jack

 

[skiff]

I had a Woods brand chipper which could do 5" logs for my Kubota B2150 which was 24 hp. It worked fine. I didn't read all the threads but what I would say the shredder was a bit scary to use. For me the chipper worked well (I used it to make horse bedding). Not super fast but acceptable. Very noisy. The main advantages of a PTO chipper/shredder is you don't have another engine to maintain and they are somewhat compact compared to a totally separate trailer driven type unit. But they are very heavy and a pain to align to the 3 pt hitch. I suppose a trailer type would be easier to use off your propoerty as you would not need to take your tractor.

 

[KenOrr]

I like having the equipment also, but for the amount I use it, I don't want the cost/maintenance. Last time a cleared an area, I rented a much larger than I needed for not a whole lot of money. Cost depends on the size you need and time you want it.