Woodchippers?

[FRIZ]

I am getting ready to order my JD4720. One of the attachments I wanted to get was the Frontier Woodchipper. I love the idea of a PTO driven Woodchipper which can be attached to the iMatch Quick-Hitch. And the fact that if I have any problems with a Frontier product I just call the JD dealer. But I am shocked with the prices!!!

Frontier WC1105 (Gravity Feed 5 In. Capacity) $4,300.00

Frontier WC1205 (Hydraulic Feed 5 In. Capacity) $6,500.00

My JD dealer just gives me a 10% discount on the Frontier Woodchippers. Now I have the following questions:

Does anybody have any experience with the Frontier Woodchippers?
Are the Frontier WC1105 & WC1205 of so high quality that the price is justified?
Is the Hydraulic Feed so superior to the Gravity Feed that it justifies the $2,200 price difference?
Is there another reliable company which produces a PTO driven Woodchippers?

Please share you insights.

Thank you,
Regards,
FRIZ

 

[BarryinMN]

Chipping is a dusty dirty gritty business. Might take awhile finding the tractor under all that dirt.

I have an old commercial drum chipper & try to distance equipment from the debris.

 

[Charles Billings]

Friz, Check out the Wallenstein wood chippers. The BX42 can chip up to 4 x 10" and the BX 62 up to 6 x 12. From Woodward Crossing or Marsh Brothers the prices are apporximately $2500 and $3300, respectively. I have the BX42 and love it. I see no need to get the hydraulic feed, unless you have money to burn.

 

[BigfishTX]

I have a Wallenstein BX42 chipper without the hydro feed-doesn't need it. total price was about $2500 shipped. It is an amazing chipper and having it on the 3pt is so easy-just drive to where the limbs are and start chipping. I have a quick hitch on my JD4500 (with about 40 hp) and it comes on and off in a few seconds, very easy to interchange.

 

[GordNovo]

I too have the Wally BX42.. and frankly it's my favorite tool for the tractor. No better way to exercise out that frustration and stress from the weekday madness than by puverizing and reducing deadfall down to a pile of chips on the weekend...hoo-ahh !! The BX42 has a 4" capacity, which to me seems adequate. Anything larger generally goes into the bonfire pile anyway.
If you have a local wally dealer in the area, you should seriously consider this brand.. you'll save a lot of money.

One thing to consider though is the sizing and species of trees you'll be chipping. The BX42 has a tractor hp rating of 35-40, but the 2520 only has 26.5, but it still does a great job but primarily on poplar in our forrest. Every once in a while, I come across an elm in our forest and i don't notice till I hear the tractor's labouring to chip down a 2-3" dia log.. then realize it's a hardwood species. I do believe that if bulk of trees were of the hardwood variety, my 2520 would be underspecced for the job. Lucky for my, we have 99% poplar, which it handles with ease.

Friz, with your 4720, depending on on the species of tree you're hoping to chip, you may want to consider the BX62 series of Wally chippers. They're rated for 60-70hp, which yours is right in the middle.

Have fun with your selection and shopping! The other brand you hear a lot about is BearCat, but I don't have any direct experience with them.. I considered that brand when I was shopping, but the Wally was a little cheaper and the feedback on the forums was VERY good, so for me the choice was obvious.

 

[Jrrcorp]

Fritz, I just got my BX42 yesterday and tried it out last night. It worked great and you can't beat the price. Got mine from Woodward Crossing. Great folks to deal with.

 

[acs55812]

I had a 5" woodchipper once----used it a couple time and sold it.

What I didn't like was 5 inch meant 5" with no branch stubs sticking out beyond 5". Think about that your cutting down a pine tree with 3" trunk---you must remove all limbs to make no more than 5" total distance across---then the limbs get tossed in the top and the trunk in the chute.

If I could have fed 3 inch trunk with limbs into chipper that would have been a pleasure to use---as it turns out for me it was a big increase in work for the little added benifit.

For me I just couldn't see the amount of work required to chip the tree and will go back to building a brush pile and burning said tree.

 

[Phineas7]

IWhat I didn't like was 5 inch meant 5" with no branch stubs sticking out beyond 5". Think about that your cutting down a pine tree with 3" trunk---you must remove all limbs to make no more than 5" total distance across---then the limbs get tossed in the top and the trunk in the chute.

That's a good reason to have one bigger than you can really drive. I have a Jinma derivative that is rated at 6" that has a mechanical feed. My little tractor will start bogging down once it gets much above 3". If the branches aren't too big they'll just bend and feed in. I do a lot of saplings and small trees; It works pretty good. The feed system really helps and I'm sure a higher qaulity chipper with hydraulic feed would work even better. I still have to help it. It doen't have the traction to bend in the branches.

 

[Smalljobs]

I've been using a borrowed 6" Jinma PTO Chipper on my Jinma 284LE and after over 15 hrs of chipping I just can't say enough about it. The pricing and performance cannot be beat.

 

[lwalsh]

I dont know your location but I bought my bx42 last winter from a master distributer in MI for $1879.00 plus tax. Very pleased with the chipper.

 

[ddivinia]

How much chipping do you plan on doing?

I have a bearcat with gravity feed and the chipper/shredder chute. It has been a good purchase. The gravity piece is a bit more than gravity. The blades actually pull it in. I was concerned about the gravity piece, but it has been fine.

I had a Jinma chipper before the Bearcat and it was the biggest pile of crap. I spent more time working on it than using it. Some people have had good luck with them, but I didn't.

How much chipper do you plan on doing?
How big is the material?
What kind of material.

What do I like about my bearcat? 1 bolt and I can open the unit. It is that easy. Many of the other units it is like open heart surgery to open them up.

Welded construction.

Blades are easy to swap. Reversible, etc. Get a supply of extra blades. Depending on what you stick in it - the life can change dramatically.

I would not be married to Frontier on this purchase. I have not seen one of their chippers, but there are lots of options. Dealer support does factor into it.

D.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Isnt the Frontier chipper just a green painted Wallenstein? If not Wallenstein, who really makes it?...

 

[OlderToday]

Isnt the Frontier chipper just a green painted Wallenstein? If not Wallenstein, who really makes it?...

Its a CX500 Series Champion Chipper from Pequea


NEWS RELEASE:
Pequea Signs Agreement to Manufacture Hay Tools and Wood Chippers for John Deere
2008-07-21

NEW HOLLAND, Pa., July 21, 2008 — Pequea, a Skibo company headquartered in New Holland, Pa., entered into an agreement with John Deere to produce rotary rakes, rotary tedders and wood chippers under the Frontier Equipment brand. The new Pequea-manufactured Frontier equipment will be available for the 2009 selling season.

Frontier Equipment will be available exclusively through John Deere dealerships nationwide. Pequea’s four-rotor and six-rotor TurboTedders™, 9-foot and 11-foot rotary rakes, and Champion wood chippers will add heavy-built hay tools and previously unavailable chippers to the Frontier line.

Pequea-manufactured Frontier products will be introduced at this summer’s John Deere Product Introduction meetings.

“The Pequea-John Deere agreement is an exciting opportunity to join forces with one of the world’s leading Ag manufacturers,” said Jim Mandes, national sales manager at Pequea. “We look forward to manufacturing Pequea’s high-quality hay tools and chippers to help John Deere expand the Frontier Equipment brand. The John Deere network of dealers offers us access to many markets where Pequea equipment was previously unavailable.”

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Its a CX500 Series Champion Chipper from Pequea

Gotcha...I knew it was a "Reputable" brand chipper...all the Frontier stuff is from top shelf MFG's...Other then the $$, it makes shopping for equipment easy for the "un educated"....swing by Deere dealer and come home with a Guaranteed good attachment...be it a Rear Blade or Chipper...

 

[FRIZ]

"Its a CX500 Series Champion Chipper from Pequea"

Thank you.
Regards,
FRIZ

 

[orlo]

Friz:

I have a Dr Chipper/Shredder (4.5" cap) that I use on my 2305 and my 3720. It works well but if I did it again I wouldn't bother with the shredder. The shredder works well (and fast!) for small stuff but makes the unit about 300lbs heavier to store/transport, etc. The other thing is that I've used it enough that if I bought another i'd consider a hydraulic feed. If you find yourself stuffing limbs with lot's of small branches they prevent it from feeding in nice and easy. Maybe that's just me.

 

[ddivinia]

Shredder is great for throwing little stuff in there. You have to figure out what it will eat and not tear things up. Also, once you figure out your chipper - you will cut things the "proper" way to make life easy with the chipper.

D.

 

[amigauser]

I agree that hydraulic feed is nice. A lot depends on what you are chipping. I have owned two different BearCat gravity feed chippers and they do self feed pretty well with sharp blades. The problem for me was chipping up hard wood like maple with the right angle branches as they would not self feed without a lot of trimming. If you are primarily chipping soft woods like pine it is not an issue. If you plan on chipping hard wood plan on doing some trimming or getting something with hydraulic feed.

 

[Smalljobs]

Gentlemen,
I posted earlier. I've been using an old borrowed 6" Jinma chipper with auto feed. It easily eats a 5-6" soft pine with minor limbs attached. It will also easily eat a 6" trimmed hardwood. I had to replace a belt and it took a half hour with a Gates NAPA part. This chipper is half the price of others and you can easily find from Jinma Dealer, Wood Chipper , Compact Jinma Tractors and others.

 

[ddivinia]

Gentlemen,
I posted earlier. I've been using an old borrowed 6" Jinma chipper with auto feed. It easily eats a 5-6" soft pine with minor limbs attached. It will also easily eat a 6" trimmed hardwood. I had to replace a belt and it took a half hour with a Gates NAPA part. This chipper is half the price of others and you can easily find from Jinma Dealer, Wood Chipper , Compact Jinma Tractors and others.

Don't assume all the Jinmas are good. Some people have gotten good ones and a lot of people have not. Hit n miss Chinese quality.

D.