Woodland Mills wood Chipper wait times !

[arto98607]

The WC88 was delivered on time. The 18 wheeler parked at the top of the driveway and I drove out, offloaded with the forks and put in the garage.
I took my time putting together, not bad. A second person would be nice but not absolute.
No issues, the construction is solid. Ran for about an hour today in lieu of working and it performed fine with the exception that I need to adjust the tension of the control arm. It was too easily going into neutral.
I beefed up the base of the pallet it came on and added wheels to store and move around a little easier.
With just an hour of use and several hours of construction and admiration I’m very satisfied.

It looks very good but I would have some concern about the PTO shaft angle if it was my chipper, which it is not.

Hopefully the angle it is within acceptable range?

 

[grsthegreat]

I don’t rest my chipper in legs when in use. I lower it until shaft is level then engage pto.

 

[DPSailor]

I measured the angle at 20 degrees. The manual stated that anything under 25 degrees was fine. I did raise the base 3” which brought the angle to 15 but was running into an issue coming out of the garage. There’s a dip in the pavement for water movement and when the rear tires cross it, the base was dragging. So I went back to the lower setting.
Remeasured, still at 20 degrees.
Not fully lowering when running is ok?

 

[oosik]

I run my Wallenstein BX62S as grsthegreat does. Raise/lower until the PTO shaft is level.

Last year I checked in to the Wallenstein web site. I see they no longer produce the '42S nor the '62S.

And to get anything near to my BX62S - I'd have to go to the new BX72S. Even at that, it has a smaller fly wheel. The new prices for these chippers is out of sight.

I purchased mine - new in 2013 - for $4500. It's no wonder that well maintained implements are holding their price.

You want your chipper sitting hard on the ground. Build up a stack of boards - set the chipper on that. Get that PTO shaft as close to level as possible. It helps extend the live of the universal joints. That and greasing.

 

[grsthegreat]

Why would you have it sit on ground or on boards? mine does not move at all while in use. The 3 point arms are pinned so there’s no movement. I would never want the pto to run at that snap of an angle. Ive been doing this for over 10 years without any issues.

 

[oosik]

I used boards once. I was chipping up the old apple trees in my orchard. They were long dead and weather hardened. Initially the chipper set X inches off the ground to get the PTO shaft level. As I introduces the large branches - the initial contact with the knives would cause the chipper to shake. I didn't like that. I put a few 2 x 12's under the chipper and set it down hard on the boards.

All the shaking quit. I chip all my pines in the round and green. It's never a problem with them.

The apple wood was so hard - part of the rotational forces of the fly wheel were transferred to the total chipper body.

And, yes, my knives are still as sharp as razors. Green pine is VERY soft and chips easily. Old weather hardened apple - not so much.

 

[DPSailor]

Well, here’s what I’ve learned and done today. First of all, thanks for the heads up on the angle, it fell within the manufacturing specs and I would have not given it more consideration.
I emailed and then spoke with a tech at Woodland and a few statements he made are:
Don’t run off the ground, don’t run sitting on a log either. His reasoning was the flywheel spins at double the PTO speed and the WC88 could become unstable. This may not apply to other makes or sizes but definitely did for this model.
I ended up raising 3” which brings more inline. Still at about 15 degrees but better than the original set up. I also ended up taking another 3/8” off the shaft as well. I could see it just start to bind at the top 3 pt position. I need to be there to get out of the shed.
This is all new to me so I read a lot and ask a lot of questions as well. I appreciate the input and wanted to update where I stood on it.
I also took this thread in a different direction and that was not my intention. I’m happy to start a new one but I feel my questions have been answered.

 

[Jstpssng]

Fair enough - not arguing, but also consider there is a shop somewhere where they are paying wages to people to make the chipper you have ordered knowing they had none in the inventory waiting for a buyer.
Yes I know it's the cost of them running their business.

Is your money now actually earning interest elsewhere?

I ordered and put down $500 in March, and it's scheduled to be built in the middle of August. That's when they will be paying wages to build mine. I was self employed for 20 years and never got paid before I did a job. That money may not be making me a lot of money, but it's better off in my bank account than theirs. Ten bucks interest is ten bucks after all. When I know they are on schedule I will arrange a transfer as that is their preferred way of doing it.

 

[oosik]

I've seen folks make four adjustable legs for chippers. One on each corner with a big, flat foot pad welded on the bottom. I didn't have that available. That's why I used two stacks of boards. The board stacks provide even more stability than the unit sitting on the ground. And the PTO was running flat - zero angle.

Also - don't chip anything that is covered with dirt. Your chipper blades will appreciate that.

I've had my Wally BX62S for eight years now. I chip an average 1000 young pines every spring. That's 8000 young pines. I'm still on the same side of the blades and they are still razor sharp.

 

[grsthegreat]

Very odd. ill have to check with woodmaxx what they will require for the new mx8800 if they ever get to my order. My old Jimna has been held off the ground for over 10 years without issue. It has a 200 lb flywheel. No movement whatsoever, but I only chip softwoods.