Woodmaxx DC-1260 or Jansen GTS1500 (or 2000)

[RutnBuck]

I have been scouring the Internet looking for the "right" chipper to use on my 80 acres of wooded property. I have all sorts of downed or dead fir, oak, pine and various other nuisance brush that I need to get rid of. I've been waffling between large commercial machines like a Vermeer or Bandit or scaling down a bit to a pto-driven machine that can handle up to 6" but I can't get a large unit or a tractor back into most parts of my property. To make a long story short, for many reasons (cost, form, fit, function) I'm now considering some smaller stand-alone models that I could pull with an ATV or SxS like the Jansen GTS1500 (or GTS-2000) and the Woodmaxx DC-1260. The Jansen appears to be of German design and many videos show it eating away most vegetation thrown at it but after calling Jansen USA I found out the machines are designed in Germany but made in China. As for the Woodmaxx, I was unable to get ahold of a rep today but upon looking at their website, there are glimpses of "made in the USA" but I'm unsure of how far that extends (i.e. the entire machine or just some parts. At any rate . . . does anyone have any feedback on either of these machines? Thanks in advance!

 

[ericm979]

Only a few of the Woodmaxx attachments are made in USA. Most are made in China, to Woodmaxx's design and specs. For example their WM-8H chipper is their design, not a generic one. The MX line of PTO chippers are made in the US. They make that really obvious on the pages for those implements. The page for the DC 1260 shows made in the US knives like the 8H has but nothing else about made in USA. So except those parts, it's probably made in China.

I've been pretty happy with the 8H. I can't get to many parts of my 20 acres. Sometimes I have to drag stuff to where I can get the tractor to it. After having a 4.5" self feeding PTO chipper I'm very happy to have an 8" hydraulic feed. It's so much more effective. I don't have to cut stuff down to tiny pieces to get it in the chipper. I'm only limited by what I can drag to the chipper and get into the chute. My tractor's got 32hp at the PTO and there's times that I could use more. A 14hp gas engine wouldn't do it for me.
The 8H isn't quite to the build quality that I'd expect for a made in the US implement but it's perfectly suitable. I have some 65 hours on mine and it's been totally reliable. I did replace the hydraulic speed control for a US made valve of a more appropriate size for the small flow system on the chipper, in order to get better control over the feed speed. But most people are ok with the one that comes on the unit.

If you have enough big stuff to justify a commercial style trailer mounted chipper, they make some with built in winches.

 

[oosik]

I seldom hear of folks with Woodmaxx that have serious problems. Some have minor problems that require a simple fix.

I've had two Wallenstein chippers. First a BX42S - now a BX62S. Both were/are manual feed. I only chip pines. Every spring I thin, drag, stack and chip small pines ( 1" to 6" on the butt ). I usually will chip from 900 to 1200 small pines every spring.

Ha, ha - this spring it was closer to 900. Next spring it will probably be closer to 750. Unless I can get my son to help.

I chip all my pines - "in the round". IE - no limbs trimmed. The tree goes in butt first and then there is an almighty chipping sound.

I am also limited by the size of the tree. Absolutely no need for any type of chipper that goes beyond a 6" tree. It's just dam hard enough dragging a 6" pine to the chipping pile.

I chip way too many pines each spring to be fiddly-farting around with some type of winching system. It would take me six months if I had to winch each and every tree. I will normally fall 3 to 4 times during the dragging operation. I've never been really hurt - just skinned up shins.

 

[RutnBuck]

Only a few of the Woodmaxx attachments are made in USA. Most are made in China, to Woodmaxx's design and specs. For example their WM-8H chipper is their design, not a generic one. The MX line of PTO chippers are made in the US. They make that really obvious on the pages for those implements. The page for the DC 1260 shows made in the US knives like the 8H has but nothing else about made in USA. So except those parts, it's probably made in China.

I've been pretty happy with the 8H. I can't get to many parts of my 20 acres. Sometimes I have to drag stuff to where I can get the tractor to it. After having a 4.5" self feeding PTO chipper I'm very happy to have an 8" hydraulic feed. It's so much more effective. I don't have to cut stuff down to tiny pieces to get it in the chipper. I'm only limited by what I can drag to the chipper and get into the chute. My tractor's got 32hp at the PTO and there's times that I could use more. A 14hp gas engine wouldn't do it for me.
The 8H isn't quite to the build quality that I'd expect for a made in the US implement but it's perfectly suitable. I have some 65 hours on mine and it's been totally reliable. I did replace the hydraulic speed control for a US made valve of a more appropriate size for the small flow system on the chipper, in order to get better control over the feed speed. But most people are ok with the one that comes on the unit.

If you have enough big stuff to justify a commercial style trailer mounted chipper, they make some with built in winches.

I like the Woodmaxx PTO-driven chippers but a chipper of that size on my tractor is to large to manueuver in the woods. I'm trying to work smarter, not harder so dragging or trailering stuff to a chipper is not efficient.

 

[RutnBuck]

I seldom hear of folks with Woodmaxx that have serious problems. Some have minor problems that require a simple fix.

I've had two Wallenstein chippers. First a BX42S - now a BX62S. Both were/are manual feed. I only chip pines. Every spring I thin, drag, stack and chip small pines ( 1" to 6" on the butt ). I usually will chip from 900 to 1200 small pines every spring.

Ha, ha - this spring it was closer to 900. Next spring it will probably be closer to 750. Unless I can get my son to help.

I chip all my pines - "in the round". IE - no limbs trimmed. The tree goes in butt first and then there is an almighty chipping sound.

I am also limited by the size of the tree. Absolutely no need for any type of chipper that goes beyond a 6" tree. It's just dam hard enough dragging a 6" pine to the chipping pile.

I chip way too many pines each spring to be fiddly-farting around with some type of winching system. It would take me six months if I had to winch each and every tree. I will normally fall 3 to 4 times during the dragging operation. I've never been really hurt - just skinned up shins.

I'm trying to handle the chipping material the least amount of times as possible. Im looking for efficiency by cutting and chipping at the same spot. I know one trade off will be a pile of logs that I cant chip. I can accept that and will use the larger stuff in burn piles or campfires.

 

[oosik]

I'm trying to handle the chipping material the least amount of times as possible. Im looking for efficiency by cutting and chipping at the same spot. I know one trade off will be a pile of logs that I cant chip. I can accept that and will use the larger stuff in burn piles or campfires.

No room to maneuver in your woods - RutnBuck. You need to do more aggressive thinning - ha, ha. No, I've seen enough pictures of many properties and many are as thick as a jungle. I'm lucky here. It's all grass land with very open stands of Ponderosa pines.

Dragging trees to the chipper is not a good idea. Dirt & small gravel do not mix well with chipper blades. My big bug-a-boo here is volcanic ash. Even after the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens - there is still a lot of ash in the big trees. Those that are 1" to 6" generally have grown since the eruption and are basically ash free.

I bought my Wallenstein BX62S, new, in 2014 and the first side of all four blades are still as sharp as razors. Green P. pines are soft and if you are careful will remain sharp for a very long time. I've chipped approximately 5500 small pines since I purchased the BX62S. Just typing this makes my back muscles tighten up. I've had nightmares about dragging small trees.

They are like rocks in an open field - pick all the rocks and the following spring a new crop is out there and doing well.

 

[RutnBuck]

No room to maneuver in your woods - RutnBuck. You need to do more aggressive thinning - ha, ha. No, I've seen enough pictures of many properties and many are as thick as a jungle. I'm lucky here. It's all grass land with very open stands of Ponderosa pines.

Dragging trees to the chipper is not a good idea. Dirt & small gravel do not mix well with chipper blades. My big bug-a-boo here is volcanic ash. Even after the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens - there is still a lot of ash in the big trees. Those that are 1" to 6" generally have grown since the eruption and are basically ash free.

I bought my Wallenstein BX62S, new, in 2014 and the first side of all four blades are still as sharp as razors. Green P. pines are soft and if you are careful will remain sharp for a very long time. I've chipped approximately 5500 small pines since I purchased the BX62S. Just typing this makes my back muscles tighten up. I've had nightmares about dragging small trees.

They are like rocks in an open field - pick all the rocks and the following spring a new crop is out there and doing well.

Honestly I would make more trails and make them wider except my forest is mostly 20y.o. re-prod fir trees and play a big part in my retirement plans 20 yrs from now when they mature. I'm not a Forester by any stretch but I have been advised to thin them to about 1 tree every 12-15 ft apart to get maximum growth but those distances still don't allow for big tractor mobility through them. I know where I can get a real nice Wallenstein BXM42 for a very affordable price but I hesitate due to the reason I've previously stated. No doubt, Wallenstein's are great machines.

 

[ericm979]

I like the Woodmaxx PTO-driven chippers but a chipper of that size on my tractor is to large to manueuver in the woods. I'm trying to work smarter, not harder so dragging or trailering stuff to a chipper is not efficient.

There's also the Woodland Mills PTO chippers. They are a different design than the Woodmaxx and are more compact, and on the 8" model the intake chute folds up making it smaller still.

It seems to me that a PTO chipper on a tractor would be more manuverable than a chipper trailer. I'm good at backing trailers but I can't get them to make as tight a turn as my tractor can.

 

[sea2summit]

I like the Woodmaxx PTO-driven chippers but a chipper of that size on my tractor is to large to manueuver in the woods. I'm trying to work smarter, not harder so dragging or trailering stuff to a chipper is not efficient.

What are you planning to do with the chips if dragging the material isn't efficient?

I've got the WoodMaxx MX-9900 on 28 acres and I've been using it hard for almost a year now and have about 15 acres I haven't even scratched yet. I don't find it efficient to have the chipper running while I collect material because even though it feeds 90% of the stuff by itself you need to watch it and keep it fed. Typically I'll pile a bunch of material one weekend and chip it the next. I'd be surprised if you could collect enough material to keep even the smaller chippers chipping by yourself if you don't pile up the material.

FWIW I staged material starting before I ordered my 9900 and it was backordered about four months so I had what I thought would be a year worth of material and I chewed through it in the first five weekends or about 15 hrs on the chipper.

 

[oosik]

I spend about fifteen day every spring - felling & dragging to piles. The dragging is the pits. The chipping is the easy part. I wouldn't even consider chipping if the felled trees were not in piles. I will thin an area the size of a tennis court. When I'm done felling it looks like a giant game of Pick Up Sticks. Each spring I will thin eight to ten of these areas. Sometimes more.