625 Vermeer

[oldphart]

I'm the proud new owner of a vermeer 625. Yes, I wish I would've read some of the posts here first and got the Bandit 6x12 instead of the 6x6 but now I'm kind of stuck with it. I recently noticed that on the feed roller, a couple "cogs" (for lack of a better word) seemed to be shorter and sharper, I thought it was normal and would dig into the tree better than the rounded, longer cogs. Thinking about it later on though, I'm wondering if the cogs didn't break off leaving them shorter, am I right? It must make a heck of a racket when the broken cogs go through the blades! How much can I expect to pay for a new feed roller for my 625? Is it very hard to install? I'm kind of handy at this stuff.

also, I went to that Zenith site looking for blades and saw about $43, is that each? (gulp) Can they be sharpened by me or is it best to send them out?

Thanks much guys for any help you're able to give me.

 

[anwtn454]

all the blades cans be sharpened in the larger 12 inch and up nnot sure about yours!

 

[jemclimber]

That is probably each. I know I usually pay about $100 a set. I just bought a new anvil from Baileys and they were much cheaper than Vermeer, about half I think. Also, you can sharpen them a few times if they just dull and you don't whack anything major taking a big chunk out of them. They should be blanchard (sp) ground, or I guess you could sharpen with some abrasive paper on a piece of glass, like a chisel is sharpened though I have never done that.

 

[jemclimber]

That is probably each. I know I usually pay about $100 a set. I just bought a new anvil from Baileys and they were much cheaper than Vermeer, about half I think. Also, you can sharpen them a few times if they just dull and you don't whack anything major taking a big chunk out of them. They should be blanchard (sp) ground, or I guess you could sharpen with some abrasive paper on a piece of glass, like a chisel is sharpened though I have never done that. I usually sharpen on a belt sander with water dripping.

 

[D Mc]

We have a 625A Vermeer and are very pleased with its performance and reliability. (We did have the autofeed removed prior to purchase.)

We have our blades reground; this procedure costs approx $5.25/blade and can be done many times per blade.

We have not had to replace a feed roller so can't comment on how difficult or easy it would be to replace. It should have cogs all the same size. The part number is 120028-001 (in our catalog which was for a 2001 model).

Our Vermeer dealer (here in Montana) is very easy to work with.

D Mc

 

[lemon pie]

photo?

Seems to me that your replies so far have not been useful- they have been more about the knives and bedknives that are typically sharpened.

Could you post a photo of your feed rolls? I think then people could "feel" your question and make an educated answer by seeing it for real.

 

[rcw3586]

Feed roller

I recently purchased a used BC620 from about 91. Here is a photo of its feed roller after about 1100 hours of use.

 

[hornett22]

i have a 625 and i love it.

for what it is it's great and it's saved us countless times when the 12"was down.this machine rarely needs a repair.once you get an autofeed controller from someone other than vermeer,your all set.

 

[oldphart]

re:

Thank you everyone for your replies. Blanchard grinding looks (to me) like the type of grinding if there's a large amount of material to be removed. Ricght now my blades just look dull...no hunks or gouges are there. Can I do this on a wheel or should I call around and have it professionally done.

auto-feed roller

D MC: I appreciate your input on the 5.25 sharpening fee...I bought this from a landscaping company and the man there said it costs about $50 set to have them sharpened. tnx, I'll check into this but why did you have the autofeed removed? I kind of like the auto-feed. Mine just has a toggle switch for on-off, did I missing something here?

Lemon Pie, RCW and Hornett: thank you for addressing my feed roller troubles. Right now I have it in storage butted up to a pontoon boat but will get to it tomorrow in hopes I can open it and get some fairly good shots, my feed roller does not have the sharp pointed teeth, just horizontal ones with a couple/few that look "broken off". Will try for a decent photo.

From what I've read here...the autofeed feature is directed at the underpowered chippers which senses the engine bogging down and stops the feed, right? For ME, it seems like a nice feature and gives me time for another armload of branches and stuff.

clyde

 

[D Mc]

Oldfart: If you are pleased with how your chipper performs with the autofeed then obviously don't change anything. We were dissatisfied because we found (during our demo job) that it chipped easily 10Xs faster without the autofeed. We simply adjust the infeed rate with their manual adjust lever. You become familiar with the types of wood and brush that will bog the engine and so can set your feed rate accordingly.

Having your blades sharpened professionally is well worth it. Whereas we send our blades to a company in a nearby town, Vermeer (at least the dealer in Montana) has a policy that you can send in your old blades in "exchange" for a newly sharpened used set for a very comparable cost to the figure I quoted on the resharpening. Vermeer, of course, would also be able to tell if the blades can even be sharpened or if they have been worn too much (which will eventually happen, of course). You should get an extra set (if you don't already have one) if you don't want to put up with down time.

D Mc

 

[jemclimber]

Not to derail the thread, but where did you get your autofeed from Hornett22? Mine is a 620 that I upgraded with a new 25hp koehler and doesn't have the autofeed though I wish it did so workers don't bog the engine. I tell them how to run it and then as soon as your up in the tree it never fails you hear the engine almost stall.

 

[rcw3586]

jemclimber:
How involved was uprading your 620 to a 625? Was it an easy bolt-on swap out or were there modifications involved? Did you do the work or did you have a Vermeer dealer do it? Who supplied the new engine?
Is the performance improvement significant? What did the whole upgrade cost? As you can tell, I've been considering this myself.
Roger

 

[oldphart]

blades

I have 3 sets of blades and I know the set in the machine is dull, the man I bought it from said they were dull and I ran another 50 or so 3" trees through it after that which is when I came to like the autofeed even though it would only feed about an inch or so at a time on the 3.5" trees, I took the cover off this Fall because I jammed up everything once when I was kinda drunk and forgot to engage the chipper and simply fed a tree into it. Pulled out some sizable chunks and started it without the shroud. It was like snowing (!) only it was chips. I got to peek at the existing blades and yes, they were pretty dull. Will try to get a picture of the feed roller today if I can get the shed open (snow). I'm a little apprehensive about being able to turn the feed roller by hand if the sharp edge I;m talking about isn't visible, being hydraulic, I doubt I can turn it without starting it. On the outside of the chipper is a pin on a chain, I THINK it might be to lock the flywheel in place when wrenching off the blades, correct? Is there a way to tell the year by the serial number?

 

[oldphart]

feed roller

ok, I went and peeked at my 625 today, I crawled inside and tried to take a photo. With the flash everything came out white, without the flash, everything came out too dark BUT I was able to look closely at the roller and here's what I discovered...
...all but a couple teeth on the feed roller feed IN, the 2 or 3 that I thought originally looked different, appear to be backwards, as in feeding OUT like for reverse. Is this the way it's supposed to be? I assume it is, would this help me to date the machine? My feed roller does not have nearly the testerone that rcw3586's does just imagine a blade in the feed roller looking the opposite direction instead of the testerone filled teeth blade. Do you understand what I mean now? Something else I found out today was that a 200# person cannot climb into the chute of a 625 without it tipping backwards:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[oldphart]

autofeed

Not to derail the thread, but where did you get your autofeed from Hornett22?

I believe my autofeed is a vermeer installed item, it's painted the same color as the rest of the machine and the chipper itself has "Autofeed II" in big decals on the side. I DO like the autofeed, I think my problem was pretty dull blades.
The man I bought it from said that when the blades are sharp, the autofeed just keeps shoving everything right through with no slowdown so I guess I have to look for a place to get the blades sharpened professionally in the St Paul area. Would you recommend a rental place or ask the rental place where they get theirs sharpened? I get along with the owner pretty well. I also DO like the 625 but agree with everyone elses complaint about it stopping when a small fork gets into the rollerfeed (stops it cold). Is there a way to tell me the year of this by the serial number?

thanks
Clyde

 

[rcw3586]

Serial#

Although I don't know how to decode the date of manufacture by the machine's SN, I figured out how to decode the engines date by it's SN.
They should be the same I imagine.
I downloaded the owner/service manuals for my M20 from the Kohler website. They tell you how to determine the date of Manufacture from a two digit code in the SN. It might me different for your 25HP but I would start there.
Roger

 

[Mike W]

Yes, that pin does go through the flywheel to hold it while you wrench on the blades. We get ours sharpened at Zeineth Cutter Company I believe. The biggest issue we've had with our 625 is people engaging the belt at high rpm and smoking it, but we are a rental company and people abuse the crap out of stuff, cuz it's not theirs. Otherwise, it's the best chipper we have.

 

[oldphart]

aahhhhhhh

The biggest issue we've had with our 625 is people engaging the belt at high rpm and smoking it, but we are a rental company and people abuse the crap out of stuff, cuz it's not theirs. Otherwise, it's the best chipper we have.

ahhhh! I engage at high speed and I've seen/smelled the smoke, it kind of reminded me of my Impala back in the 60's. I've tried engaging at lower speeds but it seems like that just kills the engine. I guess it's a trail and error thing for the newbies, right (shrug) ? The engine on this is a 24 hp Honda, does that mean it's a 624?

 

[Mike W]

ahhhh! I engage at high speed and I've seen/smelled the smoke, it kind of reminded me of my Impala back in the 60's. I've tried engaging at lower speeds but it seems like that just kills the engine. I guess it's a trail and error thing for the newbies, right (shrug) ? The engine on this is a 24 hp Honda, does that mean it's a 624?

If I remember right, they used either a 25 hp Kohler or the 24 hp Honda on the 625. It takes a bit of restarting to get the feel for engaging the clutch. I usually engage real slow till the engine almost dies, then let off till it catches back up, and do that a couple times. Once the clutch handle is vertical, you can go over center with it then and you're ready to run. IF anything ever happens to that Honda (not likely, their tough SOB's), consider going to the Kohler. We found that they had more torque than the Honda does, but they eat a little more fuel, not much more though.

 

[hornett22]

i have the Kohler on mine.

we replaced the 25 with a 27 last year.i turn the throttle up off idle a little before i engage the clutch.i keep spare $50 belts around too.they seem to last when i use it though.if you notice RPMs no recovering quickly,make sure your belt is tight.

only thing i don't like it the garbage auto feed controller.i bought an aftermarket one at the tree show and should be all set now.

if your's has the metal gas tank,get it checked and cleaned.this is what ruined my last motor.