Asplundh Chipper Help - Manuals

[Warteetee]

I just picked up a 16" Whisper chipper this week. I am very new to chipping and this is my first attempt. The engine is strong and the drum is very nice and quiet. The problem is the blades are very dull. I am looking for the manuals to learn how to change the blades and what the settings should be to chip fast.

Also, I bought this 16" because I thought that it could handle a 16" log - is that case - if not, what size can this type of unit chew up? I am chipping hundreds of 40ft red pines - almost no limbs - just the wood.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Warteetee]

As a follow-up, this might sound like a dumb question, but the unit came with 28 brand new 12" blades - yes, 12" and not the 16" that should be on the unit. Given the way the wedge works, is it OK to center the 12" blades and use them on the 16" drum - leaving 2" on each side that has no blade.

16" drum with 12" blades? Possible? Potential issues (vibration?)

Thanks

 

[Dadatwins]

First off this should be posted in arbo 101 or an equipment forum. DO NOT use a 12" blade in a 16" chipper, get the manual and the right blade. The blades must be torque to spec and set properly. If the blades are that chewed up the cutter bar is probably in bad shape also and needs to be serviced. That chipper will not chip a 16" anything. It is a BRUSH chipper. Meant for chipping up brush and tree limbs. There is no way to stop the material once it hits the blades so it needs to be the right length or the machine will clog up. 6" diameter at 15' long is a safe guess, experience and use will tell you otherwise. be careful, those whisper machines are very efficient and dangerous, they will eat in seconds anything that contacts those blades.

 

[begleytree]

As a follow-up, this might sound like a dumb question, but the unit came with 28 brand new 12" blades - yes, 12" and not the 16" that should be on the unit. Given the way the wedge works, is it OK to center the 12" blades and use them on the 16" drum - leaving 2" on each side that has no blade.

16" drum with 12" blades? Possible? Potential issues (vibration?)

Thanks

stop a minute and think. these are asplundh blades. held in by a tightened wedge. sharp enough to easily cut wood. turning at a very high rate of speed and you are there. now, do you really want to put the wrong blade in your chipper and run it up to 3500 RPM? still want to be standing there when one or more goes flying? they will easily shred the metal chute. any guesses what they will do to you?
Didn't think so. sell the 12" blades.

OK, now for changing them.
place ignition keys in your pocket.
remove the chute and flip foreward out of the way. unbolt the bottom 3 bolt at the chute/drum. flip this out of the way backwards.
you will see 5 allen head bolts on the 16" chipper. 4 are perfectly spaced and one is out of spacing. the spaced ones are long, and hold the wedge. the other is short. you remove this one and replace with a long bolt to push the wedge up. trust me here, a air compressor and impact wrench will be a big help.
repeat on all 4 blades. engage clutch when you get the bolts where you can work on them, take off and turn, then repeat.
take blades to machine shop for sharpening, there is a sponsor here who does that too, and would prob want your incorrect blades too
when you get your sharpened blades back, let us know.
surely someone will know about manuals. yours should be a '75-80 model if memory serves. don't forget to show us pics of it too!
-Ralph

 

[Warteetee]

I knew it was stupid - would not want to put the wrong blads in such a unit.

It makes my stomach sick that I bought this in the first place now that I know that I can't ship the wood that I have to chip - that was the only reason I bought the unit.

I will post a few picks tomorrow when the rain stops and I put the shoot back on.

Looks likie she is going back up for sale for she won't do the job I got her for.

 

[begleytree]

what job did you get her for that she wont do? those are pretty indestructable machines. I'd love to have one for a backup chipper.
-Ralph

 

[Warteetee]

Our new place got hit by an ice storm which knocked down about 200 40ft pines. I have already layed them down and taken care of the limbs. Now, all I have left are the logs - I have cut them into 5 foot lengths and they range from 6' to 16" in diameter. We live in a no burn county so burning is not an option and renting was $250/8 hours. Now I see why since my unit isn't anything like what they are renting.

 

[begleytree]

your chipper will handle those. the 6" to 10" stuff it will eat, the stuff over 10", I would rip in half and feed. that V-8 has the power to chip that pine easily, especially cut into 5' lengths. get your blades sharpened, and chip away.
-Ralph

 

[Warteetee]

Asplundh 16"

Ralph - thanks for the information. You just about saved my evening. I would say 90% of what I have to chip is 10" or under so if I can get the 90% done, I can bury or use the rest in the barn heater.
Thanks again and once I get the blades off - they will go to a sharpener - any suggestions in Pennsylvania around the Lancaster area?
Thanks again

 

[Warteetee]

Asplundh 16"

Ralph - forgot to add that this unit has the Ford 300 6 cylinder - still enough power.

Also regarding the site post location - I am a home owner and this unit was purchased to clear the wood at out house following an ice storm. I did the buy verse rent calculations and buying a used unit seemed much better.

Thanks

 

[begleytree]

yeah, you're still in good shape. get those blades sharpened up to reduce bogging and it will run cooler as well, and feed starting with the smaller stuff. you'll get the feel of what it can handle and when you're reaching it's limit.
Be sure to stand to the side of the feed table when feeding the logs. trust me, your nads will thank you when a block come flying back out at just the right heigth and way too fast.
imo, you'll still be way ahead of the renting game. as a general rule, rental units are not the right equipment usually, and are almost always in dire need of maintence. you think your blades are dull.....

while you're in there pulling the blades, remove the cutter bar as well. big square block of metal, and take it in with the blades and have them true it up too.
soon you'll have more nice clean pine chips than you can use areound the property, plus you'll have a good solid chipper for whenever anything comes up. you can also rent it out to to other homeowners, and/or work it on their brushpiles in your spare time to offset the initial cost of purchasing it.
-Ralph

 

[Warteetee]

Dull Blades or Bad Cutter Bar

Ralph - you speak of the cutter bar. When I checked the blades none of them had any dings or chips. It is certainly sharper than a butter knife but certainly not as sharp as a razor. Could my problem be with the cutter bar and not the blades?

Also, renting out. Is there much liability with this option?

 

[begleytree]

the blades as you describe them are due for sharpening. you dont want to wait until they are shot to have them sharpened, they would have to remove too much material. if the blades are so shapr you fear running a finger lightly across the edge, they are about right.
feeding problems are usually associated with the cutter bar, and the blade to cutter bar settings. the CB will tend to wear in the middle and not pull brush into the machine like it should.
If you're planning to pull the blades and CB tomorrow, go out tonite and spray the bolts down with WD-40 or another penetrating oil. it will make life easier tomorrow.

rental liability? well, honestly, there are better people than myself to talk with that about. maybe the best thing would be for you to use it and let them watch, or at least drag brush to you to feed.
-Ralph

 

[Ed Roland]

War, Just my 2 pennies here.
I have one of these chippers and they are WIDOW MAKERS for the uninitiated! Be extremely careful when operating. Make sure you feed this thing from the side and toss the debris into the blades while you vear away from the unit. Dont let the blades pull it from your grasp. Do not wear 'gauntlet' style gloves as they could catch on a stob and pull you through. Wear eye and ear protection. Dont toss in vines and have someone on the site but well away from the unit.
Good luck and have some fun but please be careful.

 

[Warteetee]

Woodweasel - now that I have the unit and hear some of the issues - I am a little, actually, very nervous to use this unit. I am going to rig up a kill switch in the back area so I at least can kill it is something happens.

 

[begleytree]

War, Just my 2 pennies here.
I have one of these chippers and they are WIDOW MAKERS for the uninitiated! Be extremely careful when operating. Make sure you feed this thing from the side and toss the debris into the blades while you vear away from the unit. Dont let the blades pull it from your grasp. Do not wear 'gauntlet' style gloves as they could catch on a stob and pull you through. Wear eye and ear protection. Dont toss in vines and have someone on the site but well away from the unit.
Good luck and have some fun but please be careful.

Very good advice! I was actually approaching this from the standpoint that he had already used it a lot to chip the brush, hence he now knows that his blades are dull, or that he has to fight it a bit to get it to take the brush, and wasn't looking foreward to chipping the logs with it acting this way.
It was an assumption on my part, and there's a good possability that my assumption was incorrect.
By all means, War, Be a little bit more than careful, never get complacent, and always respect the machine. one mistake can get very ugly very quickly.
-Ralph

 

[begleytree]

Woodweasel - now that I have the unit and hear some of the issues - I am a little, actually, very nervous to use this unit. I am going to rig up a kill switch in the back area so I at least can kill it is something happens.

Don't bother making modifications to it. even killing the engine will allow the blades to coast for a long time, and still have plenty of power while coasting to chip a body.
respect is the key, not modifications. treat it with kid gloves and act like its a rabid dog that will bite you if given the chance. because it will.
fear is a good thing, let it turn into respect, and never lose that.
-Ralph

edit: if its any consolation, of all the chipper deaths in the US, none are from 'chuck and duck' chippers like yours. they all involve self feeders. those can cause a man to get complacent due to the illusion of total control of the feeding and chipping process.

 

[Warteetee]

Cutter bar costs

Any idea what cutter bars run for these units?

 

[begleytree]

Any idea what cutter bars run for these units?

Just get yours trued up. wont say never, but theres rarely any need for total replacement of the cutter bar. its just wood being drug across the CB causing wear, and wood across metal takes a while to wear, and the CBs hold up real well. sometimes they just need trued. remember, you only use the top outside edge. once trued, you have 4 edges to use before trueing again.
-Ralph

 

[Warteetee]

I bought the chipper on Thursday, started it for the first time yesterday and stopped after about 10 minutes because I had a log which was about 10 feet long and I and push form the side and I was pushing hard ot get it to do anything. In fact, after about 30 seconds the wood started to smoke like one of those wood burning kits. There is no doubt it was very dangerous ith the amount of pressure I was putting on this unit - It didn't take anything - only what I forced and nothing more. Seeing it was dangerous, I stoped right away.

I have had the shipper for about 2 days now.

Thanks