Need 3" BearCat chipper advice

[TheJollyLogger]

Roger, you just aren't listening. No One uses these machines! Suckers buy these machines, use them once, kick thrmselves for not listening, and then sell it on Craigslist for ten cents on the dollar. Do you think you're the first retired guy that thought he saw a way to make some easy money, got stuck in the middle of a job, asked us for advice, didn't like what he heard, and then went out and lost his butt?
At this point you're not asking for advice, you're asking for permission, so by all means, go drop $3,000 on that sucker and prove us wrong.

 

[Roger Dodger]

Roger, you just aren't listening. No One uses these machines! Suckers buy these machines, use them once, kick thrmselves for not listening, and then sell it on Craigslist for ten cents on the dollar. Do you think you're the first retired guy that thought he saw a way to make some easy money, got stuck in the middle of a job, asked us for advice, didn't like what he heard, and then went out and lost his butt?
At this point you're not asking for advice, you're asking for permission, so by all means, go drop $3,000 on that sucker and prove us wrong.

Oh, I'm "listening" alright,,, which is why one of the options I'm considering involved hiring the guy with the 6" chipper. Trouble is, nobody here can give me a straight answer as to how a machine like the 3.5" Salsco performs.

Given your recommendation that nothing less than a 12" chipper will do for chipping 2" trees, despite me repeatedly saying that you can't get a large chipper down where I need it,,,, you've got me thinking that I need to hire a steam-shovel for my dog, so he can bury his bone in the back-yard.

 

[old_soul]

re

Oh, I'm "listening" alright,,, which is why one of the options I'm considering involved hiring the guy with the 6" chipper. Trouble is, nobody here can give me a straight answer as to how a machine like the 3.5" Salsco performs.

Given your recommendation that nothing less than a 12" chipper will do for chipping 2" trees, despite me repeatedly saying that you can't get a large chipper down where I need it,,,, you've got me thinking that I need to hire a steam-shovel for my dog, so he can bury his bone in the back-yard.

Remember when talking tools or equipment, overkill is always better

 

[Roger Dodger]

re



Remember when talking tools or equipment, overkill is always better

I resemble that remark. (usually anyway).

 

[sac-climber]

Roger, a 12" chipper and Bobcat may sound over kill but you may be surprised. Plain and simple any gravity feed chipper whether 8hp or 20hp is going to be a major pain in the ass considering the amount of work it sounds like you have to do. Take it from guys that do this work everyday when we tell you to forget about a <6" capacity chipper. Honestly 6" is probably to small. Your better off letting them rot than fighting a 3" chipper for weeks on end.

So here is the straight answer; anything that is gravity feed, smaller than 6", and less than 25hp is a waste of time and money.

 

[Marshy]

Got a pictures of this project? Why the heck were you using loppers to clear that large of a plot and not an industrial sized weed wacker with a blade on it? Sounds like your taking the same approach and undersizing the equipment you need. If it was me I will attach a snatch block in a tree at the top of the ridge in a tree about 10' off the ground and take a rope and run it down the hill to the piles. Bungle the piles up and wrap the rope around the pile. Tire the other end of the rope to the back of your civic (or what ever you drive) and pull the piles up the hill... if burning it wasnt an option. Then you only have to drag the piles across the hill and not to the top.

 

[Zale]

I guess those guys just can't win either way. One minute folks are complaining that you have to "push" material in by hand,,, and now some complain that it feeds "too aggressively". Is it any wonder why I'm scratching my head, and trying to get specific answers from guys who have actually used some of these machines,,,, rather than simply theorizing and stereotyping them as being "all the same"?

We are not theorizing about these machines. With these small machines you will have to handle the brush as it is fed into the machine. You will either be pushing it or holding it back because the machine is too "aggressive". Either way you will be handling every sick that goes through the machine. That will get very tiring. If I was in my mid 60's I'd be grabbing the can of gas. Wait for your first snow and burn the piles.

 

[Roger Dodger]

Got a pictures of this project? Why the heck were you using loppers to clear that large of a plot and not an industrial sized weed wacker with a blade on it? Sounds like your taking the same approach and undersizing the equipment you need. If it was me I will attach a snatch block in a tree at the top of the ridge in a tree about 10' off the ground and take a rope and run it down the hill to the piles. Bungle the piles up and wrap the rope around the pile. Tire the other end of the rope to the back of your civic (or what ever you drive) and pull the piles up the hill... if burning it wasnt an option. Then you only have to drag the piles across the hill and not to the top.

Actually Marshy, I used a bunch of tools, not just 2" loppers. You really had to be there in order to see what I was up against. When this project started, the owner simply wanted to open up a better "view" to the river, and he asked me to cut some branches off the very tall trees down by the river-bank, so he could watch the boats go by. Well, long story short, there was a brush-field between his house, and those "trees by the river", and those big trees by the river-bank were 400 feet away. When I tried getting to those trees, the brush-field I had to pass through was completely impassable. There was literally a wall of trees (small Sumac saplings 12'-15' high, and choked beyond belief,,,mostly clusters of less-than 2" trunks growing from previously chopped stumps. From ground-level to chest height, it was all wood-stemmed thorny brush, mixed with vines, thistle, poison ivy,,,, you name it. I used weed-whackers, gas hedge-trimmers, machetes, my Silky Hayauchi 21' pole-saw, a bunch of Silky hand-saws(Sugowaza 420) and choppers, and an 18-foor Marvin lopper, and hand-loppers. There were no "clearings" to stack brush, so I carved and chopped my way into various areas, and started cutting around myself wherever I was standing, in order to make clearings to lay the brush down. As those clearings grew, things became a bit easier, but many times I'd find myself standing on piles of brush and trees that had been cut and dropped many years earlier, and left to rot. I had to climb over rotting logs from previously felled trees (24" diameter), and twisted Cedar branches.

The brush piles (12 of them), are mostly anywhere from 15 to 30 feet wide,,,, and the pile that's furthest away (400') is probably 70' long(across the base). This is not skimpy little piles of "sticks" that you can wrap a rope (or chain) around, and haul with a "Honda Civic". Trust me. (I drive an Acura RL by the way).

I'll try to snap a few pics tomorrow.

Some may be under the impression that all I'm doing there, is clearing land. This is not the case. In the last 8 days straight of working, I've been demolishing part of a building. In my spare time, before and after work,,, I'm trying to research machinery and tools, and trying to establish contacts with local brush-clearing contractors,,, talking to municipal officials,,, neighbours,,, looking for helpers,,, etc.

 

[Roger Dodger]

We are not theorizing about these machines. With these small machines you will have to handle the brush as it is fed into the machine. You will either be pushing it or holding it back because the machine is too "aggressive". Either way you will be handling every sick that goes through the machine. That will get very tiring. If I was in my mid 60's I'd be grabbing the can of gas. Wait for your first snow and burn the piles.

I agree Zale, but as I stated earlier, it's late Fall here in south-western Quebec, and all the trees have shed their leaves. The ground is covered with layers of long-dead brush, leaves, and there's a marina right beside where I'd be burning. I have access to a single garden-hose in case the fire spreads. Even if you soak the fire-pit and "think" the fire is out at the end of the day, it doesn't take much for a few wind gusts to re-kindle that fire during the night when I'm away. I live 20 miles away, and this property I'm clearing is currently uninhabited.

 

[Marshy]

Actually Marshy, I used a bunch of tools, not just 2" loppers. You really had to be there in order to see what I was up against. When this project started, the owner simply wanted to open up a better "view" to the river, and he asked me to cut some branches off the very tall trees down by the river-bank, so he could watch the boats go by. Well, long story short, there was a brush-field between his house, and those "trees by the river", and those big trees by the river-bank were 400 feet away. When I tried getting to those trees, the brush-field I had to pass through was completely impassable. There was literally a wall of trees (small Sumac saplings 12'-15' high, and choked beyond belief,,,mostly clusters of less-than 2" trunks growing from previously chopped stumps. From ground-level to chest height, it was all wood-stemmed thorny brush, mixed with vines, thistle, poison ivy,,,, you name it. I used weed-whackers, gas hedge-trimmers, machetes, my Silky Hayauchi 21' pole-saw, a bunch of Silky hand-saws and choppers, and an 18-foor Marvin lopper, and hand-loppers. There were no "clearings" to stack brush, so I carved and chopped my way into various areas, and started cutting around myself wherever I was standing, in order to make clearings to lay the brush down. As those clearings grew, things became a bit easier, but many times I'd find myself standing on piles of brush and trees that had been cut and dropped many years earlier, and left to rot. I had to climb over rotting logs from previously felled trees (24" diameter), and twisted Cedar branches.

The brush piles (12 of them), are mostly anywhere from 15 to 30 feet wide,,,, and the pile that's furthest away (400') is probably 70' long(across the base). This is not skimpy little piles of "sticks" that you can wrap a rope (or chain) around, and haul with a "Honda Civic". Trust me. (I drive an Acura RL by the way).

I'll try to snap a few pics tomorrow.

Some may be under the impression that all I'm doing there, is clearing land. This is not the case. In the last 8 days straight of working, I've been demolishing part of a building. In my spare time, before and after work,,, I'm trying to research machinery and tools, and trying to establish contacts with local brush-clearing contractors,,, talking to municipal officials,,, neighbours,,, looking for helpers,,, etc.

Honestly I couldn't imagine using a machine as small as the bearcat for the volume of material you just described. That's not some thing your going to accomplish in just a weekend or two. GL

 

[Roger Dodger]

Honestly I couldn't imagine using a machine as small as the bearcat for the volume of material you just described. That's not some thing your going to accomplish in just a weekend or two. GL

It's a challenge alright, but with the maneuverability of the smaller machine over difficult terrain, I'd have full access to the piles. I'd only be chipping the smaller stuff (under 3"). Assuming I can find a machine that'll chip a 12' tall (or less) 2" sapling in 15 seconds, I'd be able to do roughly 240 of those saplings per hour. In a 6-hour day, close to 1500 of them. In four days,,, close to 6000.

Again, Sumac is VERY soft, and the branches mostly snap off the trunk with a twist of the wrist, so I wouldn't be spending much time lopping branches off the trunks. The bigger/harder stuff would be temporarily tossed aside, and eventually burned in a much smaller and better controlled area, away from the marina, and closer to a water-supply.

 

[Roger Dodger]

Well, here's a horrid attempt at posting a pic. Unfortunately, I can't rotate this picture clockwise.

This picture (if someone can rotate it for me) shows a view of the river, before I started working. The owner wanted me to trim the tallest trees along the river-bank.

Now if you look below the waterline, you'll see a small fraction of the tops of the trees which I hadn't yet started cutting.

The picture was shot from the balcony of the house, located some 20 feet or so above the tops of the shorter trees in the foreground, and the camera was zoomed in on the river, so a lot of the foreground is not visible here. Unfortunately, it's the only pic I have at the moment, but it does give you some idea of the density of the brush-trees. (zero clearings). The area I cleared is roughly 4 times the width of what you see here, and is now an open "meadow". Only the tallest trees remain. (70-100') Those short trees in the foreground, were mostly 10-15' tall, with a few 20 footers for good measure.

 

[Roger Dodger]

OK, here's a better pic to illustrate the density of those brush-trees I cut. This was at the start of the job, and I had just spent a few days making a clearing so I could have space to stack the brush. For scale, I'm holding a 12-foot pole-pruner, fully extended. Check out the density of the bush to my right. (the pictures' left side). That's how the "clearing" looked when I started.

 

[Toddppm]

Well now I think the Bearcat will work perfect for that situation.

 

[ncpete]

Well now I think the Bearcat will work perfect for that situation.

Sarcasm alert!

 

[sac-climber]

Toddppm, I have to disagree. I think the bearcat may be overkill.

Something like this will be better suited for the task....Hopefully the OP has access to an outlet.

 

[Roger Dodger]

OK. I just ordered this one; Maximum portability,,, no electrons consumed.

 

[sac-climber]

Touché

Seriously though Roger, your over your head here. We're at like tub grinder status. Don't give the bearcat or salsco a second thought.

 

[Roger Dodger]

Touché

Seriously though Roger, your over your head here. We're at like tub grinder status. Don't give the bearcat or salsco a second thought.

I'm not losing any sleep over it. A match may still end up being the solution, but at least, I'm learning a thing or two about small chippers.

I spoke to a couple of dealers today,(Salsco and Wallenstein). I may go see the Salsco in operation later this week. If they make me an interesting offer on financing,,,, maybe. One dealer says he also has a few used machines that I may be interested in.

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

Bring your own wood and test it for about 5 minutes.