Vermeer BC1500 Chipper

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Joe Mulvihill

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I am looking into getting a 2007 Vermeer BC1500 with about 950 hours on it. The unit I have found seems to be in good shape and not abused. Just a few things that need to be done like flipping the knives and shear bar, and maybe a new drive belt. It is not pristine, but not beat all to heck either. What would be the price range one should expect to pay for a unit like this? I will be a weekend chipper, using this to do some major cleanup on an 80 acre property we have that got really messed up in an ice storm. I have looked into renting, but that seems like a waste of money given the going rates in my area (if you can even find one that is not out on long-term rental). Figured I could buy a unit, use it for 75-100 hours for my cleanup, then sell it and at least get some of the money back from my purchase. I know it will be MORE than sufficient for what I am needing to do (probably 12" would be the biggest I can foresee chipping), and will hopefully make the cleanup process a bit quicker and easier. I have used both the larger chippers and the smaller ones a couple of times, and know that sometimes bigger is not bad to have when chipping up ALOT of downed wood. I have plenty of truck to tow to the site, and plenty of tractor to pull it around the property, so are not factors in my decision.

Any insight from the pros here on the site would be appreciated. I just have zero background with these machines and their values to know what a decent used price would be, and how well they maintain their value as they get more hours on them, assuming they are maintained and cared for.

Thanks in advance for humoring an amateur. Have a great day!!
 
Hi Joe,

I would say the retail of a chipper like this Vermeer would range from $24 to $28k. I've sold a couple and the customers seem to be happy with them.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
 
The 2007 BC1500 is rather heavily laden with electronics, which frequently give problems. Also the drum diameter on the 1500 is too small for it's rated capacity, creating a tremendous amount of vibration. Most owners or operators find re-tightening of bolts to be required maintenance.
 
Thanks for the responses gents. I am getting the unit for well below that retail range, so that makes me feel good about proceeding. Also, I understand that the electronics concern and will hope that I have good luck in that area. As far as the drum diameter, I should not be processing anything over about 10" at most. If there is bigger stuff, I hope to buck it into fire wood. Most of the stuff I have to chip is upper limbs that came down during the ice storm. There is just a BUNCH of it to do on the 80 acres.

Have a great weekend all!

Joe ...
 
vermeer bc1500 i would stay away from, far away from. as for EQ broker's estimate on the value ? that seems to be FAR off. i would put a value on that machine at around 12,000 bucks and i would not recommend buying cause the drums are known to crack and the electronics are nightmares .
 
TRISTATEFORESTRYEQUIPMENT said:
vermeer bc1500 i would stay away from, far away from. as for EQ broker's estimate on the value ? that seems to be FAR off. i would put a value on that machine at around 12,000 bucks and i would not recommend buying cause the drums are known to crack and the electronics are nightmares .
Click to expand...
Wow this coming from you? First of all those were the BC1400's with the drum problems. I know several companies that run these (same year) no problems. Great chippers and if yours comes with a winch they are handy also.
 
So I am a bit confused. The 2007 BC1500 does or does not have the problem with the drums cracking? I had done some research and read that some of the earlier BC1400's had some drum cracking issues, but didn't see that reported on the 1500's. In fact, most said that the 1500 was the 1400 with all the issues fixed and was a pretty reliable machine. Deevo's response seems to imply this, but just wanted to be sure that I am reading it right.

At this point, it is moot, as I pulled the trigger yesterday on the 1500. I am hoping it will work out well. Being new to these large chippers, I decided to have Vermeer spend an hour or so looking it over to give me a more I depth assessment. I asked them to flip the knives and shear bar while they were at it, as they looked a little worn. I should get it home mid to late week, as they are a bit backed up.

This one does not have the winch on it. Not sure for my use that I will need it, but I am sure it would be a nice option if this unit would have had one.

Thanks all. I really appreciate the info and guidance.

Joe...
 
Joe Mulvihill said:
So I am a bit confused. The 2007 BC1500 does or does not have the problem with the drums cracking? I had done some research and read that some of the earlier BC1400's had some drum cracking issues, but didn't see that reported on the 1500's. In fact, most said that the 1500 was the 1400 with all the issues fixed and was a pretty reliable machine. Deevo's response seems to imply this, but just wanted to be sure that I am reading it right.

At this point, it is moot, as I pulled the trigger yesterday on the 1500. I am hoping it will work out well. Being new to these large chippers, I decided to have Vermeer spend an hour or so looking it over to give me a more I depth assessment. I asked them to flip the knives and shear bar while they were at it, as they looked a little worn. I should get it home mid to late week, as they are a bit backed up.

This one does not have the winch on it. Not sure for my use that I will need it, but I am sure it would be a nice option if this unit would have had one.

Thanks all. I really appreciate the info and guidance.

Joe...
Click to expand...
Awesome good stuff, yeah I know no problems with the BC1500's drums cracking. I know a lot of people that run them and have over 2500 hours and counting no issues. When your done and wanna sell it let me know! Good luck with it!
 
deevo said:
Awesome good stuff, yeah I know no problems with the BC1500's drums cracking. I know a lot of people that run them and have over 2500 hours and counting no issues. When your done and wanna sell it let me know! Good luck with it!
Click to expand...
Deevo -

Thanks! As soon as I finish, I will definitely be selling it. I will let you know, but I am in Texas so shipping might be a bit steep...! ;-)

Have a great evening!

Joe....
 
That's funny that Joe said globals far off. joes prices are out of this world. That made me chuckle. Thanks for the laugh joe!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
 
Just wanted to check back in. I got the 1500 home last Friday after having Vermeer do a couple of the bigger maintenance items for me that I thought best left to someone who knows the machine internals. I was really happy with their work and found their prices quite reasonable. They replaced the original drive belt and put on a new chute gear so the chute would swing laterally. When I got it home, I decided to go ahead and change the oil & filter, fuel filter, air filters and hydraulic filter so I had a known starting point for basic maintenance items (I am kinda anal about that kind of stuff). I am well below the values in those ads with what I have in it, so might be able to at least break even on it when I sell it once my cleanup is done.

I could not be happier with the way it is running. Engine sounds great and runs strong. Put about 4 hours on it over the weekend, and it really does a fine job. It has more capacity than I really need for the bulk of my chipping task, but would rather have more and not need it than less and totally overwork the machine.

My sincere thanks to everyone for the replys and info I was asking about. I really appreciate it!

Joe...
 
I had to comment on one of the listings shown above in EQ Broker's post. The listing for the unit from New England Forestry Equipment is my unit. Not one like my unit, but MY unit. I know this is the same one, as I bought it from the guy whose tree service truck is shown in the background of the first picture. It is still listed out on the machinery trader site, so if anyone is looking to buy it, they do not have the machine shown in the pictures. I thought it was rather odd that unit was the same year model and had the exact number of hours (down to the tenths) on it. Not sure if this is a common practice, but wanted to comment on it anyway.

Thanks again all!

Joe...
 

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