So, I did demo the Woodsman 15x yesterday. It is a very solid, well-built machine. Some of the features I liked were the 2 hydraulic motors on the single in feed wheel. Most, if not all other manufacturers only have one motor powering there in feed wheels. It really seemed to have a lot of pushing power. The way that Woodsman has set up their machine, brush is pushed into the blades and not pulled. The feed wheel was made with very aggressive teeth. The down pressure on the feed wheel was the strongest I have ever used. (I have used both Bandit and Morbark) It really broke up the brush and snapped crotches with ease. You can also apply the down pressure from both sides of the machine. No more running around the chipper to grab the lever and apply the down pressure. The Morbark’s that I use now, The Hurricane and the Tornado do not compare in the down pressure. We need to make relief cuts all the time with them. The throat opening is the largest in its class. We chipped some 12 to 14 inch cherry and locust logs with limbs still on them and the chipper just ate them right up. We did not have to make any relief cuts at all. I also liked how the frame of the unit extended under the feed opening for more reinforcement. The winch system worked real nice too. I liked how the unit is high up over the chipper in feed opening. You are less likely to smash your head on it. And yes I have done that with our other chippers. It hurts even with a helmet on. The winch system is solid and what I liked was that there were levers and a diverter valve to push and pull not just electrical buttons. It just seemed like it would be less likely to break and if it did, easier to fix. Anyone can replace a valve or lever but once you put a computer and wiring there it makes things much more complicated, at least for me. The winch spool itself is in an easily accessed area and the rope cannot jump out of the spool and get tangled up. The unit I used yesterday and would buy has a John Deere 140 HP Engine on it. It is the right size for this machine and the torque that it requires. I personally do not like to under spec the engines on chippers. It just beats the machine over time. So over all, I really like the Woodsman 15x. It is a 15-inch machine that is more like an 18. It is probably the machine that I will buy. I got a price of $39,500. That includes winch, 140hp motor, auto feed with reverse, hand crank for the chute, extendable tongue, block heater, pre-cleaner on air filter and shipping. All the machines that I have looked at are in the same ballpark for price. The Bandit was the highest priced at $42,500 plus shipping.
Now, these are only my opinions that I got from my experiences. Morbark and Bandit put out great products but I think that the Woodsman is better. I have been in the tree industry for 16 years with the same company. We have used many different types of manufacturers over the years. In the chipper department we have had Bandit models 100,150,200, 200+, 250xp. We do not use Bandit anymore. We switched to Morbark drum style chippers. The Morbarks that we currently run are Twisters, Storms, Blizzards, Tornados and Hurricanes. We have demo-ed Vermeer in the past but have not liked them. The vertical feed wheels just were not our style. The company I currently work for has also demo-ed the Woodsman 18xx and the 20x both with grapples and we really liked them but because we just replaced are whole chipper fleet last year, we will not buy a new chipper for a year or so. The price tags on those 2 chippers are 88k and 125k. Ouch…. So, again these are just my opinions and everyone is welcome to theirs. If anyone has some experiences with Woodsman that are good or bad I would love to hear them, especially the bad. Buying this chipper is a big investment for my brother and I. We are going off on our own this March/April and we want to buy the right product. I hope to hear from you all soon. Thanks DFD34
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