Chipper advice needed for 8 acre residential property that has logged

[steven1955]

Hi folks. We have an 8 acre wooded residential property that was just logged. About 200 trees were taken, mostly poplar with a few oak, birch, and hickory. The loggers, as expected, just left the tops for us to clean up. Way in the back we don't care so much about the mess, but near the house and along the road we'd like to chip what we won't use for firewood. (We'll keep 4 inch and larger for firewood.)

We have a box store 6.5 hp chipper, but we know that is not the tool for this job.

We want to own as we will spread the job over months, but we may sell after the cleanup is done.

Used is OK, actually preferred over new. Needing some repair is OK too as I can do some pretty major wrenching.

I am familiar with and have run machine shop machinery, so I have learned to respect powered equipment, but not a big chipper.

We do want to bring the chipper into the woods and chip so we can leave the chips in the woods to decay. So weight and size come into play.

So I am not even sure what type or even size we should be looking for.

All advice is welcome?

 

[Ryan'smilling]

For what you're doing, it sounds like the bigger the better. There's several good brands out there, Vermeer, brush bandit, morbark come to mind. I'd be looking at a 12" chipper with a hydraulic feed. They aren't cheap though. I think you can find a decent one used under 10k. On the bright side, if you buy used and do the required maintenance, it probably won't lose much if any value.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Is it was me, I'd just rent a chipper. Spend some time staging the piles and suckered some buddies to help for a day or two.

That's what I did when I cleared my yard. 2 day rental for a 10" Vermeer was around $350. Probably more now, thus was 10hrs ago, but still WAY cheaper than buying one for just a small project.

 

[Ikeholt]

I agree with the above, if you have to chip. It's not the fun job it appears. Chipping dry dead tree tops is difficult. I'd make piles in back and let mother nature handle it.

 

[steven1955]

I did days of chipping with a box store chipper when I removed a stand of bamboo on my old property. Not a fun job, and that cheapo chipper did beat me up. I do believe a real chipper might be fun for a couple of hours, but the "fun" will turn into work far too soon.

We were thinking of a purchase vs a rental because with 8 acres there will be always some ongoing cleanup. That and our buddies who might help are hours away, so I think the job will fall to me.

If we do this I am thinking a small used commercial unit, but I can't help but wonder if anything made by DR or Eliet or some other brand better than MTD are even worth using. A neighbor has a 16 hp Briggs powered DR chipper. He thinks it is great, but to me it looks toyish. He's been clearing up the debris from his 10 acres being logged for two years with the DR. To me that's not a good recommendation.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Put an ad on CList or Facebook, need a few strong backs for a cleanup job.

I've gotten stuff done that way when "friends" became unworthy. Funny how when they need help though....

I can't see 8 acres justifying a 15k+ chipper, but here its not an issue to just burn brush.

 

[blades]

for what you are talking about a 6-10 throat unit would be about right- now that is the throat not the intake size . you definitely want a power feed ( controlled feed) much safer than the old chuck and duck units and those power feeds crush the branches together as they are fed in. There are PTO units of decent size but that ties up a tractor if you have one- one less engine to maintain and relatively portable, 3 point mount. I have an Echo/Bearcat 5" chipper /shredder 20hp ( 5" poles into the chipper portion , up to 1" dia. branches in the shredder section) but that would be too slow for your volume up front, property maintenance wise it would be fine. Like the Dr and some others it is a gravity feed. New cost on it is around 8k. Chipping brush is a boat load of hard work. Very time consuming. Larger throat less trimming of the brush to feed it in. not the best picture as you can't see the shredder intake - 1 bolt and the whole chamber opens up for maintenance or clearing a jam- shoot is about 8ft high and directional

 

[steven1955]

I can't see 8 acres justifying a 15k+ chipper, but here its not an issue to just burn brush.

Several neighbors have had their 5 to 10 acre lots logged. The next door guy is into his second year chipping his logging debris with a 16 hp DR, but to be fair, it's maybe 1 day of cleanup every 2 weeks or so. Also, in this township the fire marshal will pay you a visit if you burn brush, as he did with one neighbor. So it's either chipping or waiting for several years for the debris to rot.

I am not even going to consider spending anywhere near $15k. I was thinking a project chipper more on the lines of $2k to $4k if I could find one that hasn't been abused or left in the weather to rust away.

For what you are talking about a 6-10 throat unit would be about right- now that is the throat not the intake size . you definitely want a power feed ( controlled feed) much safer than the old chuck and duck units and those power feeds crush the branches together as they are fed in.

Thanks for the heads up on the size machine I should keep an eye out for. What hp would that typically require?

I should add, and I expect some flack on this, that I have not ruled out the safety impaired machines. But both my SO and I would prefer that I use a machine safer than a chuck and duck. Chipping can be dangerous no matter how new or old the machine's design is. Whatever we do proper operation is paramount.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Do you own a tractor? @RyeThomas just bought a nice looking chipper with hydraulic feed that's run on a tractor PTO. I think it was around $2500 or something like that. I think a tractor in the 40pto hp range is required, but if you don't mind old iron, you can find some very good deals on tractors that size or larger.

I could be totally wrong, but other than a chuck and duck type unit, which are truly awful to run, I don't think your gonna find anything decent in that price range. I've never seen anything with a hydraulic feed for that kinda money around here anyway.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Several neighbors have had their 5 to 10 acre lots logged. The next door guy is into his second year chipping his logging debris with a 16 hp DR, but to be fair, it's maybe 1 day of cleanup every 2 weeks or so. Also, in this township the fire marshal will pay you a visit if you burn brush, as he did with one neighbor. So it's either chipping or waiting for several years for the debris to rot.

I am not even going to consider spending anywhere near $15k. I was thinking a project chipper more on the lines of $2k to $4k if I could find one that hasn't been abused or left in the weather to rust away.

Thanks for the heads up on the size machine I should keep an eye out for. What hp would that typically require?

I should add, and I expect some flack on this, that I have not ruled out the safety impaired machines. But both my SO and I would prefer that I use a machine safer than a chuck and duck. Chipping can be dangerous no matter how new or old the machine's design is. Whatever we do proper operation is paramount.

I was thinking more of a good running used unit at the 15k price, 8-10" Vermeer for example, not a "been behind the barn in the rhubarb cause its been broken since 1986" unit.

I still think renting one would be more cost efficient, but that's me.

 

[dennis066]

A used tractor/loader and one of these to hang off the back!
http://www.woodmaxx.com/WoodMaxx_8_PTO_Wood_Chipper_Hydraulic_Feed_p/wm-8h.htm
https://woodlandmills.ca/us/product/wc88-8-pto-wood-chipper/

 

[steven1955]

I like the idea of a PTO unit, but we have no tractor. The two units dennis066 linked to seemed to have narrow chutes.

Locally there's a Morbark 2070 Twister (not a 2070X or 2070XL) with what appears to be a Wisconsin V4 engine. Only pics so far, can't talk to the seller until tomorrow, and it appears to be repainted with new decals.

So far I can't find the specs on this unit on line other than it may have one blade on the drum. Any idea of the specs? Could a 2070 Twister a good machine for my application?

 

[dennis066]

I like the idea of a PTO unit, but we have no tractor. The two units dennis066 linked to seemed to have narrow chutes.

Locally there's a Morbark 2070 Twister (not a 2070X or 2070XL) with what appears to be a Wisconsin V4 engine. Only pics so far, can't talk to the seller until tomorrow, and it appears to be repainted with new decals.

So far I can't find the specs on this unit on line other than it may have one blade on the drum. Any idea of the specs? Could a 2070 Twister a good machine for my application?

You did say you're making firewood with the 4 inch and smaller so these units would easily handle that. A larger unit would certainly make things go faster but way more expensive.

 

[blades]

Chipping brush - throat size is of paramount importance - otherwise you will be spending 80% of you time reducing branches to fit throat- going to be some of that anyway. It is a royal pia. Another idea how about having someone come in with one of those pulverizing rigs, basicly a mounted hammer mill, Don't know if that will work on piles, I suspect not< but if the brush is scatterd that might be the ticket.

 

[steven1955]

Well, I didn't buy that Morbark 2070 Twister. It was an eBay auction that ended last night, but even though it was only a 2 hours drive away I didn't have enough time to check it out in person. The seller didn't know much about it when I called them. But there was a video, and in the video it seemed to really struggle with some of the test wood that was small boards of some unknown wood. There were just too many unknowns to bid. It ended up selling for $3450.

 

[blades]

Chippers have been changing hands around here on CL like diapers, between the storms and EAB every one is packed to the gills with work and always looking for something bigger and faster than what they have.
Chipper struggling - Likely a very dull set of knives.

 

[steven1955]

After walking among the debris left behind after the logging, doing a lot of reading, and giving things more thought, I think I have a better idea of what we can use.

1. I will need to pull whatever chipper we buy into the woods behind a 4x4 vehicle, perhaps a 1/2 ton pickup, ATV or utility cart. It would be nice, but not necessary, if it were light enough to be able to swing it around by hand if parked on a level portion of the trail.
2. I will need to have a swivel chute to direct the chippings other than into the back of the tow vehicle. This leaves out the chuck and ducks.

Remember that we are going to keep wood even as small as 3 to 4 inches as firewood.

It sounds like this puts me into the 6 to 8 inch range. It would be nice to have bigger, but maneuverability and low weight are important.

The Vermeer 620, 625, and 630 seem to be in the low end of the weight range at 1200-ish pounds, but those appear to be limited as their feed openings are 6 x 6 inches. 6 x 12, which I believe the Bandit 65 XP and similar, would be nice, but at higher weight and purchase price.

Around here there are nice looking used Vermeer BC600XLs that seem to run in the $8000 to $9000 range. I'd rather spend less and do some repair, but not a total restoration of a basket case. (There's a local left out in the weather rusty Vermeer 620 that needs an engine and probably a lot more for $2200. I am not sure I'd want that one for free.)

Also around here there are probably 5 Vermeer 6 inch chippers for sale than all other 6 inch chipper brands combined.

Any thoughts? Anyone know of a project 6 to 8 inch chipper? Re-engining is not out of the question. If it makes any difference, our location is southeast Pennsylvania near Lancaster.

 

[milton dave]

Wallenstien wood chippers.

They also built the Surge Master line.

 

[blades]

might want to look up echo bearcat with that needs list model sc5670b Chipper shredder that is my unit not sure if there is a newer model took out 100 yards by 10 ft deep buck thorn grove a couple years back in a week end. there are some on e-bay I made a 2 wheel handel/cart with ball to move it around you can buy similar units for moving trailers - I'm cheap made my own. hint rear tractor mower tires work great for out in the field most of the store bought stuff is for hard surface ( skinny wheels that will just sink in the back forty) lawn tractor atv or what ever can tow it Honda motor on mine 20hp. not a highway tow unit but ok for under 35mph on the road ( not sprung so much over that and gets to bouncing ) weights in at apx 1100 lbs

 

[steven1955]

BUMP

So that eBay Morbark 2070 Twister was relisted on Ebay, so we gave the seller an call to see if we could make the four hour round trip to check it out. It was a beautiful, sunny day to go for a long drive in the convertible, but I am so glad we didn't bid on that chipper.

The seller "thought" it was a homeowners personal chipper, but it had "RENTAL" welded into the frame. This chipper had a hard life. There were numerous missing fasteners, and the paint that looked so good in the eBay auction pics was sprayed right over rust. The Wisconsin V4 engine would not start due to a dead battery, so it had to be jumped. When it finally started, well, lets say I have seldom seen an engine blow so much smoke out both the exhaust and the crankcase breather, and the smoke never ended even after the engine warmed up. It's a good thing that we weren't near the steerable chute when it was running because it fell off. At least the hydraulics worked OK.

I may have been willing to pay something under $1000 for this chipper, and then re-engining it and probably replacing a bunch of bearings. I fell sorry for the poor person who bid and won at $3600.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend folks. Now, back to the hunt.