Attention Chipper Owners!

[MasterBlaster]

Do you believe that you should leave your chipper running at full chipping throttle during say, a takedown OR do you believe it should routinely idled-down between lulls in the TD?

I believe in the latter. However, it seems to me that most of the tree co I deal with, once they engage & idle-up, leave that sucker whining until they've raked & blown the freaking entire job! It drives me batty!

Beside the unnecessary noise and fumes(Which I inhale while in the tree ), nobody seems to be able to "hear" anything. And heaven forbide anyone attempt to understand signals.

I've had owners tell me idling-down wears out the throttle linkage. I've had them tell me it 'hurts' the motor. I've had them tell me their groundman can't grasp the concept. Hmmph.

I mean, fuel costs enough not to mention wear and tear on the chipper.

I know this is a dumb post. I'm just peeved.

Whats the big deal about idling the freaking chipper down?

 

[Menchhofer]

Our Bandit diesel ownwer's manual says not to idle the engine any more than 5 minutes. That mentioned, running the chipper at full speed while it is not being fed seems wasteful. not only fuelwise but mechanically also.

Throttle linkage decay? Does not make sense. It the engine has been run hard, it should be allowed to cool down at idle for a few minutes before total shutdown though.

Anyway, we are very stingy with regards to how much time is recorded on the hour guage. This is why our chipper is almost two years old and has logged less than 300 hours.

"If in doubt, don't cut, I mean shut if off"

 

[Tom Dunlap]

MB,

Well, look at this, a post where we agree, 100% There is hope in the world!

Industrial engines, well any engine, is made to run. Idle down though with the clutch engaged. It takes a lot of power to get the flywheel wheelin'a again.

During the winter I might let the engine run a little more than summer. But not much. I hate all of the noise of treework.

Most of the engines found in chippers have been used in other industrial applications that are more demanding than the intermittent use that we put them through.

Tom

 

[SilverBlue]

Running any engine under load at idle is hard on the bearings because the oil pressure is not at optimum. And of course starting an engine dry is just as bad. Running at speed may be easier on the engine but as already said…. I prefer to stack the brush near the chipping area when possible and start chipping when most of the brush is down.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by SilverBlue
I prefer to stack the brush near the chipping area when possible and start chipping when most of the brush is down.

Do we still call that "wind-rowing the brush?"

 

[Ax-man]

Doesn't make sense to me either to run an engine full throttle with nothing for it to do. All your doing is wearing the rings and cylinder walls out and basically getting nothing in return.

Idling engines for extended periods isn't good for them either. Not all the fuel is burned in the combustion cycle. Unburned fuel finds it way into the oil and robs it of it's lubricating properties. If an engine needs to rest so to speak it's best at a fast idle or 1/4 to 1/2 throttle.

Another bad habit I've seen people get is to start an engine in winter, then kill it to make sure it will start at the job. This is the worst thing you can do to an engine. All the oil is in the pan, if you kill the engine before the oil pump has a chance to pump the oil up into the engine, your basically starting an engine with no oil in it. If you have to start it in winter, get it warm and get it loose, otherwise you are just killing the inside of your engine.

As far as noise we always shut our chipper down if were doing something really technical or requires a team effort. That way everyone knows what is going on and can react should something not go accordng to plan.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by Ax-man


Another bad habit I've seen people get is to start an engine in winter, then kill it to make sure it will start at the job. This is the worst thing you can do to an engine. All the oil is in the pan, if you kill the engine before the oil pump has a chance to pump the oil up into the engine, your basically starting an engine with no oil in it. If you have to start it in winter, get it warm and get it loose, otherwise you are just killing the inside of your engine.

Axe-man, I agree completely.

I once worked for a guy that was so freaked-out about running a cold engine he would let it idle for 20 min, engage the flywheel and run it another 20 min, and then idle it up to full chipping RPM for ANOTHER 20 min before he would let the first piece of brush go through! Un-Freaking-Believable! The groundies would be stacking the brush, waiting for the chipper to 'warm-up'. HA!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Where and when, in Louisiana, do you ever have COLD weather? Until the air temp is below 15 degrees engines don't even think about cold.

Where was this hour-long-warmup guy? FAirbanks in the winter?

Sheesh...

Tom

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[NeTree]

Generally, there's two ways I run my chipper.

1) If I'm doing a removal that I know I can keep the brush going on, we'll leave it run. Especially the small jobs.

2) On more finicky jobs, groundies grab brush and satack by chipper, and only chip when there's no more room to stack. repeated til job is done.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Whadaya mean not cold?
Last winter I had to wear my long underwear!
Twice!!!

 

[Stumper]

How many weeks each time?

 

[NeTree]

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[NeTree]

Doesn't that bother your mate?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by Tom Dunlap


Where was this hour-long-warmup guy? FAirbanks in the winter?

Tom, this guy would do this whenever it might be cool enough to wear a jacket. If it was REALLY cold, he would take even longer.

He would feel the hyd oil filter, and when it felt 'warm enough' he would allow the groundies to start chipping. He used to tell me "When YOU buy a chipper, then you'll see why I do this."

I used to think "yea..... right!"

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I wonder how much real reduction in wear comes from part throttle. Not that it doesn't make sense though. Think of all of the other industrial machines that are similar. Many power applications are meant to run at 3/4 throttle for long periods of time. Pumps, generators, etc. The loads aren't much different. the machines last a long time. Think of our cars and trucks. Does anyone go through these elaborate schemes with them? There are plenty of hydraulic systems, transmissions, brakes, power steering. When was the last time anyone warmed up their dump units? If you did, all that would warm up is a small amount of oil being cycled by the pump. Nothing to speak of in the reservoir and nothing at all in the hoses and cylinder. Unless fluid is pumped through a motor the fluid is pretty stationary in a hydro system. If there's concern about wear, use the proper viscosity fluid and change filters.

Noise on the job is the biggest annoyance to me. I agree with everyone. Only chip when there is a large pile. then shut down.

Tom

 

[Robh]

Well I can say for its past use but I own a 1962 mitts and Merrill chipper with the original 300 industrial motor. Its still going strong today for what it is. To me its wasteful to run that chipper when your not using it. Make your mess then chip it up. So far it works for me....Rob