Dealing with brush: Homeowner Chipper?

[btuser]

I'm working on 2014-2015 wood supply (if it stays mild like this!) and have a lot of brush from branches 2" and below for which I just don't see a future. I've been dragging them into the woods and piling them up but I think this is contributing to the chipmunk/mouse problem, which brings in the coyotes and fisher cats. The little cat-dogs wouldn't know what hit them. I'm also weary of large piles of combustible material within sparking distance.

I'm trying to limit any action that doesn't contribute to the total btus in the wood pile and would be content to let the material decompose on its own but the piles are starting to build up.

Is a 10hp chipper like Troy Built that's rated for 3" worth the trouble for brush under 2"? Next size up?
I go through a pair of loppers yearly. Is there anything out there that can hold up to 2" oak branches?

 

[LLigetfa]

I would love to have a chipper but would have high expectations and so would be dissapointed with a small one. The size I want is just too expensive to justify so I just toss it all on my burn pile.

I have some pretty big compost piles for other stuff and I can tell you the mice love it. My dog loves it when I turn the compost to reveal some tasty treats. The foxes like it too and they also help keep the stray cat population in control. City folk are kind enough to bring the foxes a steady supply of food.

The Fiskars lopper looks well made and I'm pretty sure it carries a lifetime warranty but I don't own one. Aside from a pole pruner, I use a Swede saw to cut up small stuff when I don't want to use my chainsaw.

 

[Needshave]

Is there anything out there that can hold up to 2" oak branches?

A small chainsaw may be what you need. How about burning the brush? In my area we have a three month window to get outdoor burn permits. I call a number before the fire and get the o.k.
A large brush fire can consume a huge pile of brush in a short timeframe. I also find it fun.

 

[Dune]

Two things
1. My chain saw readily cuts oak at 1" diameter. I then pick it up and stack it with the rest of my firewood. Being so small the cut is quick and effortless.
2. The remaining brush is piled and come January I burn it. I am careful to extinguish the flames with a garden hose before it all turns to ash.
I gather the charcoal left behind. Whatever I don't use in the forge is used as fertilizer in the veggie garden (bio-char).

Last brush pile I burned yeilded six bushel of charcoal.

 

[btuser]

I'd love to burn it but I'm nervous about starting a fire in the woods. I don't have a suitable clearing. I'm going to be meeting with the FD chief in a couple days so I'll ask him what's the protocol.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The chipmunks and such will be happy to make their homes under some wood chips as will numerous mice.

 

[LLigetfa]

I burn down my brush piles when the woods are soaked from rain or snow covered.

Critters are just as happy to nest in my firewood stacks.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Seems simpler and cheaper to either not bring it home if you are scrounging or leave it where the tree falls if working your own land.

 

[trailmaker]

I see this question pop up from time to time about small homeowner chippers. Unfortunately the general consensus seems to be that small chippers won't hold up and only the large expensive chippers are worth the money. I don't have any experience with chippers but I wonder if the small ones don't hold up because sooner or later people start putting oversized branches in. Maybe some small chipper owners could chime in about durability?

 

[Kenster]

If you really want to chip it, what are you going to do with the resulting mulch? Mulch piles will attract mice just as readily. Perhaps, you can use the mulch in flower beds and pathways.

Consider renting a heavy duty chipper once a year to clear out your brush piles.

 

[richg]

I have owned two chippers rated for 3-inch brush, and they were a total waste of money. Loud, slow, you name it, they were absolute "Why the flip did I buy this thing?" purchases.

 

[Thistle]

I bought a 4HP chipper in summer '92 when taking down a big Mulberry in backyard.At the time it would've cost me $20 per full sized p/u load to take the brush to main big landfill 15 miles northeast of me.This would've been around $200 plus gas & all that time.Bought the chipper to get rid of the smaller stuff.That's also how I disposed of 10+ loads of brush after removing 3 large Ailanthus eyesores from yard in Mar 2000 also.

Only gets used 2-3 times a year at most now,it paid for itself years ago already.Also used it to grind up leaves when mower dont get them all.Chips are used for mulch & to cover a few low spots where my splitting/milling area is in back.Anything over 1" diameter is saved for fuel,whether its cut here or when cleaning up dead oak/hickory at parents acreage. Smaller stuff out there is piled in the woods for wildlife cover.

 

[btuser]

I cut from my own land. The woods are already choked full of under-brush, and its a chore to haul it to a location that's not an eyesore from the house. I keep anything above 2" but I'm YEARS ahead on kindling so at this point I have a hard time justify picking up 4" pine let alone 1" maple or smaller. The wood stove project was always more about burning the trees that needed to be cut regardless. I've got 24" trunks waiting to be dragged out and bucked.

To rent a chipper would be an option, but I'd have to bring the brush to the chipper. I'm trying to avoid any extra handling of the wood, whether it be burnables or waste product. Hopefully I can get to the point where I can drop the trees into the woods but right now everything I have is leaning into the clearing and whenever I try to either winch/shim it backwards I get hung up.

 

[JP11]

I've got a big chipper (6 x 12 inch infeed chute) with hydraulic feed.

Feeding a chipper is A LOT of work. I think I'll stick with the plan of only chipping branches and tops that are within easy sight of the driveway. The rest can rot in the woods.

JP

 

[velvetfoot]

I have owned two chippers rated for 3-inch brush, and they were a total waste of money. Loud, slow, you name it, they were absolute "Why the flip did I buy this thing?" purchases.

ditto.
I've never had a small engine that requires ether for every start-so hard to pull it over-the mechanism turns over hard I guess.
Every short while something jams and things have to be taken apart.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Burn it if you can, even if you just have a fire pit you can burn alot. I cleared off an area and burned alot this year, but I do not think I will ever get it all burned. The rest get piled in an area out of sight and I like the fact that rabbits and dear like to hang out there.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Vermeer makes a 6" chipper with a 25 ish hp motor, hydraulic reversing infeed rolls, trailer mounted, highway legal. I wouldn't consider anything that was built to a lesser standard than a vermeer, AFA puchasing, things seem to least forever here with the line clearing outfits.

I see them used in good shape with low hours for about 5K. If that doesn't work most rental outfits should be able to source one to rent. You will be amazed at how much brush you can get through one of these in a day.

Having said that a rental may make more sense. You will literally work yourself into a lather trying to keep up with even a 6". FWIW I was thinking the same thing, just got back from working in my brush today, plenty of underbrush also & thought to myself if a fire ever gets going in here all these branches are going to be like gasoline.

 

[LLigetfa]

I cut from my own land. The woods are already choked full of under-brush, and its a chore to haul it to a location that's not an eyesore from the house.

When I am culling trees on my land, I just chop up the braches so they will lay flat and rot. It's giving something back to the land. Once the undergrowth greens up you can't even see it.

My bush is too thick to get a chipper back there and I certainly wouldn't drag the stuff out. The stuff that does end up on my burn pile is from the trees in the yard or right on the edge of it where I may drop the tree into the yard rather than back in the bush.

 

[mtcates]

I bought two old brush chippers for my tree business. They are both very reliable even though 20 or more years old. They will chip 12 inch diameter wood. One has 65 horsepower and the other 120 HP. I paid $3000 each for them. If you really want a chipper you can, given enough time find a good large machine for a reasonable price. And if you are willing you can make a lot of side money with a machine like that.

 

[MasterMech]

If you're looking to own a homeowner sized chipper: look at BearCat. They are built far better than anything else on the market. Dual double-sided chipper blades, replaceable hammers on the shredder unit, Honda engine options, etc. I've not found anything better in the 3"-5" category. One word of caution, renting a homeowner sized unit is often a joke, they rental shop usually neglects to sharpen the chipper knives and who knows what the last customer fed down the chute. 95% of having a workable chipper is keeping those knives S-H-A-R-P! Once the unit stops self-feeding and you have to push the branch in (we're not talking about a hydraulic feed unit here) it's time to sharpen/flip the knives. That happens every 10-20 hours of use with a self-feeder (hyd. feed units can go longer.) You need tools to sharpen those knives yourself too. Something that can grind 'em perfectly flat and not overheat the knife edge. I use a surface grinder and liquid cooling but not everybody has access to that kind of equipment. There are some DIY solutions to do it right but they cost well over $100 in most cases.

http://www.bearcatproducts.com

 

[btuser]

Looks like its business as usual then. I'm looking for a $300 solution to a live-n-let-live problem. I think I'll just get a pair of new loppers and have at the larger branches/piles, try to get them to lay flat as others suggested. I don't have room for a big chipper (yet).

 

[StuckInTheMuck]

Looks like its business as usual then. I'm looking for a $300 solution to a live-n-let-live problem. I think I'll just get a pair of new loppers and have at the larger branches/piles, try to get them to lay flat as others suggested. I don't have room for a big chipper (yet).

I've got one of these.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xO7P6sZ1A As you can see, this guy got his for free. I got mine in 1989 when I was doing a landscaping job. It has paid for itself several times over and it still runs like a champ. It took a lot of abuse after Irene. The downfall for these small chippers is that it's impossible to feed crooked branches or stuff with a fork in it. It also can beat the hell out of your hands as you're feeding it, so you want to wear gloves. I use the chainsaw to cut brush to a manageable size and am able to put 95% of the brush through it. The other 5% gets burned.

 

[pyper]

I have one similar to what I see for $700 or so at Lowes. Maybe 5 HP.

It works. It's not real fast, but it turns branches into chips. Grinds up fall leaves too.

I use the chips for mulching trees and shrubs in the yard.

I don't chip anything smaller than about an inch though. Last time I cut down a tree I tool all the small branches and stacked them together, and then used the chain saw to cut the stacks into 16" lengths. I burn everything down to about an inch. But most of our heating season is like most people's shoulder season, so we start a lot of quick fires. (i.e., heat up the stove quickly and let it burn out).

 

[oldspark]

2 inch oak goes in the wood burner, there are people who would kill for 2 inch oak. My hottest fires ever in the summit was 2 and 3 inch stuff. Got that out of the way, I rented a troy built once and I was very disappointed, it liked green wood and did not work very well on dead branches.

 

[Got Wood]

I would rent a chipper if the need arose.