'90s Sears Craftsman Chipper/Shredder

[djlew]

Hey all, I recently acquired an old 5hp chipper/shredder from a family friend and wondered if anybody uses these in their wood processing arsenal. It fires up, and I threw some batches of leaves and twigs through it and it seems to work well despite seemingly needing a vessel to catch the shreds (buckets, tubs, etc. the shreds just bounce right out). Immediately, my mind goes to garden mulch, but I wondered if anybody used these things to chop up wood chips for homemade wood bricks or anything else creative? I'm never one to turn down a good piece of equipment, and then find out what to do with it later! Some google searches tell me the 5hp has its limits and quirks, but so far for mulching at least it seems to do the job.

Does anybody frequently use a low hp chipper/shredder during processing? Just yard cleanup? Curious to hear from those who have more experience with this type of equipment.

 

[Eman85]

I had a Troy-Bilt, happy day when someone pulled up in my yard and bought it from me. If your scraps, leaves and waste are bushel basket sized it's OK. The only thing I ever found it efficient on was grinding up tobacco stalks for the garden.

 

[salecker]

I have one that i shovel all my yard waste through. I just let it throw it back in the yard and i rake it around. I don`t have a grass yard.
Spruce cones, leaves, twiggs, and small branches.

 

[brenndatomu]

Those smaller consumer grade chippers have a good reputation for two things, separating you and your money, and doing a pizz poor job.
Seems like you have to get into the $2k range, and 20 HP or so to get anything worth having around as a chipper

 

[Pinesmoke]

I have the DR 375 chipper. Does up to, well, 3.75 inch stuff. Think it's 9.5hp. It's a little beast. I've run the crap out of it all last winter. Only mod was the shear plate, made of cheese. Put a heavier plate in and it rocks.

 

[zrock]

Those smaller consumer grade chippers have a good reputation for two things, separating you and your money, and doing a pizz poor job.
Seems like you have to get into the $2k range, and 20 HP or so to get anything worth having around as a chipper

That is just it they are homeowner grade for the occasional use yearly. I just purchased a small unit and could not be happier with it as now i do not have to figure out what to do with trimmings and branches, chip them up and toss them in the garden, or the back end of the property to spread out. For the average homeowner they are fine

 

[michaelinwonder]

Hey all, I recently acquired an old 5hp chipper/shredder from a family friend and wondered if anybody uses these in their wood processing arsenal. It fires up, and I threw some batches of leaves and twigs through it and it seems to work well despite seemingly needing a vessel to catch the shreds (buckets, tubs, etc. the shreds just bounce right out). Immediately, my mind goes to garden mulch, but I wondered if anybody used these things to chop up wood chips for homemade wood bricks or anything else creative? I'm never one to turn down a good piece of equipment, and then find out what to do with it later! Some google searches tell me the 5hp has its limits and quirks, but so far for mulching at least it seems to do the job.

Does anybody frequently use a low hp chipper/shredder during processing? Just yard cleanup? Curious to hear from those who have more experience with this type of equipment.

A number of years ago I bought a second hand Craftsman 8.5 HP chipper\shredder that had very dull blades. After I sharpened the blades (like planer blades) it did a good job of chipping small branches. The feed opening is problematic because it is small and I have twisty branches that won't easily go in. I used the chips for mulch in my garden and found that a couple of handfuls of dry chips wrapped in two sheets of newspaper makes a convenient fire starter in my stove. The shredder hopper tends to throw out bigger pieces of twigs, so I had to learn to duck, or only put in easily shredded stuff. I haven't used it in awhile because I finally got a compact tractor and a bigger chipper to put on the back.

 

[brenndatomu]

That is just it they are homeowner grade for the occasional use yearly. I just purchased a small unit and could not be happier with it as now i do not have to figure out what to do with trimmings and branches, chip them up and toss them in the garden, or the back end of the property to spread out. For the average homeowner they are fine

What did you get...you are 1 out of about 100 that is happy with a homeowner grade chipper, as far as what I've read on these "best cheap chipper" threads...and my personal experience with an 8 HP one too.
I mean yeah, it worked, kinda, sorta...very time consuming and spotty results though. Much easier to pile and burn.

 

[djlew]

The consensus I have found and I agree with is that if you are personally going out of your way to get a chipper/shredder, these 5hp little guys are most likely not worth it compared to what expectations may be from the average homeowner. Since my expectations were set very early, and the thing was free, it's actually a pretty good upgrade so far to help me out with my yard cleanup and give it a new purpose for the garden and I like the fire starter idea. After a few days of use, I don't think I'd buy one for myself but considering the circumstances and I think a lot of folks are in this boat even for the small homeowner grade chippers, that they are decent little machines that most likely will be a pain in the neck in the long term to maintain (financially and labor) but I've already gotten mulch for my fruit trees and I'm a happy camper.

 

[zrock]

Cant remember the brand and im not going to dig it out of the shed..LOL.. people have to remember these are home owner units and not designed to be chipping 3" and up branches like the guy that pulls up in the street. At most these things can chew up a 1.5 or so branch slowly. If you want a chipper that is going to do the hard work then be prepared to spend 5g and up for something that is going to work.