PTO chipper

[BillsWS]

Does anyone use a PTO chipper? I'd be interested in your opinion/experience and what kind you have. I have been watching Craigslist for a used one (they seem to go fast) but Wood Maxx sells a PTO model pretty cheap that looks good on the video. I have a lot of clean up I could do with one and I'd have something to use for mulch and walkways instead of burning brush.

 

[glennm]

I have the one in this link. I use it with a BX 23 and really like it.
(broken link removed to http://www.embmfg.com/Forestry/Chipper_Shredder/BXM-Models.aspx#bxm32)

 

[JP11]

I've got a Patu DC65. Hydraulic feed. Works great. I'm on the low end of horsepower at 28PTO or so. But there's no better implement for making huge changes for how your land looks different after an hour of work.

A great implement to own. When you rent.. you end up working too much at once. When you get tired is when you fall down or hurt yourself. Owning it.. I feel like I can go do an hour or so.. and then call it quits.

They are tough to find used. Pretty simple though. Not much to break. Flywheel, cutters, bearings. There are some good brands around. If you're gonna chip much.. I would stay away from the ones that require gravity to feed.. you need to pick every branch UP and feed down hill into the chute.

If you don't have a lot to chip.. a big crew, a big rental chipper.. and buy the pizza and beer after the job is done.

JP

 

[Gasifier]

BillsWS. I have been considering one of these as well. I will not buy until I have the cash though, so it will be a year or more off. I have seen some nice ones like this. (broken link removed) But have no experience with them. Years ago my father rented a big deisel chipper for a weekend. You could put huge diameter stuff into it. I think up to a foot. The power that thing had was unbelievable. Need to be careful around those things.

 

[brokenknee]

Here is just one thread of many on the tractor forum. Just type in PTO wood chipper it will give you lots of reading.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/250137-pto-driven-wood-chippers-2.html

 

[blades]

Some notes: 20hp minimum, 5" minimum intake. The hydo feed is a little more forgiving as it limits the feed rate vs/a gravity which can over load a low hp unit and cause a jam. Also look at how easy is it to clear a jam ( it happens) and how involved is it to service . In the case of used units, are parts still available? How easy is to replace or sharpen the knives and at what cost as far as replacement knives. There are units out there that are no longer supported as the mfg is out of business

 

[Highbeam]

Just this last summer I borrowed a nearaly new 8" woodmax and put many many hours on it chipping doug fir and cedar limbs up to about three inches in diameter with my 30 HP tractor. It works fine and made nice mulch, smaller than beauty bark but bigger than sawdust. Chickens love it.

The problem, and the part that really sucks, is that it will load up and jamb up to the point of stalling the tractor if you feed it too much greenery. It is a chipper, not a shredder, so it is meant to chip wood. The needles and leafs will grind into a paste that requires some tools to clean out.

They are loud. I wore ear muffs the entire time.

It took me a few weeks to get the job done and my favorite part was feeding the really long, like 20 foot, fir branches. With the hydraulic feed you could stop the feed and let the flywheel spin back up if the branch was too big for the chosen feed rate.

Two people work better than one. One runner to get the branches close and the feeder to load them and chip.

 

[BillsWS]

Thanks to everyone who replied, excellent suggestions and information. I have been reading at the tractor by net forums, thanks for the link broken knee. I called my Local dealer, he has Wallensteins. A bit more $ than I want to spend, but quality costs is my thinking. I have not decided on a particular brand or ordered one yet; I am with you Gassifer, I won't buy untill I have the cash.

 

[MasterMech]

Thanks to everyone who replied, excellent suggestions and information. I have been reading at the tractor by net forums, thanks for the link broken knee. I called my Local dealer, he has Wallensteins. A bit more $ than I want to spend, but quality costs is my thinking. I have not decided on a particular brand or ordered one yet; I am with you Gassifer, I won't buy untill I have the cash.

(broken link removed to http://bearcatproducts.com/products/pto_machines/)

They have a chipper in every price range, all of them excellent, but the one to check out is the 5" chipper/shredder.

(broken image removed)

It's a gravity feed unit but a great multi-tasker. BearCat's knives are the best I've ever seen. Keeping the knives razor sharp and true is exceptionally important, expecially with a gravity feed unit. Once you have to start pushing the wood through it, time to sharpen/flip the knives.

With the chipper/shredder unit, you can also feed it leaves, branches/twigs, or splitter trash and it will reduce it to fine mulch.

The hydraulic feed units from BearCat also have a "smart" controller that will adjust the feed to suit your tractor's PTO output. Spendy but if you are going to be running this unit a lot, the hyd feed will save you much time.

 

[brokenknee]

Thanks to everyone who replied, excellent suggestions and information. I have been reading at the tractor by net forums, thanks for the link broken knee. I called my Local dealer, he has Wallensteins. A bit more $ than I want to spend, but quality costs is my thinking. I have not decided on a particular brand or ordered one yet; I am with you Gassifer, I won't buy untill I have the cash.

Your welcome, it was a member on that forum that let me know about this forum when I had a question about my wood furnace.