# Should i buy a chipper



## shongaloo (Jul 25, 2013)

I started a part time tree service approx. 3 years ago one day when I retire from the fire service it will be full time, ok I have been looking at some drum chippers (altec morbark etc) due to the fact of low maintenance, lower cost and not used on a daily basis, I try and take as much info and consideration from my dad as possible and he strongly advises against any type of chipper (drum /disk) due to the fact he had one back in the early to mid 80's and says they are a constant headache and never just general maintenance always something major to fix or correct, I would like some opinions should I listen to my dad and value his past dealings with a piece of equipment like this or step out on a limb and go with my gut having not ever owned a piece of equipment like this. A little direction would be very helpful guys, I really appreciate it. Thanks in advance


----------



## rarefish383 (Jul 27, 2013)

I retired from tree work, and kept one of our stump grinders, thinking it was an easy one man tool for side work. It was, but I should have kept a chipper too. I wound up getting more take downs than stump work. It never failed, jobs always ran over on time because I was used to having a chipper. Handling brush is harder and much more time consuming than chipping. You can give away chips, nobody wants brush. Our landfill takes all brush and small wood free, but you still have to run 20 miles to get rid of it, and if you don't get there today, you can't work tomorrow till you empty your trailer. I have a dump trailer and it was a very good investment, but a chipper is just a tool I can't see anyone doing this full time not having. I rented a small Dosco, and 6" Vermeer, they are just too small for anything but a homeowner. The smallest I'd go with is a Vermeer BC1000, Brush Bandit in the 10" range, or an old 12" to 16" drum. I rented a small air cooled, 25HP diesel chipper that was rated at 6" but had a 10" feed shoot that worked great, but, I forget what model it was. When we were in business the Asplundh 16" was about the best machine going. We got about 20 years of trouble free use out of ours, general maintenance was all it got. Disc chippers do have more parts to fail, pumps, feed rollers, etc., but are much more user friendly. I used to rent a 10" Morbark and it was the best small chipper I ever used. The rental company I dealt with had 2 of them and I thought I was gonna cry when they sold them and went to the Vermeer BC1000. The Vermeer is a good machine, I just really liked that little Morbark. I'd rent a couple different ones and talk to the rental guys to see how much maintenance they take. If they took that much upkeep, with every "wingnut" in the world renting them, a rental company wouldn't be able to keep them. Good luck, Joe.


----------



## isaacvent (Jul 27, 2013)

Buy a chipper. You won't regret it. My first chipper was an old 16" asplundh with a V8 engine. It did take a bit of repair to get it to a good working order, but it was totally worth it. You have to expect to do some maintenance on your equipment. I spent $1700 on it but it didn't run. I brought it home, pulled the pecan shells out of the carb and fired it up. Since then I put a drum bearing, new knives, battery, regulator, rebuilt generator and a few other odds and ends and wires. I still have it, and it works perfectly. I pull it with a 1 ton dump. I have maybe $2500 in it total because I did all the work myself, I had a guy offer me $3500 for it recently but I'm not ready to sell it. That machine paid for itself in about 2 months. So, unless you can afford to buy new stuff, buy some tools and an older chipper and be prepared to figure it out. This site has good info and people who are willing to help when you get stuck on something. Good luck


----------



## shongaloo (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks guys i really appreciate it, I've sat down and done some hard thinking and i have been looking @ a 16" Altec 4cyl drum chipper, I also put pen to paper and the time and gas i would save dumping brush compared to staying on site and chipping 70-80% of material I actually would be making money, I really do appreciate yalls advice and think im gonna pull the trigger and go get that drum chipper again i really do appreciate it Joe and issacvent I will keep an update on here how things are going


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 28, 2013)

When you say 10" or 16" chipper. Do you mean that's the size wood it takes???? .


----------



## shongaloo (Jul 28, 2013)

tramp bushler said:


> When you say 10" or 16" chipper. Do you mean that's the size wood it takes???? .



Yes sir I the one I'm looking @ is a Altec 16" drum chipper and I assume thats the size of material it takes again I'm new to this whole chipper deal


----------



## blades (Jul 28, 2013)

Be careful with the older chuck and duck units, rather than the controlled feed units. Never stand directly behind the chute. And always make sure you can get free quick of what you are feeding it.


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 28, 2013)

That's a pretty big chipper . The Brush Bandit we r using 200+ is the biggest I've been around. Well aside from the pulp mill. 

But I spose there are non burnable species. And prolly few people want firewood in L.A.


----------



## TheJollyLogger (Jul 28, 2013)

Tramp, the main advantage on running a 15-16" chipper isn't to necessarily run that big a log through it, but it will handle and crush larger branches with more forks, and the larger engines will handle hard wood better. And no, the firewood market isn't great down here. Way more wood than demand.

To the OP, I would definitely demo a chuck n duck before you buy it, and demo a controlled feed unit as well. Those old altecs are cheap for a reason, nobody wants to run em. Jeff


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 28, 2013)

OK. That makes sense. I do spend plenty of time cutting crotches off small trees and brush so it will feed. If I don't the guys have some pretty futile wrasslin matches trying t get it to chip. 
Thanks Jeff.


----------



## Bandit Man (Jul 28, 2013)

shongaloo said:


> Yes sir I the one I'm looking @ is a Altec 16" drum chipper and I assume thats the size of material it takes again I'm new to this whole chipper deal



If I am not mistaken, you are refering to a chuck and duck conventional drum chipper. The 16" is the length of the knives on the drum. You will be lucky to get it to eat 7" green material. If you plan to chip any dead wood, or any wood over 7", I would recommend looking into a self-feeder.


----------



## miko0618 (Jul 28, 2013)

a 4 cylinder chuck and duck is most likely a 6" chipper. it has a larger opening than that but the engine doesn't have enough power to run the drum in large wood. I have one and it does great. I don't find it all that dangerous. it doesn't pull the wood in hard enough to suck a person in. really, other than whipping you, its only danger would be if you reached in and chipped your arm/leg. they are cheap. I paid $2500 for mine. its a simple design and low maintenance. good gas mileage too.


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 28, 2013)

2500$ . Wow. Where can I find one. 

So why r they called a chuck and duck. 
Sounds like a meat dinner.


----------



## rarefish383 (Jul 28, 2013)

I used a 16" Asplundh for may years, it's a chuck-n-duck. Ours had a 300 cubic inch Ford inline. Others had Ford V8's. The knives spin at a very high rpm, making the very unmistakable high pitch whine of the old chippers. You can hand feed a modern controlled feed chipper. Not the old drums. It was common to get as big a load of brush on your shoulder and get a little bit of a run going to the side of the chute, toss the load into the chute opening and duck, FAST. If one little twig of the load hit the blades the whole pile was gone, FAST. When I got married my wife said my back looked like some one off a slave galley. Gloves, shirts, and hats were often taken off without your permission, One of the first things you would do is cut a stout push pole with a V on the end. If the pile hit the chute and didn't get the blades you would get your push pole and ram it in. If you grabbed a piece by hand and pushed it in, you would never do it again. I've had big chunks of meat ripped out of my fingers trying to push stuff through. Actually, I did do it again, and it usually hurt. But, that aside, if you use them right, chuck-n-duck, they work really well. You just can't be ho-hum I'm gonna stick this in. Until I got used to disc chippers I like the old drums better. Now I like watching other people run a chipper better, Joe.

P.S. As others have said, on a drum the the 12", 16", etc is the length of the knives. Our Asplundh 16" would grind half that, about 8", pretty easy. It would take a pole about as log as you could drag it to the machine, very seldom would it bog and stall out. But they do not have that stop and go of a controlled feed disc.


----------



## TheJollyLogger (Jul 28, 2013)

Chuck N Duck, Part 3 Ready and Willing - YouTube

There's ya a chuck n duck, pretty sure that's an old asplundh altec, like the OP was talkin bout. You've got a ford industrial 300 ci inline six running the drum via belts, and that's it, no feed wheels, no panic bars. Hence the name chuck n duck. Good news is ya get sucked in, it's over quick, won't even bog the motor.


----------



## hour18 (Jul 29, 2013)

Despite how cheap a chuck n duck is, i would never be able to justify it. It would only take one little mistake...he was there one second and gone the next..I couldn't live with myself know someone got pulled though because we wanted to save a few bucks. We run a bc1000xp and i get whipped enough from it, but I have to say despite what others may think..I love the bottom bump bar even if it dose get in the say sometimes.

My 2cents


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 29, 2013)

Welcome to ArboristSite hour 18 .


----------



## hour18 (Jul 29, 2013)

tramp bushler said:


> Welcome to ArboristSite hour 18 .



Thank you.


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 29, 2013)

The pics are just? Marks.


----------



## tramp bushler (Jul 29, 2013)

That's better. Must have been on my side.


----------



## isaacvent (Jul 29, 2013)

Your welcome. The chuck n duck is not as dangerous as some may say. It should be fed from the side, yes. As long as you are paying attention to the work, and sorta toss the limbs in you will have no problems. All the local asplundh crews here use them everyday. If they were really man killers asplundh wouldn't use them. Mine will chip 8-9 inch max diameter, but the big thing is the length of the material unlike a disk chipper. I can only remember stalling it once and that was a largest 20 foot maple limb, it was just a bit too long. C and D chippers require the material to be cut a bit shorter. If you look at it as a stepping stone its not bad. They are light to tow, cheap to run and fix, and simple. The downfalls, limited size/length or material, fixed chute. I say buy one, let it buy you a disk chipper in the future.


----------



## miko0618 (Jul 29, 2013)

if a disc chipper gets ahold of you, the rollers will crush and feed you right through. even if my leg got caught in my chipper, it would only chip until it was met with resistance. if your getting whipped from the branches and losing clothing, your putting yourself in harms way. if I run a long, large limb and the motor starts to die, I can grab the limb and stop it from chipping. feed the chute from the side and step back and its fine. check craigslist and ebay. I had a few between $2500 and $3000. I went with the one closest. I can tow it with a pick up truck no problem. I can work it all day on $20 in gas. its been the best investment I have made.


----------



## hour18 (Jul 29, 2013)

Both of you have great points and I agree, If used with proper respect and training its not a problem. Me personally it would be a matter of who i work with, even with the chipper we have now. not everyone has the same mind set when it comes to common sense.


----------



## TheJollyLogger (Jul 29, 2013)

The difference is a chipper with feed rollers has a knee bar and panic bar, which will stop the rollers. Flesh and bone don't offer much resistance. Next time you see a dead deer by the side of the road, feed it through and see how long it takes to make deer sausage.


----------



## hour18 (Jul 30, 2013)

TheJollyLogger said:


> The difference is a chipper with feed rollers has a knee bar and panic bar, which will stop the rollers. Flesh and bone don't offer much resistance. Next time you see a dead deer by the side of the road, feed it through and see how long it takes to make deer sausage.



Lol no need for that, 8 foot log about 10 inch thick and it will spit it out in under 30 seconds, there's no need for the blood/smell. I do get what everyone is saying as far as being able to stop what is going in easily, since they do bog down under a load, but that just like saying a bump bar on the feed chute is going to save your life if your dumb enough to put your foot in the chute. nothing is 100% safe and everything should be treated as such.


----------



## miko0618 (Jul 30, 2013)

no doubt it would chip a human with no problem. I don't fit through the chipper feed chute so it couldn't suck me through. whereas the rollers would make me fit. I am not saying either are safe, but its not like a vortex either. use your head, stay to the side and make sure there is NEVER a rope near the chipper. and I mean never! not even an old clothesline that was in the tree. I can upload a video to youtube of us running my chipper if you like.


----------



## hour18 (Jul 30, 2013)

I wouldn't mind seeing some sun some where else lol..rain last 6-7 days no fun,


----------



## miko0618 (Jul 30, 2013)

don't knock me for the PPE. my helmet is on my truck camera attached.


----------



## sgreanbeans (Jul 30, 2013)

Don't knock ya, sorry but have to, actually going to delete that vid, not trying to be the PPE police, but come on man, that's too much and then to throw that up here! Guys will post pics and have one thing missing in a still pic while posing for the camera and we/I will give them hell for it. Your running brush in a old aas chipper and nobody has any PPE on! Even your guy. Big difference. If not the helmet, what about ear and eye protection? That on the cam too? Eye protection is a must at the chipper, fastest place to get a stupid little chunk in your eye, that will make you wanna go postal.
Don't relax your standards to post a vid bro. If something did come out and smash u in the face, it would be for what?, a vid of you running that thing for the OP!, not really worth it man.


----------



## miko0618 (Jul 30, 2013)

Yeah, its all on the helmet. We all wear protection while running the chipper.


----------



## hour18 (Jul 30, 2013)

I saw the sun, what a great thing. Thanks.

Well i have kinda changed my position on them, while not a fan. If it was all i could get a hold of then it would have to do. I'm just not a big firewood person, so if it fits it gets turned into chips.


----------



## shongaloo (Aug 1, 2013)

isaacvent said:


> Your welcome. The chuck n duck is not as dangerous as some may say. It should be fed from the side, yes. As long as you are paying attention to the work, and sorta toss the limbs in you will have no problems. All the local asplundh crews here use them everyday. If they were really man killers asplundh wouldn't use them. Mine will chip 8-9 inch max diameter, but the big thing is the length of the material unlike a disk chipper. I can only remember stalling it once and that was a largest 20 foot maple limb, it was just a bit too long. C and D chippers require the material to be cut a bit shorter. If you look at it as a stepping stone its not bad. They are light to tow, cheap to run and fix, and simple. The downfalls, limited size/length or material, fixed chute. I say buy one, let it buy you a disk chipper in the future.



Thanks guys for all the comments and feed back sorry I just recently had a chance to get back on here being @ the fire station this tour hasn't been an easy or slow one that's forsure other than that I did find an 1994 whisper with the ford 300 approx. 2 hours from the house going Sunday to look @ and and hopefully take it home with that being said what are some of the thinks I need to look for in the chipper like if I see this or hear this should I let this one slide or that's the norm. Again I really appreciate all the feed back. Heath


----------



## kyle goddard (Aug 1, 2013)

TheJollyLogger said:


> The difference is a chipper with feed rollers has a knee bar and panic bar, which will stop the rollers. Flesh and bone don't offer much resistance. Next time you see a dead deer by the side of the road, feed it through and see how long it takes to make deer sausage.



That made me think of a time when i was young maby 13 i would go to work with a company my dad climbed for.. we were clearing a lot found a frozen dear and ran it through a self feeding chipper. Thats something you never forget. Thank god it was freezing cold out. There wasnt much to smell.


----------



## CalTreeEquip (Aug 1, 2013)

That chipper should serve you well. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, Asplundh's are still the best deals around. No they are not safe but what chipper is.
I ran them for 20 years and never had a problem. 
Couple things to check. Look at the blades, hopefully they are sharp and have been maintained. If it has been sitting for years they can be a real bear to deal with.
The blades take some skill to change and about 3 hours when you know what your doing. Getting the cutter done right is the biggest issue these chipper have. Next take a large pry-bar with you and pry between the drum and the base plate (not the blades) see if there is any play. You don't want to have to replace those bearings. Check the clutch. Those are not adjustable so if its high its worn. Check the radiator, see if its clogged. If it is, they have been running it hot and that could mean problems. It also mean they have not been maintaining it properly. 
There is a tread on this site that address ropes getting caught in chippers. This would be a good thing to read since that is the greatest hazard to using these.
There are also videos on youtube that should how to properly feed one of these chippers. Take some time to look those up.
Good luck.


----------



## isaacvent (Aug 1, 2013)

CalTreeEquip said:


> That chipper should serve you well. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, Asplundh's are still the best deals around. No they are not safe but what chipper is.
> I ran them for 20 years and never had a problem.
> Couple things to check. Look at the blades, hopefully they are sharp and have been maintained. If it has been sitting for years they can be a real bear to deal with.
> The blades take some skill to change and about 3 hours when you know what your doing. Getting the cutter done right is the biggest issue these chipper have. Next take a large pry-bar with you and pry between the drum and the base plate (not the blades) see if there is any play. You don't want to have to replace those bearings. Check the clutch. Those are not adjustable so if its high its worn. Check the radiator, see if its clogged. If it is, they have been running it hot and that could mean problems. It also mean they have not been maintaining it properly.
> ...



This is all good info. Check the belts as well. Its like anything, pay attention to everything. Watch and listen. See how it starts, feel the clutch engage, listen to the way the engine responds. Bring some wood to chip. If the knives are good, it will pull in limbs/logs fast. If you have to push the wood in, you need new ones or a grind, not a big deal but could be a bargaining chip for you. Run it long enough to get it hot. Make sure nothings leaking. Put your bare hand on the drum bearing housing on both sides to see if they are warm or hot, could indicate a failing bearing. When the bearing on mine went bad on the drive side there was an occasional spark. After you shut it down, listen to the drum spin. You will know if you have a bad bearing. Otherwise these things are pretty simple and easy to fix.


----------



## CalTreeEquip (Aug 1, 2013)

isaacvent said:


> This is all good info. Check the belts as well. Its like anything, pay attention to everything. Watch and listen. See how it starts, feel the clutch engage, listen to the way the engine responds. Bring some wood to chip. If the knives are good, it will pull in limbs/logs fast. If you have to push the wood in, you need new ones or a grind, not a big deal but could be a bargaining chip for you. Run it long enough to get it hot. Make sure nothings leaking. Put your bare hand on the drum bearing housing on both sides to see if they are warm or hot, could indicate a failing bearing. When the bearing on mine went bad on the drive side there was an occasional spark. After you shut it down, listen to the drum spin. You will know if you have a bad bearing. Otherwise these things are pretty simple and easy to fix.



I concur.


----------



## fearofpavement (Aug 4, 2013)

I have an Altec 12" with the 4cyl Ford engine (looks like a Pinto engine to me)

Anyway, we have a lot of pine here and these chippers work great for pine. When I cut oak/hickory/sweetgum etc, I cut everything into firewood so don't usually have that much "brush" left. For those jobs, I usually cut everything up, throw the brush in the dump trailer and then pitch the wood in on top of it. After I dump it out at the staging area, I sort it into firewood and debris to be burned.

I don't think the drum "chuck and duck" chippers are any more dangerous than the disk chippers but they will give you a good whipping from time to time. I am cautious when feeding wood with vines, etc. They are very fast. No matter how long the branch is, two second max later, it's in the hopper. They are also extremely loud to work around and I often wear earplugs AND muffs when using it. Interesting name: "Whisper Chipper" which is a huge misnomer.

The reason these chippers are cheap (relatively) is not because they are dangerous, but because most are old, they are relatively simple, and a lot of them were made.

I would suggest that unless you have very good mechanical abilities, don't buy a project disc chipper. These have lots of components that can be very expensive to replace.

A drum chipper has an engine with a dry clutch (like a car's clutch) driving a belt (several side by side) which turns the drum with the knives in it. (essentially like a wood planer).

What to look for? Check the engine over, check the drum bearings and general condition of the chute, trailer frame, lights, coupler, tire condition, wheel bearings, etc. They are not a maintenance hog if operated properly. Mine had carb issues but I finally remedied that and now it's pretty trouble free.

Buy one at the right price, use it, sell it again later for the same money. The drum chipper is the way to get started. Hauling out loads of brush can be avoided and the time savings justify one quickly.


----------



## Carburetorless (Aug 4, 2013)

I wonder why the DOT doesn't use chippers to get ride of animal carcasses in the winter time.


----------

