# Disc vs drum chipper



## derwoodii

I canna seem to like the newer drum chippers, all others seem to be enjoying them but I don't. 
Is it me or are they better than old disc or is it an industry fashion cycle. 
Me thinks the new drums weigh more the chips are nay as good & pain to change knife and mainatain vs. the old disc easy maintenance lighter weight and nice chips not smashed fluffy trash i had today.


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## a_lopa

vermeer drum 18" was popular thats why the others followed,I think HP is more important.

Drums easy knive change,but they are heavy.

Ive got both..disc for me other than the knife change.


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## derwoodii

a_lopa said:


> vermeer drum 18" was popular thats why the others followed,I think HP is more important.
> 
> Drums easy knive change,but they are heavy.
> 
> Ive got both..disc for me other than the knife change.



I've used both & gonna have a crack at a brand new 12 inch drum bandit n hoping it will change my mind but was looking at the chip from it and twas fluffy smashed not nice chip at all. You reckon the chip/mulch quality is better from Disc or Drum, i say disc.

The weight and extra length needed of drum rig keeps me doubting they are that better but the industry say nay as all are buying big heavy long & expensive drums now.


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## troythetreeman

derwoodii said:


> I've used both & gonna have a crack at a brand new 12 inch drum bandit n hoping it will change my mind but was looking at the chip from it and twas fluffy smashed not nice chip at all. You reckon the chip/mulch quality is better from Disc or Drum, i say disc.
> 
> The weight and extra length needed of drum rig keeps me doubting they are that better but the industry say nay as all are buying big heavy long & expensive drums now.


 
ive always though drum made a lot better chip as disk tends to shred more... your knives sharp and cutter bar adjusted right?


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## derwoodii

troythetreeman said:


> ive always though drum made a lot better chip as disk tends to shred more... your knives sharp and cutter bar adjusted right?


 
Really, my observation are the opposite & yep the knifes are anvil set is good as twas a 2 week old rig. The extreme example is I used a Asplunda whisper drum chipper for 2 years and it just made hay fluff you'd fill a bin twice as fast with half as much of crap shreds n ha twice the fuel as a diesel. I keep being told how good these new drums are but I am yet to be convinced. Guess I need to spend some more time on them but any with them vertical feed wheels are a PITA .


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## mattfr12

i wouldnt hesitate to buy another disk the only reason my next one will be a drum is they just seem faster to me. ive never seen one make worse chips than a disk tho? HP is definetly more important because you can get a 12" chipper or a 18" with the same motor in it. If i was buying something in the 18" size id want 200 or more hp.

Your not really limited tho Brush bandit Still offers alot of models in disk and drum.


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## ipkyss

I like disc chippers. Changing the knives is a harder task, but they will almost never get clogged up. I have (by accident) ran pond mud through a 14" bandit. It was the bottom tree in the pile and didn't notice it. Where the bandit 1890 would get clogged if it started to sprinkle out with a leafy maple. Motor for motor, I feel a disc will always chip faster. That being said. I am very happy with my 570 Conehead.


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## treeoperations

used both drum and disc, looking at buying a 990xp.

a disc with same hp as same size drum will chip WAY faster on straight long wood, where the drum will start to claw it back is with branches and twisted wood as the drum rotating helps pull material in.


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## md_tree_dood

I vote disc. Really like my bandit 254.


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## John Paul Sanborn

Disk allows a more compact machine, drum a lighter one. HP is king DCell is best if you are chipping big wood, they do not lug down as easy as gas engines.

For me the dimensions of the infeed are more important then the cutting system.


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## a_lopa

John Paul Sanborn said:


> Disk allows a more compact machine, drum a lighter one. HP is king DCell is best if you are chipping big wood, they do not lug down as easy as gas engines.
> 
> For me the dimensions of the infeed are more important then the cutting system.



Yep the morbark 2400/M18 has an awesome infeed,I cannot understand why the other manufacturers dont.

I have a bandit 280HD disc as well.


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## NCTREE

I really like my new 990xp, of course i'm going from a chuck and duck so I really can't tell you wehter disc is better than drum. I like the easyness of changing the blades and adjusting the anvil. The 990's drum is exceptionally large for a 12" chipper which makes it handle larger dia stuff. It also relatively light and compact so getting it into tight spots is easy. The 85hp desiel engine is plenty strong enough to handle bigger wood since it has the auto feed system. Overall im am pleased with this chipper and would recomend it to anyone who wants a small chipper the still has balls.


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## ipkyss

The infeed on my Conehead 570 is 32x22. Theres not too much that doesn't fit. The feed rollers are also closer to the drum than any other chipper I have owned. Which makes things jam up much less.


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## treeclimber101

A disc machine will walk all over a drum machine with the same HP , and there is alot less violent impact with the disc machines you are loading the material to the cutter at a 45* angle instead of straight in , just my opinion the 1800 had a lot more problems over time then the 1230 and it has had a somewhat easy life


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## DangerTree

I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.


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## treeclimber101

DangerTree said:


> I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.


 
Or in your case a vagina .... Just kidding you put Vagina out there and opened yourself up "literally" for that one


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## flushcut

DangerTree said:


> I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.


 
How do you really feel :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## DangerTree

treeclimber101 said:


> Or in your case a vagina .... Just kidding you put Vagina out there and opened yourself up "literally" for that one


 
I didn't mention vagina anywhere in my statement. And I am personally quite happy about my manhood thank you. I am merely suggesting that comparing things that can obviously out perform the user is moot. It becomes a ( mine is bigger than yours game ) useless for describing the advantages or disadvantages of a tool. Oh and my insult was not aimed at somebody it was a general observation. If you feel as though it was aimed at you maybe you don't feel comfortable with something. I take your comment as a defense mechanism not a rebuttal.


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## NCTREE

DangerTree said:


> I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.


 
Thats funny your the only one who's acting like a whining 4 yr old. He ask the question we are giving our opinion. I could care less if you think your chippers better than mine. Thats not the point I was trying to make so stick a sock in it! douche!


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## Bigus Termitius

Chip quality may not mean anything to some, and that's fine, however, when you're in an area where it can be beneficial to be able to get rid of it as a marketable product, it can make a big difference. Even if it mean just getting people to take it.

I think that one of the most notable chippers in my opinion are the bandits with the 37" hybrid wheel, starting with the 1390xp model. It's sort of a cross between a classic drum or disc.








Other than that, I've run an old diesel power chuck and duck, a cat powered 06 versmeer 1400xl, and own a 98 woodchuck wc17 with the ford 6, which does a really nice job all around and maintains a great deal of simplicity. If I have my way I might just keep it as a backup once I move on to a bandit 1390xp. 

So then I suppose disk vs drum is really a question, and function, of various parameters.


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## DangerTree

Bigus Termitius said:


> Chip quality may not mean anything to some, and that's fine, however, when you're in an area where it can be beneficial to be able to get rid of it as a marketable product, it can make a big difference. Even if it mean just getting people to take it.
> 
> I think that one of the most notable chippers in my opinion are the bandits with the 37" hybrid wheel, starting with the 1390xp model. It's sort of a cross between a classic drum or disc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Other than that, I've run an old diesel power chuck and duck, a cat powered 06 versmeer 1400xl, and own a 98 woodchuck wc17 with the ford 6, which does a really nice job all around and maintains a great deal of simplicity. If I have my way I might just keep it as a backup once I move on to a bandit 1390xp.
> 
> So then I suppose disk vs drum is really a question, and function, of various parameters.


 
You see this is the difference between a good helpful comment and the remark made by the young lad (I am assuming by the wording ) that would only say that because of distance. A real man would face to face a remark like that. If I would slap his face with a glove and challenge him to a duel by gum I would. Coward!


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## NCTREE

DangerTree said:


> You see this is the difference between a good helpful comment and the remark made by the young lad (I am assuming by the wording ) that would only say that because of distance. A real man would face to face a remark like that. If I would slap his face with a glove and challenge him to a duel by gum I would. Coward!


 
Who's the coward chappy?




Chappy is the german word that is used to describe anger or short temper. A person who is regarded as a chappy will suffer from anger managment issues and abnormally large mussle mass. There is only one thing that can calm a chappy down and this is by placing a sock in his mouth as soon as the sock touches his mouth all the anger will drain away and the chappy will return to normal


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## ipkyss

DangerTree said:


> I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.



Maybe you should wake up and realize different tree services may do things different. If I had two people loading my chipper, I would never get any work done. There have been a few days where My 325hp 570 was down and I have to use the 180 hp 515. It is still a very nice 18" chipper(still faster than a VR 1800), But it was holding us up the whole day. Our chipper is loaded daily by either one or two ASV track machines and or our log truck. We don't play around. If your chipper is not slowing you down, Its either the right size for your crew, or your working too slow. I have jobs quite often that we are waiting on the 570 or chip truck swaps. I also have a lot of big jobs we bring our 48ft walking floor trailer to. And as far as chip quality. Not everyone just throws there chips a way. There are lots of times the quality of the chip determines if I can sell them or not. The conehead chippers are drum chippers that produce chips like a disc chipper. They basically cut the chips at the same angle as a disc. Its the happy medium for the most part.


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## troythetreeman

chip quality is important, nice chip takes up a lot less space
but if you really want to save time dont chip at all, get a log loader


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## derwoodii

troythetreeman said:


> chip quality is important, nice chip takes up a lot less space
> but if you really want to save time dont chip at all, get a log loader


 
Agree with this. Log removal or reuse to fire wood or timber product is a way to reduce need for large capacity machines and their cost plus your staff backs in the cut up haul away process.


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## ipkyss

It goes both ways. It is much easier for my crew and more profitable in the end to drop and chip whole trees when we can. Then to spend the time to cut logs and branches. We also sell chips. We save saw logs but minimal firewood and very little soft wood.


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## tree MDS

Bigus Termitius said:


> Chip quality may not mean anything to some, and that's fine, however, when you're in an area where it can be beneficial to be able to get rid of it as a marketable product, it can make a big difference. Even if it mean just getting people to take it.
> 
> I think that one of the most notable chippers in my opinion are the bandits with the 37" hybrid wheel, starting with the 1390xp model. It's sort of a cross between a classic drum or disc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Other than that, I've run an old diesel power chuck and duck, a cat powered 06 versmeer 1400xl, and own a 98 woodchuck wc17 with the ford 6, which does a really nice job all around and maintains a great deal of simplicity. If I have my way I might just keep it as a backup once I move on to a bandit 1390xp.
> 
> So then I suppose disk vs drum is really a question, and function, of various parameters.



The woodsman chippers have a 36 or 37" drum too. 

Call me old school, I voted for disk. I love my 250 with quad rollers and supersized infeed.


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## Bigus Termitius

tree MDS said:


> The woodsman chippers have a 36 or 37" drum too.
> 
> Call me old school, I voted for disk. I love my 250 with quad rollers and supersized infeed.


 
Nice. I'll keep that in mind about the woodsman, I'm not too familiar with them yet. I would be happy to find a decent deere powered 250 instead of a big step up into the 15"-18" range for the time being. If I end up making payments on something, it'll have to be happy to eat the bigger branches. I know what a vermeer 1400xl with a winch can do in short order, but I don't want a vermeer for poor design, cheap switches, arrogant service and glorified parts.


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## tree MDS

Bigus Termitius said:


> Nice. I'll keep that in mind about the woodsman, I'm not too familiar with them yet. I would be happy to find a decent deere powered 250 instead of a big step up into the 15"-18" range for the time being. If I end up making payments on something, it'll have to be happy to eat the bigger branches. I know what a vermeer 1400xl with a winch can do in short order, but I don't want a vermeer for poor design, cheap switches, arrogant service and glorified parts.


 
I picked mine up a few years ago for 18k. it had under 1500 hours on it, 125hp turbo deere, supersized infeed with quads and hyd. chute. Deals are out there, you just gotta be lucky enough to find em (I thought it was a good deal anyway).

If I ever buy another chipper, I would have to demo a 1590 with 140 deere power.. seems like it might be just the ticket (without getting into the whole CDL thing).


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## DangerTree

troythetreeman said:


> chip quality is important, nice chip takes up a lot less space
> but if you really want to save time dont chip at all, get a log loader


 
Yeah that's great and the branches?


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## DangerTree

NCTREE said:


> Who's the coward chappy?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chappy is the german word that is used to describe anger or short temper. A person who is regarded as a chappy will suffer from anger managment issues and abnormally large mussle mass. There is only one thing that can calm a chappy down and this is by placing a sock in his mouth as soon as the sock touches his mouth all the anger will drain away and the chappy will return to normal


 
That's not what I'd be sticking in your mouth chumpy!


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## derwoodii

OK ta all some good responses so far the 2 sides are very close much seems depend on personal preference & needs I still say disc does a better chip but drum seems to be stronger. So perhaps add your thought to this old one.

http://www.arboristsite.com/off-topic-forum/151822.htm


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## Graysonshiprek

DangerTree said:


> I think you guys are being stupid about faster this and better that. My 990XP will keep 2 guys sweating like fat drunks all day long how much faster do you need to be? As for chip quality who the f..k cares just get em' into the truck and be done with it. What a bunch of egotistical moronship I am reading here. The straight answer to the original question is they are both good. They both work fine as they are intended to if well maintained. My chipper this and my chipper that is nothing more than little boys measuring up at the urinal. Grow up it's a chipper not a penis.



Well said! I have read statistics, and all these opinions contradict each other. You are right, they are both great designs, each have small pros and cons. Not enough to say one or the other is the #1 style. I have had both, very little difference as I only do tree work 1-2 times a week. 
Write down all your goals for the machine. Let your personal needs decide which is best.


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## rtsims

I like these old threads. Salty, grumpy and opinionated. 

I'm currently looking to upgrade chippers and have done a lot of research. This is what I have found. 

Disks require fine tuning your knives more making sure they stay very sharp, but for sure produce a higher quality chip. Drums can be ran with duller knives and are easier to change. Disks handle large wood better, drums process limby messy brush better. Disks are heavier but throw chips harder. Now as far as the bandits go, it sounds like you can run the machines with the 37" dia drum with lower hp packages because the large drum has much more torque and cuts on the bottom half. I'm leaning towards a 990xp, if $ and weight weren't an issue I would probably go with a 250xp. 

My 2 cents


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## Felix5513

CHUCK and DUCK. Hands down. Or hands cut off....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Dillweed

Felix5513 said:


> CHUCK and DUCK. Hands down. Or hands cut off....


I just bought a "chuck'n duck". Scary. There are no feed rollers. Looking through the feed chute you see the drum and knives screaming for debris. The knives grab the branches and suck them in, really, really. fast. Very careful to release the branches because it sucks them in at warp speed. Great for palm fronds. Never use disc chippers when you chip palm fronds, it burns up the bearings.


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