# Best 12" chipper on the market



## a_lopa

What do YOU think is the best 12"chipper on the market and why?

personally im all for the bandit range 150-250xp due to the long life span and bullet proof design,theres a few imposters out there at the moment are the going to last the long haul?alot of other manufacturers drum types arnt holding up here down under chipping hardwood all day with bearing failures before 1000 hours,i dont think they have much hope of making 4000 hrs.


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## ggttp

I'm a fan of the Vermeer 1230A. I have never ran or even seen a bandit run so i could not compare.

I own a bc1230A and a bc1000

The bc1000 is great for chipping limbs and moderate size logs.
The bc1230A i great for every thing.


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## phillytreeking1

Bandit 250 xp hell of a machine i run all bandits


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## rbtree

Consensus among many is that the Morbark and Woodsman are better built (heavier sheet metal, etc) than the Bandits. I've never run them. I'm plenty happy with my 250XP w/winch and live hydraulics (features that may not be available on a Vermeer 1230 or 1250, a machine that pales in comparison to the Bandito.) 

I'd think long and hard about the Dynamic ConeHead if I get another chipper..and it would be the 15 inch model.


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## Beast12

rbtree said:


> I'd think long and hard about the Dynamic ConeHead if I get another chipper..and it would be the 15 inch model.



Ya, you would WANT to think long and hard. We bought the DC-50 Discone model about a year and a half ago. Too many problems to list. Is a GREAT machine when it is working. Have had more down time than both of our old chuck and ducks that are in excess of 30 years old.

We got rid of one of the old chippers and were going to sell the other one but we still use it for when the DC-50 goes down (and it does). 

-Matt


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Beast12 said:


> Ya, you would WANT to think long and hard. We bought the DC-50 Discone model about a year and a half ago. Too many problems to list. Is a GREAT machine when it is working. Have had more down time than both of our old chuck and ducks that are in excess of 30 years old.
> 
> We got rid of one of the old chippers and were going to sell the other one but we still use it for when the DC-50 goes down (and it does).
> 
> -Matt


Boy does that sound like the new vermeer chippers, great when they work.
Too many gadgets and poor support.


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## jazak

Hands down the Morbark 12.


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## Thor's Hammer

Beast12 said:


> Ya, you would WANT to think long and hard. We bought the DC-50 Discone model about a year and a half ago. Too many problems to list. Is a GREAT machine when it is working. Have had more down time than both of our old chuck and ducks that are in excess of 30 years old.
> 
> We got rid of one of the old chippers and were going to sell the other one but we still use it for when the DC-50 goes down (and it does).
> 
> -Matt



Hey Matt, that sounds bad. What specificaly is going wrong for you?
I'm a Dynamic dealer, so may be able to help you out.


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## Beast12

Well, let me see

1) Hydraulic motor for the feedwheel was leaking hydraulic oil - fixed under warranty
2) One of the hydraulic lifts for the feedwheel was leaking hydraulic oil - fixed under warranty
3) BOTH fenders cracking really bad - new ones given to us under warranty but not installed yet
4) 3 broken feedwheel springs - 2 replaced under warranty
5) NUMEROUS problems with the wiring coming apart - I took every connection apart and soldered and shrinkwrapped them (they were just crimped on)
6) Diesel tank rubbing against frame ended up getting a crack in it and leaking - fixed by us out of warranty but Dynamic said they would pay
7) Voltmeter has not consistenly worked for over a year - didn't fix because there is one on the Tachometer
8) Small diesel fuel line got a crack in it and spewed diesel fuel all over the road - this just happened a couple weeks ago and we just fixed it ourselves

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I think that is all of it though. Like I said earlier it is a great running machine...when it is running.

-Matt


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## jazak

My buddy just bought the 21" discone. No problems so far.

I'm still going to stick with Morbark though, as Discone is new to the industry.


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## Thor's Hammer

Matt, sorry to hear about your problems. Getting stuff fixed under warrenty is good, but still a pain in the backside when it breaks on site.

I'm running a 16" and 22" Conehead, no problems so far... but for the European market we do a few mods. (the wiring being the first!)
Also, all our future 22" machines will be fitted with a tier3 440hp V6, as the US versions dont have enough power.


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## diltree

best 12" chipper?? Bandit 1290 drum..... hands down


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## ctkiteboarding

I've had the tried and true bandit 100 w ford gas forever and moved to the 250 xp this yr, also a strong machine , but i am sick of the feed system and might go to a woodsman if i can find one reasonable w 500 hrs or so ,, any converts to woodsmans out their ? R


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## a_lopa

What dont you like about the feed system?


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## Thor's Hammer

Its hard to argue with the 1290, as it uses the same 37" dia drum as the 22" 3090 chipper! 
Still using that twin roller sysytem though. 
Unless you run your bottom trapdoor open, they have a habit of jamming up.

Morbark, Woodsman and Conehead all go for the Oversized toproller system. seems to perform very well...

Heres our 22" Conehead working


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## a_lopa

Looks ok,how does it go on hardwoods?

Had a guy offer me good money for my chipper today 4k more than i paid.


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## ctkiteboarding

any dead wood splits and then jams it seems to alway have to be reversed and re feed,, pain in the arse


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## Beast12

Beast12 said:


> Well, let me see
> 
> 1) Hydraulic motor for the feedwheel was leaking hydraulic oil - fixed under warranty
> 2) One of the hydraulic lifts for the feedwheel was leaking hydraulic oil - fixed under warranty
> 3) BOTH fenders cracking really bad - new ones given to us under warranty but not installed yet
> 4) 3 broken feedwheel springs - 2 replaced under warranty
> 5) NUMEROUS problems with the wiring coming apart - I took every connection apart and soldered and shrinkwrapped them (they were just crimped on)
> 6) Diesel tank rubbing against frame ended up getting a crack in it and leaking - fixed by us out of warranty but Dynamic said they would pay
> 7) Voltmeter has not consistenly worked for over a year - didn't fix because there is one on the Tachometer
> 8) Small diesel fuel line got a crack in it and spewed diesel fuel all over the road - this just happened a couple weeks ago and we just fixed it ourselves
> 
> That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I think that is all of it though. Like I said earlier it is a great running machine...when it is running.
> 
> -Matt



Well, I guess I can add to this list. One of the drum bearings went out. Machine is JUST over 2 years old (around 1000 hours) and we have to replace one of the sealed bearings.

I believe it is because of the design of the machine. I think woodchips were rubbing against the side of it and caused one of them to rip the protective shield off the bearing. This shield keeps the grease in and the dirt and woodchips out.

So, this machine will probably be down for a week. I am SOOOOO glad we kept our old reliable (usually) chuck and duck.  

-Matt


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## gdn

morbark 13 with winch excellent chipper, only 2 blades auto feed very robust maintain and it won't break. And it has winch. For tree removal often a trunk can be 4-5m long 12" diameter and feed rollers don't hiccup. We only chip hardwood and stones over here, prob about 3-5hrs the chipper is chipping each day, and do blade flip once a week (about 1/2hr to do) 
would recommend getting air wrench for chipper maintenance (blades, anvil)
did i mention it has winch? (maybe i should be moaning about the lack of them on our other chippers...

my chipper experience : chipstar disc chipper (good if run properly)
Big Morbark - not sure which model and i think larger capacity/motor but it is drum with 4 blades and doesn't chip as good as the...
!Morbark 13 best chipper!
and also we have crappy old vermeer 1250 that is crap with no winch


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## Beast12

Beast12 said:


> Well, I guess I can add to this list. One of the drum bearings went out. Machine is JUST over 2 years old (around 1000 hours) and we have to replace one of the sealed bearings.
> 
> I believe it is because of the design of the machine. I think woodchips were rubbing against the side of it and caused one of them to rip the protective shield off the bearing. This shield keeps the grease in and the dirt and woodchips out.
> 
> So, this machine will probably be down for a week. I am SOOOOO glad we kept our old reliable (usually) chuck and duck.
> 
> -Matt



The bearing will be here on Monday. The bearing and the block it sits in is going to cost us $700 out of pocket. We COULD get just the bearing but that would take 10 days longer and still be about $450. Must have the big chipper back. We will make the $250 easy on saved fuel and labour costs.

-Matt


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## John464

I have no reason to switch from Bandit 250xp's Been running since 1999 and have had very little problems throughout the years. I trade them in when they reach about 4,000hrs. Very satisfied with Bandit's quality.


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## CoreyTMorine

I bought a Twister 12 from Morbark last year and I’m very happy with it. The feed system is voracious, oversized top wheel just walks up onto 7 or 8 inch material no problem, and if something wont go through the wheels keep grinding away removing material, about 50% of the time it will go through. The auto feed works great, the guys just keep throwing stuff in and the chipper eats it. You do have to be careful with 8”+ rounds, if the feed rollers snap shut at the end they will push too much material into the drum, sometimes it will stall, but the live hydraulics make the occasional stall An easy fix.

The Twister comes standard with all the goodies that bandit wanted to charge me for; auto feed, centrifugal pre-filter, up down pressure on the feed wheels etc. Total price difference is about $5000 or $6000 USD less than the bandit 200. Very robust machine, well engineered from what I’ve seen. Also I think one of the lightest 12” chippers on the market, which is important to me.

Chip discharge out to about 40’, nice quality chips, very uniform unlike the DC50. I will say that the DC 50 handled larger material more easily. Also I think that Bandits bearings will last longer, the twister has a pretty light drum, making it work harder. 

Trailers beautifully, Well placed lights and controls. I don’t like the fact that the knives bolt directly into the drum, a cross thread during knife swap would be a pretty big PITA. Other than that knife changes are easy. I wish the fuel tank was 10 gal bigger.

I have seen a good selection of chippers from sub-contracting, and all things considered I think the twister 12 is the best all around machine out there right now.

Why do you ask A Lopa?


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## a_lopa

Why do you ask A Lopa?[/QUOTE]



Just curios to see what the readers here think is the best! i real;ly think the 250xp bandit hard to beat,theres alot of rayco rc12's getting around now down under and they seem to be holing up (but its early days ) i have no experience with morbarks.

Thanks for the replys guys.


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## CoreyTMorine

A sales guy told me that Rayco stole the engineering from Vermeer, he seemed to think that this would make me more likely to consider his product; but to my way of thinking Vermeer can't seem to figure out how to make a chipper. I think in both cases they make great stump grinders, but its hard to compete with the engineering experience of Bandit or Morbark for chippers. And IMHO Morbark has the advantage of a better feed system, lower weight, and better pricing. 

The local Morbark dealer is about 2 hours from me, but they will tow my machine in for maintenance and provide a loaner while its gone! I never felt as though i was getting that kind of service from the local Bandit dealer even though they are just 30 minutes away. 

That being said i thoroughly agree with you that the 250XP is a great machine. Its a tough call. The Morbark 12 and 13 drums are better at taking in a wide variety of material; while the efficiency and lower impact of Bandits Disk mean that they will last longer and use less fuel on heavy material. 

For me the Morbark requires less preping of the material with a chaisaw and working it through the feedwheel. That means that the guys are dragging more brush and doing less cutting, which I like.

Do they sell Morbarks in Australia? If not then the Bandit is definately the better chipper


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## JohnH

250 or 1290 bandit I think are the best IMOP. We have 12 250s and we have a lot less problems with them than our morbark woodsman and carlton.


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## CoreyTMorine

JohnH said:


> 250 or 1290 bandit I think are the best IMOP. We have 12 250s and we have a lot less problems with them than our morbark woodsman and carlton.




Thats a good point John; Bandits are prolly better fleet machines. But with a machine where the owner is always or mostly on site you don't have so much gorrila damage.


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## kennertree

I've got an '03 1290h bandit and it is a beast. The only problems I've ever had were the autofeed went out, which happens to every chipper, and got a hole in the radiator some how. The radiator was ans easy fix, just took it off and had it patched. The new model 1290's are a 15" machine now, and the 1590 is now an 18" machine. Next chipper I buy will be a 1590.


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## gdn

kennertree said:


> I've got an '03 1290h bandit and it is a beast. The only problems I've ever had were the autofeed went out, which happens to every chipper, and got a hole in the radiator some how. The radiator was ans easy fix, just took it off and had it patched. The new model 1290's are a 15" machine now, and the 1590 is now an 18" machine. Next chipper I buy will be a 1590.



we have had prob's with radiators if the mesh screen has a hole somewhere and mulch gets sucked into the fins. Apparently the mulch rots out the copper. Best solution is to get new screen or blow out with air gun every day

a-lopa- what's the meaning of your signature?


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## a_lopa

a-lopa- what's the meaning of your signature?
__________________


Thats Masterblastrs from the treehouse charges he says were "just ????" as shown they were the worst type of ????.


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## RosscOZ

I've had a Vermeer 1250 since day one, would love to replace it with a new machine when it dies, but it just wont!! Other than a few bearings it just wont die. I know other blokes who have been through a few bandites in that time. I think it will rust out before it stops working, and I love the swivel chassis... helps to get in to so many jobs other blokles would have a mile of a drag to do. Wish they still made a swiveling chipper!


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## Bigstumps

Ever replace the belts or god forbid a clutch on the 1250?? Not very mechanic friendly!!!


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## hornett224

*try the feed wheel bearing!*



Bigstumps said:


> Ever replace the belts or god forbid a clutch on the 1250?? Not very mechanic friendly!!!



what a dumb design.the only good chipper vermeer makes is the 625.only others i'd buy are bandit,morbark,and woodchuck.


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## a_lopa

The best 12" DISC chipper is the bandit 250xp with-out-a-doubt!


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## treeoperations

hornett224 said:


> what a dumb design.the only good chipper vermeer makes is the 625.only others i'd buy are bandit,morbark,and woodchuck.



mate i wouldnt say the 625 is a good chipper, i put 25 hours on mine and got rid of the useless piece of $hit, bought my bandit second hand and to be honest i dont think id ever look at anything but a bandit now


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## DangerTree

Hey you hijacked my thread! For shame!!!!


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## a_lopa

DangerTree said:


> Hey you hijacked my thread! For shame!!!!



Your thread?

Where?


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