# Chipper advice needed for 8 acre residential property that has logged



## steven1955 (May 10, 2018)

Hi folks. We have an 8 acre wooded residential property that was just logged. About 200 trees were taken, mostly poplar with a few oak, birch, and hickory. The loggers, as expected, just left the tops for us to clean up. Way in the back we don't care so much about the mess, but near the house and along the road we'd like to chip what we won't use for firewood. (We'll keep 4 inch and larger for firewood.)

We have a box store 6.5 hp chipper, but we know that is not the tool for this job. 

We want to own as we will spread the job over months, but we may sell after the cleanup is done.

Used is OK, actually preferred over new. Needing some repair is OK too as I can do some pretty major wrenching.

I am familiar with and have run machine shop machinery, so I have learned to respect powered equipment, but not a big chipper.

We do want to bring the chipper into the woods and chip so we can leave the chips in the woods to decay. So weight and size come into play.

So I am not even sure what type or even size we should be looking for.

All advice is welcome?


----------



## Ryan'smilling (May 10, 2018)

For what you're doing, it sounds like the bigger the better. There's several good brands out there, Vermeer, brush bandit, morbark come to mind. I'd be looking at a 12" chipper with a hydraulic feed. They aren't cheap though. I think you can find a decent one used under 10k. On the bright side, if you buy used and do the required maintenance, it probably won't lose much if any value.


----------



## ChoppyChoppy (May 10, 2018)

Is it was me, I'd just rent a chipper. Spend some time staging the piles and suckered some buddies to help for a day or two.

That's what I did when I cleared my yard. 2 day rental for a 10" Vermeer was around $350. Probably more now, thus was 10hrs ago, but still WAY cheaper than buying one for just a small project.


----------



## Ikeholt (May 10, 2018)

I agree with the above, if you have to chip. It's not the fun job it appears. Chipping dry dead tree tops is difficult. I'd make piles in back and let mother nature handle it.


----------



## steven1955 (May 10, 2018)

I did days of chipping with a box store chipper when I removed a stand of bamboo on my old property. Not a fun job, and that cheapo chipper did beat me up. I do believe a real chipper might be fun for a couple of hours, but the "fun" will turn into work far too soon.

We were thinking of a purchase vs a rental because with 8 acres there will be always some ongoing cleanup. That and our buddies who might help are hours away, so I think the job will fall to me.

If we do this I am thinking a small used commercial unit, but I can't help but wonder if anything made by DR or Eliet or some other brand better than MTD are even worth using. A neighbor has a 16 hp Briggs powered DR chipper. He thinks it is great, but to me it looks toyish. He's been clearing up the debris from his 10 acres being logged for two years with the DR. To me that's not a good recommendation.


----------



## ChoppyChoppy (May 10, 2018)

Put an ad on CList or Facebook, need a few strong backs for a cleanup job.

I've gotten stuff done that way when "friends" became unworthy. Funny how when they need help though....

I can't see 8 acres justifying a 15k+ chipper, but here its not an issue to just burn brush.


----------



## blades (May 11, 2018)

for what you are talking about a 6-10 throat unit would be about right- now that is the throat not the intake size . you definitely want a power feed ( controlled feed) much safer than the old chuck and duck units and those power feeds crush the branches together as they are fed in. There are PTO units of decent size but that ties up a tractor if you have one- one less engine to maintain and relatively portable, 3 point mount. I have an Echo/Bearcat 5" chipper /shredder 20hp ( 5" poles into the chipper portion , up to 1" dia. branches in the shredder section) but that would be too slow for your volume up front, property maintenance wise it would be fine. Like the Dr and some others it is a gravity feed. New cost on it is around 8k. Chipping brush is a boat load of hard work. Very time consuming. Larger throat less trimming of the brush to feed it in. not the best picture as you can't see the shredder intake - 1 bolt and the whole chamber opens up for maintenance or clearing a jam- shoot is about 8ft high and directional


----------



## steven1955 (May 12, 2018)

ValleyFirewood said:


> I can't see 8 acres justifying a 15k+ chipper, but here its not an issue to just burn brush.


Several neighbors have had their 5 to 10 acre lots logged. The next door guy is into his second year chipping his logging debris with a 16 hp DR, but to be fair, it's maybe 1 day of cleanup every 2 weeks or so. Also, in this township the fire marshal will pay you a visit if you burn brush, as he did with one neighbor. So it's either chipping or waiting for several years for the debris to rot.

I am not even going to consider spending anywhere near $15k. I was thinking a project chipper more on the lines of $2k to $4k if I could find one that hasn't been abused or left in the weather to rust away.


blades said:


> For what you are talking about a 6-10 throat unit would be about right- now that is the throat not the intake size . you definitely want a power feed ( controlled feed) much safer than the old chuck and duck units and those power feeds crush the branches together as they are fed in.


Thanks for the heads up on the size machine I should keep an eye out for. What hp would that typically require? 

I should add, and I expect some flack on this, that I have not ruled out the safety impaired machines. But both my SO and I would prefer that I use a machine safer than a chuck and duck. Chipping can be dangerous no matter how new or old the machine's design is. Whatever we do proper operation is paramount.


----------



## Ryan'smilling (May 12, 2018)

Do you own a tractor? @RyeThomas just bought a nice looking chipper with hydraulic feed that's run on a tractor PTO. I think it was around $2500 or something like that. I think a tractor in the 40pto hp range is required, but if you don't mind old iron, you can find some very good deals on tractors that size or larger. 

I could be totally wrong, but other than a chuck and duck type unit, which are truly awful to run, I don't think your gonna find anything decent in that price range. I've never seen anything with a hydraulic feed for that kinda money around here anyway.


----------



## ChoppyChoppy (May 13, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> Several neighbors have had their 5 to 10 acre lots logged. The next door guy is into his second year chipping his logging debris with a 16 hp DR, but to be fair, it's maybe 1 day of cleanup every 2 weeks or so. Also, in this township the fire marshal will pay you a visit if you burn brush, as he did with one neighbor. So it's either chipping or waiting for several years for the debris to rot.
> 
> I am not even going to consider spending anywhere near $15k. I was thinking a project chipper more on the lines of $2k to $4k if I could find one that hasn't been abused or left in the weather to rust away.
> 
> ...



I was thinking more of a good running used unit at the 15k price, 8-10" Vermeer for example, not a "been behind the barn in the rhubarb cause its been broken since 1986" unit.

I still think renting one would be more cost efficient, but that's me.


----------



## dennis066 (May 13, 2018)

A used tractor/loader and one of these to hang off the back!
http://www.woodmaxx.com/WoodMaxx_8_PTO_Wood_Chipper_Hydraulic_Feed_p/wm-8h.htm
https://woodlandmills.ca/us/product/wc88-8-pto-wood-chipper/


----------



## steven1955 (May 13, 2018)

I like the idea of a PTO unit, but we have no tractor. The two units dennis066 linked to seemed to have narrow chutes. 

Locally there's a Morbark 2070 Twister (not a 2070X or 2070XL) with what appears to be a Wisconsin V4 engine. Only pics so far, can't talk to the seller until tomorrow, and it appears to be repainted with new decals.

So far I can't find the specs on this unit on line other than it may have one blade on the drum. Any idea of the specs? Could a 2070 Twister a good machine for my application?


----------



## dennis066 (May 13, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> I like the idea of a PTO unit, but we have no tractor. The two units dennis066 linked to seemed to have narrow chutes.
> 
> Locally there's a Morbark 2070 Twister (not a 2070X or 2070XL) with what appears to be a Wisconsin V4 engine. Only pics so far, can't talk to the seller until tomorrow, and it appears to be repainted with new decals.
> 
> So far I can't find the specs on this unit on line other than it may have one blade on the drum. Any idea of the specs? Could a 2070 Twister a good machine for my application?


You did say you're making firewood with the 4 inch and smaller so these units would easily handle that. A larger unit would certainly make things go faster but way more expensive.


----------



## blades (May 14, 2018)

Chipping brush - throat size is of paramount importance - otherwise you will be spending 80% of you time reducing branches to fit throat- going to be some of that anyway. It is a royal pia. Another idea how about having someone come in with one of those pulverizing rigs, basicly a mounted hammer mill, Don't know if that will work on piles, I suspect not< but if the brush is scatterd that might be the ticket.


----------



## steven1955 (May 15, 2018)

Well, I didn't buy that Morbark 2070 Twister. It was an eBay auction that ended last night, but even though it was only a 2 hours drive away I didn't have enough time to check it out in person. The seller didn't know much about it when I called them. But there was a video, and in the video it seemed to really struggle with some of the test wood that was small boards of some unknown wood. There were just too many unknowns to bid. It ended up selling for $3450.


----------



## blades (May 15, 2018)

Chippers have been changing hands around here on CL like diapers, between the storms and EAB every one is packed to the gills with work and always looking for something bigger and faster than what they have. 
Chipper struggling - Likely a very dull set of knives.


----------



## steven1955 (May 20, 2018)

After walking among the debris left behind after the logging, doing a lot of reading, and giving things more thought, I think I have a better idea of what we can use.

1. I will need to pull whatever chipper we buy into the woods behind a 4x4 vehicle, perhaps a 1/2 ton pickup, ATV or utility cart. It would be nice, but not necessary, if it were light enough to be able to swing it around by hand if parked on a level portion of the trail. 
2. I will need to have a swivel chute to direct the chippings other than into the back of the tow vehicle. This leaves out the chuck and ducks.

Remember that we are going to keep wood even as small as 3 to 4 inches as firewood.

It sounds like this puts me into the 6 to 8 inch range. It would be nice to have bigger, but maneuverability and low weight are important.

The Vermeer 620, 625, and 630 seem to be in the low end of the weight range at 1200-ish pounds, but those appear to be limited as their feed openings are 6 x 6 inches. 6 x 12, which I believe the Bandit 65 XP and similar, would be nice, but at higher weight and purchase price.

Around here there are nice looking used Vermeer BC600XLs that seem to run in the $8000 to $9000 range. I'd rather spend less and do some repair, but not a total restoration of a basket case. (There's a local left out in the weather rusty Vermeer 620 that needs an engine and probably a lot more for $2200. I am not sure I'd want that one for free.)

Also around here there are probably 5 Vermeer 6 inch chippers for sale than all other 6 inch chipper brands combined.

Any thoughts? Anyone know of a project 6 to 8 inch chipper? Re-engining is not out of the question. If it makes any difference, our location is southeast Pennsylvania near Lancaster.


----------



## milton dave (May 21, 2018)

Wallenstien wood chippers.

They also built the Surge Master line.


----------



## blades (May 21, 2018)

might want to look up echo bearcat with that needs list model sc5670b Chipper shredder that is my unit not sure if there is a newer model took out 100 yards by 10 ft deep buck thorn grove a couple years back in a week end. there are some on e-bay I made a 2 wheel handel/cart with ball to move it around you can buy similar units for moving trailers - I'm cheap made my own. hint rear tractor mower tires work great for out in the field most of the store bought stuff is for hard surface ( skinny wheels that will just sink in the back forty) lawn tractor atv or what ever can tow it Honda motor on mine 20hp. not a highway tow unit but ok for under 35mph on the road ( not sprung so much over that and gets to bouncing ) weights in at apx 1100 lbs


----------



## steven1955 (May 25, 2018)

BUMP

So that eBay Morbark 2070 Twister was relisted on Ebay, so we gave the seller an call to see if we could make the four hour round trip to check it out. It was a beautiful, sunny day to go for a long drive in the convertible, but I am so glad we didn't bid on that chipper.

The seller "thought" it was a homeowners personal chipper, but it had "RENTAL" welded into the frame. This chipper had a hard life. There were numerous missing fasteners, and the paint that looked so good in the eBay auction pics was sprayed right over rust. The Wisconsin V4 engine would not start due to a dead battery, so it had to be jumped. When it finally started, well, lets say I have seldom seen an engine blow so much smoke out both the exhaust and the crankcase breather, and the smoke never ended even after the engine warmed up. It's a good thing that we weren't near the steerable chute when it was running because it fell off. At least the hydraulics worked OK.

I may have been willing to pay something under $1000 for this chipper, and then re-engining it and probably replacing a bunch of bearings. I fell sorry for the poor person who bid and won at $3600.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend folks. Now, back to the hunt.


----------



## blades (May 25, 2018)

Good luck on the hunt


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 11, 2018)

Well, our plans have changed... We now own a Kubota L3410 4WD tractor with about 27 HP at the PTO. So now we're looking for a PTO chipper. First choice would be a good used Bandit, Morbark, or Vermeer PTO chipper that 27 HP would be enough for, but something like the WoodMaxx WM-8H is a more likely outcome.

Anyone here seen and can compare both the hydraulic feed Woodmax or Woodland Mills PTO chippers? Any others to consider?


----------



## milton dave (Jun 12, 2018)

Wallenstein wood chippers. 
Check their website. They sell a ton of pto chippers.


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 18, 2018)

milton dave said:


> Wallenstein wood chippers.
> Check their website. They sell a ton of pto chippers.


Looks like Wallenstein makes a nice chipper, and the BX52R and BX52RI are sized right for our tractor. The RI version is of particular interest becuase it is an autofeed unit.

But unless I can find a used BX52R or BX52RI, for my application the Woodmaxx WM-8H or Woodland Mills WC68 is a better value. New the Wallensteins are over twice the price of the other two. If I did find a Wallenstein I'd need to add rear hydraulic connections to my tractor to run the hydraulic feed rollers, where the Woodmax and Woodland Mills have their own self contained hydraulic systems.

There are Chinese manufactured units other than the Woodmaxx and Woodland Mills, Jinma and American Sensorx come to mind, but those others do not appear to have the support and following or even the good reviews of the Woodmaxx and Woodland Mills.

So it looks like I'll be looking for a used Bandit, Morbark, Vermeer, or even a Wallenstein PTO chipper for a while longer.


----------



## Ryan'smilling (Jun 18, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> Looks like Wallenstein makes a nice chipper, and the BX52R and BX52RI are sized right for our tractor. The RI version is of particular interest becuase it is an autofeed unit.
> 
> But unless I can find a used BX52R or BX52RI, for my application the Woodmaxx WM-8H or Woodland Mills WC68 is a better value. New the Wallensteins are over twice the price of the other two. If I did find a Wallenstein I'd need to add rear hydraulic connections to my tractor to run the hydraulic feed rollers, where the Woodmax and Woodland Mills have their own self contained hydraulic systems.
> 
> ...




Check out the Victory chippers. @RyeThomas just got one. Hopefully he'll chime in and let us know how it's holding up.


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 18, 2018)

Ryan'smilling said:


> Check out the Victory chippers. @RyeThomas just got one. Hopefully he'll chime in and let us know how it's holding up.


Sadly the only Victory chipper our tractor has enough power (27 PTO HP) to run is the Victory BX42S, which is a gravity fed chipper. We really want hydraulic feed. It appears to be a copy of the discontinued Wallenstein BX42S.


----------



## Ryan'smilling (Jun 18, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> Sadly the only Victory chipper our tractor has enough power (27 PTO HP) to run is the Victory BX42S, which is a gravity fed chipper. We really want hydraulic feed. It appears to be a copy of the discontinued Wallenstein BX42S.




Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the HP rating. You should be able to adjust the infeed rate to put less load on the engine. Also, you might not be about to put in the largest material that the chipper is rated for. But that stuff would be better as firewood anyway. 

The point is that you have 27 hp available no matter which chipper you have or what it's rated for. Other than the probably minor differences they might have in how much power it takes to spin them, they'll all be able to do pretty much the same thing with the amount of HP you give them. The larger ones of course will be able to stall the tractor whereas a smaller one can't, but you have control over that as well. Another consideration is that a larger infeed doesn't just make it possible to chip larger branches, it makes feeding small tangly and branchy stuff much easier.


----------



## RyeThomas (Jun 20, 2018)

You may want to call or email them and see what they say. As stated if you slow the Infeed I don’t think it would be an issue.

I’m not sure where your located but if you wanted to drag your tractor to Virginia I’d let you hook up and run her.


----------



## milton dave (Jun 21, 2018)

All Star auctions in Oro-Medonte Ontario has 2 pto wood chippers for sale today.
Auction closes around 2pm.


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 24, 2018)

milton dave said:


> All Star auctions in Oro-Medonte Ontario has 2 pto wood chippers for sale today.
> Auction closes around 2pm.


I need to check this thread more often. Thanks for the lead milton dave, but we missed these.

Craigslist has a few PTO chippers of some interest, but all seem to be on the wrong half of the country.

There appear to be a few clones of the Woodmaxx WM-8H out there:

1. I found an Oxxn copy of the Woodmaxx, but Oxxn no longer appears to be in business. I don't know what support would be needed, but if I were Woodmaxx I wouldn't willingly support their out of business clones.
2. A while back on eBay there was an American Sensorx clone of a Wallenstein, but American Sensorx appears to be out of business as well.
3. There is the Victory WC8H that RyeThomas has, but for some reason it suggests that 30 PTO HP is the minimum required, where the Woodmaxx says 19 PTO HP is OK. Currently 4 of 5 Victory chippers are listed as out of stock. Only their BX-42S clone of the Wallenstein is in stock. I wonder if they'll be around for future support.
4. There is a local (near Lancaster, Pennsylvania) dealer with a used, slightly weathered, Woodmaxx WM-8H for a so far non negotiable $2597 with the 6% PA sales tax. Seems that it would be worth paying Woodmaxx's full $2799 to get a full 3 year warranty and not worry about the used machine's unknown history.

I have voiced my concerns a few times about future support of these cloned chippers. I am sure that I can always find replacement bearings, belts, knives, and hydraulic bits. But should any major component suffer damage or failure fixing the unit might be a challenge.


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 24, 2018)

I do not think that we will find a suitable used PTO chipper, but we will wait and watch a while longer.

My guess is that this will come down to a Woodmaxx vs Woodland Mills debate.

The Woodmaxx WM-8H has in it's favor:
1. A heavier 200 pound flywheel that spins at 1120 rpm. 
2. *Two* 6 inch diameter hydraulic feed rolls.
3. 19 HP minimum recommended PTO HP.
Against:
4. 6 inch vs 8 inch feed rolls.
5. No folding chute. Bigger footprints for both driving the tractor and storage.

The Woodand Mills WC68 has in it's favor:
1. Direct drive (no belts).
2. A folding chute.
3. One *8 inch diameter* feed roll, bigger than the Woodmaxx's 6 inch rollers.
4. A hinged housing to expose the flywheel for easier blade service.
Against:
5. The 540 rpm flywheel speed

The Woodand Mills WC88 has in it's favor:
1. An 1100 rpm flywheel. (I've read that the weight is 120 pounds, but that is not confirmed.)
2. A folding chute.
3. One *8 inch diameter* feed roll, bigger than the Woodmaxx's 6 inch rollers.
4. A hinged housing to expose the flywheel for easier blade service.
Against:
5. A minimum 35 PTO HP is specified. (I only have 27 PTO HP.)

I have not made a big deal about the weight of the flywheels, because what's more important is stored energy at operating speeds. A 120 pound flywheel can store more energy than a 200 pound flywheel if the weight is distributed out near the rim of the flywheel. There is a reason flywheels are shaped like, well, flywheels. A solid disc of uniform thickness will store far less energy that a wheel with most of it;s weight near the rim.

I lean toward the belt driven flywheels because energy stored is a function of the square of the rpm, and the belt driven units simply spin their flywheels much faster. The Woodland Mills WC88, assuming that both the WC68 and WC88 use the same flywheel, will store at it's 1000 rpm operating speed 3.43 ((1000/540) x (1000/540)) times as much energy as the WC68 flywheel does at 540 rpm. I wish the makers of these chippers published the amount of stored energy in their flywheels instead of or in addition to the flywheel dimensions or weight.

I would surely like to pick the best features of all three of the above models, but at this moment the Woodmaxx WM-8Hseems to be the best compromise.

It's too bad that the Woodland Mills WC88 couldn't operate at 27 PTO HP or less (2 knives? Reduced feed rates?), be fitted with the straight chute, and had two feed rolls instead of one. I think that the Woodland mills is just a cleaner package.


----------



## RyeThomas (Jun 25, 2018)

After my initial order I decided to get belts, they shipped quick, then I decided to get knives, they shipped quick. My initial order arrived from CA to Va in around a week. The small stuff was a few days. From my experience they can get any part to you fast, are super responsive to emails or phone calls. I even recieved correspondence on weekends.

If I had to do it all over I would buy another Victory chipper. Realize these chippers are almost all exclusively manufactured in China, they make claims about USA knives or assembled in the USA but the country of origin is China.

I have no affiliation with Victory, they have just been very helpful with everything and saved me hundreds of dollars.

Good luck whatever you decide.


----------



## steven1955 (Jun 25, 2018)

Hi RyeThomas and others,

There is no question that Victory could save us a lot of money. As of this date their model WC8H is only $2145 shipped, a full $654 cheaper than the Woodmaxx price of $2799 shipped for their WM-8H. But if I were to order today the Victory is not in stock. If it were in stock when I was ready to order, and that is after I give up looking for a suitable used PTO chipper, I will certainly consider saving my money.

American Sensorx had good reviews, and is now apparently out of business. Onnx had good reviews, and is also now apparently out of business. But in both cases someone handy and diligent will be able to keep those chippers running for a long time.

I have a concern about future support, but I can be handy and diligent, so I could keep a non supported chipper running. I too might well go for the savings like you did. A lot depends on what is available to buy when I decide to make our purchase.


----------



## Big_Eddy (Jun 28, 2018)

I have 75 acres of hardwoods, with numerous trails throughout. A couple of times over the last 30 years, I have rented a chipper for a major task, to destroy a large pile of brush. Never been disappointed in the performance.
For smaller tasks generating a lot of brush, I piled in an open location and burned when dry. Over the years, the number of open places has shrunk - to the point that burning is no longer an option. I still produce copious amounts of brush from pruning and trail clearing. Mostly it gets dragged off the trail and either scattered or piled for habitat.

However - for the yard and apple orchard - My only option has been to collect the prunings in the dump trailer, drag up the hill into the bush and dump into the monster brush pile and go back for the next load. Gets old after about 5-10 loads.
Last fall - my wife bought me a 3pt chipper through TSC. https://www.tscstores.com/3-POINT-4-WOOD-CHIPPER-P36753.aspx 
I have a JD855 with about 25HP on the PTO. I was pretty skeptical as to what it would be able to handle, but in reality I've been more than impressed by what it will handle. 

Anything over about 4" and straight, I cut for firewood or evaporator wood. Smaller than that the chipper handles it without blinking. It's not the fastest - but it's as fast as I can feed it if I have to walk even a few steps for the next branch. Large Ys do need trimming to fit - but once it gets hold of a branch, 95% of the time it will pull it through without stopping. It ate our 8' Christmas tree (less a few bottom branches) and when I tossed in some ~8' 2"x6" pine slabs it chipped them up without complaint. The only time the tractor even seemed to notice the load was when I deliberately threw in a 4" diameter ash trunk, dry and hard as a bone, and the revs only dipped slightly before recovering.

Overall - I've been more than happy with the performance, and for $1500 CDN I'm delighted. Pruning the apple orchard this year resulted in a single dump trailer of chips, where last year would have been 8-10 loads of branches. And the chipping time was significantly less than 8 trips up the hill. And every tree base and garden bed is now mulched with chips.

Since I got it - it's spent way more time on the tractor than I expected it would. Might not be what you're looking for - but for my purposes it was a good buy. It's going to get a workout shortly - my neighbour lost a huge willow to the last windstorm.


----------



## steven1955 (Dec 17, 2018)

Anyone know anything about the Altec DC610? Performance, reliability and parts availability? (I know it's a 22 hp Honda gas motor driven chipper, but that should meet our needs.)

While I was waiting to pull the trigger on a Woodmaxx a number of these showed up at a local auction. I just haven't been able to find much about this chipper other than what can be seen on Youtube videos.


----------



## mrhemihead (Dec 17, 2018)

I have no knowledge of this machine *BUT* I was faced a similar situation, that you have, on our 6 acre wooded lot.

Flash back 11 years ago, when we first moved here, I purchased a Vermeer 935 diesel from a defunct tree service, for $6K. After some light mechanical work we ran that machine for 1 year then sold it for the purchase price.

Fast forward to 2016 our ash trees were succumbing to the dreaded bark beetle. A logger selectively removed them all , now we are left to manage the debris. The piles are close to a neighbor in plain sight, especially now with the leaves gone. Regretting that I sold the 935, I purchased a 2008 Vermeer 1000XL, formally owned by an electric utility. The price was right, the chipper runs as it should, but it needed cosmetic work to suit my standards. Soon after a tree service, who spotted it parked in the woods, offered to buy it for my purchase price.

The moral of the story...purchase a machine that will appeal to a tree service, if or when you decide to sell. The 6" gas machines, commonly used as rentals, do not maintain their value and are too slow for commercial use. I know cause I rented one, several times.

I chose to stay with Vermeer because the local dealer stocks most of the parts. What they don't stock ships factory direct, always here in a few days. Maintenance and operating manuals are free of charge, when you register the machine on their site.


----------



## steven1955 (Dec 18, 2018)

mrhemihead said:


> The moral of the story...purchase a machine that will appeal to a tree service, if or when you decide to sell. The 6" gas machines, commonly used as rentals, do not maintain their value and are too slow for commercial use. I know cause I rented one, several times.


That's a good thought, but we would not likely be able to get a commercial machine to where the stuff that needs chipping. So we are looking at either a small trailer mounted chipper, or a PTO chipper.

We did a pre-auction inspection of the 11 Altec DC610 chippers. 

a. There was one Vermeer BC600XL to compare these to. Despite having similar power this is a much more substantial machine than the Vermeer, with a wider chute and much feed roll twice as wide. The trailer frame was bigger and more substantial with bigger, larger diameter tires.
b. There was only an upper feed roll.
c. Six of the 11 started and ran properly, although a few had rough sounding bearings. 

I would buy any of of the 11 at the right price. In past auctions this brand and model of chipper sold in the $4000 to $5000 range, where the Woodmaxx WM-8H is $3000. I'd have to get one of these pretty cheaply to choose one of these over the Woodmaxx.


----------



## dennis066 (Dec 18, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> That's a good thought, but we would not likely be able to get a commercial machine to where the stuff that needs chipping. So we are looking at either a small trailer mounted chipper, or a PTO chipper.
> 
> We did a pre-auction inspection of the 11 Altec DC610 chippers.
> 
> ...


My neighbor loves his PTO Woodmaxx.


----------



## mrhemihead (Dec 18, 2018)

steven1955 said:


> That's a good thought, but we would not likely be able to get a commercial machine to where the stuff that needs chipping. So we are looking at either a small trailer mounted chipper, or a PTO chipper.
> 
> We did a pre-auction inspection of the 11 Altec DC610 chippers.
> 
> ...



I have rented a BC600XL several times, but would never purchase one for the reasons mentioned above. Will they allow you to test chip if you supplied the material? Hours and maintenance are everything with these machines, if the clock is functional and not tinkered with. Most rentals are well maintained.

The Honda twin cylinder is a VG engine. I own a small asphalt roller with one, plenty of power, easy to start.


----------



## milton dave (Dec 25, 2018)

Bryan’s Equipment auctions in Puslinch, Ontario has 2 Wallenstien PTO chippers up for auction this week. 


https://bryansfarm.hibid.com/lot/47238377/3pth-heavy-duty-wood-chipper?cat=231


----------



## steven1955 (Jan 2, 2019)

Any Honda engine experts here? More on that in a moment.

We bought a "Parts Only" Altec DC610 chipper at the auction. It was parts only because the auction house couldn't start the engine, but one fuse later the engine starts just fine. That being said, there are things that needed fixing.

Why a fixer upper trailer mounted chipper instead of a new PTO chipper? It came down to what we think will probably be easier to sell when our project is done.

So.... 
1. The controls are sorted out except for a limit switch (missing mounting hardware) that prevents running the engine if the disc cover is open.
2. Belt idler needs bearings.
3. The disc bearings will need replacement soon.
4. Blades will need replacement.
5. The Honda GX690 idles poorly, but runs at full speed well once warmed up, and the spark plugs suggests one cylinder is running lean. Compression is OK. So I'm cleaning/rebuilding the carb.

In order to clean the carb body the pilot screws have to be removed, and they were under EPA compliant tamper proofing brass plugs that had to be removed. That's where I discovered that Honda pilot screws have a necked down section that is designed to be broken when the pilot screws are removed. So I need to replace the pilot screws.

So here's where I'd like an expert on Honda engines.... The original necked down pilot screws are Honda part number 16016-Z6L-003. Are there replacement pilot screws available, maybe from an older Honda engine, that will work yet not have the necked down section?


----------



## mrhemihead (Jan 3, 2019)

Sounds like the potential for a great machine, at the right price.

I experienced these same symptoms, but with my Honda 620 twin.

Purchased a Chinese knock off carb. thru eBay for $25 without a gasket. The engine now works as it should with the brand X carb.

With several Chinese carbs purchased for other Honda engines it appears all were CARB compliant...fuel mixture tweaking is intentionally limited.

How close were the compression readings? I read 90 in one and 120 in the other. Never could find a spec for this but it runs strong so I did not investigate further. 

If there is not a fuel shutoff already I would suggest adding one. When the machine is stored for extended periods shut off the fuel and run till it stops. Not a guarantee but it has worked for me.


----------



## steven1955 (Jan 4, 2019)

If I had been able to find a Chinese knock-off carb for our GX690 I'd have bought it, but there are a lot of carburetor variations for the Honda GX630/660/690 twins, and none of the the knock off carbs I found were considered a replacement. A new carb from Honda was $200-ish, so I am cleaning and rebuilding the old one.

The compression in our engine was 75 psi on one cylinder and 90 psi on the other when measured cold. Honda's spec is between 73 and 102 psi measured on an engine at without operating temperature. There is so little room between the left cylinder and the chipping disc housing that I'm not going to do the compression test hot unless I really have to.


----------



## johninky (Jan 4, 2019)

Just wondering how many cords of firewood tops from 200 trees will produce. Thinking at least 40 if the trees where of any size.


----------

