# advice on wood chipper



## wiseman

hey all, i'm about to buy a wood chipper for my weekend side jobs. (i'm a aborist full time for a private company) i only have a F150 for a truck and i'm thinking of a 6 inch chipper since most of my jobs are prunes anyways. anyone have any thoughts, so far i've only used the vermeer 625 model.


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## Tree Pig

625 is junk, even an old chuck and duck 8" or 12" would be better as long as your safe and keep up on maintenance


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## Mikecutstrees

Side trimming sucks. And if you have a 6" machine you will do alot of it. Also you will have a very rough time removing pines and spruces with a 6" machine. With a 12" you can do soft woods and rip them to a reasonable size. I think a 6" is very limiting..... Mike


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## clearance

Stihl-O-Matic said:


> 625 is junk, even an old chuck and duck 8" or 12" would be better as long as your safe and keep up on maintenance



I agree, used one once, talk about watchin paint dry......


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## capetrees

wiseman said:


> hey all, i'm about to buy a wood chipper for my weekend side jobs. (i'm a aborist full time for a private company) i only have a F150 for a truck and i'm thinking of a 6 inch chipper since most of my jobs are prunes anyways. anyone have any thoughts, so far i've only used the vermeer 625 model.



whats your budget?


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## derwoodii

My 10 plus year old 6 Inch Bandit does most of what I want, bigger would be nice but then you need to up your tow rig and so on etc goes the costs. Used the Vermer and a few Aussie makes they all can leave you wanting but then back to the above argument. 
The Bandit 6 has a wider throat than most I seen and thus a tad less side limbing. Its low feed tray height and auto feed is very good for operator use. 
Early model 6 inch Bandits have smaller knifes that get you only 3 plus sharpens the newer ones have a bigger pocket so better here. Mud fling from your rear F150 tyres could be a drag and foul the machine good flaps will help. I mounted a spare tyre it protects the engine a bit.
Feed jams will happen the Bandit has a good jocky wheel that doubles as a lift jack to help you here. 
Most repairs are fixable (even by me) as well made and easy to get bolt off and on parts.


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## D Mc

Stihl-O-Matic said:


> 625 is junk, even an old chuck and duck 8" or 12" would be better as long as your safe and keep up on maintenance



LMAO. Just remember, one man's weed may be another man's flower. 

When I first demoed the 625 I was appalled at its lack of abilities. But this was just in relation to the speed in which it chipped. Not its ruggedness, nor the quality of chips. So I investigated further and I found disconnecting the engine load cut off device allowed the chipper to actually utilize the power available. I can still adjust the feed rate at will. 

This then becomes a small but efficient chipper. For a truly small company, like one guy doing weekend work, it makes economic sense. Can be pulled with a pickup truck without additional wear and tear. It is very safe to operate. 

And just because it has a tiny opening, does not mean it does not have the power to pull. Here again, note, the engine disconnect alteration from above. Ours has been serving us well for many years with no down time ever and I am not just a weekend worker.

Dave


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## TimberMcPherson

The vermeer 6 inch isnt a tree eating machine

Its important to recognise that the vermeer is a good entry level, small business chipper. For its tow weight and price it performs reliably. It can be towed by a quad, sips gas, can park it anywhere and is unlikely to give you much trouble.

It will get the job done, turning big stacks of brush into bins of mulch. It wont do it quickly but then it will probably pay itself off faster and will work for the side job work until hes got more $ to invest in bigger gear.

I ran a gravely pro chip which was a simular size machine for about 4 years in our full time tree service (small chippers work best in our tight city) and it got the job done and it paid itself off time after time after time after time. I just replaced it with a new 35k 6 by 12 inch Hansa chipper.


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## Slvrmple72

I have an older chuck and duck and will be going with a larger hydraulic feed unit either Morbark or Bandit with a good diesel engine in it! The chuck and duck has been a good piece of equipment but for funky branches takes a little more cutting of the limbs and effort to get them chipped up.


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## rydnruff

I got my 2004 625 with a 173 hrs. and its clean as a whistle for 3500.00 bucks. its my first personal chipper and i love it and the price i felt was a good deal. it will make me enough money to buy a nicer sized bandit one day. can you explain to me what you took off to make it chip a little faster? i have been reading this site every night behind the curtains for about 5 mos. i have learned so much without asking or bothering anybody i feel its a good time to make my first post finally


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## wiseman

Thanks for the advice.
I'd love to have a 12' chipper but I simply can't afford to up grade my truck to tow one. I'm aware that the 6' chippers are painfully slow, but not as slow as stacking branches in my tuck box. I think i have made up my mind on a 6' chipper being the way to go. But is it the vermeer or the bandit. I saw that the new vermeer chippers have a wider wheel base. I'm buying used. My budget is max $5000 CAD.


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## wiseman

D Mc.
Thats the show i want to put on. Nice looking truck and chipper. How do you get the chips out of your tuck? Shovel? That was my idea, just a little more work at the end of the day, i can do that.


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## Blakesmaster

wiseman said:


> Thanks for the advice.
> I'd love to have a 12' chipper but I simply can't afford to up grade my truck to tow one. I'm aware that the 6' chippers are painfully slow, but not as slow as stacking branches in my tuck box. I think i have made up my mind on a 6' chipper being the way to go. But is it the vermeer or the bandit. I saw that the new vermeer chippers have a wider wheel base. I'm buying used. My budget is max $5000 CAD.



IMO, if you have 5K to spend I'd pick up an old chuck n' duck on the cheap ( they chip just as well as those little vermeer's, faster even, just more dangerous and you can find them under $3K easy ) and stick the rest of your money in a kitty towards a bigger truck, or chipper, or dingo, or bucket, or saws, or ropes, or rigging/climbing gear, or advertising, or insurance, or stump grinder ( very important and easy money ) or anything else you can think of. This is, of course, assuming you plan on expanding into a full time operation eventually. If you just want to be a weekend warrior and never really expand, you'd probably be better off with the vermeer. Seems a solid, safe machine, though I've never used one.


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## bighugetrees

Defending the 625. One ton and 625 is good set up for small biz. Couple of guys. We have a firewood market here so anything bigger than 5 inches could be good firewood. Not the right machine for big take downs at all.

Use it for what it is for man. 4 inch max limbs. Love Vermeer, but big take downs, go Bandit.

Thank you


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## Slvrmple72

Blakesmaster made some good points to consider. Here are some of my own:
If you are going to be working by yourself most of the time with pruning jobs then the 6" Vermeer w/hydraulic feed would be a good way to go from the standpoint of both safety and efficiency. If you are going to be tackling larger jobs and have help feeding the chipper then a chuck and duck will be a good starter chipper and you can get one in good shape for under 5k easy. I have one that has the Ford inline 6 300cu engine and a 12" drum. It eats but like the others are saying you need to be careful and keep your hands clear! Once it gets hold of a branch its gone! Keep your saw handy when you are chipping so when you get a branch that will not fit in the chute you can cut it up.
Here is my chipper
View attachment 104705

If you are wanting to go cheap but efficient for unloading the chips then get a Loadhandler, they are around $150USD for the larger truck version but it pays for itself the first few times you use it. I have an F-350 w/ plywood chipbox and a sheet of hyzod plastic under the Loadhandler. I fill it up with chips and when I get to the dump just clear out the stuff from behind the wheel wells and crank out the rest!


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## TreEmergencyB

vermeer 935 is a little bigger but not to big for a 1 ton IMO

i know a guy that had a 6" vermeer behind a 5 ton for a cpl months


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## Blakesmaster

Slvrmple72 said:


> Blakesmaster made some good points to consider. Here are some of my own:
> If you are going to be working by yourself most of the time with pruning jobs then the 6" Vermeer w/hydraulic feed would be a good way to go from the standpoint of both safety and efficiency. If you are going to be tackling larger jobs and have help feeding the chipper then a chuck and duck will be a good starter chipper



I disagree a bit here, Slvr. I think if you have another guy running ground the vermeer would be the better option. You could keep the chipper running throughout the removal process and chip as it comes down. With a whisper/chuck 'n duck it normally, IMO, is best to wait till the brush is piled up and fire it through quick-like. Best if you're working with a limited crew. If you load up a pile of brush behind that vermeer you'll be scratchin' your nuts quite a bit.


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## TimberMcPherson

Blakesmaster said:


> I disagree a bit here, Slvr. I think if you have another guy running ground the vermeer would be the better option. You could keep the chipper running throughout the removal process and chip as it comes down. With a whisper/chuck 'n duck it normally, IMO, is best to wait till the brush is piled up and fire it through quick-like. Best if you're working with a limited crew. If you load up a pile of brush behind that vermeer you'll be scratchin' your nuts quite a bit.



Thata a very good point, with a 6 inch disc chipper at least you can hire help and not spend the rest of the day worrying if they are going to get sucked in. Those chuck and ducks are wonderful chippers, but they take no prisoners and give no warning shots.


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## wiseman

Good information, thanks to everyone involved. I have never used a "chuck n' duck" before. I guess it's something to looking to. 
about the Loadhauler, do they really stand up? they seem like something that would bust under a heavy load of chips?


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## treeoperations

*forget the vermeer*

forget the vermeer, i bought one brand spankers and hated the lil basturd thing, i found a 65aw bandit second hand, so bought that and flicked the vermeer.

the bandit wipes it arse with the vermeer, its twice the machine of the vermeer, i dont have auto feed on my bandit but its not to bigger deal, the auto feed on the vermeer was only a pain in the ass. in my opinion the 65 is a baby 250, it goes as hard on the comparable size material as a 250. I love it to bits.

still hurts to loose 10 grand on a damn near brand new chipper though.


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## outofmytree

Bah humbug! Splash out on a 1590 and smile as you feed whole trees though her!

Or maybe not. Towing 3700 kg isnt something you would want to do with a pick up and the throw on this baby would would push your truck into the river! 

Hey I'm just proud of my baby ok?!?! :greenchainsaw:


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## D Mc

wiseman said:


> D Mc.
> Thats the show i want to put on. Nice looking truck and chipper. How do you get the chips out of your tuck? Shovel? That was my idea, just a little more work at the end of the day, i can do that.




As you have figured out, we use the Loadhandler to unload chips and wood. Been using these for years and they perform as advertised. We will go through approximately 2 drag sheets per year which cost about $20/each. They will easily unload anything you can fit in your pickup. 

For those of you who have the dismal experiences with the 625, unless you have tried operating it with the auto feed disconnected, you still don't have a realistic idea of what it is capable of. With 4 inch limbs and sharp blades you can set the feed roller at its fastest setting and it will flat out devour brush and make landscape quality chips. 

Dave


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## bighugetrees

We should be able to agree on this: Bigger chipper will eat more. Needs more people to keep it in the material. Needs bigger truck to catch all the chips. Needs more work to keep busy and in the money.

Bigger can and is often better, but not always. But I am more the turtle and not the rabbit.

Thank you.


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## mikemcC

We have a Rayco 6'' chipper with the 35hp motor on it and its not a bad little machine. It does take a lot of cutting when you have a lot of crotchy material to chip. Its not a bad machine for when you are just starting out. We recently just picked up a bandit 150xp with a jd deere diesel so our little rayco will be going up for sale soon.


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## Rftreeman

I think he'd be ok with the 625, I have an old 12" chuck & duck that kicks ass and a friend has the 625, it works well if you know it's limits but if I have the brush cut right my chuck & duck will run circles around that 625.


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## wiseman

Well thanks again for all the insight. I think I'm going to wait and see what comes up for sale in my area. I'm sold on either the Racyo or Vermeer. The chuck n duck just doesn't seem to fit with my attitude towards safety. And I'm not going for production as much as quality, I get enough kicks during the week doing big removals. I will look into the Loadhauler as well, my father said they aren't worth the #### you put in them, but he's kinda negative.


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## fishercat

*we started out with a 625 and still have it.*

works great for chipping brush.they need to be fine tuned by folks who know them well.it has saved out hides on some big jobs when the big machines crapped out.it beats the round bacon out of a Canadian liberal versus hauling brush away whole.


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## TimberMcPherson

Find a 6 inch bandit if you can, its 3 times the machine of the rayco or vermeer.


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## fishercat

*i do agree with this.*



TimberMcPherson said:


> Find a 6 inch bandit if you can, its 3 times the machine of the rayco or vermeer.



Bandit always seems like the better option.


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## TimberMcPherson

fishercat said:


> Bandit always seems like the better option.



Most of the time unless you happen to live in NZ. They sell a few that come out of the factory with faults so bad they would not dare sell them in there home market in the US. A few owners in NZ have paid big bucks for NEW bandit chippers (and we are talking about 25K USD for a 6 inch here) from an official bandit agent to find they require work done to them in very short operational time just to operate them. The agent here has been doing miracles to keep people happy, but bandit seems to do NOTHING to back him up. Happened with 6's and 9's so far. One owner I know of had to have one of a pair of blades adapted because a normal matching pair on his machine wouldnt work because the cutting wheel hadnt been made right. So he has to do this with every blade change. 

NOT GOOD BANDIT. (yeah I bring this up every time just to remind bandit that just because they have swept the mess under the carpet, its still going to be found and dealt with my someone)


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## BewtifulTreeMan

*My advice*

If you must make it work with your f150, I say get a trailer.

I have a 12'x8' single axle trailer, it weighs about 800lbs empty (It was my first peice of equipment). I can cram a ton(or more) of slash in there and all I need to do to unload it is throw a rope across the trailer before I load it, tie a running bowline around the slash, and then tie a bowline around something at the dump, drive forward til the slash comes out, push it back a bit with the truck/trailer, untie the rope, and I'm on my way. Usually I am in and out of the dump in under 15 minutes and it costs me $30 or less in dump fees. Or I can lie and say it's from my house in the city - then its free, but i try not to do that too often!

I got my trailer for $1000 new (this was 6 years ago, might be a bit more now). You could probably tow something like a 14' double axle trailer with an F150 - put some high sides on it and cram maybe 5000lbs of slash in there!

Nice thing about a trailer is; towing 3000 lbs is much easier on your truck then hauling 3000lbs in the bed of your truck. Thats about what a full load of chips in a long box with 4' sides weighs - 3000lbs. Plus you still have the bed of your truck for tools!

I currently use a 1 ton landscape dump with plywood sides, a big 16" chuck and duck chipper for every job, plus a 3/4 ton pickup and my old trusty trailer for hauling wood on removals. The trailer still comes in handy for hauling slash on certain jobs - like juniper bush removals. 

Even Small 12" chuck and duck chippers weigh close to 4000 lbs - thats gonna feel pretty heavy even when your truck is empty. When you have a full load of chips you better drive really slow and leave your self plenty of time to stop.

As far as the 6" vermeer, I would say save your money and put it towards something more productive. 

Everybodies circumstances are different. It depends on how you can effeciently dispose of chips/slash. Good luck and make sure you have fun with it!

wow that was too long


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## arbor pro

Good used 1-ton with dump bed (flat or with sides) and under-body tool boxes for saws & rigging gear: $8k

Used bandit 150 or 200 series disk chipper: $7500

Custom-built chip box out of treated wood and 3/4" plywood (repainted every 2 years and lasts several years if built well): $300 - the space between the chip box and pickup cab is for my mini skid steer with grapple.

Total investment: $15,800. Monthly bank payment: $300. 

$ saved each month by using this setup vs a 6" chipper and load handler or scooping out the chips: 15-20 hrs @ $65/hr labor rate = $1300 (if you were working on other jobs rather than waiting for the chipper to chip or scooping out chips rather than dumping them off).

The amount of work you have lined up will dictate what equipment to use. If you can do more jobs in a month's time by using the bigger equipment then, go bigger. You'll make more money in the long run. On the other hand, if you find that you have nothing better to do with your 15-20 hours per month than to wait for your 6" chipper to chip and to scoop out chips from your pickup bed then stay with the smaller equipment. You'll make more money that way.

When I first started out, I used a 6" chipper and chipped into my pickup bed with plywood lined around it. I did that for my first year just so I could appreciate the 12" chipper and dump truck I bought the next year. I then wondered how I ever did without a 12" chipper and dump truck. It's simply 4x more efficient than the other setup.


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