Bigger chipper or keep wood?

[Marquis]

Hey guys,
Just wondering your thought. I curently have a PTO run chipper that handles up to 6" wood. Would like to get a tow behind to handle much bigger, but I do save alot of the wood (6" and up). Would it be worth buying a bigger chipper? Not sure if I would really need a bigger machine, thought it seems that is what most of the guys have. Though, my smaller chipper doesn't handle the greenery of the spruce and fir very well, another reason to buy a bigger machine? Your thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[lone wolf]

is it a disk chipper or drum disks jam with greenery and wet leaves ,drums are better for what you say you are doing you cant get too big a chipper i run a 20 inch sure is nice to chip whole pine trees and not have to pay to dump.

 

[treesquirrel]

I upgraded to a 15 inch unit and am happy with the decision. I'd consider a 9-12 inch unit the minimum I'd have for any serious amout of tree work.

 

[TDunk]

I have a 12" that handles most of everything i want it too. It makes easy work of pine a spruce limbs. Mine is a disc style, and they can clog easy when the limbs are wet, but if you let the chipper "clear out" before you feed the next piece in they won't clog nearly as often.

 

[treesquirrel]

Firewood has some value but very little and what value it does have gets more than eaten up with increased labor cost when employees are involved.

Absolutely. I have sooo many customers ask me why i don't sell firewood as if the firewood biz is a veritable gold mine for a tree company.

The time spent splitting and stacking pays about minimum wage if that so I'd rather spend time in my welding shop building stuff.

 

[STLfirewood]

I run a 12" chipper but I don't chip stuff that big. By not running the shipper to it's limit I really cut down on repair bills. Tree work is only one part of what I do. If I was full time and had more work I would have the biggest chipper I could afford and tow. Chip everything and chip fast. But for now I haul all the wood away and give it to people with OWB. A lot of times the pic it up street side from the jobs. If you have the time to mess with the wood an your a small operation you don't need a big chipper. If you have a few people on the payroll and time costs you a lot of money then get a big one.

Scott

 

[TreeClimber57]

Absolutely. I have sooo many customers ask me why i don't sell firewood as if the firewood biz is a veritable gold mine for a tree company.

The time spent splitting and stacking pays about minimum wage if that so I'd rather spend time in my welding shop building stuff.

Agreed there. No money in firewood unless you are set up to do very large volume.. not sure then how they make money based upon cost of the equipment.. but must somehow.

I do have a few who I sell it to unsplit for a small fee. Saves paying salary to have chipped, and makes a few dollars on sale. (I also have two splitters that I will rent out if they need help in splitting). I just find it is easier (not necessarly huge profit) than dumping huge truck loads of chips.

 

[arbor pro]

I sold my 12" chipper because I am having an increasingly difficult time giving firewood logs away to folks. I don't want to pay to dump logs and I can easily give chips away so i went to an 18" chipper and will likely not go back to a smaller machine.

Only drawback to a larger machine is needing a larger chip truck to pull it and to contain the larger number of chips since you're chipping more material. If you go from a 6" to a 12" machine, you're going to need/want at least a 10-12 yard chip box (8'x8'x5'). If you go up to a 15-18" machine, that 12 yard box is going to fill awfully fast! Trust me, I know. I now need to buy a bigger chip truck - probably something with a 20-25 yard box.

 

[Blakesmaster]

If you buy a bigger chipper you still have the option of keeping wood that you want and chipping wood that you don't. If you can afford it, buy it, but remember, like others said, to consider the size of your truck, or the cost of purchasing a new one.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Agreed there. No money in firewood unless you are set up to do very large volume.. not sure then how they make money based upon cost of the equipment.. but must somehow.

I do have a few who I sell it to unsplit for a small fee. Saves paying salary to have chipped, and makes a few dollars on sale. (I also have two splitters that I will rent out if they need help in splitting). I just find it is easier (not necessarly huge profit) than dumping huge truck loads of chips.

Well you will never be able to get rid of it all easily (or so I have found). The hard wood will sell, and I have enough buyers for all I can get. They will haul away from my yard and split themselves. However, it is hard to get rid of the scrub wood (willow, pine, etc). So still need to chip. I kept my small chipper as it will suffice when wood can be sold and is easier to get into tight spaces. However, agreed that a larger chipper is necessary at times, regardless of how much you can sell or give away.

 

[tree MDS]

I'm considering the 1590 as my next dream chipper. Still not entirely sold on the drum scene however.

I've got probably the biggest 12" you can get, and still theres times when you get left with these annoying chunks.

Firewood does indeed suck - unless its for personal use.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

I think the big advantage of a larger chipper is not having to side trim as much and to be able to chip larger softwoods.Chipping large hardwood is too hard on a machine..... Mike

 

[arbor pro]

I'm considering the 1590 as my next dream chipper. Still not entirely sold on the drum scene however.

I've got probably the biggest 12" you can get, and still theres times when you get left with these annoying chunks.

Firewood does indeed suck - unless its for personal use.

I love the vermeer 1800 drum. It does make bigger chips than my 12" disk made - especially when chipping the big logs. However, I'm giving the chips away and nobody is complaining about the bigger chips. They're happy to be getting them for feed lots, landscaping, etc.

The one advantage to living in a rural area with lots of flooding problems is you always have farmers and ranchers wanting wood chips for their muddy feed lots! All you have to do is find one large cattle operation and you can get rid of all the chips you can make in a year. I have 3 such places to dump spread out around the city I work in. Quite handy.

 

[tree MDS]

I think the big advantage of a larger chipper is not having to side trim as much and to be able to chip larger softwoods.Chipping large hardwood is too hard on a machine..... Mike

Very good point. Thats whats cool about my 250, its got the larger infeed ("supersized"), so you get like four more inches of side width, I think its gotta help with the trimming alot, plus its got the quad rollers for pulling power (also you hardly ever have to lift the feedwheels to feed wood, sinse the first two are already part open). There are some wear issues with the slide box though, I've heard they did something different with the newer ones (mines a 2004).

And yep, I cringe when I have to run a max capacity hunk of rock hard maple thru here and there.

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

I would say if you can find one that will not put you under any more payments then you already have then go for it. Its better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. I run a Bandit 150 12" disc. I would'nt have anything less. Still small enough to get in tight places, doesnt weigh too much, and operates very well.

 

[Marquis]

Alright, thanks for all the info guys, greatly appreciate it! Everything helps. Happy Holidays!

 

[oldirty]

what you need is this machine if you doing any sort of big time removals.

woodsman 18xx grapple chipper. 22inch capacity boys. solves the firewood issue for sure. if it cant be chipped then its firewood. lol.

 

[Groundman One]

what you need is this machine if you doing any sort of big time removals.

woodsman 18xx grapple chipper. 22inch capacity boys. solves the firewood issue for sure. if it cant be chipped then its firewood. lol.

Oh ****! That's sweeter than Megan Fox bombed on champagne.

I'd love to have something bigger than our 6" Vermeer, but on the other hand, we're getting more and more people willing to take almost any size and kind of wood, so our little Vermeer will probably suffice.

 

[Blakesmaster]

what you need is this machine if you doing any sort of big time removals.

woodsman 18xx grapple chipper. 22inch capacity boys. solves the firewood issue for sure. if it cant be chipped then its firewood. lol.

Whatever, dude. When it comes with a chair and a cup holder I might look into it. lol

 

[treeslayer]

Whatever, dude. When it comes with a chair and a cup holder I might look into it. lol

I saw a huge chipper yesterday with a big grapple AND a seat on top.

I'd make my own :censored: cupholder, or run it one handed.:hmm3grin2orange: