Chipper Decision

[jac1]

I need to clear the trails on about 100 acres that got smacked by an ice storm. Lots of damage and many branches and trees down. Could rent a chipper but I will be chipping for a LONG LONG time. So, I am looking at a used Wallenstein BX 60 PTO chipper with manual feed and a used Mighty Bandit 6" chipper with an "auger" feed and a 20HP Kohler Command engine. I have found a lot of info on the Wallenstein and it seems bullet proof. May be slow feeding this beast but it should be able to handle up to 6" stuff. Can not find much info on the Mighty Bandit chipper but I will go look at it soon. I plan on chipping stuff no larger than about 4" (mostly oak). Anything bigger than that and I will use it for fire wood.

Any suggestions on which is best and problems to look for on these machines?

 

[STLfirewood]

To me that would be like beating your head against a wall. I would buy at least a 9" chipper if not a 12. Use it for what you want then resell it. If you find a really good used one and keep it in good shape you shouldn't loose much money. Or if your tractor has a front loader get a grapple for it and burn the brush.

Scott

 

[jac1]

Scott, thanks for the reply. A grapple on a skid steer would work great, I will see if someone has one to rent in my area. I have massive damage and have about 40 hours invested so far in limbing stuff on the ground. Today is a day of "rest" and chainsaw repair and sharpening!!! All my saws (015, 026 and 031) need some cleaning and sharpening. Many of the main trails I have cut and then cleared with my Deere 440 crawler, so I can now get around the property some. Crawler works great but it is very tough on the trails!!! I am trying to clean this mess up without looking like Patton's army came through. I also have about 30 large oaks (24+" diameter) totally uprooted which I will skid out with the crawler and sell. The limbs from all the other trees (100's of them) I just want to clean up which is why I was thinking of a smaller chipper which will allow me to move it around this mess easier. Yes, I will be chipping for a long time which is why I want something that will hold up and then resell as you suggested.

 

[Juskatla]

Mighty Bandit

I've got an older Mighty Bandit II with 24hp Onan. Its a good little machine for brush but isn't suited to much larger. I'd suggest that you look for something bigger that will handle everything. The Bandit does make nice fine chips which we use around for mulch. I'd ship the PTO units unless they have some kind of feed system. If not, you'll spend far too much time feeding it. The larger Bandits or Vermeer machines are quite capable and can be found for reasonable money. Keep in mind the fuel cost for PTO or big 'Chuck and Duck' machines can be considerable when used a lot.

Jess

 

[jac1]

Jess, thanks for the information. No chuck and duck chipper for me, too dangerous in my mind. I looked at one already and decided it would be better to rent a new 12" Vermeer if I decide not to buy something. In my area Home Depot rents them for $212/full day. Just need to move the beast around the property which is very hilly. The Vermeer weighs ~4600 pounds which is more than my tractor weighs which means I probably need to move the Vermeer chipper around with my crawler which weighs in around 10K pounds with the loader, scarifier and weights. This is probably the best way to go but I always like to have my own equipment and not be on the rental clock!!

 

[windthrown]

Well, there are some good deals on Bandit chippers on CL and other places. I got a good deal on an older BB 90 beflore, and more recently on a BB 95. They are not chuck and duck, they are disk chippers with roller feeds, with a safety bar to reverse the rollers if needed. The feed is slow and methodical, and they are the business. Issues with any chipper is that you want a self feeding roller or mechanical feed, or you will spend the rest of your life standing there feeding the chipper. You also want something with an engine that can grind the mid to large size branches. I cut anything larger than 4 inches into fiewood, but the brush and leafy top stuff will keep you busy enough as it is. With a BB you just start the butt end in there and it takes care of the whole thing. So you can feed the beast as you go, and get a lot done in a hurry. It will take anything up to 9 inches, but I only grind 5 inch and less stuff. However, with tree crotches and branches, you need a wider throat. The Bandit site (A sponsor here on AS) has some good videos of self-feeding chippers in action.

 

[ASD]

What state are u in ?
For trail clean up this is the ticket

 

[Juskatla]

I bought my Mighty Bandit at a disposal for one of the School Boards for under $3K which some think too much for that machine. After I dragged it home, I called the Maintenance manager and asked about the manuals. He arranged for the manuals, all maintenance records and some spares to be sent to me. The biggest issue that I've had was setting the anvil after Knife replacement. It takes some practise until you get the hang of it. I've since made a magnetic jig that helps a lot to get the spacing correct. I had looked at the Vermeer 650 with auto feed, but they were running more money and still would only handle 2-3" material. Like you, I have a bit of property that requires cleanup and I've decided not to burn any more other than in my stove, so the chipper earns its keep. If you have your own machine, you can use it as you have time or energy without having to do it all at once. My local dealer has been trying to sell me a Charlton and if I was using it a lot, I would look at it. If I recall, there are a couple of YouTube videos on the small Bandit chippers that might be of interest. Rental will get the job done and if you won't use it much after might be the right one for you this time.
Good luck on making the right decision for yourself.

Jess

 

[jac1]

The Bandit on tracks is very nice. That would be perfect. I am in NY so have been looking around the Northeast for used chippers. The Mighty Bandit I was thinking of looking at is listed at $2500 which seems reasonable. Once I get this mess cleaned up, I would not need a commercial chipper so would likely just resell it. That is why I was also considering a PTO chipper originally since I would likely keep it for small cleanup.

 

[jac1]

After thinking about all the suggestions, I decided to hold off on the smaller chipper and go with the suggestion of a grapple on my tractor loader. Picking up all this mess will take a long time so a bucket grapple will be very helpful. I found an old beat up bucket on the internet for my tractor loader and I will modify the bucket for easy brush pickup and a grapple. Making a grapple will be pretty straight forward since I have all the necessary tools (20" metal bandsaw, Bridgeport, MIG welder, etc) and a cylinder to build a good one at a low cost. This will allow me to pick up most of the branches with my tractor and pile them up into large piles to either burn or chip with a rental chipper. If everything is in piles, no need to a go with a smaller portable chipper. This also gives me something to build and play around with...more toys. Here is the type of grapple I was thinking of making...only wider and heavier.