Chippers: Drum vs. Disc - Your opinion

[Barry]

Hi,

I wanted to put this post out to all of you under a new thread to get as much input as possible on chippers.
I've been using a Vermeer 1250 chipper with the 80hp Perkins in my tree service business for several years now. We do mostly trimming and removal work, and 1-2 lot/land clearing jobs - time permitting, per year. The 1250 has been a workhorse for us overall, but it has some very definite limitations.

My Three biggest concerns are:

1.) With the feed rollers mounted vertically and supported only on top by the hydraulic feed motor, material tends to get pulled in behind the sliding feed roller, which causes it to jam frequently.

2.) Knife change out is about a 2 hr ordeal from start to finish and is a pain. The 2 outer knives on the 4 knife disc do most of the chipping, These however are also the smaller of the two. The larger inner radius knives are sometimes fairly sharp while the outers are very dull.

3.) The basic design of the disc chipper means that there is always about a 12" -16" piece of unchipped wood laying in the chamber between the end of the feed rollers and the disc. This occasionally causes the disc to jam during initial startup. This has to be cleared manually by opening the disc shroud and pushing the piece back with a stick or metal rod.

I am in the market for a newer, slightly larger chipper and I plan on starting by looking at drum chippers. Bandit 1290H, 1590H and the Woodsman line are at the top of my list.

I'm interested in any feedback and/or opinions other tree professionals may have regarding these models, as well as any personal experience you have had with these manufacturers.

R,
Barry
S&S Tree and Landscape, Inc.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

A drum chipper will be less expensive and lighter weight, due to the weight and machining of the disk.

All chippers will have asymetric wear of the knives. Conehead claims to address this, but I've never used one.

For small outfits, I like the vermeer BC1000 it's designed for use with a small truck. What are you using?

Vermeer has come out with a new feature on the infeed control ba, where there is a stop on pull back, making it a four position control, vs the traditional 3.

I've used the 14 inch Morbarks and they are very sturdy. I was told that the plate that restrricts the infeed throught has been designed out of all their new models.

I've had problems in the past with Bandit warentee issues, and know other people who have had similar problems. So I am biased against their entire broduct line. I have a clinent with a 18inch modle that works very well.

 

[Davey Dog]

I tend to like disc chippers more then drum chippers for a few reasons....

Drum: very hard on the operater..and sometimes has a difficult time with larger rounds... How ever they dont jam as much as the disc chippers..

Disc: Much easier on the operater, able to control larger rounds.....
They do need more maintanance then the same size drum chippers...

Our new toy is a Hydralic Drum, from vermeer..... It is super nice.
It has a speed control on the drum and is really easy to use... It has more then enough power to handle bigger rounds, I have fed it with 12-14" x 8-9" Oak with out any issues...... They have incorperated alot of realy good saftey features into this machine as well.
Very good product and well worth what ever Davey paid for it. It is also small enough to pull behind our 1-ton chip trucks.....
((( we have a big track roller chipper from vermeer, wich is the only other machine we have that can handle big wood...)))

Most of our other chippers are of the Bandit variety, and yes.... We have a lot of warranty trouble. Vermeer is alot easier to work with as a company.

I can get model numbers if needed, I am still half asleep right now and cant think right till after my coffee.....

 

[rebelman]

3.) The basic design of the disc chipper means that there is always about a 12" -16" piece of unchipped wood laying in the chamber between the end of the feed rollers and the disc. This occasionally causes the disc to jam during initial startup. This has to be cleared manually by opening the disc shroud and pushing the piece back with a stick or metal rod.

I believe some newer models have eliminated this dead space, making vines and short chunks more manageable. I also believe that disc chippers make a finer chip, better for the aftermarket. Knife exchange is not bad on disc. My two cents.,

 

[Xtra]

I've run several discs and have never had any trouble with material left between the rollers and the disc.

The disc will also throw chips further and with greater force than a drum.
With my Morbark disc you can control the infeed speed.
I also thought they produce a smaller chip size and chip vines better than a drum.
It's hard to find really large discs (14"+)

 

[GLM]

I used an disk for a few years and learned to send a couple of branches through last to push any large log pieces that are between the feed rollers and disk only a couple of times on start up the "left over piece" would catch a blade jamming it from spinning on engaging the clutch, just feed a couple of branches through last and you will never have a jam on start up, drum chippers would wear me out, they were way faster if you had smaller straight stuff but for the bigger stuff a disk chipper is hard to beat.

 

[Timberhauler]

I've got both.A Bandit 250 and a Vermeer BC1500.The disc chipper seems to produce more unifomr chips,and as mentioned earlier,it throws chips farther.My 1500 seems to have more powerful hydraulics,so there is less sawing stuff down.I use both every week,and I really don't have a definate favorite either way.I could live with either of them

 

[Davey Dog]

take a look at the new style Hydralic drum chippers from vermeer...
Our will throw chips farther than any disc I have seen to date....
Even farther than our tracked dual disc chipper will......
Chip size is good on most types of wood also...Around 3/4 -1" chips with some 1 1/4" chips mixed in there.... Our big dual disc chipper produces 3/4 " chips straight through every time though....
I do like tyhe fact that it wont bog down..... On the bigger stuff, you are able to slow down the feeder and with the inertia of the big drum going full tilt
in there it just chews it up......

 

[Tim Krause]

some people say comparing drum and disc chippers is like the old ford/chevy argument. they say discs are better for big wood and drums are better for brush. it all depends on what size chipper you want. we use a bandit 1890 HD with a 175 cummings. it's awesome to see that machine work. it's a lot less work to get a big top through there than a smaller chipper. the controls are simple and rugged, easy access for oil changes and it takes about 20 minutes to change the knives. i think that bandit makes the best chipper. a local tree service just bought a new 280 with 205 HP. it also has an extra knife pocket and reversing autofeed. now thats a disc chipper.

 

[neighborstree]

bandit 1590. over all, great chipper. easy to change knives. and my machine has ni problem with large wood with the reversing auto feed. my experance with disc chippers is they clog up daily. its a hard debate. go with what you can afford lol

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Affordability is big.

I would allso have the mechanics show you how to do the general maintinance on each you look at, from bed knife to anvil to daily lube. Which have PITA moves like having to crawl under the trailer in the slush to get at a zerk fitting. (have hose ben designed out?)

As for lugging down on big wood, that is a function of the engine you buy and your maintinace cycle on blades. Dull blades will work the machine harder, and smaller engines will work harder towards max loading.

Setting the anvil/bedknife tolerance is a big factor too, bigger chips work the machine harder

Allso crew training will show up here too. I work for a number of different companies, and it's amazing the differeance in recations when the workers start throwing street rakings into the infeed. We all know what a few pebbles of asphalt gravel will do to the knives.

I really like the infeed wheel controls too, not a new feature, just more available. Going from pine or silver maple to dead elm this can be very helpfull in keeping the machine running right, and from having one man on the feed lever all the time. IMO it's better then autofeed, because you dont have to wait for the lugging cycle.

Lastly, the big machines are great for big tree work, but you loose efficiency with smaller brush. If trim work is the bulk of your production, then 12-14 inches is a very good range. On the same note, I'll fall back to my ealier post and reiterate that smaller then 12 incn infeed will slow the crew down. It also puts more engine hours on the machine.

From what I've seen a 12 inch chipper with 85hp is optimal for general tree work. Many have a wider infeed which helps with compressing branch angles and reducing chainsaw work at the chipper.

If you can stack brush, run the machine up and get it over quickly, you will be more efficient and use less fuel. Less hors on the machine makes it last longer and increases the resale value.

Mmmm... have I rambled on long enough??

 

[Treeman587]

I have a WC-12(Old School). It is insanely fast. But will beat the living crap out of you. I have seen cel phones, sun glasses, gloves, a watch, and a t-shirt once go through it. After using many different types to see what I really want, The Rayco RC-12 looks to be best for general trimming and removals. Land Clearing and areas with a lot of large trunked trees, A Morbark Hurricane.

Disk chippers make nice chips= More in the chip truck

Drum chippers chip more effeciently.

If you have a big chip truck, a drum is king.

1-ton guys stick with a disk

Just my 2 cents

 

[DFD34]

Chippers again

Hey Barry,
I have posted several times on this subject and I would love to express my opinion again. First off, I have used and have alot of experience with using and maintaining Bandit models 150, 200+, 250xp, 1590(demoed only), Morbark storm, blizzard, tornado and Hurricane, Vermeer 1230,1400bc, and 1800bc, and Woodsman 15x.
With all my experience and this is only "my" opinion, the Woodsman chippers are the best on the market today. I currently own a Woodsman 15x. This simple heavy duty well built chipper drum chipper in my opinion is the best chipper in its class. It is so well built and powered that it is more like a small 18 inch chipper than a 15 inch capacity chipper. My machine has a John Deere 140 HP engine and a winch. Compare all the features and capacities of each of the major named brands. Woodsman is superior in all the categories. The infeed throat opening to the cutting blades/wheel is 16 inches high by 24 inches wide. The machines single feed wheel is powered by "2" hydraulic motors/rotors that just doesn't quit. You very rarely have to make any relief cuts to any limbs or leaders. The machine is so strong that it just eats every thing up. Even trees with vines get feed through with out any problems. My feed wheel did not stop or bind up all last year. Also the down pressure that can be put on the feed wheel is absolutly incredible. Just pulls everything in. Daily maintenance and knife changing is a snap as well. Another great thing is that the infeed motors/rotors never need to be greased. You really just need to demo this machine. Now, I have never used a 12x machine but if it is anything like the 15x I am sure you well really like it. The 12x is the next size down from the 15x. Like I said in the beginning, I have used many chippers and to me Woodsman is the best mid-sized chipper out there today. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a shout. Yolu can get info on the Woodsman by going to their website. www.woodsmanchippers.com I got a very informative dvd from them last year. Ask them to send one out to you. Best of luck and please give me a shout if you have any questions. Thanks for reading my opinions. DFD34

 

[JohnH]

For GTW I would say a drum and for land clearing a disk. We run bandits mostly but we also have 1 2400 Morbark, 1 15x woodsman and a POS carlton thats about the same size as a 250 bandit. The drums are great for tree work and crane work. They have wide infeeds and you don't have to cut as many crotches. They are easier to change the knives on also. The only downfall is they don't through the chips far enough to fill 45' chip trailers. Our 1850 bandit will put 35 ton in a trailer in about an hour. Our 1890 with a 250 Deere eng. wont even reach the front of the trailer.