craftsman 9hp chipper feedback wanted

[mopar1rules]

I'm looking at buying a used 9hp craftsman wood chipper and was wondering what other owners thought of this unit or other similar units? I want it for clearing branches that are 2" in diameter and smaller. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[mopar1rules]

1/2 half inch and smaller is more like it. I had one for a while to grind leaves for vegetable garden mulch. That's about all they are good for. Wouldn't even chip up a corn stalk.

Really!?!?! Its that big of a PoS?

 

[Knobby57]

I have one and it is worthless . I keep it for a spare splitter motor


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[mopar1rules]

Well I was unaware that they were that bad. Did it just not have enough power, or vibrate too bad, or all of the above?

 

[haveissues]

I have a dr 18hp? chipper that i use to chip 2" and smaller. Everything larger is firewood. I can tell you that I would not want anything smaller. It works pretty well but I can't imagine using a 9hp.

 

[Stgcutter]

A 9 hp is great for chipping little things in your yard. Twigs, leaves, pine straw. I run a firewood business and cut a good many trees for folks. It works great for the twigs left to take up


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[blades]

Most of the consumer yard and garden chippers/ shredders are a huge waste of cash, I have a 8hp 4" jam-o-matic ( MTD) the type with a fold down chute to rake leaves into. This style is a lousy choice, no clutch for starting purposes impossible to clear jams just a royal PITA. I also have a semi pro Bearcat 5" unit. Great unit, lives up to all advertising claims, ain't inexpensive though at $8k new ( chipper/shredder 20 hp) I ran 4" buckthorn through with out a hitch. Can you post a picture of it or a similar unit that would help a lot in saying ya or nay as Craftsman is just someone else' s unit re-badged. There are a few consumer units out there that are not half bad

 

[mopar1rules]

Most of the consumer yard and garden chippers/ shredders are a huge waste of cash, I have a 8hp 4" jam-o-matic ( MTD) the type with a fold down chute to rake leaves into. This style is a lousy choice, no clutch for starting purposes impossible to clear jams just a royal PITA. I also have a semi pro Bearcat 5" unit. Great unit, lives up to all advertising claims, ain't inexpensive though at $8k new ( chipper/shredder 20 hp) I ran 4" buckthorn through with out a hitch. Can you post a picture of it or a similar unit that would help a lot in saying ya or nay as Craftsman is just someone else' s unit re-badged. There are a few consumer units out there that are not half bad

The craftsman I was looking at is sold now and I've pretty much given up on the idea of purchasing a home owner sized chipper, after reading all the negative replies. Thanks to anyone that posted to help my decision!

 

[Rudedog]

Most of the consumer yard and garden chippers/ shredders are a huge waste of cash, I have a 8hp 4" jam-o-matic ( MTD) the type with a fold down chute to rake leaves into. This style is a lousy choice, no clutch for starting purposes impossible to clear jams just a royal PITA. I also have a semi pro Bearcat 5" unit. Great unit, lives up to all advertising claims, ain't inexpensive though at $8k new ( chipper/shredder 20 hp) I ran 4" buckthorn through with out a hitch. Can you post a picture of it or a similar unit that would help a lot in saying ya or nay as Craftsman is just someone else' s unit re-badged. There are a few consumer units out there that are not half bad

I had to learn the hard way. Save your money and look elsewhere. If you really need to chip that badly, start a chip pile. When it gets big enough rent for a half day. Chippers that work well are made for professionals. Everything else sucks.

 

[blades]

I totally agree with Rudedog, Only reason I have the bearcat is I process a lot of wood for my self. As we all know the drying process causes shrinkage and therefore destabilization of the stacks. At that point , should one tip and spill, when I restack it I pull what ever loose bark off , run the bark through chipper and use the results for mulch and in the kennel (by the way a good bed of wood chip/mulch in the kennel dang near eliminates offensive odors and keeps paws pretty dirt free as well) Same for splitter trash not usable as kindling. For me it is a double win. ( note: Chain saw output too fine for these purposes) Still haven't come up with a good inexpensive way to compress saw dust into something usable.