Do drum chippers clog up easy ??

[Davidsinatree]

I have not used my Olatha drum chipper much yet but when I have used it the brush I ran through it was dry and it performed great.
My ?? is do drum chippers clog easy when chipping wet or icey brush. We had an ice storm wednesday and i'm waiting to get busy cleanig up but the ice is not melting, I need to get busy.

 

[Koa Man]

It depends if it has good air flow or not. My Morbark 17 would clog pretty easily and it had almost no air flow, only relied on centrifugal force to throw stuff out. I hated that chipper with a passion. My Woodsman 18X, which I special ordered with a blower on it, very rarely gets clogged. It never gets clogged on ordinary type trees and palms, even in the rain. It will clog on stuff like banana trunks, unless we run it with tree branches. It has been the least clogging chipper of the several different ones I have owned.

 

[NeTree]

My Whisper has never clogged on me, no matter what kind of crap I've stuffed into it.

 

[Koa Man]

The Whispers here clog on banana and night blooming cereus, but you probably don't have them where you are.

 

[NeTree]

No, but what a pity....

we sure got plenty of MONKEYS!!


(seriously, I bet MY Whisper could eat such fare without clogging )

 

[P_woozel]

On all of the drum chipperes I,ve used clogging if it occurred was a result of improper knife/anvil setup or dull knives, or blocked vents on the drum housing. I like drums more, and as savage as it sounds I still think the "whisper" types are the most reliable thing around.

 

[Koa Man]

(seriously, I bet MY Whisper could eat such fare without clogging )

The night bloomers are a cactus. Real mushy on the inside. The minute the chipper blades hit it, it starts to look like a thick goo and will drip off a shovel it you scooped it up. If you can chip soft cactus with your Whisper, you got a super machine.

BTW, why do they call them Whispers when they are about the loudest machines around?

 

[P_woozel]

When they are throttled up with no wood chipping they are kind of like a really loud whisper.

 

[NeTree]

Whisper...


Koa, that's the beauty of them... it's pretty much a straight shot right through.

 

[Davidsinatree]

Well I anwsered my own ? about drum chippers clogging with ice. I did some ice storm clean up today. 4 days after the storm and the ice has not even started to melt. My chipper does not have a blower or the counter wieght so I was concerned about clogging.
The chipper performed AWSOME....I was chipping limbs totaly covered with ice, it just keeped spitten it out the chute. I think 1/5 of my load was ice.
This thing is a real 192ci crushed ice makin machine. Chuck & ducks ROCK!!
Here is a pic of the ice chipper in action. This is my fatherinlaw.

 

[NeTree]

Think of the rum smoothies ya could make with that, eh?

 

[Stumper]

I'm so very happy for you David. What is the cloud around the central pillar on the chipper from?

 

[Davidsinatree]

Stumper,
I noticed that in the pic myself. I think its ice exscaping from the gaps between the chute and the drum housing. There are some rubber flaps that are suposed to seal this area, but they are wore out. I need to replace them. This thing drops a small amount of chips to the ground so I have been pulling it onto a tarp before I start chipping. This make clean up much faster. I have yet to figure out y the pillar sticking up is on this machine, it is very sturdy. I think it could be usefull as a zip line anchor point. I'll leave it on.
I'm getting ready to mount a good sized tool box in front of the motor. It should declutter my truck some.
Its an older chipper ,but it seams to be rock solid.
I LIKE IT.....ALOT!!!!!

 

[glens]

I have yet to figure out y the pillar sticking up is on this machine, it is very sturdy.

Is it a lift point, like maybe the unit was customarily left on construction sites and suspended at night?

 

[Stumper]

It was the chipper that was custom built for that special tree job someone posted recently-Remember the tree growing on the roof of the high-rise building?

 

[Lawn Masters]

Is it a lift point, like maybe the unit was customarily left on construction sites and suspended at night?

I was thinking that too, I've seen portable air compressors, and other trailer mounted machinery with a lift point like that. it would make sense.

 

[donald perry]

Hello all, I am thinking of getting a Morbark 17 and want to use if for everything. The owner says it never gets clogged, what do you say?

Thanks in advance.