Home Wood Chipper?

[Biketrax]

Did a search did not find much?
Any links to some dealers that sell smaller home consumer wood chippers?
something perhaps between a high power electric and one with a motor?
any leads or advise would be helpful!
The rental rates are quite high!
thanks!

 

[SilentElk]

In my opinion, my dad had an 8hp home chipper he bought for $1000 in the late 80's. It was painfully slow. Personally, I would rather load branches in a trailer, pay dump fees than even use a 6in industrial chipper. It is faster to haun that to chip with even a much larger 6in machine.

But if total home recycling is your thing and you have unlimited time with a good chunk change to spend, I would try for a high end used unit but still could be costly. Try your local paper. There is always fustrated homeowners selling these. Try them out first and buy used to save some money.

 

[Biketrax]

Sounds like.....

Sounds like.....you are trying to discourage me from going this route
But will keep my eye open for a used one!
thanks

 

[Mr. Firewood]

any chipper is better then no chipper, I recall a company makes a small homeowner unit that does 4"and has hydro feed.... I got a vid somewhere

 

[Brush Hog]

Doesn't Troybuilt or DR make one ? My father-in-law has a older one. Works good for small stuff but seems more work than necessary. I'd rather save small stuff for fire pit but my town doesn't charge for brush either so it's a win win situation. Good luck

 

[Grace Tree]

I bought a Troybilt for use around the house. It was a waste of money; in my opinion. Flails broke twice. Covered under warranty. Plugs quickly unless you're feeding dry material. Chipper section is pretty much worthless unless you're feeding broom stick straight branches. Now I throw everything in the back of the chip truck and take it to the next jobsite and run it through the chipper.
Phil

 

[hornett22]

i have the small ones,about 5.5 hp

they supposedly do up to 4 inches.i'd sell one if you're interested.they work ok for small brush and branches.

the DR chippers work pretty good for what they are.you have to keep them adjusted properly and there is a spring behind the chipper wheel that breaks sometimes.i'd buy one for homeowner use.

i'd rather spend a little extra and get a used vermeer 620 or 625 and have something worth while.they are on ebay all the time.

 

[Wismer]

A friend recently got a wood chipper, mounts on a tractor 3 point hitch and runs off of the pto. I didnt have high expectations for it but after i saw it, holy cow! I was impressed. The company says it will eat 6 inch material, they're not lying and it is QUICK. It is recomended RPM's are 2500-1000, his tractor maxxed at 2500, so I can't imagine how slick it would be if he had a bigger tractor. It has auto feed and all those nice accesories. It was essentially a professional chipper just mounted on a tractor.

Can't wait to try it out.

I guess where I'm going is, if you have a tractor, put it to work!

Most lower end chippers like the DR power chipper are manual feed, meaning you have to feed the branches in using your own strength. That is a PAIN and dangerous as well. You'll only be able to feed small stuff in, small enough it would be easier to burn or take to the dump.

 

[SilentElk]

In all honesty, yeah I kinda on the discouraging end of this one. But if you want one still please take the advice of those who already posted. Also keep in mind, when the smaller machines say 4", it means a straight stick. If it has much of a bend in it you may have problems. Green does clog more but it chippers faster.


In all honesty, a PTO driven chipper is actually a useable piece of equipment. Down side is the cost and the tractor requirement, but if you have a decent tractor, a little bit of acrage to maintain it isnt a bad setup at all.