Need 3" BearCat chipper advice

[jefflovstrom]

I just realized that I have not chimed in on this thread,
Be right back,, gonna get a beer,,
Jeff

 

[KenJax Tree]

here we go!!

 

[jefflovstrom]

OK. I just ordered this one; Maximum portability,,, no electrons consumed.

Hey Roger the Dodger,,your post of a carrot peeler pic proves you are a troll!
You are either a trouble maker, a troll, someone banned and bent on revenge,
or just dumb. Whatever it is you are,, either listen to us or shut up,
Welcome,
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

It was a beautiful day!
Jeff

 

[Roger Dodger]

Hey Roger the Dodger,,your post of a carrot peeler pic proves you are a troll!
You are either a trouble maker, a troll, someone banned and bent on revenge,
or just dumb. Whatever it is you are,, either listen to us or shut up,
Welcome,
Jeff

Well, I hope you at least brought a few extra beers for the rest of us.opcorn:

Psst,,,,Jeff,,,,, get close to the screen, so no-one else sees this,,,,,,,,, it's a p-o-t-a-t-o peeler. Ya want me to put an "e" on the end of potato(e)???

 

[TheJollyLogger]

String words from a guy with an acre and a half of brush he has no idea what to do with. Way to turn a day job into an ordeal.

 

[Roger Dodger]

Bring your own wood and test it for about 5 minutes.

I will. There's a short video here, of the smallest Salsco chipper, the 8HP 608. Look at the right-hand column of this link, and click "video". This lil' sucker eats wood faster than Jeff can eat a c-a-r-r-o-t.

http://payeur.com/tracteur/608-2/

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Not that I'm willing to waste any more time with this idiot, but I would pay money to watch him try and feed a chuck and duck... just sayin...

 

[Roger Dodger]

Not that I'm willing to waste any more time with this idiot, but I would pay money to watch him try and feed a chuck and duck... just sayin...

OK JollyLogger,,,,sorry to see you go, but hey,,, thanks anyway for the great ummm,,,"advice".

 

[blades]

to Roger: I have a bear cat 5" 20hp ( honda) model chipper shredder. It is a very good unit and as the pm article stated aggressively pulls material in to the point that it could stall out the engine. I also have no problem with it destroying 5" dried out buckthorn Which is close to Iron wood ( Hopbeam). Ok, that said, the 3" unit is going to be an exercise in extreme patience - from the size stated of the brush piles you might finish by next spring. Purely a time thing the unit can do it if getting the max hp unit. Robins are/were good engines . If it was your property i would say go for it but as this a for pay job I would be highly skeptical of your estimated time of completion as evidenced by the quote you received. From personal experience with small diameter brush 80% of the time it will take will be trimming the brush to fit the feed hoppers. Now as this is a shredder also like mine anything under 3/4" ( on mine) can be fed into that hopper still require some trimming of items not to pliable. When the material gets caught by the flail knives it goes whoosh not somewhere you want to be with your appendages.
As far as burning- basically you are on what amounts to peat bog- burning on top of that snow or no snow is not a good idea, the fire will get way down into it and be a serious problem to extinguish even when digging it up. I have been involved with a couple similar areas that the land owners burned brush over in winter - one was still smoldering over a year later and that was after excavation and 1000's of gallons of water directed at it. There is oxygen trapped down below in the mix it becomes self perpetuating.
By the way I had a 50ft boxwood tree dropped about a year ago- the service just put it on the ground( electric wires in the way, didn't want to risk it) It took me a full day plus to make mulch out of the stuff 40 mm or less in dia. (apx 1.5"). Best wishes on your endevor. hope this was of some help

 

[Roger Dodger]

to Roger: I have a bear cat 5" 20hp ( honda) model chipper shredder. It is a very good unit and as the pm article stated aggressively pulls material in to the point that it could stall out the engine. I also have no problem with it destroying 5" dried out buckthorn Which is close to Iron wood ( Hopbeam). Ok, that said, the 3" unit is going to be an exercise in extreme patience - from the size stated of the brush piles you might finish by next spring. Purely a time thing the unit can do it if getting the max hp unit. Robins are/were good engines . If it was your property i would say go for it but as this a for pay job I would be highly skeptical of your estimated time of completion as evidenced by the quote you received. From personal experience with small diameter brush 80% of the time it will take will be trimming the brush to fit the feed hoppers. Now as this is a shredder also like mine anything under 3/4" ( on mine) can be fed into that hopper still require some trimming of items not to pliable. When the material gets caught by the flail knives it goes whoosh not somewhere you want to be with your appendages.
As far as burning- basically you are on what amounts to peat bog- burning on top of that snow or no snow is not a good idea, the fire will get way down into it and be a serious problem to extinguish even when digging it up. I have been involved with a couple similar areas that the land owners burned brush over in winter - one was still smoldering over a year later and that was after excavation and 1000's of gallons of water directed at it. There is oxygen trapped down below in the mix it becomes self perpetuating.
By the way I had a 50ft boxwood tree dropped about a year ago- the service just put it on the ground( electric wires in the way, didn't want to risk it) It took me a full day plus to make mulch out of the stuff 40 mm or less in dia. (apx 1.5"). Best wishes on your endevor. hope this was of some help

Blades, Thank you VERY MUCH for that very concise assessment,,,, and I couldn't possibly agree more, especially with respect to burning..

There's something I should clarify for those who are not fully aware of the situation regarding this job,,, and that is; the job "changed" long the way. Let me explain;

Phase 1. I started out working for the terminally-ill 94 year-old property owner, and his goal was simply to have me trim some branches off the tallest trees by the river, so he could sit on his deck and watch the boats go by. Those trees were obstructing his view. He apparently had weeks to live at that point. I started out carving a "path" to those trees,,,, and there were no plans to clear that property. Unfortunately, that gentleman passed away less than a week later,,,,, before I had even started on that job. At the time, I was doing other work for him as well. After he passed away, his wife moved to a seniors' residence.

Phase 2; a "new" boss,

When the gentleman passed away, his daughter, who lives out-of-province, asked me to continue with that project. Basically, she asked me to be the grounds-keeper for the property. The house at this point was unoccupied, and there was no rush to trim those trees. The house would continue to be unoccupied until at least next Spring (2015), at which point it would most likely be sold. I decided to tackle the project in the cooler Fall weather,,, after the flies and mosquitoes were gone.

Phase 3; After I started trimming the trees, it was only then that she "considered" clearing the rest of that acreage. She did change her mind a few times along the way, but ultimately, after she came to see what had been done, she was very impressed, and felt that it was a great improvement to the property.(selling feature). I was a little concerned about cost, but in her own words, she said "I feel I'm getting great value for money spent". If she's happy,,,, I'm happy. I feel very responsible for this property, especially since I've known the family for 60 years. There is also a potential here, for me to continue as grounds-keeper for several more years, and, I enjoy working there. I treat it as if it were my own property.

That said; why am I considering a 3- 3 1/2" chipper? Well, as I've stated earlier, there's no rush to finish the job, and the bulk of the work has been done. If I continue as grounds-keeper for another year or more, there will be occasions when a small mobile machine will easily meet my needs, since I'd only be trimming ornamental bushes and trees, and cleaning up dead branches, and an incredible amount of fallen leaves, etc. A well-designed and constructed combination chipper/shredder would probably be the best solution here, and I can leave the machine on-site. I have no other clients, and would only consider other jobs based on word-of-mouth reference. Once my tenure is up, I could simply sell the machine, or keep it for cleaning my own property.

So where has this brought me insofar as purchasing the "right machine for this job" is concerned? Well, I just got a call from a financial-services agent, regarding the purchase of a 3", 13HP Wallenstein BXMT chipper-shredder.($4,100. plus 15% tax). She offered me a rate of 2.5% over 48 months, (roughly $94./mo.), with no money down. This is a very well-built and designed machine,,, Canadian-made,,, and built like a tank,,,virtually indestructible. 3"x6" chipper throat, and 1" shredding capacity. Nice road-towable package too. The dealer is 3 minutes away. It's mighty tempting at this point.

Here's a few links; (Wallenstein BXMT 3213)

http://www.embmfg.com/Forestry/Chipper_Shredder/BXMT-Models.aspx#bxmt3213

http://www.embmfg.com/Forestry/Chipper_Shredder/BXMT-Models.aspx#bxmt3213



I'm also going to check out the 3.5" Salsco today, but it's a lighter package, and "chipping" only.(no shredder)

 

[Marshy]

I think someone already said it nicely... You have our permission.

 

[Zale]

Go for it. Can we please lock this thread now?

 

[sac-climber]

 

[Roger Dodger]

Question; If you don't "like" it,,, why the heck are you still reading and responding? Personally, I had a heckuva time trying to find accurate info on this class of machine, and hopefully, someone else out there who's going through the same experience, will get something positive out of this thread.

That said, I went and saw the 3.5 Salsco 608 today, but no "demo". $3k. Claims to be "road-towable" but only to a maximum of 35mph. (trailer has a rigid axle, no suspension, very small tires). Solidly built, but the overall fit and finish is not stellar.

I also went to a Kubota dealership to see if they had anything, and they did carry the Wallenstein line. They only had two PTO-driven machines in-stock, so again, no demo of the machine I'm looking for. (BXMT3213). Just for kicks, I asked him for his "best price" on that Wallenstein, and lo and behold, he was $500 more expensive than my local dealer ($4600. vs $4100. CDN). From a component-quality perspective, the BXMT is vastly superior to the Salsco 608. MUCH beefier trailer and tires, plus it has a suspension axle, and 2" ball fitting. Centrifugal clutch too. The 2-knife rotor is also almost double the weight (70 lbs vs roughly 35 lbs), and 17" diameter, vs 13". (higher tip-speed). Honda 13HP engine vs B&S 8HP. 30-knife 1" shredder vs no shredder option on the 608. 360* rotation chute on the Wallenstein,,,fixed on the Salsco. Mind you, that 3.5" Salsco is over $1k. cheaper. I believe Wallenstein also has one in the same $3k. price-range as the 608, but I haven't looked at it.(BXMT 3902???)

Given that my local Wallenstein dealer is offering the 2.5% financing rate, and $500. cheaper than Kubotas' best offer, it looks like the Wallenstein BXMT3213 is going to be my choice.

Thanks for all your comments and input,,, both the positive, as well as the negative. I would have killed to own a 6" hydraulically-fed chipper, but it just wasn't in the cards (nor the budget).

 

[TheJollyLogger]

So... you are now going to be the proud owner of a $4,000 400 pound machine with no infeed.
Too small to do the job, too heavy to manhandle next to the piles. lmao

 

[Roger Dodger]

So... you are now going to be the proud owner of a $4,000 400 pound machine with no infeed.
Too small to do the job, too heavy to manhandle next to the piles. lmao

I guess you have a reading comprehension issue, so let's reiterate. I'll have a $94./mo machine, that will handle over 95% of the trees I cut, and weighing 520 lbs, which I manhandle quite easily. It's got these round things underneath,,, called "wheels". My trailer weighs 680 lbs, and I have no trouble with that one either. It's got those same round thingies.

Now, I may yet not buy that machine,,, I was simply evaluating which machine would best suit my needs and budget. It'll depend on what the customer finally decides, plus a few other factors. In two days, I should have my answer. It also appears that I may now get work from the marina next door, as well as the neighbour on the opposite side. Hey it may be modest, but it's a start.

And just to add a lil' more "spice" to this mix, I came across a new(to me) machine today,,,,WITH hydraulic feed, plus it's self-propelled. It's a 4" machine by Eliet. Ultra compact too. Google, here I come again!!!

 

[Roger Dodger]

On second thought, (and first peek),,,, I think I'll pass on the Eliet. The videos are bloody awful, despite the hydraulic feed.

 

[BC WetCoast]

So now we're going from a very narrow steep pathway that you can barely walk down, let alone a 36" wide mini loader, to manhandling a 400lb chipper that is 44" wide down this same steep path. Going to haul this new toy with the excavator that will be building your new road down the hill?

 

[Roger Dodger]

So now we're going from a very narrow steep pathway that you can barely walk down, let alone a 36" wide mini loader, to manhandling a 400lb chipper that is 44" wide down this same steep path. Going to haul this new toy with the excavator that will be building your new road down the hill?

I guess you didn't read the part where I said we can get a 6" chipper down there by using the neighbours' property and driveway. She has already agreed. Plus the part where I had a contractor with his own 6" chipper estimate the job, but he said he would only do the actual chipping, but not the hauling of the material to the stationary chipper. He said that there's probably a weeks' work just bringing the material to the chipper.

The suggestion that you can "pull" the piles to a stationary chipper parked in the main driveway doesn't work, because there's no straight-shot to the piles, and the piles are too big. But hey,,,, maybe you have a 400-foot magic chain that can pull a 20-30 foot pile of brush around curves, trees, stumps, and boulders when taut and under pressure.

Bottom line; we have to work within a budget. The 3" chipper will do 90+% of the trees/brush, and we'll burn or leave the rest. Whether we spend three days hauling wood to a stationary 6" chipper, or spend three days chipping with a mobile chipper that we bring to the wood, ain't gonna make a whole lot of difference. Plus we have a permanent machine that we can use to maintain the property the following year(s).

The contractors' suggestion that there's "a weeks work" bringing the brush-piles to a stationary 6" chipper is horse-pebbles in my opinion. I cut and dragged that stuff myself, so I think I have some idea of how long it would take.

When I presented our options to the land-owner, she decided that the 3" chipper was the best option to follow, and that was from a safety perspective (no "kids/helpers" working around a rented 6" chipper), less disturbance to the neighbours (which matters to her), and less risk of fire. (due to proximity of the marina next door).

If budget were not an issue, I'd have gone with a used 6" hydraulically-fed PTO driven chipper and a good-sized tractor capable of driving it, and moving it. I'll say again, that ain't gonna happen. I've got a 27 HP John Deere X-500 garden-tractor, but no PTO.(54" mowing deck) We also have access to a smaller lawn tractor for moving the 520 lb. Wallenstein if need be. We're not going to get that Wallenstein everywhere we'd like, but reasonably close is good enough.