Small disc chipper

[rarefish383]

There is an auction this weekend and I can't make it, have a funeral. They have a pretty old, small, looks like a disc chipper. It's green with a Wisconsin 4 cylinder on it. By the pics I can read Model, and what looks like a "55", or "85". Anyone have an idea what it may be. If they have a viewing I might go by tomorrow and take a look. I could use it at hunting camp, trying to reclaim my hay field.

 

[rarefish383]

Went by and looked at it this morning. It’s a Bandit model 65. Since they still make a model 65XP, I haven’t found much info on the older Wisconsin models. Any opinions?

 

[Bango Skank]

In my humble opinion, the best 6” chipper on the planet is the Bandit 65/ 65XP.
Can’t speak to that engine, but probably better than the stock 25 Kohler that comes nowadays. I got one with a 32.5 HP gas Kubota. It’s excellent, but it’s a 6” and has it’s limitations.
If the price is right, snag that machine.

 

[rarefish383]

In my humble opinion, the best 6” chipper on the planet is the Bandit 65/ 65XP.
Can’t speak to that engine, but probably better than the stock 25 Kohler that comes nowadays. I got one with a 32.5 HP gas Kubota. It’s excellent, but it’s a 6” and has it’s limitations.
If the price is right, snag that machine.

Thanks. The sale is tomorrow, I have a funeral service to attend. I looked at it yesterday and started it. I know the auctioneer, and he said I could leave a bid, so I did. The Wisconsin engines were the best of the best in their day. It’s an overhead valve engine, so I think that puts it in the 30-35 HP range. We had one on a Vermeer model ten stump grinder with an 8’ sweep and that thing was a beast. Later I had a flat head version on my Vermeer 630A stump grinder. That one was 25 HP or so, that was a nice machine too. I pretty much got out of the tree business when my Dad retired in 86, but kept my license and did side work. He bought a brand new 16” Asplundh drum chipper, so that’s what I got broke in on. I wind up renting chippers a couple times a year. The little Vermeer 6” works, but with the 6X6 feed, it won’t fold up any side branches. This one the feed is 6” high and 12” wide. It looks like it will fold/crush side branches better. Plus, it will fit on my 10,000 pound dump trailer. I can trailer it to a job, blow the chips on the trailer, go home and dump. The clerk said she will text me if I win?

Oh, the fact that they still make this model, gives me a feeling it’s a good machine. Thanks again.

 

[Bango Skank]

You will almost certainly need to keep a saw handy when feeding the chipper. It does ok with narrow branch unions, but doesn’t crush wider ones very well.

I’ve gotten in the habit of making stuff more chipper friendly by cutting maybe 2/3rds of the way through the side of a union. Usually it’ll eat the whole piece then, and it’s still just one piece to feed.

Good luck, hope ya get it!

 

[rarefish383]

Thanks.

 

[rarefish383]

I got it, pick it up Monday. Paid $2000, 10% buyers premium and 6% tax, adds 320.

 

[Bango Skank]

That’s an excellent price. They hold their value well, and are pretty simple to work on. The design hasn’t changed much in the last couple decades.

 

[rarefish383]

It was a rental unit. I saw a sticker that said if it came back dirty they charged extra to clean it. Didn't see the serial number yet, so I don't know what year it is. I started it and ran the RPM's up till the feed roller kicked in. It has an on/off toggle for "Auto Feed", hope it works. I'll grind some brush with it when I get it home tomorrow.

 

[2dogs]

I bought a 65 new years ago. It will do a pretty good job on 2" limbs and if you are patient 3" limbs. It is designed for landscapers and parks, not tree service. Nonetheless it is a quality machine. Keep the knives razor sharp and the bed knife adjusted for best results. Drain the fluids and replace the hydraulic filter before you start, clean the strainer. I think the 10 micron filter is a Wix 51551 but verify that.

 

[Bango Skank]

Absolutely. Sharp knives and proper anvil gap makes all the difference.

Mine takes a 5”+ diameter pretty easily.
My firewood scrounging buddies love me for not being able to chip 12” stuff.

Another nice perk is the weight. I think around 2200 lbs, but that might be dry and with the stock Kohler 25HP. Still if the jack has a wheel instead of a foot, it’s easy to push it around by hand if needed or tow with a compact truck or half ton.

 

[rarefish383]

I tried it out for a few minutes. I’m happy with it. It does have auto feed, but I didn’t try anything big enough to kick it in. I put some real crooked gum in it and it crushed up the side limbs well. A 6X6 Vermeer would never do that. I didn’t get a title so I don’t know if I’ll try to tag it. I have a 6X10 tandem dump trailer and it will fit on there. I grew up on a 16” Asplundh. Don’t need anything that big any more. Mostly for around the house. I have a 7 acre field on my property in WV. The Cedars have spread 100 yards into my hay field over the last 15 years. I did do a little side job this morning. Elevated a big Bradford Pear and a little Cherry. $250, couple more little ones like that will pay for it. Right now I have it parked by my chip pile and just bring the brush to it on the dump trailer.

 

[rarefish383]

Brought home two small dump loads of mostly Bradford Pear. First load took 18 minutes to chip, with no hurry. Bradford brush tends to spread out like a fan. I had several that were about 4" limbs at the cut, and spread about 5-6 feet at the tips. it crushed the side limbs up no problem. I think it's ready for new knives and some adjusting. Hopefully the anvil is not bellied. The tips of the limbs had a tendency to wind around the feed wheel, then when the next woody branch hit it, they all chipped up. Chips are a little stringy, but I've seen much worse on a rental.

 

[Bango Skank]

The anvil has 4 edges you can use, hopefully at least one edge is still new.
If not, I don’t think they’re terribly expensive.

 

[2dogs]

I can't remember what the anvil looks like but a typical older Bandit has a single edge anvil. The can be ground if not too bad but like BS said they are not expensive.