What to look for in a Chipper

[Bill G]

I will be looking at a used chipper next week and I need some advice on what to look for in quality. Outside of the normal indications what are the specific things to look for ? It is adevertised as a "Commercial 12" drum chipper witrh a 6 cyl engine" I have no idea what that really means. No brand no condition, no nothing. As I find out more I will post it. Is a rule of thumb related to capacity of a drum chipper (d/2) thus a 12" drum chipper will chip 6 inches ? I am a novice with chippers so sorry about what may be dumb questions.

Bill

 

[topnotchtree]

The only dumb question is one that did not get asked! There are basically 2 types of chippers.(1) a self feeder.These chippers use hydraulically driven wheels to smash and feed the brush to a cutting rotor. These are usually more expensive, heavier,and require more maintenence. (2) A drum style, or whipper chipper, or chuck-and-duck as they are referred to commonly at this site. This style uses the spinning rotor and blades to pull the brush thru, very quickly. Sometimes taking your glove with it.These machines are usually cheaper,lighter,and require less maintenence. The downside is these chippers tent to beat you up. It takes alot of getting used to. You will get whipped,smacked,scraped,etc. untill you get used to feeding one.In my experience, a 12 inch drum chipper, properly adjusted with good blades, can usually chip just about anything a single man can drag to it. Providing the limb does not have too many large forks in it. As far as motors are concerned, there are many varieties. A 12 inch would not be underpowered using a 6 cylinder motor. I have used a 16 in chipper that had a ford big block v8 for a motor! OK, enough said from me.

 

[Koa Man]

I would not buy a chipper if it did not have a diesel engine. Gas engines suck a lot more fuel, run hotter and require much more maintenance.

 

[rbtree]

Be nice to the dial up guys, Koa.
resized:

 

[Koa Man]

Sorry, I thoughtless forgot about the resizing. Thanks for doing it for me Roger. I deleted the attachment from my post.

 

[Bill G]

Koa,

If I was going to use the machine daily the engine would be a consideration. I am not looking at a new machine.

Bill

 

[topnotchtree]

Well Bill, What did you find? Did you look at the chipper yet? You talked about capacity. I meant to mention something about manual feed chippers. They will take some pretty big stuff if it is in shorter lengths. A self feed chipper takes the material in a slow controlled manner. A manual feed chipper takes the material fast.So if you feed a big long piece you may bog the chipper down, possibly even stall the machine. So you will learn to shorten the really long pieces so your chipper will manage them. In other words, A manual feed chipper may not take a 6 inch log that is 8 feet long. But it will take two 6 inch logs that are 4 feet long, fed one at a time. Does that make sense to ya?

 

[Bill G]

I was finally able to look at the chipper tonight. It has a 6cyl Ford engine and appears to be in decent shape. As for brand it has no real identification on it. It looks like the pictures of Mitts and Merrill machines. Someone has given it a fresh coat of yellow paint. It will be sold March 27 at auction. I am going to try to post some pics tonight, hopefully someone can identify the model and maker.

Bill

 

[rbtree]

Did you check out the rotor? A M&M has 9 or 12 staggered 4 1/2 inch knives, depending on whether it is a 12 or 16 inch drum. Great chipper!

 

[Bill G]

I believe they were straight across but I willl check again this morning. It will be tonight before I can post pics though. My dilema is I have no idea what it is worth. I would be just using it primarily for for my own use. I do not claim to be or ever will be a tree service. I just need a chipper for my own use and the occasional cleanup jobs where burning or a D7 is not practical. I have no intentions of trying to compete with the tree services.

Bill

 

[Bill G]

Well I stopped and took some pics today. Hopefully they will load properly and someone can identify the model for me. There should be a pic of both sides and one of the knives.

Bill

 

[Bill G]

Well I guess I am only smart enough to post one pic at a time

 

[Bill G]

The last pic

 

[rbtree]

That chipper looks to be in quite good condition. If you can fire it up, listen to the main rotor bearings. If they're quiet, and no other problems are found, it is worth $2000-3500, I'd guess.

 

[topnotchtree]

The chipper looks in nice shape. I am sorry I cant identify its maker. I wish my chipper had access to the blades like that one though. That type of chipper is very basic. Motor , clutch , belts and drum. Spin the drum and listen to the main bearings. If they sound crunchy,they can get expensive to repair. But, those bearings rarely need to be replaced. The blades can be an issue to think of too. Look to see if any of the allen head bolts are stripped that hold in the wedge that holds in the blade itself. It may take a lot of heat to get those bolts out, especially if they have been in there awile. Those blades should be VERY sharp. If they are not they will need to be replaced, or sharpened, to get the chipper to perform well. A chipper like that would likely sell around here for $3500 or thereabouts. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Bill G]

Well I will know what she's worth in about 12 hours. I will let you know Saturday night.


Bill

 

[Bill G]

Well the chipper sold for $2500 and I let it go by. I was seriously tempted but I just had to pass.. I know I will kick myself later. My brother bought a used outside woodburner though. I know he will regret that purchase. I could not get it through his head that there was a reason they were selling it.

Bill

 

[topnotchtree]

sorry you missed it Bill. keep your eyes open. Hopefully by next year I will have mine for sale.

 

[Bill G]

Well it looks like the chipper did not actually sell. The owner "plug bid" it and bought it back. I thought it looked familar to one I have driven by many times and now is sitting back at the original owners yard. It is pretty hard to make money when your machines never leave your yard. I am now glad I let it go by.

Bill