Woodsman 15x demo

[DFD34]

Hey everyone,
I am demo-ing a new Woodsman 15x tomorrow. I am in the market for a new chipper with 15 inch capacity. It is between Bandit 1590, Woodsman 15x and the Morkark Tornado. I have used the Morbark and its a good machine. I have heard great things about these Woodsman 15x's. I am excited to finally see one in action. If anyone wants to know how the demo went just give me a shout. By the way, I am still going to demo a Bandit but I heard that it won't compare to the Woodsman. We'll see....

 

[Newfie]

Anything that really stood out about the Morbark when you used it, good or bad?

 

[kf_tree]

Hey everyone,
I am demo-ing a new Woodsman 15x tomorrow. I am in the market for a new chipper with 15 inch capacity. It is between Bandit 1590, Woodsman 15x and the Morkark Tornado. I have used the Morbark and its a good machine. I have heard great things about these Woodsman 15x's. I am excited to finally see one in action. If anyone wants to know how the demo went just give me a shout. By the way, I am still going to demo a Bandit but I heard that it won't compare to the Woodsman. We'll see....

i'd walk away from the woodsman, when the machine starts to fall apart they will not stand behind it. they will blame all the problems on the user.

 

[ASD]

ok so how did it go????????????????????????????

 

[DFD34]

So, I did demo the Woodsman 15x yesterday. It is a very solid, well-built machine. Some of the features I liked were the 2 hydraulic motors on the single in feed wheel. Most, if not all other manufacturers only have one motor powering there in feed wheels. It really seemed to have a lot of pushing power. The way that Woodsman has set up their machine, brush is pushed into the blades and not pulled. The feed wheel was made with very aggressive teeth. The down pressure on the feed wheel was the strongest I have ever used. (I have used both Bandit and Morbark) It really broke up the brush and snapped crotches with ease. You can also apply the down pressure from both sides of the machine. No more running around the chipper to grab the lever and apply the down pressure. The Morbark’s that I use now, The Hurricane and the Tornado do not compare in the down pressure. We need to make relief cuts all the time with them. The throat opening is the largest in its class. We chipped some 12 to 14 inch cherry and locust logs with limbs still on them and the chipper just ate them right up. We did not have to make any relief cuts at all. I also liked how the frame of the unit extended under the feed opening for more reinforcement. The winch system worked real nice too. I liked how the unit is high up over the chipper in feed opening. You are less likely to smash your head on it. And yes I have done that with our other chippers. It hurts even with a helmet on. The winch system is solid and what I liked was that there were levers and a diverter valve to push and pull not just electrical buttons. It just seemed like it would be less likely to break and if it did, easier to fix. Anyone can replace a valve or lever but once you put a computer and wiring there it makes things much more complicated, at least for me. The winch spool itself is in an easily accessed area and the rope cannot jump out of the spool and get tangled up. The unit I used yesterday and would buy has a John Deere 140 HP Engine on it. It is the right size for this machine and the torque that it requires. I personally do not like to under spec the engines on chippers. It just beats the machine over time. So over all, I really like the Woodsman 15x. It is a 15-inch machine that is more like an 18. It is probably the machine that I will buy. I got a price of $39,500. That includes winch, 140hp motor, auto feed with reverse, hand crank for the chute, extendable tongue, block heater, pre-cleaner on air filter and shipping. All the machines that I have looked at are in the same ballpark for price. The Bandit was the highest priced at $42,500 plus shipping.

Now, these are only my opinions that I got from my experiences. Morbark and Bandit put out great products but I think that the Woodsman is better. I have been in the tree industry for 16 years with the same company. We have used many different types of manufacturers over the years. In the chipper department we have had Bandit models 100,150,200, 200+, 250xp. We do not use Bandit anymore. We switched to Morbark drum style chippers. The Morbarks that we currently run are Twisters, Storms, Blizzards, Tornados and Hurricanes. We have demo-ed Vermeer in the past but have not liked them. The vertical feed wheels just were not our style. The company I currently work for has also demo-ed the Woodsman 18xx and the 20x both with grapples and we really liked them but because we just replaced are whole chipper fleet last year, we will not buy a new chipper for a year or so. The price tags on those 2 chippers are 88k and 125k. Ouch…. So, again these are just my opinions and everyone is welcome to theirs. If anyone has some experiences with Woodsman that are good or bad I would love to hear them, especially the bad. Buying this chipper is a big investment for my brother and I. We are going off on our own this March/April and we want to buy the right product. I hope to hear from you all soon. Thanks DFD34

 

[DFD34]

Hey KF Tree why should I walk away?? What is your experience with Woodsman? Any info would be great.

 

[Koa Man]

kf tree,
You need to stop knocking the new Woodsman chippers. Granted, you had a bad experience with their very early models, and I had the same experience with the early Morbark 2036, which evolved into the 2400. I would never buy another Morbark because of it, but despite that, I cannot call the machine that it evolved to junk. Same as the Woodsman. Today's Woodsman will smoke the Bandits and Morbarks in the same size. The build quality of today's Woodsman is excellent. I have had an 18X for 3 years now and am very satisfied with it. My guys think it is the best chipper ever.

DFD34,
Go ahead and buy the Woodsman if you like the machine. You won't regret it.
And as you noticed, it sucks in the branches far better than a Bandit. If you really want a super fast machine, disconnect the right side feedwheel hoses and cap them. It will put all the hyd. flow to one motor and you will be chipping at around 180 fpm. That is what I did with my 18X and it has been going that way for over a year with no problems. Two tree companies with Bandits that I did some chipping for were afraid of my 18X with the modded feed. They said it was too fast and scary. It is super fast that way, but my guys love it.

And just so everyone knows, I am not a Woodsman dealer and I am not saying the above because I want to sell a Woodsman.

 

[kf_tree]

Hey KF Tree why should I walk away?? What is your experience with Woodsman? Any info would be great.

first i had a 2018 that was a total hunk of junk, i cracked the drum multiple times cracked the tounge off of the machine, i basicly had to chase the machine with a welder every other day.

i finaly speced out a new machine to trade my old one in against plus cash on my part. they made the new one with the same serial # and delayed shipment til a week before my warranty was up. so by the time the moter was swapped i had new machine with NO warranty. plus they beat me out of features on the new machine. my hands were tied so i had to take the deal.

they do not stand behind what they sell.

 

[kf_tree]

kf tree,
You need to stop knocking the new Woodsman chippers.

the chippers may have evolved a bit but the owners are the same. so any chance i get to voice my opinion on them , i will.

weren't you a dealer in the past? or trying to become a dealer?

 

[jazak]

Hey everyone,
I am demo-ing a new Woodsman 15x tomorrow. I am in the market for a new chipper with 15 inch capacity. It is between Bandit 1590, Woodsman 15x and the Morkark Tornado. I have used the Morbark and its a good machine. I have heard great things about these Woodsman 15x's. I am excited to finally see one in action. If anyone wants to know how the demo went just give me a shout. By the way, I am still going to demo a Bandit but I heard that it won't compare to the Woodsman. We'll see....

Iv used many morbark 13s ( which chip 15") and love them. Better then BB
haven't tried woodsman but im sticking w/ morbark on this one.

 

[Koa Man]

the chippers may have evolved a bit but the owners are the same. so any chance i get to voice my opinion on them , i will.

weren't you a dealer in the past? or trying to become a dealer?

I could say the same about Morbark, but I don't because the new models are very good from what I hear.

I was a Woodsman dealer (sort of, more like their sales rep with dealer discount). I am now a Dynamic Mfg. dealer. I signed a dealership agreement with them and am stocking their chipper. I had no formal agreement with Woodsman and I did not stock their chipper, only ordered them when someone wanted one.

 

[TipTop]

how about a chuck and duck :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[xander9727]

I've run a 15X for almost two years. It is a very reliable chipper. I really like the performance and quality of the chipper. I ran 9 chippers before I bought a woodsman. I tried Morbark, Vermeer and Bandit.

I've never run a conehead but I intend to.

 

[DFD34]

Woodsman 15x

I ended up buying the Woodsman 15x with a John Deere 140 HP. The chipper has auto reversing, winch, block heater, pre cleaner, hand swivel and protective covers over the rear brake lights. All this for $39,900. Yeeee Wooo yahoooo. I also purchased a 1999 Inty 4700 with a 16 ft dump body to pull the new machine. The truck only had 43,500 miles and is in great shape. I hope its a good season. :greenchainsaw:

 

[xander9727]

Sounds like your ready to go.

Mine only has the 130hp cummins on it

 

[BrandyNY]

Hello Out There

DFD34, granted your post is from 2006; how do/did you like your Woodsman Chipper? My 2009 Morbark Beever keeps breaking down, causing me to lose money when I have to fix it. (2 years usage.) I am considering a Woodsman 15x. It seems like you were happy with your demonstration in 2006. Got any feedback?
BrandyNY