Anybody familiar with one of these

[shopteacher]

I'd like to know if anybody has ever used one of these and if you think it capable of regrinding wood chips from a tree chipper.  I'm using a 14 hp shredder now ia it does a good job, but it takes me about 4 hrs. to shovel a truck load through it and come spring I'll be looking at a lot more chips.  I have 5 tree service companies dumping chips here and will need something to load with a front loader.  With the auger to sent the chips to the mill and the shute to blows the grindings out this looks like it might be just the thing to do this job. 

[beenthere]

shopteach
Is it a hammermill with screens in it that you can change for coarseness of the final product?

[shopteacher]

Yes it it a hammermill and most do have interchangable screens. I just don't know how it would do on wood chips.

[Ron Wenrich]

Tub grinder or wood hog would work a lot quicker. 

[Dave Shepard]

I bet that would take a lot of horsepower to run wood chips through, assuming it'd even do it. What size final product are you after?


Dave

[shopteacher]

Looking to make pieces around 1/4" X 1 1/2" or 2".
     Problem with a tub grinder is the cost looks like a cheap one is around 15,000 and go up  into the hundreds of thousands. 

[Ron Wenrich]

It depends on how much you are intending to do.  If its an occassional load, then its expensive.  Getting chips from 5 tree services sounds like you would have quite a lot of material to handle. 

Larger equipment gets the job done in less time, and quite often, less energy.  How much is your time worth? 

[Stan snider]

Shopteacher: I'd be pretty cautious putting wood chips through an ag-type auger, and the discharge on these [if it's like the roller moder] is a 90 degree box that something fiberous would probably give a fit.  I would look for an old Wetmore mill for a cheap experimental run. They move material off the head by blowing it. If I ran on to a grinder mixer I would be real careful NOT to get  wood fiber in the tank. It WILL stop it up and ruin your day. The cleanout hole isn't big enough.  The head in them has a knife on the leaing edge and will grind straw, hay,etc butneed heavy free flowing material in them to keep from clogging.  These show up on farm sales occasionally and are tough old mills, probably not bringing more tha a couple hundred bucks. You might be surprised at the horsepower they soak up too. Stan

[shopteacher]

Thanks for your thoughts all.  Although I was wanting to hear "heck yeah those thing will grind those chips up and not even look back".

Stan: I found a Wetmore mill look to be in decent condition and at a decent price only thing wrong is it's in Missouri.

Ron: right now got more time than money.

[Grawulf]

I smell a FF favorite.......roadtrip!!! Not to get off subject, how big is Max now?

[shopteacher]

 Roadtrips and snow don't mix for me.  Max is full grown, although for a cocker spaniel that's not very big.