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Looking at PTO driven chippers -Any Suggestions?

Started by Busy Beaver Lumber, October 14, 2010, 09:21:48 PM

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Busy Beaver Lumber

I am considering buying a PTO driven chipper and a mid sized tractor (20-30HP) to run it with. I have been fairly lucky getting logs and firewood for free by responding to ads on craigslist and local newspapers and many of the folks giving the wood away for free have mentioned that they would be willing to pay me to rid them of the brush. I try to get every ounce of value out of a tree and usually will cut limbs up for firewood down to about 2 inches in diameter, so my inclination it to think a 4 to 6 inch capacity chipper more than surfice. I like the idea of having it on a tractor for portability and access into areas that it would be difficult to get a truck and full size chipper into.

Any advice of suggestions you might have would be much appreciated
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JPM

the jimna (chinesse ) chipper works good for the $.but do you want to invest all that money just to make chips. it mite be cheeper to buy a use vermeer tow behind chipper.its bigger,more powerful than any pto chipper   

redbeard

45 hp would be minimum for most pto chippers that are 6." Valby makes a nice 6" chipper its just a big heavy flywheel with 4 blades works great for slabs also, they took that in mind on the design. I bought a used Gossen chipper shredder by the time i bought all new blades and shredder knives i was close to the price of the valby chipper i thought i would use the shredder more but i dont, I have put a heavy load on a 50 hp JD chipping dry 2x4 size tailings ,i pretty much stick to whats not kindling or firewood dosent go in chipper,  been working great for cleaning up bark and trimmings around the mill and firewood cutting deck

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terrifictimbersllc

I have a Bearcat 70554 chipper on my 1990 Kubota 2050DT which has 20 HP pto.   Don't remember what the nominal size is think it is called 4 or maybe 5".   Flywheel driven by 2 V-belts.  Very happy with it, hardest job we ask of it is several days at a time maybe 2-3 hours a day disposing of fresh cut sumac up to about 4".  Recently the belts got damaged apparently by something getting under them, they weren't worn at all.   Found a supplier of same belts less expensive than dealer.   I sealed up the cracks and don't expect more trouble.   Depending on how much use and what size material I would strongly recommend getting the largest one your tractor can run.

p.s. my use of the chipper is "homeowner-landowner" I doubt I would want to use this chipper/tractor in business for disposing of all the brush from trees big enough to saw although it does a great job with fresh 2".   the chips come out the bottom.  I couldn't blow them into the back of a truck.

pss   This gets into the category of "free logs", in my opinion such cleanup is often worth more than the logs and their removal..... ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

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northwoods1

I like the idea of a pto driven chipper mounted on a tractor also. The main thing with them is that they really are only for the small stuff though. Would be about the perfect thing for cleaning up around the mill and light duty brush/limbs.

bill m

For your tractor hp. you should try for 10 hp. for every inch of dia. wood you want to chip. So for a 4 to 6 inch chipper you should have minimum of 40 to 60 pto hp. Less hp. will do it but you will be beating the crap out of your tractor. As for a chipper spend the extra money and get one with hydraulic feed. It will make the job 10 times easier. Also keep your knives sharp and more important keep the anvil adjusted properly. A good 6 in. pto chipper with feed system will run about $10,000 and more. You can buy a good used 12 in. tow behind chipper for about the same money. Also most times your customer will not let you just blow the chips on the ground and you will have to haul them away. If you are only going to take jobs where you can just leave the chips I think it would be hard to justify the cost of a chipper and tractor.
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Qweaver

I'm also interested in getting a chipper.  I just talked to Mike at the Valby supplier and he said that their LC 400 requires 7 hp per inch and that my 32hp tractor would run it well.  The 400 costs $3099 but because we have no dealer in our area they will give me a 10% discount which will cover shipping.  If I thought that there was a market for the chips and I could recover some of the cost, I'd buy it.  Is anyone selling chips?
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bill m

Quote from: Qweaver on October 15, 2010, 09:08:27 AM
I'm also interested in getting a chipper.  I just talked to Mike at the Valby supplier and he said that their LC 400 requires 7 hp per inch and that my 32hp tractor would run it well.  The 400 costs $3099 but because we have no dealer in our area they will give me a 10% discount which will cover shipping.  If I thought that there was a market for the chips and I could recover some of the cost, I'd buy it.  Is anyone selling chips?

The first chipper I started with back in 1988 was a Valby without the hydraulic feed system and it worked ok but not great. We had it on a 55 hp. tractor and everything had to be adjusted perfect for it to chip good or else you were fighting to get it to feed in. The quality of chips from limb wood was nothing we could sell, too many twigs and leaves.  If your chipping slab wood and edging without much bark it makes a much better marketable product.
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wesdor

I purchased a Wallenstein BX42 about 2 years ago.  It is made in Canada and is a very simple design. (I think simple designs are really a mark of genius)  It works on my 25 HP PTO tractor and does a very nice job.
I was concerned about material feeding in and talked to the salesman about adding the hydraulic unit (about $2500 more).  He talked me out of it and even promised to sell it to me at cost if I felt I needed it after using the machine.

Happily, the machine is designed so it self feeds without the hydraulic addition.  Like you, I use anything down to 4 inches as firewood.  The Wallenstein has done everything I have asked of it and I am very happy with it.

Hope this information helps you make an informed decision.

nas

I have a Wallenstein BXM 42 with a 4" chipper and a mulcher on top.  The chipper opening is 4"x10" so it is good for small slab wood.  The mulcher works great for twigs and branches, and also for re-mulching chips to make a more saleable product.  I run it with a 65hp tractor and wouldn't want to go less than 50hp.  My neighbours 90hp works much better.  As for the quality and design, it is very good.  The chipper self feeds well for branches and round wood.  Not as great for slabs but it does OK.




Nick
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northwoods1

I just did a tree removal job that consisted of one very large hard maple tree. The home owner had just purchased one of those Walenstein bx42s' for behind his 45hp John Deer tractor which he used to chip the top of the tree. I cut all the firewood out of everything right down to 2" diameter so there was no big stuff to chip. But I couldn't believe how much work it took to feed that chipper! You could only put the smallest of branches is the side feed and the top feed/mulcher when you dropped something in there it was like watch out cause it would grab the piece and just jerk it through, you had to watch what you were doing big time or your hand could get pretty sore. The thing I was mostly disappointed in is the limited size you could feed through the side chipper. The Chute was small enough but the actual cut of the knives was even smaller. I have to admit I've spent a lot of time around BIG chippers like 20" whole tree chippers and smaller units all with hydraulic feed and would have to say the hydraulic feed is what really makes a chipper. Smaller units like the bx42 I couldn't see rationlizing the expense of one given its limited chipping abilities... little more $$ would give a guy a lot more chipper and possibilities for use.

sweetfarm

We had a Valby PTO chipper with hydraulic feed for 10 years or more.  We used extensively during the winter months on a 30hp Kubota.  It worked great when clearing because we took it to the brush.  We did have lots of problems with it though.  The belts would constantly flip upside down and eventually smoked off.  The only way to replace the belts was to raise the 400lb wheel and slide the belts under it!  I remember it plugging the chute a lot also.  We became very proficient at opening and clearing the chute.  We even carried a tool we could put down the chute with it off to free clogs.  Anything with leaves or stringy will get stuck.  We finally went against all rules and would kick the PTO into high range when chipping small stuff with leaves (1500! RPM).
As soon as us younger guys left the business my Dad immediately traded the PTO chipper in for a small Vermeer with the same capacity.  It  is inexpensive simple and uses 5 gallons of gas all day.  A much better idea than putting 8 hours on your tractor screaming away at full throttle.  Oh and when they need it out in the woods they tow it with the tractor.
Now fast forward 10 years and I am clearing lots on my own with a 45 hp Kubota.   After renting a chipper for a day I decide I can make more $ buying one.   I ordered a Jinma PTO chipper with power feed.  The feed uses belts and a "wobble shaft".  A very bad idea!  By the end of day 2 the shaft was completely worn out.  We rebuilt with a small U-joint on one end and went back to work.  The other half wore out the same day.  We redesigned and rebuilt the shaft again.  This lasted almost an hour.  Totally disgusted and mad at losing 2 day with no pay I propped the feed open and shoved brush thru it for 2 days.  I still have the chipper and since my tractor has hydraulic remotes I plan to add hydraulic feed to the roller.
After more than a decade with PTO chippers I can confidently tell you to buy a good used trailer model or a smaller new one if you can justify the cost.  You will make more profit in the end.

johncinquo

I was just doing the search again for a chipper.  Was looking for a PTO model, did all the research, comparisons, and was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Wallenstein BX42S.   My local place was $2687 for the self feeder. (found one for $2499 online)   Then, I found a vermeer 620 for sale locally and cheap.  It needs some light work, but for less than $1000 I'll have a chipper, 2 sets of knives, and a extra set of drive belts.  It has 20 HP and will take up to 6".  Anything over 4" I turn to firewood anyway.  I did not want a giant machine that I could not manuever through the woods, but I did not want a Harry Homeowner chunk that would not chew up the wood.  I can pull this with my quad through the woods. 

There is one on CL for sale in Northern IN.  If I did not have this one already, I would be all over it. 
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JPM

log master; if you look up chinnees or jimna there a site of owners of these things and how to fix ,repair,mantaine them. it seems you have to go over them first and adjust everything. after that they work pretty good. mine was set up and used at a show first, so it was ready to go they even put new blades on it  8)

reprosser

I have a Liberty wood chipper for my 32 HP tractor. It seems to do pretty well, but I have not used it a lot yet. I have the 8" model. Not sure if your HP will work with it.

http://www.libertychippers.com/

I posted a short video in use on youtube.

Captain

I've used LIBERTY, BEARCAT, and MACHETE.  The Bearcat is a very nice unit.  Also costs the most.

I've got a friend's Liberty here now.  He wants me to keep it here in exchange for occasional personal use.  I tried it.  I'm asking him to take it back...not interested.

Captain


Holmes

I have a Patu 4" pto chipper , like a Valby. It works very well with sharp blades , pulls up to 4" right thru it but like most hand fed chippers, brush and branchy  items are hard to stuff thru it. Sometimes it's easier to lay the branches in a row and bush hog them.
Think like a farmer.

TessiersFarm

Quote from: wesdor on October 15, 2010, 12:20:14 PM
I purchased a Wallenstein BX42 about 2 years ago.  It is made in Canada and is a very simple design. (I think simple designs are really a mark of genius)  It works on my 25 HP PTO tractor and does a very nice job.
I was concerned about material feeding in and talked to the salesman about adding the hydraulic unit (about $2500 more).  He talked me out of it and even promised to sell it to me at cost if I felt I needed it after using the machine.

Happily, the machine is designed so it self feeds without the hydraulic addition.  Like you, I use anything down to 4 inches as firewood.  The Wallenstein has done everything I have asked of it and I am very happy with it.

Hope this information helps you make an informed decision.


This is the same chipper I bought a couple of years ago and the comments are my exact feelings about the unit.  It has worked flawlessly for me on a 27 PTO HP tractor.  Feeding is not an issue, and the feed hole is actually 4"x10" so it takes forks and branches much easier than the last self contained chipper I had.  I don't know if all the 4" PTO chippers have a rectangular feed hole or not but I wouldn't even consider a 4" square hole if buying another, from any manufacturer.  I have run much larger chippers (12"+) and the BX42 meets all my requirements, and I have not felt underpowered even once with it.
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