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which chipper is right for me?

Started by nstringer04, March 02, 2015, 07:33:05 PM

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nstringer04

I am looking for a chipper for my slabs.  I am milling mat timbers and pallet cants so I end up with a decent amount of heavy slabs, at least on the butt end or when straightening out the crooks.  I don't know much about chippers and was wondering what size I need to be looking for.  I would say that a few slabs would be up to 18" or wider on the butt end. Does that mean I need a 18" chipper or larger in order to not have to cut off ends?  They are rarely thicker than 4-6" at any point, like knots, swell, or crook.
A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

landscraper

I chip almost all my slabs with a Bandit 200xp chipper which they rate as a 12" machine.  I think the max opening when the top feed wheel is up all the way is about 14" by 16".  An 18" chipper would be pretty expensive I'll bet. 
Firewood is energy independence on a personal scale.

nstringer04

yeah, an 18" would be ridiculous I'm sure.  Does it handle bigger hardwood slabs pretty good?
A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

landscraper

It handles slabs fine, it has an autofeed so every once in a while it pauses on a thick piece to let the RPMs build, but usually it just munches on through them.  It's 75 horsepower, you can get the same unit with over 100hp I think.  Keep sharp blades in them and set the blade to anvil clearance right and they do just fine. 
Firewood is energy independence on a personal scale.

Brad_S.

I am absolutely not a fan of Hud-son, however, they used to make a dedicated slab grinder that handled 4x18 inchs. I know you can find the on the used market for about $5K. Don't know how they worked or why they aren't made anymore. Maybe I just answered the question myself?
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

redprospector

I've got a 94 model Vermeer 1250 BC, 80 horse Perkins that needs the auto feed fixed. But it munches slabs just fine.
You don't have to have the newest, fanciest chipper on the block. Just a dependable one.
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

Alligator

Questions? Are you stationary? Do you have 440 vac?
The chippers discussed above, although wood chippers, began their development in the tree trimming business. Smaller chippers design for sawmills and to be stationary and be puller by a 100 hp to 150 hp 440 vac motors are less expensive. They have a mouth that will take an 18" slab without any issue. They all have to have sharp knives, and the anvil has to be set with the right gap. The anvil needs to be re surfaced and re-ground before the tungsten carbide is worn through to the steel or you have to buy a new anvil. If you chip a lot of dirt, an automatic knife grinder would be a money saver.

Do you have a market for your chips? Since I was in the sawmill business they have developed shavings mills. I see you're from south Mississippi. Do you have the large amount of chicken houses over there, that we have in south Alabama. If so shavings are a gold mine compared to chips. Once we got connected with the chicken farmers, our planer shavings hardly hit the ground and $100 bill. Just mentioning before you spend the money. 
Esterer Sash Gang is a  Money Machine

Alligator

Esterer Sash Gang is a  Money Machine

nstringer04

I am stationary but it is a portable mill.  I have another location with 3 phase power but I would rather not move everything there. Didn't even know about shavings. I have about 8-10 tons of slabs per week. There are plenty of chicken houses very close by and I know most of the owners pretty well. I can think of 3-4 owners right now with multiple houses each. How much do they use in shavings usually? Also, is the price of shavings enough above the price of chips for fuel to justify going in that direction with the amount of slabs I have?
A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

Alligator

I have been out of the sawmill business 25 years. I know that the development of shavings mill have been in that 25 years. It would stand to reason that if chips were as valuable the shavings mills would not be in existence. Seeing your location I guessed there would be a lot of chicken houses. If you get much above the middle of our state cold becomes an issue raising chickens in the winter. I am not up to date on prices, but in 1990 a 16 ft. high body truck was $150. With shavings that is not a lot of weight. It should be fairly easy to talk to the local chicken farmers and find out what they pay per ton for shavings. Compare that with what chips are bringing. Also find out what the availability is for them in your area. In my area there wasn't any other source. If they didn't get shavings they used peanut hulls. The problem with peanut hulls was they had to be changed every time the chickens were changed. With shavings they can put down a new layer and only change them every third round of chickens.

Confusion is the first step toward wisdom. Once you understand you are confused, you can make the steps of gaining the knowledge to end the confusion. I don't have enough of the knowledge to answer all your questions. I do see some of the options. Basically what I saying, you're going to spend between $10,000 and $40,000 to turn your slabs into a marketable product. Work backward. Step 1 find out what the markets are and how big they are. Step 2 Get some kind of number per ton to compare the value. Step 3  Access the reliability of these markets. Step 4 Pick your market and buy your machinery accordingly.

I see 3 markets for your slabs, you may see more. 1 Chips 2 Shavings 3 Firewood
Firewood would be the cheapest to get into, but in our latitude probably the least profitable and reliable
Chips would be more expensive, but more profitable in you have a paper mill or some factory that could use them as fuel.
Shavings probably give you the most $ per ton but would have the most equipment investment. You still need that end market.

Something to check is what type of chips and shavings are marketable for what applications. Chicken houses like pine /softwood Horse barns can use a wider variety. Paper mills also like pine and will accept less hardwood. It's all about research, research research, before you spend that money.

Sorry if I ramble and add to your confusion.
Esterer Sash Gang is a  Money Machine

nstringer04

Thanks for the info. Paper mill is only 30 miles from here. Guess I'll be talking to some chicken farmers this week so I can figure out which way to go.
A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

Alligator

Something to check is what type of chips and shavings are marketable for what applications. Chicken houses like pine /softwood Horse barns can use a wider variety. Paper mills also like pine and will accept less hardwood. It's all about research, research research, before you spend that money.
Esterer Sash Gang is a  Money Machine

Darrel

A little over a year ago when I decided that I wanted to get into the portable sawmill business, one of the things I considered in the long term if the need ever materialized was the production of wood pellets.  Cost of getting into pellet production is comprairable to getting into shaving production.  What caused me to think about pellets is the price they were going for in a 50 lb. bag. So far I'm not producing enough waste to do any more than think maybe someday. 

I don't know about where you live but here quite a few folk heat their home with pellet stoves.  So anyway, just another option.
1992 LT40HD

If I don't pick myself up by my own bootstraps, nobody else will.

stavebuyer

A couple more thoughts on chips; ours go to a charcoal plant. They want sawdust much more than they do chips; especially "dirty" (not de-barked) chips. Bark content causes the ash content to increase in their emissions. Paper mills generally only accept uniform chips that have a very low bark content.

Some small mills pile stockpile slabs and then pay to have them ground for mulch once or twice a year.


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