iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Chipper vs tub grinder

Started by JustCutIt, September 19, 2021, 04:53:38 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

JustCutIt

Hi everyone long time no post. I finally have to come up with a waste solution at my mill. I have made great progress as we have a pellet plant close to us that will take the ground up slabs and sawdust! There is a $800/hr tub grinder coming to take care of it all of it and haul it away.

The next step for me is to install a central waste conveyor leading to a chipper or tub grinder. The value of the waste will pay for the machine if the tub grinder does not have to come in.

My question have is what does everyone else run on a smaller scale? Chippers seem like alot of maintenance and you need a fairly elaborate filing room for sharpening blades. I feel like a tub grinder is less maintenance but never seen one in action. If you have one any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Magicman

Quote from: JustCutIt on September 19, 2021, 04:53:38 PMwe have a pellet plant close to us that will take the ground up slabs and sawdust!
That is surprising to me.  The pellet plant that I toured would only take papermill quality/size chips with no bark or leaf matter.  It had to be 96% pure.

It was also 'government' subsidized.  :-X
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Southside

Notice the pellet plant didn't say they would actually mail a good check for the material.

Sorry but have been around a few of these operations and in the end none actually worked. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

sawguy21

What Magicman said. With bark and leaves you will have 'hog fuel' which some mills use to fire boilers, the steam heats the kilns or drives turbines to create power. Be careful if you stockpile it, the stuff is prone to spontaneous combustion. West Fraser Timber at Chetwynd BC recently lost their log yard to fire from the chip pile.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

longtime lurker

Chippers make chip.
Tub grinders make mulch.
2 different products - 2 different markets.

Chippers are higher maintenance, and require clean wood in (debarked material and no dirt or foreign material). Chip is a higher value product with more market options. Mulch is only good for gardens and maybe boiler fuel. The economics of both are going to vary.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

JustCutIt

The mill taking the product produces both chips and hog themselves. So it's no difference to them what I send to them as long as the bark/ash content isn't too high. Chip market is 600km away so transport negates any profit.

Longtime lurker have you seen any small tub grinders out there? I see some 300hp units but I need small scale.


97redjeep

Quote from: sawguy21 on September 19, 2021, 05:22:58 PM
What Magicman said. With bark and leaves you will have 'hog fuel' which some mills use to fire boilers, the steam heats the kilns or drives turbines to create power. Be careful if you stockpile it, the stuff is prone to spontaneous combustion. West Fraser Timber at Chetwynd BC recently lost their log yard to fire from the chip pile.


 
Sure did, under 2km from our house. I'm sure glad this wasn't a month ago  :-\
HM 126, a few useful tools, and a bunch of crap I don't need, but I love 😬

nativewolf

Not sure where you are @JustCutIt but the mulch market is pretty deep, might vary in price dramatically but how far are you from an urban area, doesn't have to be big.  An average sawmill can barely dent demand around here (northern VA so the DC suburbs and very affluent) but even in a much poorer SW VA there are decent amounts spent on mulch.
Liking Walnut

customsawyer

They used to bring in a guy to grind my slabs at the big mill back when I cut for them. It had a chain feed system instead of the tub type grinder. I asked the owner and he said that he used a tub style once and didn't like it due to the amount of things it sent up into the air and you didn't know where it would land. With his chain feed style he knew there was only one danger zone. Of course he was talking the about some of the biggest grinders that they make.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Ron Wenrich

We had a tub grinder to double grind our bark from the debarker.  We ended up selling bark off the debarker straight to a wholesaler.  But, I don't think a typical tub grinder like they use on a farm would be a good option for slabs.

A better option is a wood hog.  It'll eat just about anything, including slabs and chunks. Bark won't dull knives.  And the product is good for mulch.  They come in vertical and horizontal feeds. 

For chippers, there are guys that will sharpen your blades.  It removes the need for a filing room.  But, dirty slabs will dull knives really quick.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

longtime lurker

From what I've seen around here 300 HP is a small tub grinder, but  they're not something I see much in this part of the world except after hurricane type weather. Next step down seems to be a tree service type machine.

I've always been really reluctant to do much with my waste. I'm just not big enough to bother with it, and there's still places where the money would be better invested in the sawline. We salvage a bit for firewood, sell some of the sawdust and burn the rest. Every year or so I dig out the firepit and sell the ash as fertilizer.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

tmbrcruiser

My mill is stationary and wood waste has always been a problem. Over the past few years I've tried several solutions. I work for a large mill with a 1,050 hp horizontal grinder in one of the contract logging crews. So for the past few years I load the waste on a dump trailer and haul it to the current logging job. Problem is they are all over the place, ranging from a few miles away to 75 ish. 

I have been looking at pto chippers that could be powered by my 125 hp tractor. My thought is to chip the slab into my dump trailer and stock pile until I can load it into a manure spreader. Using it as mulch on the hunting trails through the woods. Because I saw a fair bit of walnut and cherry I have been spreading the saw dust with success. 

Once you get sap in your veins, you will always have sawdust in your pockets.

PoginyHill

We have two veneer mills that use exclusively chippers, both disc and drum type chippers, for veneer, slab and bark waste. Gravel and metal don't do well with them, but bark and light dirt that normally accompany the bark is fine. With large volumes (16hrs/day), knives are changed once maybe twice per week. A drum chipper with integral screen would be my vote.
Kubota M7060 & B2401, Metavic log trailer, Cat E70B, Cat D5C, 750 Grizzly ATV, Wallenstein FX110, 84" Landpride rotary hog, Classic Edge 750, Stihl 170, 261, 462

Thank You Sponsors!