I need chipper/shredder recommendations.

JWK · #1 02/10/08, 12:54 PM

Since this is the internet, I should probably say, "recommend me a chipper/shredder".

So my wife and I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Kubota BX24. One of the things I really need on my 5 acres is a chipper/shredder. I have a lot of scrub, but the branches mostly are under 2". I need a compost shredder for the gardens that can take a large amount of hay and grass clippings and shred them all together. All the machines for the Kubota seem to be overkill for my purposes and very expensive.

Any suggestions? Stand alone unit? Anyone know of a smaller chipper for the SCUT?

John

Beeman · #2 02/10/08, 01:06 PM

Watch for municipal auctions and buy a real chipper shredder. The rest aren't much. I have a Troy Bilt that is basically useless except for tobacco stalks.

Forerunner · #3 02/10/08, 02:00 PM

Wallenstein makes an EXCELLENT chipper for three point mount.

It sounds like you need the four inch model, although the six inch isn't much more money.....$2500 and $3300, respectively. HP requirements are roughly 20-40 and 35-90, respectively.

These are very aggressive chippers, self feeding, and will shred as well as chip, providing you have a few sticks of brush to push through the occasional glut of material that might stick in the throat.
This brand was an unknown just a few short years ago, but there are dealers springing up everywhere now. For the money, this Canadian made model is, by far, the most economical, user friendly and trouble free.

JWK · #4 02/10/08, 04:26 PM

$2500 is not cost effective for me. I have seen this chipper and have heard great reports on it. However, I don't even need something that can handle 4" branches. It's just overkill and I'm paying for it. There probably is no answer to this one. Thanks for the feedback.

PlowGirl · #5 02/10/08, 04:39 PM

There is no homeowner sized/priced chipper/shredder that will do the job to your satisfaction. You could rent one of the little chippers and find out for yourself that way. It would cost a lot less in the long run. Or, you could rent a commercial unit with a minimum 6" capacity. Yes, it would be overkill for 2" branches, but it will actually chip them. If you can burn them, that would be my first suggestion, next would be to try composting or bundle them and set them out with your trash for pickup. Good luck.

JWK · #6 02/10/08, 04:55 PM

Hey PlowGirl, if the commercial units will actually chip the branches, what do the typical homeowner units do? I'm asking because I've never owned a chipper/shredder.

I need the machine to get rid of branches instead of burning them. I don't care what kind of job it does. I need it to make a fine mulch for quick compost. Then I *do* mind what kind of job it does.

Maybe that makes a difference?

PlowGirl · #7 02/10/08, 05:07 PM

They get plugged up, incomplete chipping or shredding. You'll pull your hair out trying to keep the thing from getting plugged. Or better yet, you will spend all day feeding one stick at a time, hopefully you'll get a little bit done before the motor wears out. Time, expense, frustration. Rent a little one at a rental place for a weekend, see if you like it's performance. It'll be cheaper than spending money on a new one. Then, try renting a commercial unit for comparison.

Personally, I went ahead and bought a 12" capacity chipper after having tried the homeowner sized and rented a 4" chipper from a rental company. When renting, make sure that they have sharpened the blades. They should be sharpened daily as part of routine maintenance.

DJ in WA · #8 02/10/08, 05:53 PM

I had a Sears model. Not a big enough chute. Many limbs are crooked, or have side-shoots coming off them that jam things up. Worked good for things like corn stalks, but now I have cows that take care of those.

Beeman · #9 02/10/08, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWK

Hey PlowGirl, if the commercial units will actually chip the branches, what do the typical homeowner units do? I'm asking because I've never owned a chipper/shredder.

I need the machine to get rid of branches instead of burning them. I don't care what kind of job it does. I need it to make a fine mulch for quick compost. Then I *do* mind what kind of job it does.

Maybe that makes a difference?

My Troy Bilt is the large model. I wouldn't live long enough to chip brush from one tree with it. It will chip it but between the noise the gas and the time it's a joke. It would be better to build a pile and let it rot, faster too.

sammyd · #10 02/10/08, 07:00 PM

Find an old forage chopper. As long as you aren't pulling it around while running it, and aren't feeding massive amounts through all at once your tractor may be able to handle an older one as all your HP will be used on the PTO.
If your brush is smaller it should be no problem although I've heard of folks feeding 4" stuff through them. I wouldn't go that big myself but up to 2 shouldn't be bad. You can find choppers that have built in knife sharpeners so you don't have to take them out to sharpen, a real timesaver.

farminghandyman · #11 02/10/08, 08:18 PM

this guy built his own,

http://www.bedair.org/Projects/chipper7.html

after constructing a number of clutches, I figured in the future on my projects I would use an electric clutch like is found on most lawn tractors today, easy set up no messing around with having to adjust it an make it release correctly,

rambler · #12 02/10/08, 10:30 PM

My brother in law got a Troy Built, hangs it on a small Kubota. It is a well built machine, & it works as advertised. Think it should do 4 inch wood?

I spent 2 hours with the chainsaw trimming up some trees, leaving the branches for this chipper.

I spent an afternoon, 3-4 hours, working with my BiL, chipping branches.

We got about 2 areas done. I was spent! Any crotch or strong cross branch, had to cut it off with the chainsaw before putting it in the chipper. Anything over 2 inches probably had too much 'fluff' to fit through the throat & would have to be cut up with the chainsaw. I spent more time with the chainsaw on these twigs to make them fit the chipper, than I did cutting the tree overhangs in the first place. Then pushing that stuff intot he chipper.

I was plum wore out! And all scratched up from trying to push those branches through the throat.

And we had only done 1/4 of the stuff I had cut down in the first 2 hours.

I wanted to plant corn on his field, so I got my loader tractor from 5 miles away, we piled the brush that was left up on 5 piles, I picked it up with the forklift teeth & dumped it in a ravine. Was done in an hour & 1/2.

I don't believe the chipper has been run since, and that was over a year ago.

It works, but it is just way too cat & mouse. If you can't afford a real one with 6" cappacity & a powered feed, you _DON'T_ need one. There is no small one that will do anything worthwhile.

I'f it's not power feed, you need to cut the branches up to almost chipped size in order to get them to flow throough the chipper.

If we really, really, really needed the wood chips, and had nothing but time, it did do the job.

Just very slowly & with a lot of effort & work!

If a commercial unit is not cost effective for you, the cheapies will be very far from effective at all.....

--->Paul

Quint · #13 02/11/08, 07:32 AM

A buddy of mine bought a used chipper shredder from Asplundh sp?. Big orange monster. You can toss whole tree tops in there and it obliterates them. You have to be careful though it could easily drag you in too. I was tossing some branches in there and one caught my leg and pulled on me a bit. I about had a heart attack. Seriously. I had to go sit down for a while. Scared me to death.

WisJim · #14 02/11/08, 08:13 AM

I have used a number of different "homeowner" chipper shredders, including a Troybilt that the neighbors had, and none of them did a good job with even small branches--anything over 1 or 2 inch diameter was too big. We rented a trailerable chipper from a local rental place, cost abouut $150 for a full day plus about 5 gallons of gasoline, if I remember right, and it kept 3 of us busy for 8 hours. If I rent it again, I will get a bit better organized before bringing it home, and try to get 4 or 5 people to help. One person did almost nothing but put the ends of branches in the self-feeding rollers, and I spent all day emptying the pickup or the trailer behind the tractor. In the time I shoveled out chips where I wanted them, they had the other vehicle filled up. I have a small garden size hammermill shredder for garden stuff, and replaced the ailing 5hp+ motor with a 2hp electric motor, and it works fine for stalks and vines etc., but for branches etc., I rent the big machine. At $150 a day once or twice a year for a rental machine, it would be hard for me to justify buying a $2000 to $4000 machine. Of course, you might not have a rental place close enough to make renting one a good choice, or rentals might be higher, or maybe you have enough to chip up to make buying a machine worthwhile.

Hoop · #15 02/12/08, 06:29 AM

Sage advice from Beeman and WisJim.

There exists NO "homeowner" type chipper/shredder that is nothing but a waste of time, money & effort. If you're on a chain gang and need something to occupy your time away from the jail cell......they do have some merit.

A professional chipper will accomplish more in 4 hours than a homeowner machine will in 4 weeks.

Somebody gave me a Troy built chipper many years ago. I paid too much for the thing.

Suggest you visit your local rental depot, assemble a work crew, and go to it. Using a "real" chipper will completely eliminate all notions of purchasing a Tonka Toy masquerading as a real work unit.