Pull behind Chipper?

[Bunton Guy]

I bring home so much brush of all kinds. I spend so much money bringing it to my local dumps that I would be broke. So I started bringing my junk home. Im running out of space and thought that I would buy a USED pull behind chipper that you see usually tree companies using. Im looking for a used diesel model not sure what good brands are out there. Looking for something 3-10 years old. What kind of prices would these peices be going for. I figure if I get one I can shred all my brush and sell the mulch or use it myself.

[gene gls]

In my area the majic number is around $6000.00 + depending on year, hours and model. I am in the same boat as you. It would be a lot easier in the long run to own one. I sub out my chipping to a friend, $50.00 per hour.

Gene

[gogetter]

I've looked into this myself for the future.
I have seen a couple decent units for $5K.
There are some smaller chippers that handle stuff up to 4" or 5" as well as brush that are around $3K brand new. Can't think of the name though.

[General Grounds]

:blob3: i recently pruchased a Bear cat 8" chipper, w/ a 25hp kohler for $7500, brand new, does a great job for what i need it for, mostly cleanup brush.T

[gogetter]

Check out:

www.turfquip.com

www.treetrader.com

Turfquip has a small used unit available, and tree trader has a classifieds section with a bunch to look at.

I don't know what size you're looking for, but it's a start.

[Chipper Man]

As for what brand to buy.
The major brands are Brush Bandit, Morbark, Salsco, Woodchuck, Vermeer and Woodsman. I would think twice about any off brands.
Good Luck

[Chipper Man]

You on the right track, but be careful you do not wind up with someone elses problems. Chipper are machines of destruction. I would think twice about buying a used chipper. If they have alot of hours on there they are bound to need constant maintenace. As for prices. New chipper prices are as follows.
6" hydraulicly feed 25hp $10K +-
9-10" 40-80hp $15-22K
12-13" 80-116hp $20-30K
There are many options available. Feed sensing / auto feed is probably the most important one. Many other options are very well worth while.
I think if you own a decent chipper you would probably have no problem keeping it busy (and making you money)
Good luck
Chipper Man

[Bunton Guy]

Hey Chipper man what is the difference between the 2 chippers I often see the big guys using one has it lookes like a flat pan style blade with cups on it that shred up the wood. That machine dosent seem to work as quick as the one that has 2 rollers that roll towards each other and kinda pull in the wood. I have seen guys with that type of shreder pull in stuff a foot and a half across. So could you explain the difference between these to it seemed to me that the one with those 2 big rollers was the fastest and most effitient. ????

[Guido]

I think the one with the two rollers is the self feeding nit he's talking about, not sure though, I'm not too educated in chippers.

I wanted to add my 3 cents though.....If you spend the extra money to get a more reliable unit, the work will come. If your looking to fill some empty slots in your scheduele, you can find a good tree guy to sub out the larger jobs to, and you can come in and finish up once he drops the tree.

There is also the option of renting it out to other LCO's in your area that can't justify the cost of the machine, but do have an occasional use for it.

Hope this helps get some more ideas flowing.

[Ric]

There are two basic types of chippers DRUM and DISC. These can have power feed or gravity feed. I am sure there are more designs but these are the basic. I have a 7" gravity feed 20hp disc chipper made by woods( off brand). Power feed is the only way to go with brush because it breaks the crotch and feeds the whole piece of brush to the chipper. You can figure that 10 yards of brush will mulch down to 1 yard. Even junk mulch is easy to get rid of or sell. At one time I had an old trailer that I would blow mulch into but the gravity feed was a pain so I dump now. Chipping was time comsuming. LOL

[Chipper Man]

Hello
Ric you are correct the two types of chippers are drum or disc. And yes both may or may not have a feed wheel or wheels. Most disc chippers over 6 inches have power (wheel/wheels) feed. The power feed chippers are buy far the safest.

Many of the larger tree services that do line (utility) clearing use drum chippers (chuck and duck) with out feeders. They like them for a few reasons. They are are very fast and they tend to run for ever. Though most only handle up to 6"- 8"

Disc chippers feed at a some what slower rate but are much safer. The most popular capacities are 6"- 18"

I would stongly suggest buying a power feed disc chipper.

By the way Ric that woods chipper is realy made by Bear Cat.

Got to go
Chipper Man

[Benry]

When your buying a chipper, go for the hydraulic feed it the only way. Buy as much horsepower as you can budget. Buy 30-40% larger capacity than the size of the wood you want to regularly chip (if that makes sence). another words if you want to chip 6" wood buy a 9" capacity chipper. The Bear Cat unit is good for up to 5-6" and great for trimmings and clean up. Chip stuff up to 3 " and fire wood the bigger stuff. Keep the blades sharp, depending on the type of wood and how much dirt is on it you might have to sharpen every 10-15 hrs. of chipping. I have dealers who have rented the same 25HP chipper to Landscapers for 4 years with great reliability.
See www.bearcatproducts.com

Good luck

[E-man]

if you are looking for a used chipper look for local auctions taking place. Back in june we picked up a 7 year old morbark (7" cap.) for $1,600 best purchase we ever made we only had to replace the fuel pump, we just bought an inline pump and it works fine.

[UrbanEarth]

It sounds like you do not need a unit every day, so why not rent? If you have a place to stockpile, wait until you have no more room, rent a unit for a day, and chip it all at once. I would not want to tie up that kind of cash in a piece of equipment that was not going to be making money on a daily basis.

Alan

[Atlantic Lawn]

If you can get by with renting it then by all means do so, as you know it's just one more piece you are going to store and maintain. If you really want one I would also recomend looking at the auctions for a few months you can usually get a steal if you just keep searchin.