Wood Chipper Recommendations ?

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08-12-2020, 01:43 PM
Ski220

Wood Chipper Recommendations ?

I seem to generate a lot of yard waste. Nothing to big, but a lot.

Since I would rather compost and recycle then haul to the town transfer
station I have been wanting to get a home garden chipper.

Looked at a few online.

Harbor Frieght - https://www.harborfreight.com/65-HP-...yABEgLRrPD_BwE

Home Repo has several - https://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoors...1212,8456,1272

And Lowes - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Country-Pro...per/1001862192

The Harbor Freight is the cheapest in price followedby the Lowes product.

Anybody have any experience with this type of home garden equipment?

Any thoughts or recommendations?
08-12-2020, 01:57 PM
XXX-er

thats what everyone sez ... yard waste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzsWVUO-_o
08-12-2020, 02:20 PM
hawkgt

All the lighter weight stuff is decent for around home. Slow feed and small limbs. Bit slow but work, wore one out in MO over few years, left it at the house when left. It was toast.

You can always lighten the wallet with this......
https://www.drpower.com/Power-Equipm...xoCIsYQAvD_BwE
08-12-2020, 03:03 PM
bodywhomper

Not to discourage your tool purchasing, but the 6” chipper that I just rented over the weekend was $150 for a 24hr rental and 8hrs of running time of the engine. It handled up to 5” diameter trunks and limbs pretty well. It sucks at piles of needles. My preference has always been to build up the material and then to an annual chipping day.
08-12-2020, 03:09 PM
RootSkier

I hear hogs work better for getting rid of evidence.
08-12-2020, 03:10 PM
hawkgt

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Not to discourage your tool purchasing

Attachment 337004

jk
08-12-2020, 03:15 PM
Dantheman

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Not to discourage your tool purchasing, but the 6” chipper that I just rented over the weekend was $150 for a 24hr rental and 8hrs of running time of the engine. It handled up to 5” diameter trunks and limbs pretty well. It sucks at piles of needles. My preference has always been to build up the material and then to an annual chipping day.

This sounds like solid advice. Ride it hard, give it back wet, and the inevitable breakdowns are someone else's problem. There's a time and place for cheap shit from Harbor Freight but this does not seem like one of them.
08-12-2020, 03:37 PM
snowaddict91

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dantheman

This sounds like solid advice. Ride it hard, give it back wet, and the inevitable breakdowns are someone else's problem. There's a time and place for cheap shit from Harbor Freight but this does not seem like one of them.

Yeah. My mom's husband has one of the small ones and it struggles with even medium sized stuff. Back in March he was trying to push some stuff through it without it getting stuck and shredded the tips of his fingers. He was super lucky to not have any major damage, but I don't think it would have happened if he had a bigger one and wasn't trying so hard. YMMV.
08-12-2020, 03:38 PM
bodywhomper

Wood Chipper Recommendations ?

Btw, there’s a non-chainsaw land maintenance thread :)

The land maintenance, non-chainsaw thread
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=311381
08-12-2020, 04:19 PM
Danno

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXX-er

thats what everyone sez ... yard waste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzsWVUO-_o

solid work, first post in the thread
08-12-2020, 04:23 PM
stuckathuntermtn

A wood chipper from Harbor Freight sounds....dangerous.
08-12-2020, 04:37 PM
Core Shot

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

A wood chipper from Harbor Freight sounds....dangerous.

Or . . .

The opening line for an entertaining post

Attachment 337015

Attachment 337017
08-12-2020, 06:10 PM
XXX-er

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowaddict91

Yeah. My mom's husband has one of the small ones and it struggles with even medium sized stuff. Back in March he was trying to push some stuff through it without it getting stuck and shredded the tips of his fingers. He was super lucky to not have any major damage, but I don't think it would have happened if he had a bigger one and wasn't trying so hard. YMMV.

he should have watched the Fargo instructional video
08-13-2020, 08:59 AM
Deebased

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowaddict91

Yeah. My mom's husband has one of the small ones and it struggles with even medium sized stuff. Back in March he was trying to push some stuff through it without it getting stuck and shredded the tips of his fingers. He was super lucky to not have any major damage, but I don't think it would have happened if he had a bigger one and wasn't trying so hard. YMMV.

This. If you're dead set on buying one purchase one a size or two larger than you think you need.
08-13-2020, 09:49 AM
Timberridge

Back in my Branch Covidian days I had a Bearcat pto drive version I ran off a 38 hp tractor but I imagine a small one being a whole weekend affair for a 6' pile of stuff. Thing was really good but honestly, it was just easier to burn the shit after the first snow.
08-13-2020, 10:09 AM
BmillsSkier

Another vote for Harbor Freight, I mean their chopsaws are like disposable tools so what could go wrong?

Or, as TR said, just burn it all in effigy.
08-13-2020, 10:10 AM
XXX-er

chipping waste when you need to get rid of it for a business purpose makes sense

but how much sense does it make unless you need to get rid of a lot of bodies ?

Hauling waste to town when you happen to be going anyway will cost nothing
08-13-2020, 10:44 AM
Timberridge

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by BmillsSkier

Another vote for Harbor Freight, I mean their chopsaws are like disposable tools so what could go wrong?

Or, as TR said, just burn it all in effigy.

I'd imagine when it malfunctions it just chips itself into the chip pile? A sort of chipper version of self immolation.

Though I hear different parts of the US burn more easily than others so please respect your local laws and remember...

Attachment 337099
08-13-2020, 11:04 AM
BmillsSkier

Good point on the forest fires.

I recently saw a clip of Tanner Hall (RIP) skiing where his skis were throwing sparks off his edges with absolutely zero concern for catching his surroundings on fire.

Just careless really; I'd hate to see how he operates a wood chipper.
08-13-2020, 11:11 AM
zion zig zag

I can highly recommend a Vermeer Bc1000xl
08-13-2020, 11:14 AM
Timberridge

Bmills, if he was out west or in western Canada that was showing complete disregard for his surroundings.

Unless some poor dude was following with an extinguisher or really long garden hose, Candide skiing on grass and rocks in that one video of his is another one.
08-13-2020, 11:28 AM
Ski220

Thanks for all the reply's.
The Fargo scene was expected. Not if but when.
Horror Freight was funny also.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXX-er

Hauling waste to town when you happen to be going anyway will cost nothing

I already live IN town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deebased

This. If you're dead set on buying one purchase one a size or two larger than you think you need.

Was my thinking

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

A wood chipper from Harbor Freight sounds....dangerous.

Also my thinking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodywhomper

. My preference has always been to build up the material and then to an annual chipping day.

Certainly a consideration.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ski220

I would rather compost and recycle then haul

Currently I get about 1/2 to 1 yard of dirt yearly from what I am able to compost.

The idea is to generate more and to speed up the process.
08-13-2020, 11:35 AM
BmillsSkier

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberridge

Bmills, if he was out west or in western Canada that was showing complete disregard for his surroundings.

Unless some poor dude was following with an extinguisher or really long garden hose, Candide skiing on grass and rocks in that one video of his is another one.

Candice ALWAYS has two trailing skiers.

One for the camera, and one with the fire extinguisher and reggae boom box.
08-13-2020, 11:37 AM
bodywhomper

Wood Chipper Recommendations ?

Something else to consider, is there non-ethanol fuel available in your area? If not, with infrequent use, then you will likely need to be dealing with draining the tank and disposing the fuel somewhere else (car) as another step after every use (unless you’re burning through full tanks frequently).
08-13-2020, 12:09 PM
Timberridge

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodywhomper

Something else to consider, is there non-ethanol fuel available in your area? If not, with infrequent use, then you will likely need to be dealing with draining the tank and disposing the fuel somewhere else (car) as another step after every use (unless you’re burning through full tanks frequently).

Either ethanol or non-ethanol gas is great to get the burn pile going. Diesel not so much.
08-13-2020, 12:10 PM
BmillsSkier

You don't use old tires to get it going?
08-13-2020, 12:13 PM
Timberridge

Those are painted white and used for planters. A couple tomato plants and some marigolds to keep the critters away.
The farm down the street put tires on the plastic covering the silage so the plastic wouldn't blow away. I asked Rusty one time if he couldn't put that shit into a couple cute white silos next to the falling down red barn cause I was trying to sell the estate and the city folk looking at it were complaining about the white plastic and tires all over the place. He told me to go fuck off.
08-13-2020, 12:16 PM
bagtagley

Quote:

Originally Posted by BmillsSkier

Candice ALWAYS has two trailing skiers.

One for the camera, and one with the fire extinguisher and reggae boom box.

Candide could learn a thing or two from her.
08-13-2020, 12:28 PM
neufox47

How often are you using this thing? This is the type of thing that is cheaper to rent or hire out. If you are going to be doing a ton of it, then buy the good one.

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
08-13-2020, 12:32 PM
Timberridge

Is there a difference in sentencing guidelines if they can prove that you rented the machine prior?
08-13-2020, 12:35 PM
BmillsSkier

Quote:

Originally Posted by bagtagley

Candide could learn a thing or two from her.

To be fair, Candice is his mom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberridge

Those are painted white and used for planters. A couple tomato plants and some marigolds to keep the critters away.
The farm down the street put tires on the plastic covering the silage so the plastic wouldn't blow away. I asked Rusty one time if he couldn't put that shit into a couple cute white silos next to the falling down red barn cause I was trying to sell the estate and the city folk looking at it were complaining about the white plastic and tires all over the place. He told me to go fuck off.

Rusty sounds like an insensitive ass.
08-13-2020, 12:42 PM
Timberridge

Quote:

Originally Posted by BmillsSkier

Rusty sounds like an insensitive ass.

Never understood why the cows had to eat that stinky shit when there was plenty of grass and stuff. He used to come over to the compound when we weren't there, go mushroom hunting and sell them to the restaurants. Apparently I had lots of mushrooms growing in the woods. I never raised a stink about it, 'cause I sure as hell wasn't going to try and figure out the difference between the different mushrooms.
08-13-2020, 01:04 PM
yeahman

I rent a big-ass chipper once a year. You really need some power to chip big branches, and those small chippers will just be an endless PITA. I have to chip ponderosa pine branches mostly. If you're just chipping hedge clippings and such, maybe a small one would work for that, if you got a place store it.
08-13-2020, 01:29 PM
BmillsSkier

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberridge

Never understood why the cows had to eat that stinky shit when there was plenty of grass and stuff. He used to come over to the compound when we weren't there, go mushroom hunting and sell them to the restaurants. Apparently I had lots of mushrooms growing in the woods. I never raised a stink about it, 'cause I sure as hell wasn't going to try and figure out the difference between the different mushrooms.

Sounds like Russ may have been after a bit more than restaurant grade fungus.
08-13-2020, 02:03 PM
Snow Dog

I bought a used BearCat similar to the Harbor Freight chipper. I found it to be useless. Dry branches went through ok but anything green and flexible just jammed up. I was using the top hopper because a lot of the branches have a lot of offshoots and don't fit in the side hopper. I didn't feel like pruning everything down to a little stick first.

It came with a couple of screens to mulch but that just clogged the machine. It was faster to load a trailer and drive to the dump.
08-13-2020, 06:04 PM
DeathRaven

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberridge

Either ethanol or non-ethanol gas is great to get the burn pile going. Diesel not so much.

My neighbor mixes used engine oil and gasoline to get his burn pile started. I hire landscapers to make my yard waste disappear.

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