Chipper

Jampy00

Jampy00

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After the recent storm I'm in possession of a million branches.
We typically burn them, but they are piling fast and the weather does not seem to suit my burn schedule.
Considering a gas powered chipper, anyone have any constructive input or things to consider?
Not interested in renting one as I can use it all year around here.
If anyone is selling one or knows someone, let me know.
 
@mimico_polak has used a small one before. He may have some input.

I looked before but was unimpressed by performance of small chippers (I don't want to be trimming everything to single thumb size sticks before feeding it in) and was unwilling to pay for and store a larger one.
 
We have a gas one at the cottage and it's great. Problem is that you need to be careful with how much stuff you put in because it can bog down fairly quickly.

Makes short work of a LOT of branches, but in all honesty the only reason we have it is because my dad likes to buy these types of things for rare use cases.

We'll be using it again soon enough as the brush / branches have started piling up.

EDIT: I much prefer using a campfire to get rid of branches / small wood pieces. However, we use this chipper for dealing with needles, leaves, etc which are collected annually and piled at the back of the cottage yard.
 
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mimico_polak said:
We have a gas one at the cottage and it's great. Problem is that you need to be careful with how much stuff you put in because it can bog down fairly quickly.

Makes short work of a LOT of branches, but in all honesty the only reason we have it is because my dad likes to buy these types of things for rare use cases.

We'll be using it again soon enough as the brush / branches have started piling up.

EDIT: I much prefer using a campfire to get rid of branches / small wood pieces. However, we use this chipper for dealing with needles, leaves, etc which are collected annually and piled at the back of the cottage yard.
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We typically burn, we'll see what the weather is over the next week or two.
I figure we got a few full days of burning ahead of us, ugh.

@GreyGhost I agree, they either seem too small or too big.
 
FIL has a small one that manages branches the thickness of your thumb. Anything larger and it chokes. End up spending more time pruning the branches to make them easier to chip then actually running them through the chipper.

He has an old furnace oil tank on a trailer frame and wheels it to areas with his lawn tractor to burn it up. Has a chimney and large opening to toss stuff in to burn. It has its draw backs as well. But, seems to be the go to.

Think he buries or spreads the ashes somewhere on his property. Some brush takes some time to burn but, most of it is in areas he doesn’t need to get to it very quickly and let it season a bit.
 
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FWIW one of the best fences I've ever seen was surrounding an apple orchard. Whenever they pruned the trees they piled the trimmings around the property as a fence. The tips of the branches faced out like a porcupine and nothing was big enough to step on to climb over. It obviously took time to build as it was about eight feet high.
 
Hedge and trimming fences are a really good idea , provide shelter for various bird life and rabbits . Modern agriculture doesn’t like the space they take up , but in a hobby farm they are hard to beat . They are a big no no in forest fire prone areas , but at least that isn’t us . Yet.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
crankcall said:
Hedge and trimming fences are a really good idea , provide shelter for various bird life and rabbits . Modern agriculture doesn’t like the space they take up , but in a hobby farm they are hard to beat . They are a big no no in forest fire prone areas , but at least that isn’t us . Yet.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
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Depends on location. I'm not interested in this as an option.
 
nakkers said:
FIL has a small one that manages branches the thickness of your thumb. Anything larger and it chokes. End up spending more time pruning the branches to make them easier to chip then actually running them through the chipper.

He has an old furnace oil tank on a trailer frame and wheels it to areas with his lawn tractor to burn it up. Has a chimney and large opening to toss stuff in to burn. It has its draw backs as well. But, seems to be the go to.

Think he buries or spreads the ashes somewhere on his property. Some brush takes some time to burn but, most of it is in areas he doesn’t need to get to it very quickly and let it season a bit.
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FWIW if you have high clay soil adding ash in moderation does it some good.
Raises PH adds some nutrients and slows some mold and fungi.
 
I have a small 5hp MTD chipper. It’s good for branched up to 1.25” diameter. Anything bigger bogs it down.

Mine makes about 1/2 a cubic yard of mulch per hour.
 
Mad Mike said:
I have a small 5hp MTD chipper. It’s good for branched up to 1.25” diameter. Anything bigger bogs it down.

Mine makes about 1/2 a cubic yard of mulch per hour.
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The powerfister linked above doesn't deal with bigger branches but it is ~15hp (assuming they got the drive ratios remotely correct) so it should be able to process faster.
 
Fwiw, a neighbour hired someone to clear/chip the branches that broke at their house during the ice storm. Workers brought everything to the curb yesterday. Today they are are here with a 25hp, 1800lb chipper and two employees. I think they are close to three hours in and almost done. It's chipping everything up to about 3" but they are really fighting with the larger stuff and have to push and pull and play with the feed bar to get it to eat.

A fire is free, not much slower and I don't need to store/maintain anything.
 
GreyGhost said:
Fwiw, a neighbour hired someone to clear/chip the branches that broke at their house during the ice storm. Workers brought everything to the curb yesterday. Today they are are here with a 25hp, 1800lb chipper and two employees. I think they are close to three hours in and almost done. It's chipping everything up to about 3" but they are really fighting with the larger stuff and have to push and pull and play with the feed bar to get it to eat.

A fire is free, not much slower and I don't need to store/maintain anything.
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I like fire too. Can’t do it legally in my hood - only exception is for cooking. I keep a little cooler with a few hot dogs beside our fire pit.
 
Unless you think you have a need for it on a regular basis I’d just rent one instead.

After I finished dictating this into my post, my wife asked was I referring to a wife……………..
 
Mad Mike said:
I like fire too. Can’t do it legally in my hood - only exception is for cooking. I keep a little cooler with a few hot dogs beside our fire pit.
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My municipality sent out messaging that burning brush was prohibited. F that nonsense. Thankfully, I didn't hear of anyone getting a fine for it.
 
We're going to burn. But, I could use one plenty of times throughout the year and 90% for the smaller stuff. My cheapness won this time..
 
 
 
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