Author Topic: Chipper recommendations  (Read 2493 times)

Tang Tonic

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Chipper recommendations
« on: May 22, 2018, 05:07:34 PM »
I am looking to chip small diameter trees and leaves for mulching purposes.  Since I live on island and would need to ship one in.  I don't want to break the bank on this either and would like to keep it under $1000 and if I could find one under $500 that would be even better.    But I've learned my lesson with cheap tools. 

Any recommendations on chippers that can handle say 1" diameter freshly cut brush?  I'm open to electric or gas.

Thanks!

vincenton

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2018, 05:34:54 PM »
This item from Harbor Freight is a very good price, cut up to 3" wood. Not sure if they ship to Virgin Island.

https://www.harborfreight.com/65-hp-212cc-chipper-shredder-62323.html

Vincent.

Cookie Monster

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2018, 07:13:25 PM »
Anything in the $1k range or less is going to be made in china cheap when it comes to wood chippers. If you're good at fixing things / have friends who can weld, you can get one to last you a few years.

The Mackissic SC800 is close to that range. American made and generally hold up well (you'll find units 30 years old for sale on ebay). Parts are easy to obtain.

http://www.mackissic.com/Hammermill%20Shredder-Chippers.html
Jeff  :-)

Saltcayman

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2018, 02:48:35 PM »
I have one of these  http://www.mackissic.com/HSC_12P.html   Works great!   Before you buy one...  I suspect you have casaurina (ironwood) trees there?  If so, the needles from those make an incredible mulch.  As good as woodchips IMO. 

savemejebus

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2018, 02:59:43 PM »
this is what I use. not as fast as gas, but super convenient and easily eats through about 1.5 inches relatively quickly. only issue is supplying enough power - you want to make sure the outlet you're using is not providing elsewhere or you'll likely blow a fuse.

Tang Tonic

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2018, 04:11:34 PM »
Thanks for the replies everyone!  Looks like I will have to expand my budget a bit.  There is someone on St. John selling a Generac chipper but that's a different island 40 miles away so might as well be a continent away!

Salty Cayman, we do have the Australian Pines here.  I was not aware of the pine needles making good mulch.  That is very good to know, thanks!

I didn't see a link to anything there savemejebus lol.  Can you post it again? 

I have a lot of Leucaena leucocephala also known locally as Tan Tan and manjack on neighboring property.  Its a property i hope to buy in the near future to expand my orchard.  I figured I could start getting rid of the bush and chipping it for mulch. 




Tang Tonic

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2018, 04:15:06 PM »
We are also having a large influx of Sargasso seaweed so I plan to do some collecting on the beach and also apply as mulch. 

I found in the past that its not even necessary to rinse, just put right down and when it rains those trace nutirents from the ocean filter into the root zone.

But!  A chipper sounds like fun and a good tool to add to the arsenal.  I bought a Honda mulching mower just to harvest the grass clippings. Now we added a composting toilet onto our property too and its the bucket to barrel type so also generating mulch/compost that way as well.


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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2018, 04:24:30 PM »
Don't try to put seaweed through the chipper :D. Chippers don't work well with wet, fibrous material.
Jeff  :-)

ambrown31

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2018, 10:23:53 AM »
I bought a DR chipper shredder last year and was very impressed with the quality. Their cheapest model is about 700 I believe and would be more than enough for 1 in branches. I am not sure about shipping to your location though.

BajaJohn

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2018, 02:58:19 PM »
I have an MTD 8hp that cost me the price of picking it up 1000 miles away. Old but does the job.
Started out saving up a pile of bush and attacking it with a machete to break off smaller pieces for mulch/compost. Very happy to find a local with a chipper willing to rent himself out. $1000 would have covered a whole lot of chipping. Unfortunately his chipper had a PLASTIC housing for the shredder wheel and a wayward stone punched a hole in the housing.
Make sure you don't buy one with a plastic housing.
I then just put the word out that I was looking for a chipper and a friend-of-a-friend came up gold. They were getting rid because it didn't have the capacity they needed.
Don't underestimate the capacity of the machine you will need.
The smaller machines aren't the easy-to-use machine you see in loads of videos. Limbs generally need to be straight and stripped of twigs before they go through the chipper. 3" branches take a while to get through the chipper and each branch has to be hand-fed. I don't bother with anything bigger than 1" in the 3" chipper. Twigs need to be cut into straight pieces too, or very small otherwise a handful will jam the shredder hopper. It is a lot more time consuming than it looks.
Fibrous materials (such as palm and even green branches) don't break up well and quickly clog the shredder with fibers.
All said, I use my chipper/shredder every week and would certainly spend money on a a replacement if I needed to. I make about 1 cu meter of compost every 1-2 months depending on the season.
If you have the space, you can just pile up the brush until you can afford/find a decent chipper. Leaves will fall off as they dry and you can gather them to mulch with before you chip the branches.

Tang Tonic

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Re: Chipper recommendations
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2018, 08:30:26 AM »
Thanks for the replies everyone.  Looks like I need to spend the money on a good one.  Appreciate the input.