Wood chipper

[kickbacked]

Think this is the right place for this. Anyone own a harbor freight wood chipper? If so how has it treated you? Should I look elsewhere? I have a decent amount of brush yearly but not enough to purchase a commercial unit.

 

[gregkl]

I don't know anything about the HF unit, but knowing HF it is probably not that great.

Something to keep in mind; chippers are rather violent machines. They have heavy flywheels so they can take branches being rammed down their throats. I had a Craftsman unit so not commercial and it worked fine for my yard. I ended up taking 5-6 trees down so it didn't get used much so I sold it. It took up a lot of space and I had nowhere but outside under my deck for it.

You might look for a used one. I think I sold mine for around $300.

 

[Leadeye]

Do you need the mulch or just trying to get rid of small limbs?

 

[kickbacked]

Do you need the mulch or just trying to get rid of small limbs?

I want to get rid of limbs. I've always just burned them but im sick of waiting for good conditions and having to baby sit it all day.

 

[Leadeye]

Was curious, we cut all of ours up and use them over the winter to start up the wood burner.

 

[EyeCarry]

I had a Troybilt and it worked fine. I sold it last fall. I always found it very time consuming. You had to prep the limbs/sticks just so before firing it up or it was running more than eating. Mine only had about a 2-3" side hole for branches. Mulching leaves or twigs down the top chute was easy but the larger branches through the side hole took awhile. Green wood was much easier on the hands than dry for feeding the side hole too.
Glad it's gone.

 

[ghitch75]

neighbor has a troybilt for sale

 

[bwframe]

I had a Troybilt and it worked fine. I sold it last fall. I always found it very time consuming. You had to prep the limbs/sticks just so before firing it up or it was running more than eating. Mine only had about a 2-3" side hole for branches. Mulching leaves or twigs down the top chute was easy but the larger branches through the side hole took awhile. Green wood was much easier on the hands than dry for feeding the side hole too.
Glad it's gone.

I've entertained picking a used one up more than once, just to make my own mulch.

Thanks for the education EyeCarry!

I'll torch the brush pile, after we get some rain later this week.

 

[indyjohn]

I had a Troybilt and it worked fine. I sold it last fall. I always found it very time consuming. You had to prep the limbs/sticks just so before firing it up or it was running more than eating. Mine only had about a 2-3" side hole for branches. Mulching leaves or twigs down the top chute was easy but the larger branches through the side hole took awhile. Green wood was much easier on the hands than dry for feeding the side hole too.
Glad it's gone.

This was my experience as well. Bought a Troybuilt used for $175. The plan was to make our own mulch. It sat way more than it was used and we learned that the efficiency of the chipper was such that you had to feed it a massive volume of branches and leaves to get a small output of mulch. Sold it for $300. Now the OG happily feeds her firepit with branches and leaves.

 

[churchmouse]

I've entertained picking a used one up more than once, just to make my own mulch.

Thanks for the education EyeCarry!

I'll torch the brush pile, after we get some rain later this week.

I would be the guy to put a torch tom the pile.....get a lawn chair......monitor the "Big" camp fire.

Very Zen.

 

[4651feeder]

Have had several of the Chipper/Shredder/Vacs all made by MTD that'll take up to maybe kinda 3" diameter sticks. My experience has been the lower engine bearing/seal life is diminished exponentially based on the girth X length / speed rate that one forces their twigs in and I'll tell you it's quite the mess when a bottom seal lets go.

 

[Ingomike]

And the whole mulch thing is not a slam dunk either.

I put green mulch down around a beautiful Serbian spruce and it killed it, arborist said it depleted the nitrogen to compost starving the tree. So the OP will still have to store the mulch until it is ready or apply fertilizer (which defeats the idea of mulch).

Real men have a burn pile...

 

[kickbacked]

And the whole mulch thing is not a slam dunk either.

I put green mulch down around a beautiful Serbian spruce and it killed it, arborist said it depleted the nitrogen to compost starving the tree. So the OP will still have to store the mulch until it is ready or apply fertilizer (which defeats the idea of mulch).

Real men have a burn pile...

I have a burn pile. I dont want to do this method anymore. I want to be able to walk out on any day that i have time and dispose of brush despite rain, wind, burn bans, etc. I dont want to use the mulch for anything. It would just be tossed in the woods.

 

[Ingomike]

View attachment 129763

I have a burn pile. I dont want to do this method anymore. I want to be able to walk out on any day that i have time and dispose of brush despite rain, wind, burn bans, etc. I dont want to use the mulch for anything. It would just be tossed in the woods.

Great fire!

 

[patience0830]

View attachment 129763

I have a burn pile. I dont want to do this method anymore. I want to be able to walk out on any day that i have time and dispose of brush despite rain, wind, burn bans, etc. I dont want to use the mulch for anything. It would just be tossed in the woods.

If you put it in the woods and leave it alone, it will turn I to soil on its own. All that's required is some patience. Birds and rabbits will make good use of it too.

 

[KJW]

I had a PTO driven DR chipper many years ago. I used it a lot in the first several months and then it sat for years. I ultimately donated it to a non-profit trail organization. It wasn't nearly as efficient, useful, you pick your adjective, as I thought it would be. Any limb that branches much has to be manually trimmed to get into the chute, and that's a lot of branches and a lot of work. Brush piles are good for wildlife if you don't want to burn it.

 

[wcd]

If you have a TSC near by you might want to consider a Country Pro Wood chipper. We purchased one after buying a DR that failed with in 30 days. We keep ours in the barn and it is used on a regular basis( we have lot of branches on the property) which get converted into wood chips for bedding for the Livestock.