# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Wood Chippers

## notvery

Before replacing the paddock fencing i was thinking i should beat back the bush a few meters where it has encroached towards, and into, the paddock. easy enough even if it is about 100 meters long on the bush side. and yes its our bush not some national park that im going to chainsaw up. 
The plan is to hire a 150mm chipper a few days after ive chopped the big stuff down and make some nice mulch for her indoors. I looked into the price and at 350 a day i came out in a cold sweat. SHMBO has been on at me to get a chipper for general use so we can make the composting quicker, get rid of the general debris more have less gigantic bonfires etc... 
she has been eyeing off a few that are 100mm and they cost about 800 new. to be honest i can see the benefits in having a machine with rotating knives available at all times for a number of reasons not just shredding branches.  
Im thinking the bigger stuff can just get put into the log pile. I have 3 acres that needs thinning out but that will take years...or goats, again making owning one a good idea. 
So would the 800 buck ones be any good? does anyone have one? are they underpowered and slow an painful (my expectation) or are they worth it. or would i be best to saw for a week make a pile and then just hire a chipper for a day using a powerful unit that wont break

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## johnc

The $800 versions are fine for most garden waste but not with large volumes, they are slow, I find them great for speeding up the composting process and reducing green waste volume. I'd be inclined to see what it would cost to get a tree bloke in with a 12" unit and do it for you. I went down the path of dropping a couple of trees hiring a 6"unit while the neighbour did something similar and got a bloke with a large commercial unit to chip it up. Took no time and cost less. Took me about hours along with pocket pain.

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## ErrolFlynn

I bought a second hand one that probaby was in that price range when new. 
We had a quarter acre block with trees everywhere.  We cut down a few, we pruned a few, branches fall off.  You know how it is.  We used to build big bonfires, but in a very treed environment I always got a bit scared about starting an even bigger fire.  Hence the machine. 
Ear muffs required.  The neighbours might need some too.  And goggles - it does spit back despite having a rubber cover thing to prevent it. 
The chain saw was good to keep logs for the wood heater we had, the small branches were kept for kindling, and everything else went into the mulching machine. 
You'll get used to what size twig you can stick in the top and which sized larger piece to ram in the side for the heavy duty cutting.  When the stuff is small it just kept eating it all up and we couldn't keep up with it.  But what inevitably happens you'll drop a piece in that should have been fed in the side and it'll cut out.  Or the stuff you do drop in gets caught sideways and when it does fall into the cutter its too much for it and it'll cut out.   You'll get fed up taking its feeder off to clear the blockage. 
The machine I had had a cutter which was disk shapped with two detachable blades, which could be reversed when they got blunt.  Held in by a single screw on each.  And on top of that was a bent lump of steel which was some kind of pre-slicing blade.  The whole lot bolts straight onto the motor shaft.  After use its best to clean all the rubbish out so your good to go next time, but just before you close up shop at the end of the session I always gave the cutter a good going over with CRC to stop the rust. 
Not sure what happened, but one day it suddenly went clang during a session and stopped dead.  A louder clang than I had ever heard before.  I wasn't feeding it with anything that I hadn't alredy done.  But as you know some wood is harder than others.  And cutters get blunt. Though I have a suspiciion that a piece of wood got chopped jumped up and came down sideways that found itself too large to be cut.  It bent the precutter, broke one of the blades.  It may have bent the disk; can't remember. Fortunately, the manufacturer was based in Melbourne where I lived at the time.  So I took a drive down there with the machine in the car.  I was the centre of interest for the boys in the workshop.  I got new parts but the motor shaft spindle was also bent so it was a bit ify in getting new cutter parts.  The bend in the shaft wasn't real bad, but not good.  With the new parts in I was good to go - start cutting again.  And that was ture, but the shaft having a bit of a wobble caused a whole new type of vibration to it.  The machine should have been a throw out but what the hell; give it one last go.  Run it into the ground. 
It kept going for ages, but the vibration tended to loosen the blades while it was working.  So, every time I had to remove the feeder to clear a blockage I had to tighten the cutter.  Eventually sold it for not very much.   
These things do work, but they can be a hassle too.

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## toooldforthis

I'd get the pro's in for a day - clear it and mulch it for you.
you get a firebreak to boot.

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## notvery

So im guessing from the above a smart move might be to hire a beast for the initial larger strip out. and then buy one that i use gently from them on for general garden waste.

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## boyracer

I bought a trailer mounted Vermeer years ago. I paid peanuts and fixed it up. No feed in, just a 225 valiant motor, a huge flywheel and blades of death. It weighed well over a tonne. Stupidly i sold it after a years work i was contracted to do.
I recently traded a mower and some bucks for a parklands or some such that retailed for ~1000. It was well used but briggs and stratton 4 stroke will go forever. I sharpened the blades and then barely turned it off for 4 days whilst i chipped a 60 ft tree to mulch.  i swore every time i thought of the vermeer. 
Keep an ear to the ground and buy as big as you can store at auction or similar.

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## ringtail

I picked one up on gumtree, new, never used, half price. 15 hp with top chute and side chute. Takes upto 125 mm in the side chute. We got it to mulch lantana that we pull by hand. So far it has mulched nearly 2 acres worth. Just a chinglee special with a Honda clone but for $500 it has done an epic job so far. Anything too big either goes in the firewood pile or onto one of our water runoff control swales.

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## Marc

I have been researching wood chippers for while myself. In my case it would be occasional use for branches up to 10 centimeters or so. What is interesting is that after you have discarded the electric one and the one with 5 hp engines, the machines on offer are very few. You either go for the 15HP chinese for around the $1000 mark or it jumps to 5-6k and more. There is no middle ground. 
From the chinese the one I like the most is this     Michigan 15HP Wood Chipper Mulcher Commercial Garden Shredder Mulch Tool Chip | eBay 
After using the little pitiful machines I bought second hand and needing clearing every second stick and then using hired machines from Kennards, I can say that I prefer to have one chute at an angle and not one vertical and one on the side. It is much better to be able to throw whatever you have in your hand in the same place warts and all.  
You could of course attempt to build one. It is really low tech and if you have the inclination it is feasible. ...Steve Bedair's Wood Chipper 
I personally prefer this one, but can not justify the price for occasional use Hansa C21 | Hansa Chipper Mulcher

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## notvery

Marc, Yeah that price point you mention 1K then the jump to 5K is the killer. it gives me the impression that the 800 buck ones would be less than great 
Ringtail so lantana and other wet weedy type plants dont clog the thing up and cause it to get tangled and stall or generally messed up??? i would have thought that if the stuff wasnt "woody" it wouldnt do a great job.

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## ringtail

Oh God no notvery. It absolutely destroys lantana and anything else e have put through it.  NEW Michigan Commercial Series Wood Chipper Garden Mulcher Mulch Chip Shredder | eBay 
mine is more or less identical to this one but it's green. The audio in the vid makes it sound like the motor is struggling but I can assure you, mine is not lacking horsepower at all. Lantana is really brittle so it chips beautifully. The only downside with the machine is the bottom exit chute. One has to continually scrape the pile away. Other than that I reckon it's really good. It's coming up to lantana pulling season again ( winter) so it will get another flogging.

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## notvery

Just a quick update on this thread. 
The NEW Michigan mentioned above are cheapo crud from china. i was going to get one but after googling the company that supplied them well it put me off from buying anything from them unless the machine worked and continued to work i was going to be in for a battle to get a refund and or spares etc. Im not engine minded so i need to be able to take my machine to someone and say "OI fix it its in warranty" that wasnt going to happen with these lot.  
so i did a bit more research and nailed down a few other brands that were about the same power and size range. i ended up narrowing down to 1 brand.. based on price and quality. price being what i could afford and quality based upon research of peoples reviews and going and seeing the machine.  
so i compromised i bought a less powerful item but it is built like a tank, or at least seems to be. It is also supposedly Aussie made. The GreenFields Piecemaker with the 850 B&S engine(haha yeah good one in many ways)
i got it on saturday and the missus chopped loads of stuff up and was very happy cos she could start it with one pull everytime. I was happy cos she was busy and didnt notice me chop a load of trees down to keep her busy. the compromise is i now have more small fire wood than i had hoped for, as i wont be trying to push the biggest stuff it can take down its throat, treat it nice and let it survive a long time i hope!
While i would have liked a bigger one, who wouldnt, im happy and surprised by the apparent quality of this little beast. It was about 1300 bucks so more than i wnted to spend but i feel good that its aussie made, even if it is a QLD company!, and i can take the think to a local supplier who have been around for years and shout at them if it dies. 
the missus did say she broke it at one stage "did you check the Petrol?" i asked "Yes" she replied as she kept pulling the cord. following dumping a full tank of petrol in and one further pull of the cord....back to chipping we went. 
Its early days but i would recommend the brand. time will tell

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## Marc

Yes, I heard of the peacemaker being a good machine but for me it is on the small side. Ideally I would like an Aust chip 100 but it seems they gone out of business or have changed name because I can not find them. Kennards still has their machines for hire though. 
Which other machines did you find besides the Peacemaker?
Anything a bit bigger?
By the way your observation about the importers of the Michigan is spot one. I sent them an e-mail asking about the difference between the one with two chutes and the one with just one chute at an angle, and they replied that all the information was on their website ... haha, imagine if you need something from them that is on warranty. Good luck!

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## SilentButDeadly

Marc...if you have a tractor with a PTO then consider a Lindana PTO driven shredder.  But don't forget to steady yourself when you hear the price. 
The YardEco Recycler range look similar to the Fleabay Michigans but the power unit is a B&S, the output grate is a sequence of removable bars and the whole unit weighs upwards from 60kgs. 
Our own unit is a Rover hammer mill shredder (powered by a B&S engine) that we've abused for a decade since new...and it refuses to be remotely injured by the experience.  It's hardly the last word in OH&S or even sensible human movement but it continues to make mulch.  
 The new Rover shredders are not the same as this anymore ... 
The main pain with those Piecemakers is when you choke them with too much stuff...and stall them.  Then have to get it all out of the cutter box...

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## notvery

really price was the constraining factor or i would have got a hansa but really that would have been 5K to get something a bit bigger with them or over 2K for similar.  
I looked at redgum (not red roo) but when i compared the quality of the piecemaker and the redgum it was chalk and cheese. one was solid and heavy and the other was thin and cheap sounding. both the same price. 
I kind of got scared by the AGR machinery reviews and the info i found about chonda engines and the other rip offs so i started looking for honda or B&S only and that limits you somewhat. 
The piecemaker had a choice of 2 engines an 850(190hp) or 1150(320hp), identical machines apart from that but the price diff was 600 buckerooonies which took it out of my range which has also decided me against pushing anything too big into it. if they supply a bigger engine one then there is a reason! soo smaller engines smaller branches is the choice i made. 
SBD not sure about the clogging we are just firing the output into a random pile rather than collection bin and had no stalls. biggest problem was that when doing branches rather than leafs and twigs the power of the ejected chips opened up the chute director thingo and spread the chips over a distance(some went 10 / 15 meters easily!) which was amusing but wasteful.

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## SilentButDeadly

Have to admit that if ours was killed then a Hansa C7CLX would be high on the list of considerations...even at $2850. 
As the blades blunt on the Piecemaker, it can suck in tougher branches and whathaveyou without cutting them up which can clog the unit.  Make sure you keep the blades sharp and you'll get good service out of it.

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## notvery

Yeah keeping the blades sharp was mentioned...The sales person at the place i bought it from said "we dont sharpen the blades, we sell you a new set for 130 bucks, but if you go across the road to the home hardware they have a jig setup specifically for these blades an will do it for $15 both blades both sides". he then asked if i could fit the thing in my car when i said not he said no worries he would deliver it himself that arvo. only 30km round trip out of  his way. i wonder what the service would have been like if i had bought from the big green shed? or i had been in sydney...

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## ringtail

> Just a quick update on this thread. 
> The NEW Michigan mentioned above are cheapo crud from china.

  Whoa, that's a bit harsh. Yes, from China, yes cheap but very much fit for purpose. Do you have a link to the one you bought ? I've seen a few youtube vids of them with kawasaki engines and they struggle big time. I watched one with a 6.5 hp Briggs on it and it died with a 30 mm branch. The thing I have is a beast and whilst certainly not up there on outright build quality I bet it would run rings around the greenfield.

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## notvery

Ooooh a chip off. Surely you can't want to challenge against the aussie made with a foreign brand that would be like not knowing Bradmans average, or our first prime ministers name or claiming marmite is superior to vegemite...😨 
Yeah i might have been harsh on the machine itself. I think if it works you have a good machine and then all is good but if you get  unlucky then the suppliers are the issue and if like me your not into fixing engines then your in strife. I certainly hit it with bigger than 30mm and no problems. Also as i said that's why they provide the bigger engine option and why i will try to avoid the bigger stick as the 850 engine i got may be under powered.

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## Neptune

> The piecemaker had a choice of 2 engines an 850(190hp) or 1150(320hp)

   

> As the blades blunt on the Piecemaker, it can suck in tougher branches and whathaveyou without cutting them up which can clog the unit.

  Even with 320hp pushing it?  :Doh:

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## notvery

ok so i might have got them written up bad... 11.5 or 8.5hp.. damn... stupid rushing...meant cc...should have put the hp on the other bit... but yes it would stop the clogging...in fact metal bars would get sliced up nicely... i did say engines werent my thing... although im not sure the 850 is reference to 8.5HP the 11.5 is the hp on the bigger engine but the 850 is just the number... it could be smaller... it is 190 cc and the bigger is 344..... i dont know... dont care it spins a sharp wheely thing, makes a lot of noise and chops up sticks.

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## ringtail

Yep, challenge accepted. See how your poorly little engine does against the 15 hp chonda animal. Mwhahahaha. Nothing wrong with clones either. In todays world they are every bit as reliable as the hondas. I have 4 of them and they are all trouble free.

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## notvery

Gulp

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## ringtail

You know it  :Tongue:

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## notvery

Just tried to retro fit the engine out of the car on to the chipper to get more power. ..still can't get 15hp...stupid prius!

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## ringtail

See, you should have bought a chonda mate. No substitute for cubic inches  :Rolleyes:

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## boyracer

My old vermeer with the 225 slant six valiant engine probably had ~100 hp. Road going Vals were advertised as having 160 hp. It took on a star dropper once that a tree had grown around...it didn't stop it, but i  did have to 'do' the blades next morning. I used to climb into it with an oilstone in one hand... and the distributor rotor in my pocket!
One of these should do the job too...

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## ringtail

Brutal

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## Marc

18 HP Dr Towable Wood Chipper | eBay 
This one would serve me well. Pitti it will cost just as much to import past the "commercial" permit, "vehicle" import permit, quarantine requirements, the "cleaning" mafia in Mascot and assorted expenses. 
There is a mob in Perth that imports the DR wood chippers and sells them under another name, but their prices are way out there.

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## r3nov8or

> ...very happy cos she could start it with one pull everytime. ..

   

> ...No substitute for cubic inches

  What are you guys _really_ talking about?  :Smilie:

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## ringtail

Cubic inches, not inches, length or girth  :Biggrin:

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