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Help With Tractor Purchase For Chipper Use

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2007-07-27          144101

I need to fit the tractor to the chipper for the correct land size and I am in a bit of a dilema...I have 1.5 acres in Miami where palms are our biggest issue. I started off looking at a BX24 and a Bearcat 77454 4.5" Chipper with a cantilever disc (supposidly no drum for fibers to wrap around).

I have owned the Bearcat 72854 and a Grand L4230- but thought it was too large for this size land. Today I looked at the new Grand L series and feel like this is once again large for what I am doing but may be a neccessity to drive the HP requirements of a 9" chipper rated from 25 to 60 hp on a diesel.

When I take a look at the actual debris around the property which includes the "boots" of the palms (the thickest part of the actual frawn), frawns, ficus, oak, and dead plant material.

So now I am looking at a Bearcat 76854 Orchard Chipper with a 9" PTO Hydraulic unit (the shute on the orchard model is smaller and would fit in the garage) that I would have to move up in tractor size to a Grand L series, possibly 30-50 Hp at the PTO.

1. Has anyone used the Orchard Chipper Bearcat 76854 unit?

2. Has anyone used the 77454 chipper by Bearcat? By picking the BX 24 and this unit the palm boots go in a garbage can and I may have a more managable unit to manuaver in the yard...something that may be a better fit.

3. What would you recommend tractor wise for me to look at that would have enough HP on the PTO to drive the larger unit?

Any help would be appreciated and thanks for clearing my head-

Dazed and confused in Miami.

Rich


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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
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2007-07-27          144102

Around here a 12" disc goes for about $280 a day for a Home Depot rental. Do you really need to buy a set up? ....

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2007-07-27          144103

I would prefer to own it...as I enjoy doing the cutback on the yard and most of the estimates we get are over $500 to haul material off...crazy prices.

....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-27          144104

Maybe you don't want to maintain additional equipment but it's possible you could buy both a used trailer based chipper and a BX for less than the bigger equipment. I bought a used 85 hp 12" Bandit commercial chipper for $9k and it's probably worth close to what I paid for it after three years of ownership. Maybe you could get a 9" commercial powered pull-behind chipper for $5-6k. ....

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2007-07-27          144105

That would be an option as well. I just figured I would have a PTo chipper hooked up all the time to a tractor. Boy, that Grand L 5740 is a heck of a unit for a 9" chipper but I can imagine I can run a chipper on a lower rated PTO.

I am at a loss to say what I need as I am the type of guy that wants to cut the limbs and palms, and get the pile out of the yard asap- or until the palms dry out some.
....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
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2007-07-27          144106

Who knows anymore, I'm here in NY with spruce and oak he's worried about palm trees! I'll be there in four months, you provide a roof and john and no limbs from palm tree's for you to worry about! ....

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earthwrks
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2007-07-27          144107

Is composting to some degree an option? How about a hammer or flail-type shredder? We used one on the farm for processing compost--'course I have no idea how palms would go through it. I had a 24 hp gas, Promark, 6" disc mounted on a trailer with a 12-yard dump box. If the stuff was wet there would be some heat generated which isn't good for the machine. And it is difficult to feed it when it's wet. ....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-27          144109

A good way to see what type of chipper works best for palms might be to check out the type of chippers the landscape guys in your area are towing behind them. ....

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2007-07-28          144111

Most of them are using drum type chippers. ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
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2007-07-28          144124

Botics,

Have you looked at the Kubota B7610?

The B7610 is a step up from the BX series, and it offers quite a bit of power for its size. I believe it's exactly what you're looking for.

Just a suggestion........



Joel
....

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2007-07-28          144127

Yes, even up to the B3030- but I am still concerned about HP from that unit even on the 77354 from Bearcat. Is 23 HP on the PTO enough for a 5" chipper / shredder that is rated to 45hp?

....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-28          144128

I had a 6" 3-point chipper running on 25 pto hp. With 6" material it struggled but 4" stuff was no trouble. In your situation it would probably be similar, it will run the small stuff fine but if you load it up or chip maximum size material it will probably stall. ....

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2007-07-28          144130

The other option is go with a smaller tractor perhaps the B3030 and the Bearcat 77354 and toss the big items in the garbage cans.... ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
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2007-07-28          144136

Kwschumm,

Up here in North Dakota, we'd never dream of chipping anything 6 inches in diameter. We'd consider this to be a sin.

Trees are in very short supply up here. In fact, North Dakota is the least forested State in the nation. Even Nebraska has more trees than we do.

Any branch the diameter of a baseball bat is cut up for firewood. In fact, chippers are very rare beasts in North Dakota. We'll burn just about anything, including cow patties, simply because we have such a shortage of firewood.

I'll be installing a wood burning stove in my new garage. Since I won't be living in it, I'll heat it only on those days when I'm overhauling an engine, or working on a vehicle. My stack of firewood has some very small branches in it.......almost twigs. In fact, I collect and save the used toothpicks from my guests before they leave.

I'm not the proper person to seek advice from when it comes to using a chipper, but I'll gladly explain how to heat a house using cow patties for fuel. hehehe.

Have a great weekend.

Joel

....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-28          144137

Joel, we're surrounded by acres of Christmas trees that were never cut and they're way too thick, which makes for unhealthy trees and creates a fire hazard. We cut nearly every weekend and there simply aren't enough hours available to limb, cut and split all the trees that have to be thinned. The noble firs all get chipped since it makes for pretty lousy firewood anyway. If a douglas fir is 6" or smaller we generally feed the entire tree into the chipper. The chips make for a nice walking trail and we leave piles of chips and smaller piles of slash for habitat. The bigger stuff gets limbed, cut and split for firewood. Even with all the labor we put in the trees seem to have the upper hand. ....

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candoarms
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2007-07-28          144138

Kwschumm,

OK....I'm jealous. I admit it.

We have a saying up here in North Dakota......and it is directed especially to all of those out-of-staters who come up here to hunt deer and other big game.

"DON'T SHOOT TOWARD THE TREES.........PEOPLE LIVE THERE!"

Seriously, about the only trees you'll find in North Dakota are those planted around the farm yards. These trees serve a valuable purpose, as they are the only thing that slows down the wind. We call them shelter belts. These shelter belts are designed to direct the wind up and over the farm.

The prevailing winds blow from the northwest....out of Canada......and they HOWL. The shelter belt is designed with very short, dense trees on the west side.....such as Russian Olive, Caragana, or some other short, dense brush. This dense foliage blocks the wind and starts it moving upward.

The next rows of trees are designed to direct the wind higher. These inner rows are usually pine trees.

The middle row is composed of the highest trees in the belt......normally Green Ash, or Poplar. If the shelter belt is especially wide, the middle rows are often composed of Cottonwoods.

Working from the middle rows back to the east, we again plant shorter trees. These shorter trees serve two purposes. They act as snow fences first......which is the primary goal........but they also serve to offer some beauty to the farm. These shorter trees are usually composed of Dogwoods, wild plum, or flowering crabs.....usually two or more of these in successive rows.

Needless to say, cutting down any of these trees, for firewood, will probably get a guy shot. Our very short growing season leaves little time for a tree to grow. And our harsh winters kill more trees than we can plant.

I can see 5 miles from my house, due to the fact that there are so few trees up here.

I know I'm way off the subject, but it's always interesting to read about the problems I wish I had sometimes. TRADE YA!

Oh......one more thing.......

I was out with the tractor today, knocking down a bunch of weeds that have taken root along the edge of the stream that runs behind my barn. Some of these weeds were over 7 feet tall. Among the weeds was a tree that had taken root. I was very careful not to harm that tree. It's a 6ft. tall American Elm, and I will baby it 'til I die.

Joel ....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-29          144139

Good stories Joel. It's always interesting to hear how other folks deal with the situations in different parts of the world. My pics show what the trees look like 30 feet from our house. We have to keep cutting them back to maintain a safe fire distance. Volunteers pop up all the time and the ones growing in the gravel drive usually get sprayed with brush killer. There are another dozen growing around the house that I need to transplant this fall. In two years they've grown to around 30" tall. The fast growth is amazing. We're at 1100 feet and that's too low for Noble firs to grow big so we've got a bunch of those that are dying off. We're replacing them with Western Red Cedars as we work through each section. We're thinking of building a little log cabin out on the east side as a fun diversion. ....

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2007-07-29          144165

So what do you all think about PTO rating on chippers? Am I ok with a 23HP PTO on a chipper unit rated to 40HP? ....

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kwschumm
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2007-07-29          144166

If 23 pto hp is at or above the minimum required by the chipper it will work. The chipper manufacturer should rate the chipper for the minimum required to operate and the maximum the chipper mechanicals can handle. Bearcat seems to be a reputable company so I doubt they're lying about their specs. As I said, you might not be able to chip the maximum material size or continuously load it with massive amounts of material but it should work fine. ....

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2007-07-29          144167

Bearcat is the only chipper I will purchase based on past results. I am really trying to keep the size down as I only have a small piece of land so I am trying to figure out which tractor would be best for my use.

The key to all these chippers is to feed them gradually and I should not have any issues. ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
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2007-07-29          144168

Botics,

I pulled this up from Bear Cat's website.


8" PTO Chipper - Model 71854

(*NOTE - For Use On Tractors with Engine Horsepower Ratings From 22 hp (diesel) and 24 hp (gas) to 60 hp)


You're well within the power range for even the 8" chipper.

Joel ....

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candoarms
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2007-07-29          144169

Botics,

I forgot to post a link for you.

Click on the link below and then click on the "Product Matching Wizard".

Joel ....


Link:   Bear Cat Chippers -- Product Matching Wizard

 
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2007-07-29          144170

The unit I really like is the 72854 / or the 76854 - but again I am only talking 1.5 acres here and it seems like the unit and tractor may be overkill...

I hate to drop down to a B series or a BX but being on 1.5 acres it may be the "sensible" thing to do and trash the rest of the debri... ....

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