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Disk vs Drum vs Cone Head wood chipper Review

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-08-05          92811


I've seen disk, drum, and cone-head chippers sold. Anyone know the pros and cons of the different types?



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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
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2004-08-05          92815


The cone-heads have been known to consume mass quantitys.

Sorry, it's late, I couldn't resist. ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-08-06          92859


Ken, each is better at chipping a different type of material, choose the one that best suits what you 'normally' use it for.

We use two different types, albeit a LOT bigger than what most people here would need. The drum is great for dealing with irregular stuff and stumps. The disk eats whole trees as fast as the boom can feed them.

Price is often a big consideration too.

Several times a year we do contract work where it is impractical for the customer to even rent the equipment it is so expensive. Often this type of work is a big cleanup job such as clearing a lot, or reclaiming farm land.

We recently completed a big government job clear cutting & chipping an area of a nearby city after they found Asian Longhorn Beetles in a bunch of Maples.

Best of luck. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-08-06          92877


Well, I'm considering getting a non-PTO chipper to chip whole fir trees no larger than 6" diameter and all the brush and deadwood that we prune off the trees left behind. The stumps are dug up and burned. What type chipper would be best? The Jinma is fine but sometimes we have to "help" feed the big stuff which makes a long day chipping an exhausting affair. ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2004-08-06          92880


Ken, I would suggest that for what you are looking at doing with it a towable drum-type chipper like those the rental yards have would be the best choice.

We run Vermeers, they are even available with a winch or loading boom arm on some of the bigger models. Asplundh is another good make, but there are many others also.

For material up to 6 inches, especially old dry stuff, you could get away with something as small as a 25hp model, but I wouldn't recommend it. Besides price-wise the engine size is sort of inconsequential. IF you're going to buy a used unit I would suggest nothing smaller than those powered by a six cyl. car engine.

BTW, be aware that these units can easily weigh up to 3 or 4 tons, if you plan on dragging it around the bush with the JD keep this in mind.

Best of luck. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-08-06          92884


Thanks, Murf. Good point on the towing, I was thinking it would be easy to tow but maybe I need to rethink that. I called a local guy who has some used ones in stock and he's willing to bring one out for me to try. He said the drum chippers were more dangerous to use than other types because they feed so fast. Is that true? And what the heck is a cone-head chipper? ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2004-08-06          92888


Ken, it's true, that's why they are usually only in 'pro' models, but that same thing is also what makes them popular, they work FAST. When there is $$$ involved the faster the job goes, the better.

Cone-head chippers, as the name suggests, have a conical-shaped cutter head. Most work like big pencil sharpeners.

Best of luck. ....


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AnnBrush
Join Date: Mar 2004
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2004-08-06          92890


Am I correct in understanding that a drum chipper might alse be known as a "grinder" type chipper / shredder. ....


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Murf
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2004-08-06          92891


There are two different types of 'drum' machines.

A drum CHIPPER is what we are talking about here.

A drum or 'tub' GRINDER is what is shown in my pic. # 4.

They are very different animals indeed.

A chipper uses a sharpened knife much like a chisel to reduce the size of the material, other than the blade adjustment particle size is not variable.

A drum or tub grinder uses carbide teeth much like a stump grinder or pavement grinder has to chew the material into small pieces. By using various screens each with different sized mesh openings you can adjust how small the pieces need to be before they can escape.

Because a grinder uses dull carbide teeth to do the job, soil, or even rocks go right through it. Our's will take a stumps with rootballs up to 9' in diameter whole without even missing a beat. Rocks meet the same fate as wood, they just make more noise. Pallets, crates, concrete blocks or asphalt can easily go through it to.

The picture is a cleanup following a big ice storm, that was what was left of the arboretum at a University up here.

BTW, the piles of mulch you see there are that days production only.

Best of luck. ....


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kwschumm
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Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-08-07          92931


For anyone who is interested here's a link that describes the operation of a cone head chipper. ....


Link:   Cone head chipper

 

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LesserWeevil
Join Date: Aug 2004
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2004-08-07          92941


I worked for a tree company for three years. We had a couple of Aplundh chippers with Ford 300 c.i. sixes in them. I know the owner got them cheap because the bigger companies were going to some sort of (much safer, I suppose) powerfeed rig. The Aplundhs were fun in a masochistic way. If you threw in a big dead piece, they would throw it right back at you, a lot faster than you threw it in. And if you were chipping brush with vines on it, you ran a risk of getting whipped right in there yourself and chipped to death. Some I've seen had a bar which would - supposedly - stop the madness if you bumped into them, but ours didn't. Or the owner might have removed them: he hated anything remotely sissified, as he saw it. I know that he got them cheap, because they really are pretty horrible contraptions, but they sure could chip stuff up. He had to (well, should have) sharpen the blades quite often. His were high speed steel: I think you can get carbides. Oh, and there is nothing louder in this world.

Winters we used to trim roadside trees. Another guy and I would go up in the bucket (with 024 Stihl chainsaws: he was too cheap to get the hydraulic stuff), and guys on work release from prison (not reall wr, just a day out in the sun) would throw it all in the chipper. They were so starved for something to do that they would almost fight over the brush. From the bucket, they looked like sharks fighting over chum. You couldn't cut the stuff fast enough for them. Those cons just love an Asplundh chipper.

Hope that helps with your buying decision ....


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kwschumm
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2004-08-08          92965


LOL! I'm not looking to lose an arm or get hit in the head with a flying stump, maybe I'll skip the drum chippers. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-08-09          93052


Murf, I've been looking at some of these 9-12" commercial chippers. You're right, some of them are monsters! As much as 15 feet long and 5000 lbs. I figure my 4310 with loader, loaded tires and ME on board weighs maybe 5700-6200 lbs. What weight would you think I could safely tow with that? ....


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Murf
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2004-08-09          93064


I would think that you would be able to SLOWLY move one of those around OK.

Your machine & mine are similar in weight, size and power, I was helping a neighbour get some loaded hay wagons in yesterday afternoon before the rain hit & I was moving some wagons loaded with round bales that weighed more than 10,000 pounds. I wasn't breaking any speed records and I sure made sure I didn't have to make any fast stops, but it did it pretty easily. The one field has an entrance on to the sideroad that is about a 100' long, really steep ramp, luckily I was going uphill loaded not down, but it walked right up, I was surprised at how easy it made it seem.

Most of those chipers have hydraulic surge brakes too, that makes a big difference if the 'tow vehicle' isn't heavy enough to out-muscle the trailer.

Best of luck. ....


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kwschumm
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Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-08-09          93074


Thanks, Murf, that sounds great. I was ready to eliminate those big heavy chippers from my search. ....


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