Heavy Equipment Forums Heavy Equipment Community

Skid mounted wood chipper

Long0 · 2022-05-25 22:50

i believe I’ve decided to purchase a chipper. I’ve lived in central Colo my entire life and have always put fallen branches and the such into a burn pile. We then burn the pile typically for New Years when there is 3-8’ of snow on the ground. While this has and still works well, I’m thinking a chipper might be a better choice now. To clarify, this is not a decision for a commercial application. 40hrs per year roughly on the attachment. I want to keep anything 4” or so over for firewood. I have 2-1/2 acres, my mother has another 2-1/2 close. My in-laws have roughly the same acreage 4 miles away(as the crow flies. Takes 25min in a pickup). Elevation is roughly 8k so take that into account on my base hp numbers below. Equipment is a 268b skid 2000 something JD 4300 compact I also have a 420IT rubber tire hoe but that I don’t believe is in my equation Now to questions 1-PTO driven chippers. Will a small compact rated at 34hp run one. 2-Is it better to hang it off my skid (74+hp. Not looking up the specs now) as it has much more power. High flow chippers are completely out of my budget. 3-Manufacturers. I see a bunch out there with good and bad reviews. Looking for real experience good and bad. 4-Rotor sizes are all over the place. I don’t understand. Thanks for your help Andy

Replies2
  1. #1Steve Frazier2022-05-27 08:23

    I have a Wallenstein 3 Pt. hitch mounted chipper that is PTO powered on a 74hp New Holland tractor and it works every bit as good as a dedicated chipper unit. I've put 9 inch logs through it and it didn't miss a beat. For your casual use and smaller branches I'd bet your John Deere would work fine with a smaller unit. I can't comment on other manufacturers but the Wallenstein is a well built piece.

  2. #2Steve Frazier2022-05-27 08:23

    I have a Wallenstein 3 Pt. hitch mounted chipper that is PTO powered on a 74hp New Holland tractor and it works every bit as good as a dedicated chipper unit. I've put 9 inch logs through it and it didn't miss a beat. For your casual use and smaller branches I'd bet your John Deere would work fine with a smaller unit. I can't comment on other manufacturers but the Wallenstein is a well built piece.