The Wee Chipper Club

[Connagh]

Hello 

I currently have had a cs100 for 5 years now. Cracking piece of kit for what it is but after 10 hours of chipping you then have to stand there putting all the 3-4” branches in what are about 4-5ft long ends up making your hands vibrate so much they hurt for days. So I was thinking of selling it to buy possibly something like the new lumag chipper with a hydraulic feed roller to make my life easier. Not much point me buying something large like road towable because it will only be used 50-60 days a year but need something which doesn’t cause me or my labourers so much hassle putting the smaller thicker branches through. Greenmech states you should get a good 50 hours use before blades need to be changed, but considering I’m paying £100 a time to change the blades seems expensive having them changed 5-10 times a year.

thanks 

[PeteB]

46 minutes ago, Connagh said:

Hello 

I currently have had a cs100 for 5 years now. Cracking piece of kit for what it is but after 10 hours of chipping you then have to stand there putting all the 3-4” branches in what are about 4-5ft long ends up making your hands vibrate so much they hurt for days. So I was thinking of selling it to buy possibly something like the new lumag chipper with a hydraulic feed roller to make my life easier. Not much point me buying something large like road towable because it will only be used 50-60 days a year but need something which doesn’t cause me or my labourers so much hassle putting the smaller thicker branches through. Greenmech states you should get a good 50 hours use before blades need to be changed, but considering I’m paying £100 a time to change the blades seems expensive having them changed 5-10 times a year.

thanks 

Change the blades yourself, there is a video of how it is done! Do it often and It becomes easy!

[Connagh]

I do prefer the thought of roller feed lots less hassle a friend has a larger greenmech something that takes my chipper an hour takes 10 minutes but then because of space I need something small enough to fit inside my garage that’s why I liked the look of the lumag machine 

[doobin]

After giving the blades a tickle I closed the anvil gap to around 5mm. Much improved- finer chip, couldn’t stall it even forcing some pretty big bits in- twelve foot lengths of hazel etc that were around 4” at the start. It chewed them staight up. Obviously nowhere near as fast as a 6" tow behind, but it's a wee chipper.

 

On these garden tidy jobs the drag is a bitch. It made such a difference to park the chipper at the tree and guide the stems straight in, especially when dealing with long brambles and multiple little stems. Two of us were forcing armfuls of around a dozen 1" bits in at a time, and it didn't really slow the motor at all. The anvil gap has really made a difference. Even if the client didn’t want the chip for chickens, I think I’d use the mini chipper again and a high tip mini dumper to run it out to the truck. 

 

It did self feed to an extent, but if there was a bushy bit or a lot of leverage hanging out of the top it wouldn't- can't see that there's any way round that on these kind of machines, and if I wasn't feeding it I'd be dragging- and I know which I'd prefer.

 

Can anyone recommend a supplier of decent blades for these generic machines? 31cm x 5.5cm blades.

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by doobin

[AJStrees]

4 hours ago, doobin said:

After giving the blades a tickle I closed the anvil gap to around 5mm. Much improved- finer chip, couldn’t stall it even forcing some pretty big bits in- twelve foot lengths of hazel etc that were around 4” at the start. It chewed them staight up. Obviously nowhere near as fast as a 6" tow behind, but it's a wee chipper.

 

On these garden tidy jobs the drag is a bitch. It made such a difference to park the chipper at the tree and guide the stems straight in, especially when dealing with long brambles and multiple little stems. Two of us were forcing armfuls of around a dozen 1" bits in at a time, and it didn't really slow the motor at all. The anvil gap has really made a difference. Even if the client didn’t want the chip for chickens, I think I’d use the mini chipper again and a high tip mini dumper to run it out to the truck. 

 

It did self feed to an extent, but if there was a bushy bit or a lot of leverage hanging out of the top it wouldn't- can't see that there's any way round that on these kind of machines, and if I wasn't feeding it I'd be dragging- and I know which I'd prefer.

 

Can anyone recommend a supplier of decent blades for these generic machines? 31cm x 5.5cm blades.

 

What is the wee chipper you are using? I have an antique monster greenmech which needs a good bit of engineering work to make it happy, so am looking for a wee chipper for use. 

[doobin]

14 hours ago, AJStrees said:

What is the wee chipper you are using? I have an antique monster greenmech which needs a good bit of engineering work to make it happy, so am looking for a wee chipper for use. 

It's 'LTS'- a slightly dodgy 'brand' who I think have gone bust. Your standard, run of the mill eBay importer of Chinese tat. I was much happier paying £800 plus VAT for it than £2.5k for the same thing from another brand! It's also got a swivel chute from an MDT (I think) chipper- courtesy of another member on here a while back who bought the chute as a spare part and reported that it would fit. So she owes me £1k plus VAT in total.

 

I've welded some strap down points to it (nightmare to transport otherwise) and the little carabiner you see welded to the chute usually holds a 13mm spanner to unbolt the spout- although didn't need it after closing the anvil gap.

 

I went for that design because it was the narrowest, and the whole point of a wee chipper is that it fits into the back garden. With a strop around the front drawbar it's a lot easier to heave it about with two of you. The tow behind type are for big gardens with a homeowner who wants to play with a lawn tractor as far as I can see.

 

Basically you want the larger 15hp Loncin engine option. Stay away from Briggs- they are shit. Not sure what's on the market currently- what have you been looking at?

Edited November 6, 2021 by doobin

[doobin]

On 01/11/2021 at 06:37, Connagh said:

I do prefer the thought of roller feed lots less hassle a friend has a larger greenmech something that takes my chipper an hour takes 10 minutes but then because of space I need something small enough to fit inside my garage that’s why I liked the look of the lumag machine 

I'd be interested to know how good the feed rollers actually are. It's a lot of money for a little machine.

 

On 31/10/2021 at 19:00, Connagh said:

Hello 

I currently have had a cs100 for 5 years now. Cracking piece of kit for what it is but after 10 hours of chipping you then have to stand there putting all the 3-4” branches in what are about 4-5ft long ends up making your hands vibrate so much they hurt for days. So I was thinking of selling it to buy possibly something like the new lumag chipper with a hydraulic feed roller to make my life easier. Not much point me buying something large like road towable because it will only be used 50-60 days a year but need something which doesn’t cause me or my labourers so much hassle putting the smaller thicker branches through. Greenmech states you should get a good 50 hours use before blades need to be changed, but considering I’m paying £100 a time to change the blades seems expensive having them changed 5-10 times a year.

thanks 

50-60 days a year is a fair bit. If you are generally chipping into the back of your truck, then I'd invest in a reasonably small road tow- should be plenty about that were built small to keep them under 750kg, might be going slightly cheap as of the 15th and trailer freedom day 🤣

 

You're certainly right to change if what you are doing is damaging to your health. But look at the bigger picture. Money invested in (quality) machinery is as good as money in the bank. 60 days is five days a month.

 

Hand digging is damaging to my back. So I have a micro digger on 5 years finance. It costs me £230 a month, and I really don't care that I might only use it one day in a month, because on that day that I do use it it covers the finance cost. Five days a month? You'd be mad not to get a proper small chipper IMHO.

[doobin]

I've got a laurel hedge reduction coming up, not much of a drag but I will trial the wee chipper and mini high tip dumper and report back. Should be ideal- the guy in the hedge can pass me the branches down and I just guide them straight into the chipper.

 

I'm almost enjoying a bit of gardening- makes a change from the norm. This was a regular job from yesterday. Hedge out (around forty metres worth) and dispatched back to yard for green waste grab in 7 tipper truck trips, then two loads of stumps and a quick rake up with the digger rake. Sod chipping that lot- it'll all go in one green waste grab. Obviously would be differerent if I had a chipper I could machine feed, but of us were done by two o clock. That included tensioning off the chain link fence, cutting out the bit behind the hedge (to be replaced by a squash wall) and bundling that all onto his fire ready for the evening's festivities.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by doobin

[AJStrees]

6 hours ago, doobin said:

It's 'LTS'- a slightly dodgy 'brand' who I think have gone bust. Your standard, run of the mill eBay importer of Chinese tat. I was much happier paying £800 plus VAT for it than £2.5k for the same thing from another brand! It's also got a swivel chute from an MDT (I think) chipper- courtesy of another member on here a while back who bought the chute as a spare part and reported that it would fit. So she owes me £1k plus VAT in total.

 

I've welded some strap down points to it (nightmare to transport otherwise) and the little carabiner you see welded to the chute usually holds a 13mm spanner to unbolt the spout- although didn't need it after closing the anvil gap.

 

I went for that design because it was the narrowest, and the whole point of a wee chipper is that it fits into the back garden. With a strop around the front drawbar it's a lot easier to heave it about with two of you. The tow behind type are for big gardens with a homeowner who wants to play with a lawn tractor as far as I can see.

 

Basically you want the larger 15hp Loncin engine option. Stay away from Briggs- they are shit. Not sure what's on the market currently- what have you been looking at?

Sounds good for the price. I was looking at the 15hp Crytec towable chipper. Being able to actually move it around will mean I can get it around site easier which works for me. I have looked at other chinese options along with the more expensive ones. 

 

Access is not much of an issue for me as I have 59 acres of rolling countryside to look after and obviously getting a much bigger chipper later on will be the best option. However for the time being until the budget improves, I will try for a wee chipper jobby and see how long it lasts. 

[PeteB]

Got to admit.....I would rather pay more,  a lot more.....to acquire goods from another economic zone. 

 

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