Which reliable 6'' chipper 10k - 15k budget

[john paget]

I’m a big fan of Jensen, build quality is superb, I’ve never owned a 530, but have had a 540 and now a ridiculously over engineered 340, stupidly heavy, but unstoppable. Have a look at the 530... it’ll still be chipping in 15 yrs

[JaySmith]

I’m a big fan of Jensen, build quality is superb, I’ve never owned a 530, but have had a 540 and now a ridiculously over engineered 340, stupidly heavy, but unstoppable. Have a look at the 530... it’ll still be chipping in 15 yrs

A friend of mine has a 2007 A530 that isn’t too far behind a 230 and certainly better than a 150. For me the indeed being a bit narrower on the Jensen means it doesn’t fold stuff in as well and needs a bit more sneeding than a 230. However as you say the build quality is excellent for a small machine and I guess will outlast some other manufacturers with similar hours and age. Had a 540 in demo a few years back and that was an animal but it was 1200kg I think so more inline with the ST8 or the new 280

[Ian C]

Usually you get what you pay for. do you know why they are so cheap?

 

I’m really not sure you have been fed good information, Greenmech are as well built as anything else out there mainstream and better that a lot of others, I have run a good few GM machines and had little issues, as for Forst, I had 2 and both were terrible on reliability! If I buying another small machine it would be GM TW Jensen or shitslinger!

[Mark Bolam]

9 hours ago, Marc Lewis said:

If you are going to be feeding 6" diameter logs through as it sounds like you are, you may want to think of a bigger machine. That will be alot of stress on a 6" chipper.

I think this is a very valid post.

If you want to chip 6” timber then a 6” chipper is not the way forward.

[woody paul]

Remember seeing utility cutters near me with a old tracked GM1928 what a machine 3 lads chucking brash in it and it just kept going. 

And another crew had a Forst 6 and 1 lad feeding it and stress control kept cutting in. 

[benedmonds]

9 hours ago, woody paul said:

Remember seeing utility cutters near me with a old tracked GM1928 what a machine 3 lads chucking brash in it and it just kept going. 

And another crew had a Forst 6 and 1 lad feeding it and stress control kept cutting in. 

Should not really be a surprise as the gm1928 is a  bigger chipper then the forst 6. The forst 8 models would be  comparable to the gm1928.. 

 

 

[Andrew L]

My thoughts:

 

Owned a TP 155 for past 2 years, just doing 250 hr service right now which includes anvil(s) swap.  Its a 24hp diesel, 70kg flywheel, hydraulic feed but bog basic chipper that I bought with 6 hrs showing as an ex demo, weighs 730 kg braked chassis.

 

It's been pretty good.  Probably had a total of 5 days downtime in 2 years, waiting for parts.  Easy to use, fairly easy to handle, very good on fuel.

I would recommend it or maybe the TP175 which gives you another 20mm capacity but still under 750kg but I haven't actually used the bigger machine.

 

General thoughts on chippers, whatever you buy,,,,

-you will always wish you bought the next size up.  Rather than absolute capacity, what you really need to know is the size of branch/log it will chip without needing stress control, cos that is what slows the processing down

-they will break down: so how good is the warranty?  How near is the dealer/service back up?

-they will need blades sharpening: How easy to access? How far to go to get them sharpened? How much to replace blades?

-they will get blockages:  How easy to access rollers and dismantle on site?  Do you need special tools?

 

Maybe consider getting a splitter as well.  This means you can then chip everything, which makes disposal easier and reduces manual handling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[monkeybusiness]

On 27/03/2021 at 21:06, Floclimber said:

how long have you used / owned one of these for? and have you experience to compare with other 6 / 7'' chippers?

 

Sorry - just catching up.
1928 Greenmech’s have been helping to pay my mortgage for at least 10 years (probably longer than that tbh) - the Isuzu engined machines are powerful, robust and easy to maintain, and will happily swallow anything you can drag to their rollers if you keep them sharp.

I’ve owned/operated machines from Timberwolf, Jensen, Schleising, Bandit, TS etc etc so have plenty of competitor experience. 
Not sure why GM are thought of negatively in some circles but think it might partly be because the disk blades will keep on chipping when blunt (unlike conventional blades on just about every other machine which really do need to be kept sharp to do any work). This coupled with a lot of GM machines being part of large plant fleets ‘maintained’ by general plant-fitters with no knowledge of/interest in keeping knives/anvils/rollers sharp, and subsequently fed by brash-draggers who inevitably have suffered miserable shifts trying to force thorn through blunt chippers can’t have helped build a positive picture from some operators. 
I think GA Groundcare are the Greenmech dealers catering for the 6-toed inhabitants of the South West. From what I’ve seen they are incredibly proactive in their approach to supplying Greenmech machines and looking after their customers - I reckon you could have a mega second-hand machine sourced, fully gone through and set up perfectly within your budget from them if you could see past the orange tinwork that is currently taking your fancy!   

 

[delabodge]

for my pennies worth, i have been actively doing tree work for over 25 yrs, and for the first 18 ran a second hand gravely 944 pro chip, it was a beast of a machine, heavy as f.k but so fixable it was like an old car, easy to get at, new starter motor, new radiator, it was like triggers broom, in fact only sold it to some one I know you was starting up and still using it today,,and I see him weekly,still happy,

I then bought a diesel forst st6, second hand, and its been ok, wiring loom melted, leaky hydraulic faulty tank weld( that`s a first)etc nothing a good old £2k service couldnt solve lol, moral of the story is,, nothing is perfect, different machines suit different people applications etc, and at the end of the day, you really do need to set some money aside and acept that at some point that chipper you`ve thrashed or not will need replacing at some point,

[Chipperclown]

On 27/03/2021 at 19:55, HuntingHicap said:

I use an st8, TR8, and ST6p weekly, recently hired a pretty much brand new st6d, and IMO the ST6p was all over it. Have used Jensen a fair bit as well, solid engineering and basic, but not really keeping up with Forst performance. Do Forst have the odd issue? yes, who doesn't, + they are very fast to sort problems.

Timberwolf's doesn't!