Cheap domestic chippers - avoid?

[J@mesC]

Seem to be a raft of very similar 6hp ish petrol chippers around £500-600 new and claim to chip up to 2”.

 

We’ve just bought a place with a couple of acres of overgrown woodland plus a couple of decent sycamores and some leylandi which need to come down so it’s going to be a long term project and but of a pain to keep renting a decent chipper. 
 

Wondering if these domestic chippers are any good or worth avoiding totally? Or any particular brands in this price bracket better than others?

[doobin]

Up your budget to a 13/15hp one and they are ok ish. But 6hp isn’t enough for what you are wanting. 
 

all the brands are the variations built on the same Chinese drum unit and engine

Edited June 19, 2021 by doobin

[Ty Korrigan]

Agri-euro 15hp 10cm capacity 

I paid €1372 

Very good value.

Circumstances have meant we've had to use it as a back up chipper for almost 3 months.

Served us well.

Stuart

 

[woodwoozles]

Agri-euro 15hp 10cm capacity 
I paid €1372 
Very good value.
Circumstances have meant we've had to use it as a back up chipper for almost 3 months.
Served us well.
Stuart
 

Wow just what I'm looking for .looks like it's self propelled.

Would it be a good as a Skarper?
I was looking at there C90 model.

Initially I would transport it in the van or small quad trailer around an estste. Ide chip into a trailer or directly into the customers garden.

I would use it occasionally for my own gardening business and some clearance ocassional work. Ide hope to be more efficient, get away from filling a trailer with brash branches ect having to flat cut it.

Then if the customer cant be persuaded [emoji2957][emoji2962]that it's a good mulch and they don't want it, it needs to be stored.

Then there's some of my regular customers with large bits of land and sections of field hedges with lop and top ide hope it would be good enough to do that say once twice a year .

Yes I know you can rent timberwolfs

[Ty Korrigan]

Skarper and Haecksler are from the same factory in Czech I am informed.

Better build quality than Chinesium copies but 4 times the price.

The Chinesium machines are more than adequate despite having a narrower infeed. There are protuding bolts inside the infeed on mine which twisted branches sometimes catch on. Part of the hinge mechanism and security cutout. There is also a gap on top of the anvil which traps branches at times.

On the whole it does a pretty good job but those constraints do make it harder work, requiring more snedding and positioning of branches as you feed.

  Stuart

 

 

 

 

 

[doobin]

That skarper c90 is basically the Chinese drum unit with a Honda engine and a much larger markup. Might be made in Europe, but I bet they buy in the chipper bit. 

[rarefish383]

I took down a largish Maple for a friend. It covered the whole front yard. I have a 10X6 foot, 10,000 pound dump trailer. I was just going to haul all of the brush to the recycle where they grind it for mulch. Another guy showed up to help, with an ancient Sears 10 HP chipper. He wanted the chips. When the first limb hit the ground he started it up, and proceeded to grind every thing 2" and smaller. The only problem from my point was I had to scream all day long trying to instruct a ground crew that didn't know what to do. The job took about 10 hours. When I cut up the last log, he was done with the chipping. If I didn't have to work around him, the job would have taken several hours less. I could have loaded the brush on my trailer faster, and I would have cut all of the 8" and smaller wood into poles to smash the brush tighter in the trailer. I was fourth generation in my family doing tree work. So, I'm used to big equipment. Our first chipper was an Asplundh 16" drum, and our next one was a Vermeer 1250 disk that would would chip logs up to 12". That being said, the little Sears 10 HP chipped everything he put in it. Never jammed or caused any problems. I'd say, get the biggest machine you can afford. I just found a used Bandit Model 65 with a 30 HP Wisconsin 4 cylinder for $2000 US. It's $25,000 new. I mostly need it to clear 7 acres that is being invaded by Cedar trees.

[rarefish383]

Just in case you are wondering why I didn't use one of the big chippers, I'm 65 and retired. Sold off all of the big equipment years ago. That's why I jumped on this little Bandit when I had the chance. it's small for commercial, but big for homeowner.

[Mick Dempsey]

I’d rather load brash or give up entirely and pursue my dream of becoming a professional street magician/Punch and Judy man than use those little micro chippers.

Edited June 20, 2021 by Mick Dempsey

[David Cropper]

56 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I’d rather load brash or give up entirely and pursue my dream of becoming a professional street magician/Punch and Judy man than use those little micro chippers.

Excellent! We've been looking to hire someone like you for a kid's party.