what chipper to buy

[treefrog]

Buy the best you can afford, work out what would be best long term for your type of work and not what you want hanging on the back of the truck. I have ajenson 530 now but made the mistake of buying a tw 150 second hand when I set up my business. It would be worth looking at one that's been done up by the likes of arb rep, red woods/arborcut, masons or sabre. Check out earborist.

[PeteB]

Although I am a biased woodchipper sales chap. Please avoid the non mainstream machines. One mentioned already doesn't look like it complies with current hse regs for a start. Think also, in a couple of years, you want to trade it in for a new, mainstream, machine. What will you say when no one wahts it as a px?

 

As James said, use the current economic climate (low interest rates) to your advantage and buy a new or newish machine.

 

Preferably a GreenMech of course....

[Mark Bolam]

I suppose you got two machines, a chipper and a tracked unit

I have had two tracked machines and unless you really really need it get a tow behind, a 4wd pick up or compact tractor will get it most places and the weight thing when towing is a PITA.

 

I hear you about the two machines, but the tracked unit seems to add on about £13k.

You can get a lot of tracked machine for £13k.

[Johny Walker]

I hear you about the two machines, but the tracked unit seems to add on about £13k.

You can get a lot of tracked machine for £13k.

 

that depends on what yr pricing it against

[Mark Bolam]

What I mean Johny is that for £13k you can buy a machine that does things (like digging for instance).

Obviously a tracked machine is going to cost a lot more, it's just the sums don't really add up for me.

[Johny Walker]

What I mean Johny is that for £13k you can buy a machine that does things (like digging for instance).

Obviously a tracked machine is going to cost a lot more, it's just the sums don't really add up for me.

 

a tracked chipper can save a shed load of dragging ,i

i thought you were comparing a tw125,to a jensen 530t ,price wise

[Mark Bolam]

No way!

I'd love a tracked machine, far more versatile than a tow.

 

Lets look at TW (just as an example).

150 about £15k

150 tracked about £28k

 

Seems to me they rip the arse out of the price because if you need one you will have to pay it.

[Johny Walker]

No way!

I'd love a tracked machine, far more versatile than a tow.

 

Lets look at TW (just as an example).

150 about £15k

150 tracked about £28k

 

Seems to me they rip the arse out of the price because if you need one you will have to pay it.

 

that 28 will be the list perice , haggle ,

[monkeybusiness]

What I mean Johny is that for £13k you can buy a machine that does things (like digging for instance).

Obviously a tracked machine is going to cost a lot more, it's just the sums don't really add up for me.

 

I tend to agree, but if we are looking in that sort of detail then chippers in general are massively expensive. Why do straight-forward road tow machines cost £10 - £20 k new? All they are is a basic industrial engine (£3k max?), some bearings, some hydraulics, some fabrication, an axle etc.

If you look at agricultural machinery/excavators/cars etc then chippers are hugely overpriced. However, it does come down to supply and demand. Chippers are built in small runs (probably less than 10 at a time) and are subsequently very labour intensive to manufacture as there isn't a huge market for them.

They need to be built out of high-quality components as they are designed to operate in an extremely harsh environment, and should by rights self destruct very quickly. The companies that build them have to research their designs, and offer warranty with their new machines, as well as stock a wide spares inventory and create/support their dealer network. All of this costs money, which has to be represented in the retail price.

I am unsure why basic tracked machines add such a price premium to the equivalent road tow, but when you start adding expanding tracks/separate hydraulic circuits for each track etc the machine gets a lot more complex (not only in the build, but also throughout the design process). There were early tracked machines that were nothing more than a road-tow with the wheels cut off, welded on to a mini digger track frame with the hydraulics plumbed in to the feed roller hydraulics. They were pretty poor in reality - small excavator track frames aren't long enough to balance a woodchipper that has to work on a variety of terrain and be stable when trees are fed into one end. As a result, tracked chippers tend to have bespoke undercarriage (this is apparent when you buy tracks for them, as they are different to most other tracked plant). The feed roller hydraulics aren't up to propelling a chipper anywhere (it will move, but glacially) so a whole new hydraulic circuit with different flow rates/pressures needs to be grafted on to the machine. As a result of this extra hydraulic requirement, a larger hydraulic reservoir/additional filtration is required, to keep the oil cool.

Electro-hydraulic solenoids need to be installed in the tracking/feed roller circuits so you can't track into someone whilst they are chipping etc (keeping the HSE happy) - oh yeah, and everything has to be CE certified to make sure it is safe to sell (and legal for that matter).

They are dear, but so is everything in our industry! However, once you start using a good tracked machine you will never look back.

[Mark Bolam]

Thanks for the explanation Monkeybusiness, I appreciate it.