chipper/shredder/ mulcher advice??

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Anyone own a chipper/shredder that chews up tree limbs and basically turns them into mulch? I think we may need to buy one, and I have no idea what kind or horsepower we'd need. Our new place has tons and tons of trees down from ice storms this year and in the past few years (in fact, I don't think in the past six years anything has been done at all with the downed limbs and trees from ice storms/tornadoes.)  The bigger limbs and trees, we can cut up for firewood, but the little stuff,.... not so easy to deal with and there is so much of it. We tried to go walking around our property today and kept getting blocked by all the limbs in the way... it is almost impenetrable to the east and the north of the house.  The west is slightly better. We've had a really dry winter and early spring thus far, and with all the wild fires lately, I am concerned that our house seems to be sitting in the middle of a giant kindling box.  Anyone have pros and cons of different kinds of chipper shredders , experience with a particular one that worked well, or advice in general about them?  There was an ad in the Sunday paper where a guy was selling one for $200.  It said it was 5 hp and well maintained.  No other details were given.  Help please!

[MountainDon]

I friend has a 10 hp chipper and it handles 3" branches but not with much enthusiasm. I don't know if that is typical or maybe his needed maintenance.   

[glenn kangiser]

I own a little one - I leave it parked.   An exercise in futility to use it.

I think 10 horse power is about a minimum in my opinion.  As Don mentioned - it will balk.  Smaller is pretty much a waste of time. 

I have one big one with a 318 Dodge industrial engine.  It works well and will shred a man it about 2 seconds.  No safeties on it as it is old - yes - called a chuck and duck, similar ones have eaten men around here over the years. 

The rental ones will likely be 30 HP or more and have safeties and some have mechanical feed - they are good.

You could get everything ready in piles then rent one or if like here we can burn it in the winter.  That is likely best.  The ashes are good for the soil too.

[diyfrank]

I have a 8 hp but don't use it. It's more work then it's worth.  I second using a the rental tow behind models.

Glenn, I've used one with a 318. I think it was an 18" and what a wood eating monster that was.

[Ernest T. Bass]

We have a 9 horsepower and don't care for it much... The blades are hard to get to and get dull in about an hour of use.. We use the shredding function for chopping up straw for cob, and that works well.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

The thing would be where the heck could we pile it??  There are approximately 9 acres and pretty much all of it(the acreage... everything in between the trees still standing) is "piled" already.  The rest of the land is house, vineyard, garden, etc....  I thought 5 hp sounded kind of small (don't I have a blender with that capacity?)  but have no personal experience with one.  Maybe renting one is the way to go, but if so, we'll most likely have to rent it on multiple occasions, and probably the nearest place to rent one is at least 20-30 miles away.  Generally speaking, we can burn, but the whole state is under an outdoor burning ban because of how incredibly dry it is right now.  The previous owner piled a bunch of branches from the wrecked peach trees that were in the front yard just about 15 yards from the house, and between the house and the barn is another pile of wrecked trees that makes it almost difficult to see the barn, big thing that it is.  I think anything above a few inches in diameter, we could save as firewood.  However, just with what is down from ice now, there is enough firewood to last years!  For DH's birthday the other day, I bought him one of those decorative fire bowl thinga-ma-jigs, thinking that repressed pyromaniac that he is, he would enjoy it, and it might be a way to slowly get rid of the smaller branches around the house.  However, we have to wait until after we've had some rain to even use it.

[peternap]

I like to chip it and unless you rent a chipper, you'll have to spend about 16 grand on a good one. What I do is rent a chipper and get a good pile of chips, hose it down after hitting it with 10,10,10 fertilizer. Use the tractor to turn it every couple pf weeks and by the end of the summer, you'll have more compost than you ever dreamed.

The fertilizer is key. It needs the nitrogen to compost quickly.

[glenn kangiser]

I have a 8 hp but don't use it. It's more work then it's worth.  I second using a the rental tow behind models.

Glenn, I've used one with a 318. I think it was an 18" and what a wood eating monster that was.

That's about what mine is - maybe 20".  I wanted to try to bog it down so threw a 6 inch eucalyptus about 30 feet long overall into it - tapered down of course - trunk first.  It bogged for the trunk and the tree disappeared in about 5 seconds. 

The problem with these is if you get a limb behind you --- you become part of the chip pile when it pulls you through.

[glenn kangiser]

Homey, I'd concentrate on getting a wide fire clearing - defensible space if that suits you, around your house and buildings.  There is little to no time during a fire to do that.

[muldoon]

I have one that was gifted to me last year.  Its an older model 15 horse I think.  Has all steel construction, not the plastic ones I see now.  It didnt run when I got it, just spurted gas.  I rebuilt the carburetor and replaced some gas tubing and it ran like a champ.  Only used it two weekends and it is an absolute chore.  It's super loud, very slow going, the vibration will beat you to death, and it generally sucks.  I would not buy one based on my experience with it.  (and it works)

I also am in a burn ban and have not had a burn in almost a year now but that is how I used to manage the clearing process.  I have piles and piles stash away.  What I have been doing as I clear is lay them down in a somewhat reasonable pile with heavy ends (trunks) in the same direction.  Tie them together with a ratchet strap and then strap them to the back of the mower and drive them into the woods.  I have a 1/3rd acre or so clearing behind on of the tree lines that I am using as a "pile" location.  It gets them out of site, keeps work going, and allows me to get to them later.  -- for burning or mulching or whatever.  I tried to keep them in manageable "lines" where I could back up to them and pull them out in the same piles I brought them in.  That approach may work for you as well?  At least you could stage them all up so that if you do rent the big honcho chipper you can go through it in a weekend instead of having to rent it over and over. 

I really like the mulch / fertilizer idea Don.  I might go back and do something like that this summer. 

[considerations]

I have one and I use it every year.  I make "beauty bark" for weed control, and it works great.  It does take up to 3 inch branches.  It renders blackberry vines incapable of regenerating.

I also used it to chop hay for my old mare who had no teeth!

It's on wheels, heavier 'en h---, and hard to move around because it's so top heavy. But I'm pleased to have it.  Easy to start, even with a pull start. Dependable.

I'd like to get it bolted onto a tiny platform trailer to haul it around to save the work of moving it....its on the "list", just never quite gets to first place. 

Maybe its because I don't know much about alternative models that I like this one so much.

[MountainDon]

Peter had the fertilizer contribution, not me.

Every state likely has defensible fire space information. Here's the one I've used. NM of course. It's a PDF.

http://www.nmfireinfo.com/docs/Living%20With%20Fire_nm_jes.pdf

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

The acre around the house is fairly clear, but that's not to say that a strong fire in the typical winds we have around here couldn't pass the lawn in a flying leap and ignite the house.  Peter, would chicken poop work in lieu of the fertilizer?  It is really high in N, too.  That's kind of what I was planning on doing with it if I turned it into wood chips... well, that, and maybe cover the paths in the garden with it so that I don't have to mow them and fight the grass as much. 

[peternap]

The acre around the house is fairly clear, but that's not to say that a strong fire in the typical winds we have around here couldn't pass the lawn in a flying leap and ignite the house.  Peter, would chicken poop work in lieu of the fertilizer?  It is really high in N, too.  That's kind of what I was planning on doing with it if I turned it into wood chips... well, that, and maybe cover the paths in the garden with it so that I don't have to mow them and fight the grass as much. 

It should work better than commercial fertilizer. Poultry is one of the highest Nitrogen content of all commonly used manure. It's also organic which I consider a big plus.

I am a master Gardner with the state extension office (Kinda like being a Jr Forest Ranger ) and my specialty has always been composting. I spearheaded our county's leaf and tree debris composting program.

They used to put it all in the landfill but now they make tons of mulch/compost which residents can get for free. Saves a bunch of money too since the landfill is full and they have to pay space fees to one of the commercial lanfills.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Great news!  We met the neighbor to the west of us and he is wanting to put in a fence.  He is borrowing a dozer from a friend in a few weeks to clear out the brush and small trees on his side of the property line and wondered if we would like any along that side cleared at the same time... he offered to do it for free and leave any trees we want to keep in exchange for the wood.  Of course this would only be on the southwest boundary area, but it is a lot better than nothing, especially since we don't have to do the work.  Seems like a nice fellow.  His boxer came over to meet us and was scared of our one-eyed miniature spitz, and so I started back through the woods to bring Brodie home and (I'd seen him at their house before so I knew where he belonged).  Neighbor met us about halfway because he heard our dogs going crazy and figured it was his dog. 

[glenn kangiser]

That's Great.

Throw in some diesel - maybe lunch - you might get more.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Yep, DH suggested that I cook for them and then ask them to do the whole west side while he's got the dozer.  The guy offered.  And, as the property goes, the west side is a smaller wooded area than the others, and has probably had the underbrush cleared at some point in time, so it wouldn't be as much work.  You can actually walk through it as opposed to the other side where even the dogs have a hard time getting through because of the downed limbs etc.  I think it is a pretty good exchange... I mean he offered to do it free in exchange for the wood.  We have more wood than we  know what to do with.  There is enough down right now to last for years as firewood if we just get out there and cut it and stack it.  I'm not using the fireplace, though until we get this carpet out!  The old lady who lived here obviously just about burned her house down on more than one occasion... there are melted spots in the carpet all over the place in front of the fireplace.

[glenn kangiser]

Reminds me of a Joke, Homey.

Why do ducks have flat feet? hmm







To stomp out burning forest fires.   [idea]







Why do elephants have flat feet? 







To stomp out burning ducks.





That was a good one, eh?