Wood chipper

[cotswoldcs]

I'm looking for a wood chipper for our farm. We have virtually no woodland but plenty of trees dotted around the place and always have plenty of work in the winter. We've always burnt the brash but concerned that this isn't particularly good for the environment (especially if, or so I'm told, engine oil is used to help the fire burn a little quicker!) and I also have a used for woodchip on the farm. Burning brash properly is actually quite labour intensive and whilst quite satisfying, is taking up valuable time in the winter.

I think a wood chipper would save time - any comments?
We have a tractor so a PTO operated one makes sense - or does it?
I'm only looking at spending £3-4k + VAT, new or second hand.
My initial search has found a Kellfri 170 Chipper for £3,200 - anyone got or seen one? Any good?

 

[Dave W]

Kellfri are awful things. There's a reason they are half the price of others.

 

[Bloders]

we have a timberwolf on the tractor and its pretty good.
I agree, its as easy to chip the stuff than burn it in the field. And then we get to use it to heat the buildings, so its an all round winner.

 

[farmerm]

I bet I can burn brash or push it into a pile as a bug habitat on some of our plentyful waste ecological ground far quicker than I could cut it and feed it though a chipper... though I have considered chipping it, composting it and using it as a source of organic matter

 

[Poncherello1976]

Just bought a TP Chipper which is PTO driven on the tractor, and chips up to 8 inches. Seems ok, have not really used it in anger yet though. Bought it to chip for a Biomass Boiler so it chips to a certain size, so bear that in mind if that is your use for the woodchip.
I think Timberwolf are up there for being pretty good, do not know about any others.

 

[Dave W]

Just bought a TP Chipper which is PTO driven on the tractor, and chips up to 8 inches. Seems ok, have not really used it in anger yet though. Bought it to chip for a Biomass Boiler so it chips to a certain size, so bear that in mind if that is your use for the woodchip.
I think Timberwolf are up there for being pretty good, do not know about any others.

TP are rebadged lindana. I've got a old 12" version That is quite frankly an animal. No stress control on it as frankly it doesn't need it.
It's out on hire/borrow at the moment but could be for sale @cotswoldcs

 

[Goweresque]

I came to exactly the opposite conclusion, that getting rid of significant amounts of brushwood is far easier by pushing it up and burning it, than trying to chip it. I had large amounts of brushwood to dispose of from lowering overgrown hedges, and bought a chipper as I thought that would be the best way. One winter of that soon disabused me of it - you burn far more diesel running a chipper than you ever do lighting even a series of bonfires, especially if you leave the brushwood until the spring to burn it, so it lights easily. Which has the added advantage of the ground being drier then too. Thats also an issue for chipping - driving back and forward to the same spots day after day ends up making a right mess if you have a wet winter. Obviously if you have lovely dry Cotswold ground thats not so much of an issue, but on my place all I did was make muddy tracks.

If you have a telehandler I'd buy a big hardox tined muck grab with a top grapple and use that to collect up all the brushwood in one fell swoop in the spring and with the help of a few litres of cherry dispose of the lot neatly. Its also far quicker - I can clear hundreds of metres of hedge toppings with the telehandler and grab in a morning that would take days of the tractor running the chipper. The top grapple is crucial though, a muck fork without one can only shift a fraction of what one with can.

 

[Andy26]

Wouldn't fancy feeding that all through a chipper, much easier to leave it to season for a while, then it will burn clean and easily. Obviously ensuring you have the correct EA waste exemptions.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Unless you have a decent size chipper with hiab/grab feed then pushing into a heap and burning will be far quicker

 

[john432]

If it's too damp for a telehandler

 

[mo!]

We've 400m of hedge to coppice before the end of the year. I could use the chip but you wouldn't dare take a tractor into the field at the moment. A mate has an 8 tonner with a shear and a thumb on it so he can cut and push up. A dry day in spring and we shall have a nice fire. The only other option for speed is a mulcher on a big 360 but they are serious money and it is only a days work so the transport would kill the job.

 

[Exfarmer]

If you get your own chipper, make sure that the burner can handle the product which comes out. Know man who bought 20 tonnes of chipped material and it completely fouled up his hopper feeder.
i am no expert on such things, so do not know what was wrong.
i would also agree that burning is far faster than feeding a load of hedge trimmings into a relatively small chipper, as I look out on a big pile of brush in my garden, which would be ideal for bonfire night, but the would havebto reseed a large patch of lawn

 

[john432]

If you get your own chipper, make sure that the burner can handle the product which comes out. Know man who bought 20 tonnes of chipped material and it completely fouled up his hopper feeder.
i am no expert on such things, so do not know what was wrong.
i would also agree that burning is far faster than feeding a load of hedge trimmings into a relatively small chipper, as I look out on a big pile of brush in my garden, which would be ideal for bonfire night, but the would havebto reseed a large patch of lawn

Usually grows back really well where there has been a bonfire