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Wood Chipper Machine
admin July 25, 2024 0 Comments

What to Know Before You Buy Wood Chipper Machine?

The forestry industry is expected to grow significantly, reaching over $17 billion by 2026, according to a report from Global Market Insights. This means there’s a high demand for heavy equipment in the United States. Whether you run a large tree management company or are a smaller, independent contractor, now is a good time to invest in new equipment to boost your business. 

Specifically, you might consider forestry bucket trucks, grapple trucks, and chip trucks, each suited for different tasks in tree trimming and removal. If your focus is on cutting down trees and chipping branches for easy removal, a chip truck would be a good investment.

This equipment follows the chip truck, breaking down large pieces of wood into chips and then shooting those chips into the back of the truck for disposal elsewhere.

What Is a Wood Chipper Machine?

Wood Chipper Machine

A wood chipper machine, or tree chipper, is a machine designed to cut tree limbs, trunks, and branches into small chips. This process makes cleaning up after vegetation maintenance much easier. When wood is chipped, trucks can carry more of it, which reduces the time, manpower, and costs needed for forestry jobs.

Wood chippers are portable and mounted on wheels, allowing them to be towed behind chip trucks. They work together, with the chipper using an internal combustion engine, ranging from 3 to 1,000 horsepower, for power. High-grade chippers for large-scale jobs may be mounted directly onto trucks and often come equipped with a hydraulic crane.

To use a chipper, pieces of brush and wood are fed into a hopper with a safety collar. The wood is then pulled into the cutting mechanism, where blades on a rotating impeller break it down into chips. These chips are expelled through a chute into a chip truck’s dump container. The size of the chips can be adjusted based on the chipper’s settings.

What Are a Disc Chippers and Drum Chippers?

The original design for wood chippers is the disc chipper, which uses blades mounted on a steel disc to chip the wood. These machines pull the wood from the hopper to the disc using reversible, hydraulically powered wheels. As the disc spins, the blades slice the wood into chips. Consumer-grade disc chippers can handle wood with diameters from 6 to 18 inches, while industrial models can manage up to 160 inches in diameter.

Many commercial tree care companies prefer disc chippers because they produce more uniform chips compared to drum chippers. However, smaller, flexible branches might slip through the disc slots, resulting in lower chip quality.

Drum chippers use a newer system involving a steel drum, powered by a motor, positioned parallel to the hopper. As the drum spins towards the output chute, it draws the material in and chips it. Drum chippers can handle both large logs and smaller branches, as well as fibrous materials like palm trees. They are compact, reliable, and easy to operate.

The primary measure of chipper technology is the length of the wood chips it produces. You can assess its performance by evaluating the quality of the chips; good quality chips have a balanced size with minimal detritus and chunks.

Wood Chippers Can Be Subclassified Based on Their Design and Intended Use

Wood Shredder: A wood shredder is smaller than a chipper and uses semi-blunt blades to break down material. Unlike chippers, which are designed for branches and larger limbs, wood shredders handle smaller vegetation debris like leaves, making them ideal for creating mulch and compost.

Chipper Shredder: This machine combines the functions of both shredding and chipping. It can handle a range of materials, from larger branches to smaller yard debris, making it a versatile option for those who need to process various types of vegetation.

Stump Grinder: A stump grinder is a professional-grade machine used to grind tree stumps into mulch and sawdust. It employs a multi-toothed cutting wheel to efficiently reduce stumps to small particles, making it a useful tool for clearing land and removing the remains of felled trees.

How to Maintain Wood Chipper Machine?

Regular maintenance is crucial for wood chippers machine, as they are inherently dangerous machines. It’s essential to follow the guidelines in the manual that comes with your unit to ensure safe and efficient operation.

Greasing Moving Parts: Ensure all moving parts are greased at regular intervals to keep the machine running smoothly.

Replacing Oil and Oil Filter: Follow the manual’s directions for changing the oil and replacing the oil filter to maintain the engine’s performance.

Cleaning or Replacing the Air Filter: Regularly clean or replace the air filter to prevent debris from entering the engine.

Changing the Spark Plug: Check and replace the spark plug as needed to ensure efficient ignition.

Rotating and Replacing Blades: Rotate the blades periodically and replace them when they become dull or damaged to maintain cutting efficiency.

When Buying a Wood Chipper, There Are Several Key Factors to Consider:​

Capacity

Maximum Size of Wood: Determine the maximum diameter of wood the chipper can handle. Smaller machines can chip wood pieces with diameters of 2-3 inches, while commercial-sized machines can handle pieces as large as 160 inches.

Blade Quality

Number and Quality of Blades: While it’s often thought that more blades (or flails) mean more chipping power, a single high-quality blade can perform better than multiple lower-quality blades. Focus on the blade quality and material.

Engine

Type of Engine: For non-commercial use, smaller machines typically have electric motors, which are low-maintenance, fume-free, and less expensive. However, professional-grade machines are usually gas-powered, offering the necessary power for large-scale jobs.

Extra Features to Consider

Drawbars for Towing: These make the chipper easier to transport, especially if it’s a larger unit.

Forward Discharge Chutes: These help direct the flow of chipped material, making it easier to manage.

Self-Sharpening Blades: This feature reduces maintenance time and keeps the chipper operating efficiently.

Integrated Collecting Bins: Useful for collecting chips neatly, especially if you plan to use the material for mulch or compost.

Tilt-Down Hoppers: These make it easier to load the machine, particularly with larger or more awkward pieces of wood.

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