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Post by daylilydude on Feb 11, 2018 5:28:43 GMT -5
Is one of these in your arsenal for chipping up leaves and twigs, if so, which do you use and give us some details on the one you like??
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Post by ahntjudy on Feb 11, 2018 7:47:01 GMT -5
Thank you daylilydude for posting this question... As I posted in the mulch thread, I need a chipper...only using lawn mower right now...effective only on leaves... I borrowed my brother's once...The thing was way too powerful for my needs... I've seen the kind that sits on top of a trash can...read reviews that said the kind with the string trimmer thingy was not too great but...I dunno... Very interested in others opinions and usages...
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Post by farmerjack41 on Feb 11, 2018 8:09:34 GMT -5
Have an older MTD, bought in 1986 or 87. Lord only knows how many hours on it. It is what they call a chipper/shredder. Have replaced the chipper knife twice. 95% of the work is shredding instead of chipping. As I recall the engine HP is eight. I don't chip wood larger that about 2", save it for the stove. If I were doing a lot of chipping, a larger heavy model would be better. Guess if I were to replace this old one, it would be a 3 pt model. One less engine to worry about, and the tractor sips fuel. I have built a hitch for this MTD, so can tow it behind a garden tractor or riding lawn mower. There is no way I can complain about this unit, but am sure there are better ones. Would stay away from one built with plastic. Have read several reviews about the small electric ones, good up to 1/4" round twigs.
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Post by september on Feb 11, 2018 10:52:05 GMT -5
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Post by paulf on Feb 11, 2018 11:12:51 GMT -5
Mine is a Troy-Bilt chipper/shredder with a 10 HP gas engine. Got the heaviest duty one I could afford. It chips branches up to 3 inches and reduces leaves volume 12:1. I live in a wild, woodsy, untamed area and the landscape had not been civilized for more than 70 years. The brush had to be moved back a hundred feet in order to have a garden. With hundreds of trees, many in the yard the shredder was necessary.
I did replace the blades four years ago after mostly chipping for several years. Since then most of the work is in leaf shredding. Last fall the west wind blew almost all the leaves over the hill and out of the yard, so it sat idle. I start the monster up every year a couple of times just to be sure it runs. Hearing protection is very necessary when it gets going.
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Post by brownrexx on Feb 11, 2018 13:31:44 GMT -5
I don't get enough branches to need a shredder. If we have leaves, the lawn mower chops them up just fine.
Sometimes we may cut down a large shrub or a small tree and then we just take it to the community composting facility. I don't have enough material to shred to support buying and storing another piece of equipment.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Feb 11, 2018 15:21:13 GMT -5
When I had a half acre lot to clear in the 90's I bought a Troybuilt Tomahawk, 8 horsepower I think. It fell off of the back of a truck and I bought another Troy Built. Big mistake! MTD had bought out Troybuilt and put that name on a Clog-If-You Sneeze-At-It so called chipper/shredder. Fortunately I no longer had need for it and it is standing rusting away in the backyard. The first one I had was praise worthy, the second was....not.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Feb 13, 2018 17:21:39 GMT -5
DH used to own a tree service and would rent a chipper from time to time. That might be a better option if you're only going to have occasional reason to utilize a chipper. The only thing needed to rent one is a trailer hitch on your vehicle. In general, the big ones are pretty straightforward and easy to use- and can chew up tree branches up to four inches thick. Stack up a bunch of brush over time, and then rent a chipper for half a day and turn it all into fabulous free mulch.
Alternatively, you could also contact a tree service that advertises that they do brush chipping. For a fee they come out and chip up a load of brush and branches. They usually ask if you want the mulch or if you want them to haul it away, and then they charge more to haul it away.
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Post by Gianna on Feb 15, 2018 16:44:01 GMT -5
I don't have a chipper, and don't really want one (I value my fingers too much) - though I think they are great inventions. If I want something chipped, I send it out in the green can and get it back in the form of city mulch.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Feb 15, 2018 23:53:16 GMT -5
I sure wish my city had a mulch program.
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stone
Pro Member
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Post by stone on Feb 16, 2018 8:49:09 GMT -5
I used to garden for someone that had a small chipper... I was really shocked at the amount of time spent producing about enough mulch for a single plant.... For that amount of time, I could go down to the dump and bring back an entire truckload of woodchips!
At my house... I have plenty of room for brush piles... The critters appreciate the habitat.
When I'm fixing to plant some veggies in that spot.... On a still day, I bring out the cardboard boxes and newspaper and.... Turn that brush pile into garden space, the ashes help add nutrients to my lame sand.
So... No chipper for me...
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