brush bandit 250

C

cityclimber

we are looking to order a brush bandit 250 with a 125hp john deere.

what options are a must have, and what are the weak/problem areas that should be addressed when the machine is ordered?

thanks
 
Hi cityclimber, we have three of the bandit 250 chippers. We have the larger engines though, 200 hp John Deere. I think the bigger engine is worth the extra cash, but then again, we chip alot of palms and need the extra power to get that mess to the truck.
You might want to order an extra set of knives for back up, other than that it is a great stand alone machine. Good choice!
 
I've had two Bandit 250xp's. Both have had the 116hp cummins engine and have worked fine. I've never chipped palms but it sounds like they are really tough.

For the tree work I do a 200 hp engine would just use more fuel, cost more and add weight to the chipper. I believe the 200hp models also come with a heavier frame for more strength ....but again more weight.

I often run my 250xp at around 1,750 rpm which is a little more than half speed of the max rpm of 2,500rpm's.

Always use sharp knives. They will greatly reduce wear and tear on the machine, make better looking chips, and reduce fuel comsumption.
 
i'n the past i had a morbark 290 with a 300 ford gas moter. a morbark model 17 with a 110hp deere and an 18in chipper with a 170hp deere. for a 12in machine i'm sure a 125hp deere will do the job.

the closest dealer has one in stock and i'm just curious if i should take what he has or spec out my own machine. i feel certain machines have certain bugs or weak spots that should be addressed. so is there certain areas on the 250's that bend or crack. what has been reinforced or welded on your 250?
 
The 250xp I'm using these days I bought new in 1996. About the only welding that has been done is on the fold down in-feed chute and that was damaged by having it down and backing into a log.

About 2 years ago I bought the adjustable exhause chute to replace the stock chute and it was well worth the cost. I chip into a F600 with a big box...or a F350 with a small box and the adjustable chute work great to pack out either box. If the chute ever plugs the adjustable chute hinges open for clearing. The non adjustable chute has to be removed to clear.
 
treeco

good advice on the chute, thanks. another reason i'd rather have the 4cyl over the 6 is weight. we have 2 gmc 7500s which will be fine but we also have a gmc 6500 and 5500 it will be on sometimes. so i'd rather not dog the smaller trucks.
 
Hey Cityclimber,

I have one of the machines you are looking at mine is a 2001 with the 125 and it is plenty powerful enough. I have the auto feed option on mine which is nice and handy. I putll it with a GMC 6500 and have no problems at all. Very nice machine. As TreeCo said get the extra knives and I would order a extra throtle cable. That is the biggest weakness of my machine. Is the design for the throttle cable and how it attaches to the throttle handle on the side of the machine. A set screw type of set up. Some times if you tighten that a little to much you can go right through the throttle cable wire. If that happens you can adjust it a few times before putting a new one in. Just remember to keep sharp knives in it and everytime you check and or replace the knives check the gap fro the Anvil. Make sure that is set to the specs of bandit and that will give you some nice chips and keep the wear and tear off of your machine. Also don't forget to grease that baby up and she will give you a lot of years of work out of it. Oh yeah the other thing I don't like about it is the radiator how it is positioned. When chipping a dusty tree you get all the dust and chips sucked onto the screen of the radiator you have to keep wiping that off or on a hot day when it is idiling it may over heat a little on you. Other than that awesome machine.
 
dhuffnmu

i have not tried this, i also forget where i read this. but i heard they make "pusher" fans. instead of sucking the air into the radiator. the blades are reversed so they push the air outward through the radiator. if it works it seems like a simple solution to a long standing problem.

when we got our new bucket truck i make a screened frame to go infront of the intercooler/ condensor / radiator and it's worked out great to keep the saw dust from packing in .
 
I wish they would do something. Sometimes you are just working and don't think about it and then realize it is over heating. Frustrating. That is the only thing I do not like about the chipper.
 
I would be leery of having a "pusher" fan. As it is, it's pretty easy to clear the dust. Just think what that would entail on the "in"side of the radiator.

How about getting a bug screen to hang in front of the radiator. It could be occasionally shaken off with not too much effort.
 
The pusher fan would create more problems than it solves. I've got screening over the front of my 250xp and it plugs with fine dust. When the engine is off a tap on the screen and all the dust falls off.

I also have a high temp Murphy cut off saftey so if overheating does occur the engine is protected.
 
we run a team of the lighter narrower 200s here, both set up preatty much the same. one is a turbo 110 cummins and has live hydraulics, feedwheel lift (must have), handcrank swivel discharge, 64" infeed tray width(standard on 250), steel fuel tank (much better) cone holder (convenient) radiator screen (must have helps keep radiator clean), radiaotr guards (saved us a radiator more than 4 times). the other is a year older and doesn't have live hydraulics and only has 86 hp ford bsd 444 naturally aspirated diesel burning, burn your eyes, 45 year old design, american muscle. not only is it quieter, but it lugs better. never had an engine part go wrong with that one either, except a block warmer. if you get a feedwheel lift option YOU NEED extra aluminum hinges where the lever attaches to the valve, thisis the weakest part on all BB chippers. very cheap part, but annoying as hell to work without. also change blades as soon as they go dull, and keep anvil adjusted and shaped properly. this greatly extends the life and durability of your knives. to save time i change the blades with blades that are the same size or slightly larger so i don't have to adjust it everytime. also get a spare set of cutterwheel belts, they last a good year or 2, but once they go, you're screwed. you can chip small stuff with 2 belts though. all in all BB make a very good machine, our next one will prolly be a 254 or a 1590 if not bigger.
 
treeco why the lower rpms. you dont have auto feed obviously.They are meant to run at 2500 rpm.anything less is harder on the motor both hydraulic and engine and therre is more of a chance the knives could not cut properly.
 
Usually I'm just trimming so I run it at a lower speed to save fuel and wear and tear on the system. I keep sharp knives. I've had this 250 since 1996.
 
Hey craneguy1, how's about doing us a favor and fetching the attached version of your avatar, then uploading it to replace the behemoth you've got now? 2048x1536 at a 90 quality factor plus 8KB of profile information, for a total of 1.1MB is just too much for an image that's only being displayed at 100x100! The attachment is only 6KB.

Thanks.
 

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I forget. That was a couple months ago :)

You'd evidently had an un-modem-friendly image as your avatar at the time, which you apparently no longer have. So nevermind.
 
i have an external screen over the grill on my Bandit 200. Works pretty well. We still have to blow it out every so often and pressure washing the fins in the radiator helps too.

One other spot to watch is on the right side in-feed chamber wall. There's a week spot, right where the anvil is, and sometimes the feed rollers can push the right piece of wood through the side and open up that metal like a sardine can. Then everything you feed in just comes right back out the sidewall.

great machine though. for my next chipper, unless i get a woodsman, i'm getting another bandit.
 
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