Chipper Autofeed

My bad.
The auto feed I had issues with was on the little Vermeer. Seems there was no way to adjust it.
I bought my 65 as a back up chipper, tach didn't work, also had other wiring issues so I just stripped it all off.
 
jim454 said:
Evo, my experience with small chippers and auto feed is that they don't work that well.

Did you get it up and running and what are your thoughts?
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I got it up and running. It's a strange unit, but I really like it. Unlike any other autofeed I have used, it doesn't reverse the brush. It constantly tries to find the optimal feed rate, stopping when it really bogs, and then feeding slower until it seem to feel it's under light load. It's hard to describe, but it seems to optimize the feed rate vrs, on, reverse off, on cycle. It did take quite a bit of tinkering to dial in the rmps for the unit. The only other thing this machine is lacking, is no crush springs. It's just a weighted upper feedwheel. I suppose it's due for a sharpening.. I love the autofeed though.
Do remember that I'm running a 44hp machine, while I think the lil vemeers, and bandit 65's are about 18-27 hp too...
 
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I believe Auto Feed and Auto Feed Plus are two different things. Or more accurately Auto Feed Plus has the reversing. It takes more parts and electronics to have that happen. Costs more, not on all chippers.
 
Yes, this is not a Autofeed brand unit. It is a HED module, without a reversing hydro switch. Next time I have the in feed taken apart I will try sharpening the rolls.
 
If you look at the Bandit 65 series chippers the feed roller springs are a pretty simple affair. It wouldn't take much to fabricate them up to work on any top roller feed chipper if a person wanted to. An option.
 
That is on the list... When I find the time. My short term very unprofessional solution is to climb up and stand on the upper feed wheel weight.
 
Veeery unprofessional. :) Sounds like what I would be tempted to do. That's why I thought lift and crush to be an affordable option on a recent Bandit 90XP build.
 
I have seen some older model of chipper that had what looked like a 5 foot long handle coming out from over the top of the feed wheel area. When you needed down force you just reach up and pull on this long lever arm.
 
Digging up this oldie, @evo how's the autofeed holding up(if you're still running the same chipper that is)?
Thinking about adding it to my prehistoric 200+
Never really wanted it until we started feeding with the mini. Now I've got to have a guy run the feed bar when loading logs. Can't jump off and get there fast enough to keep it from bogging down myself. Seems like one step forward, half step back to have a guy doing a job the machine could do on its own, potentially.
Anyone else add autofeed on to an older machine?
 
Z'sTrees said:
Digging up this oldie, @evo how's the autofeed holding up(if you're still running the same chipper that is)?
Thinking about adding it to my prehistoric 200+
Never really wanted it until we started feeding with the mini. Now I've got to have a guy run the feed bar when loading logs. Can't jump off and get there fast enough to keep it from bogging down myself. Seems like one step forward, half step back to have a guy doing a job the machine could do on its own, potentially.
Anyone else add autofeed on to an older machine?
Click to expand...


I keep kicking this idea around myself for the same reason. I'm running a woodchuck wc17, and am interested in the same info.
 
I haven't done it but as recently as a few years ago the guy who invented auto feed (plus) would sell you the right controller as the brains and tell which hydro valves to install and one easy place to get them.

You want auto feed plus which reverses feed wheels and pulls wood off your knives by about an inch during engine wind up.
 
Z'sTrees said:
Digging up this oldie, @evo how's the autofeed holding up(if you're still running the same chipper that is)?
Thinking about adding it to my prehistoric 200+
Never really wanted it until we started feeding with the mini. Now I've got to have a guy run the feed bar when loading logs. Can't jump off and get there fast enough to keep it from bogging down myself. Seems like one step forward, half step back to have a guy doing a job the machine could do on its own, potentially.
Anyone else add autofeed on to an older machine?
Click to expand...
Thanks for asking and reminding me. I disabled it a year ago, and haven’t re set it. I’m not sure if you should take my advice as it’s a very unique autofeed system.
It doesn’t stop the feed to wait for the engine to come back up, but slows the feed to keep chipping at optimal rpms.
I much prefer the on/off autofeed systems. But I do intend on hooking it back up.
There is a gap where brush gets hung up and won’t reach the knives on my machine, also the down pressure sucks on the upper feed wheels. What I found I that when I stuffed the machine and walked away the feed wheels would slow when the autofeed kicked in, only to start slipping on the brush and hanging things up.
If it’s just myself or another experienced guy, the auto feed is a bit more of a pain. With inexperienced help it’s gold.
 
Your welcome.

By the way, he asserts, and I believe him, that his unit is built to hearty long lived specs and always has been where as the reason the companies switched away from buying from him was to go to cheaper overseas units that are more fragile and susceptible to vibration.
 
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