Chipper choices - questions mostly....

I'd go with Morbark or Woodsman. We've been running a Morbark Model 17 since 1993 or '94. It's been a great chipper. Never had to do anything major major to it. We replaced the axle recently because of a screwed up bearing, and some other things that have shut it down, but no major problems. We run a John Deere diesel engine. Back in the day, this was the largest chipper/engine combo out there. If we could give it a new paint job, some new parts here and there, and a winch, we would be set for awhile.
 
You mentioned that you wanted a low maintenance chipper, well it may not be nice to feed but it's got to be the lowest maintenance and most reliable chipper around: an Altec 12" drum or an older style Asplundh 12" drum.

You guys said that altec's new chippers are a carbon copy of bandits, but I thought that altec just bought woodchuck and put their name on it.
 
What ever you do stay away from the late 90's model 13 morbark!Maybe even the early 2000's.The fan system on those machines was very poor.It won't chip a dead stick without clogging up.I'm pretty sure the newer morbark's that are named after storms,blizzard,tornado,etc.are okay.But if it's called a model 13 stay away.
 
Altec bought out woodchuck, I am not sure of any changes to the design or anything other than the name change. Still built in the same plant in Shelby. I must be the only Vermeer fan on here, The main reason being the service at the Simpsonville location. They bailed me out so much when I had that old Wood chuck that I bought a vermeer because that is where I am going to get the work done any way. Lots of guys from ashville use them so keep that in mind too.
 
Best chipper I've ever used by a wide margin...
Carlton 2012 Superb build quality, not cheap though.

Whatever you get, get one with a hydraulic lift for the feed rollers. Ran a Morbark without one all last week and it sucked.
 
I don't have much experience with different kinds of chippers, but I like my Vermeer too. It has a Perkins deisel engine and just sips the fuel, and has very low maintenance.
 
Thanks for keeping this discussion alive, everyone. Oasis, Winterbush, I have a local guy selling a Vermeer 1250 with 930 hours for near $10K. I think I am going to run some wood through it this afternoon and give it a fair shake.

Another unit that had me interested, and starting this thread, was:

http://tinyurl.com/yg747ek

I didn't include the Altec, because it didn't have a page of it's own -suffice it to say that it was a pretty 12" chipper with 70 hours for the same price. Without any mention of first-hand good experience so far on this thread, I'm not sure if I am considering it anymore. Then again, if the price is right, you know...
 
I can give you first hand experiance with the altec 12", they're a light weight super low maintenance fuel sippers. They have the simplest design ever made and they have been producing them with the same basic design since 1946.

They aren't very nice to feed when your not used to them, but it doesn't take long before you'll be feeding it like a hydraulic chipper.
 
I agree grease it at least everyday!!!! MUST Grease every 4-5 hrs of use is the spec. I run a 1250 vermeer with 1200 hrs on it and the only trouble I've had in the year that I've had was the feed roller bushings were wore when I bought it because no grease. I keep a dedicated grease gun on each piece of equipment (except trucks)There isn't too much grease!
Around here it's 95%+ Vermeer with a couple bandits and asplundh chuck N ducks. I've never had a chance to run anything else. But a friend of mine in VA swears by morbark.
Also check where you'll be getting parts/service. Local shop may be a swing factor rather than having to drive 4hrs. Down time sucks. I have a vermeer shop 20 min from my house.
 
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My choice would be a Bandit 250 XP. I ran them for several years, and am currently using a 90XP. Low maintenance, solid construction.



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I totally agree. I have a 90xp myself and it tows behind anything, chips better than alot of larger chippers and is super easy to work on. I have owned it for 10 years now. The 250xp would be my choice though if I had a larger chip truck and wanted to spend the money.
 
We have used Bandit 250xp for the past 9 years and are ready for a new one. Trying to decide between the Bandit 1590 or the Carlton 18 inch machine.

The Carlton is built heavier than the Bandit. It also has more "crushing" power and hydraulic converter so the if one wheel stops the other keeps going. Carlton also makes a 15 inch machine we are considering also.

Carlton used to just make grinders. Bandit started making stump grinders, so Carlton decided to make chippers also. The Carltons should turn out to be as good as the Bandits.


Funny thing tho, I cannot get Bandit dealers to call me back regarding a purchase. I have tried several different dealers and even call Bandit Hdqts. No responses. This of course will also influence my future purhase.
 
6t56 said:
What ever you do stay away from the late 90's model 13 morbark!Maybe even the early 2000's.The fan system on those machines was very poor.It won't chip a dead stick without clogging up.I'm pretty sure the newer morbark's that are named after storms,blizzard,tornado,etc.are okay.But if it's called a model 13 stay away.
Click to expand...

We just bought our fourth Morbark 13 chipper a month ago or so, and I am now getting around to checking it out. Found out it was having a really hard time getting the chips out of the shoot. They were basically dribbling out the end. Checked everything, anvil was good, knives were fine, I cleaned out a small weld obstruction on the inside of the shoot, polished the inner shoot with a flap wheel. That all helped a little, but it still wouldn’t have filled a truck.

That is when we realized the anvil was protruding into the feed area about a half inch. The gap was fine, but the knives had been sharpened so much that they were a lot smaller then when new. The blades on a Morbark 13 are the fan blades. If the blades are to worn, even if sharp, they will not throw chips well. We put on some newer blades, and now the thing is throwing chips fine.

simple fix, but we are happy to have found that out. I had heard, put on new blades before, but in my mind I had always interpreted that as “sharp blades.” I didn’t realize the actual size of the blade really mattered.
 
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