Gas engines on chippers...

flyingsquirrel25 · Sep 5, 2016

@BeesandTrees any updates? I have bandit coming out with a 990 and 1390 this week hopefully. Both Carry the 130 hp gasser. Begining to worry about fuel consumption, otherwise I think I'll like them. But hell its a new chipper!

Merle Nelson · Sep 5, 2016

Spoke with a Bandit salesman this last week and he said they are putting 169 HP gas V8s on big chippers.

RIVIEZZO TREE EXPERTS · Sep 5, 2016

no replacement for displacement. diesel repairs get costly but no way will gas motor chip equivalent and not use more fuel to my chipper. demo the chippers and by whats best for your company. think 10 yrs from now is that size chipper with the power plant going to be sufficient enough?

TimberJack · Sep 5, 2016

Ten years from now ya'll will be on your third gas engine...

welltree · Sep 6, 2016

I was at bandit customer days at factory they had a 1390 gas running beside a 1390 tier 4. Gas was 130 horse, they ran equivalent diesel has more tourque but gas recovered so as far as I could see it was a draw . Also they ran a 18x(1890) with a 169 horse v8 gas and it was impressive

simplyarbor · Sep 8, 2016

We got our 990 with the 130hp gas about 2 months ago. It's mean. Fuel consumption isn't noticeably different. In Pine land auto feed rarely even kicks on. Perfect size for our production crew and niche.

flyingsquirrel25 · Sep 8, 2016

simplyarbor said:
We got our 990 with the 130hp gas about 2 months ago. It's mean. Fuel consumption isn't noticeably different. In Pine land auto feed rarely even kicks on. Perfect size for our production crew and niche.

@simplyarbor thank you, thank you, thank you. This was the type of review I had been looking for. Everyone is saying big fuel bills, and the salesman is saying it's less than its diesel counterpart. I didn't want to believe the man (and told him so yesterday). But now his case is being built.
I demoed a 1390 yesterday with the GM 130. WOW! I was impressed with the limb break down on the spruce, and that gas engine is plenty powerful. Over all the machine is a bit big for my operation, but the price difference between the 990 and the 1390 is so insignificant it would be silly to go small. I am hoping to get the 990 out to look at next week but I think I'm sold.
Unfortunately we only got to run the chipper for an hour or so because the truck filled up and we ran out of brush but I was impressed.

simplyarbor · Sep 8, 2016

If you look at the Bandit spec sheet, fuel consumption is basically the same and that seems accurate so far. We are careful not to run the chipper full blast all day or let it idle for hours. I had heard that the 1390 was also very capable with the 130hp... Yep, i'd have loved the 1390, but wanted to stay compact and it fits our niche. I got got live hydraulics and the winch setup and its super versatile. Overall, very pleased with the chipper and Bandit has truly went over and beyond my expectations.

Trevor Balgavy · Sep 16, 2016

TimberJack said:
Ten years from now ya'll will be on your third gas engine...

But with a 5 year warranty you will have only had to pay for 1 of them.

flyingsquirrel25 · Sep 16, 2016

simplyarbor said:
If you look at the Bandit spec sheet, fuel consumption is basically the same and that seems accurate so far. We are careful not to run the chipper full blast all day or let it idle for hours. I had heard that the 1390 was also very capable with the 130hp... Yep, i'd have loved the 1390, but wanted to stay compact and it fits our niche. I got got live hydraulics and the winch setup and its super versatile. Overall, very pleased with the chipper and Bandit has truly went over and beyond my expectations.

Live hydraulics? This is the second time in the last couple weeks I've heard this. What is the benefit?

tc262 · Sep 16, 2016

flyingsquirrel25 said:
Live hydraulics? This is the second time in the last couple weeks I've heard this. What is the benefit?

Hydraulic pump turned by the engine instead of the disc or drum. You don't have to have the clutch engaged to run a winch or other hydraulic features. It's pretty much standard any chipper with hydraulic down pressure so you can lift the the feed wheel with the disc/drum stopped.

simplyarbor · Sep 17, 2016

What tc said... My 150xp was a 1995, so no auto feed, no frills. I love the lift crush on the feed wheels, easy to feed logs and smash stubborn limbs.

flyingsquirrel25 · Sep 17, 2016

tc262 said:
Hydraulic pump turned by the engine instead of the disc or drum. You don't have to have the clutch engaged to run a winch or other hydraulic features. It's pretty much standard any chipper with hydraulic down pressure so you can lift the the feed wheel with the disc/drum stopped.

Oh ok... Never heard of it like that. And only run one machine in 19 years that the pump was on the disk. Thanks

BeesandTrees · Sep 17, 2016

So far so good, definitely goes through fuel a little quicker than our old diesel but not crazy it doesn't seem. Power is great, down time on auto feed is quicker for sure. Some little things dealer has had to deal with as it seems they are still working out the bugs on our version but dealer has been great. I'm happy as are my guys. Looking forward to not having to plug in and deal with the cold so much in winter.