Mini and micro chippers

southsoundtree

southsoundtree

Been here much more than a while
Location
Olympia, WA
I have a Lot of tight access jobs where chips can stay onsite.


My miniloader has 15 gpm flow IIRC, powered by a 32hp Diesel.

I'm curious about Mini-loader chippers.





I'm also considering a Eliet or similar.




Thanks for any input.
 
When I bought the F450 from him (June '23), I saw his mini chipper and we chatted briefly about the machine. Can't remember details, but I know he was very happy with how it was fitting into his 'reduced size/equipment' business model he was working towards, and that it seemed extremely maneuverable.
 
My Eliet is the Super Prof XC, 23hp. It has been a great machine for me so far and it is really good at punching above its weight in production work for only having 23hp.

My concerns for the future lay mainly with the company itself and it's customer service. When I bought the machine, I had a great experience with the CEO Jean and their sales rep Joe. They have both since left the company and I have heard that customer service has gone from amazing to much less reliable. Perhaps this has to do with international trade being much more expensive now, they come from France.

They are definitely an acquired taste if you are running larger chippers currently, maintenance and workload being the biggest changes. I work on it myself and it seems to be engineered for the owner/operator/mechanic type of business, very simple, kinda like working on a motorcycle. For a 2 person crew it is very nice, eliminating almost all brush dragging.

I'd be glad to answer any questions you have or give me a shout directly www.northridgetree.com @southsoundtree
 
Thanks.

The job I'm currently looking at is very tricky access with very uneven ground in a slope. I was thinking of roping the chipper in and out as the drive system is not meant für this terrain.

The wheeled Eliet can freewheel while bring lowered/ winched, I gather from a call to Eliet.
 
The driveway sucks with a bad (horizontal to steep at an angle, no curve) transition from the street to a steep, narrow but paved driveway.

The tops of the trees would be needing 150' of boom.

Material can go straight down and be chipped in place for Erosion control and terracing the slope.

7 large maples with K. duesta.

Want to avoid hard side-loading as the bases are crap.
 
About 20 trunks,

16"-36" dbh,

and 90'-100+' tall for 12-15 of the trunks.





I'm so busy without this headache that I may suggest phased hazard- reduction moving to longterm managed small maples (IDK 40' tall leaning away from the house) if they can't get it handled by another crew in a timely way or can't afford it.

They will be inundated with material unless they pay for all the wood disposal.

My summer employee is just back to engineering college, so I need another pair of hands, especially a climber who can do some of the light climbing lifting so I can run some of the ground ops with a third person, ideally.



The Registered Consulting Arborist correctly ID'ed the hazard and suggested removal, and replanting Cedars at 3:1. He did not consult a geologist.
 
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That's a thing that's hard for me to say...my Zillow Estimated Value is not 1.24M, with a rental ADU.





We're going to meet to discuss Hazard reduction. I hope to use a chunk of the biomass as slope stabilizing logs and mulch.


I need to find a mini loader attachment chipper with feed- wheels.

I am suspecting that even the 35hp portable gravity-feed drum chippers are needing material pushed into them.
 
Agreed.



I just had a very productive, if long site visit. A very complicated project that she was dreading, turned on its head to be a palatable, risk- reducing, affordable over time, sustainable for the hillside project.

I want to work on these trees before the weather changes in 3-4 weeks.


(2) 8-hour days of hazard reduction pruning and crown reduction over bedrooms on the schedule for Phase 1. We will go on from there.

Good view pruning of the Puget Sound opportunities over there, too.

No chipping. We will use a lot of the material for slope stabilization and mini terracing to go along with a replanting plan, or leave as logs in the drop zone.

I suggested we spend 20 minutes cutting a small, full-bench (all tread is undisturbed earth, no fill) trail on a steep side-slope that's wide enough for wheelbarrowing.
She can have mulch delivered in a 5 yd dump truck to the top of the property, wheeling downhill, and firewood can be wheeled downhill by her friends and colleagues (forester types), who she trusts to cut and haul.

Some material can be scattered/ dropped into the woods.

One more new, quality, already thankful for all the time and consideration, customer. Hurray.
 
What’s wrong with a retrenchment plan, as part of a longer term removal replacement project?
Cedar is going to be somewhat dependent on the maples to get established. They will have a much better chance without going to ground 0
 
Yes, we are doing a staged retrenchment plan. Removal would be concerning for the hillside supporting the whole house.

They are super-duper rotten. One whole trunk (70-100' tall) has peeled off already (went the gully way, not house way).


It's possible to see many feet of soil loss by the exposure of the roots.


I'm standing on the failed 20" dbh trunk. The gap to the right of my foot is the empty "socket".
20250920_141617.webp
 
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