Morbark 1215

[K c m]

Happy New Years everyone. Rob from Philadelphia here,

I bought an out of the box morbark 1215 in October. Has been operating awesome but i took a monster pin oak this week. Some leaders were 11” and was chipping Did a wonderful job. However at the back end of one of the logs it slowed the rpm and a piece jammed the drum. I ran over and turned machine off. (Maybe 3 seconds as i saw it happen) Smoke came up. Watered it and propped up feed wheel and cleared debris. Cleaned it all out and inspected belt. Belt didn’t seemed rounded or glazed. Still tight. Started her back up and ran no problem. This unit doesn’t have a centrifugal clutch


1. I got machine without centrifugal clutch, was that a bad move?
2. gonna change blades tomorrow and open the housing and inspect.
3. anything besides belt that could be damaged?
4. should i check for anything else that could have gotten messed up i should know about or look for?
Any experience or this type of situation would be great.
Thanks!

 

[Reach]

I am not familiar with that particular machine, or Morbarks in general, but I’ll give some of my more generic opinions.

A machine without a clutch will work I’m sure, but may be more difficult to start when it’s cold, as you have to turn the drum as well as the engine.

Belt could be damaged, knives could be burnt or bent if they were hit hard enough, but not likely.

Check your belt tension - if something jams the drum solidly enough to stop the drum, the engine should stall, that belt should never slip. Check the manual for the tensioning spec, make sure that belt is tight enough and does not have a glazed spot. If the belt is glazed, a little sandpaper and some belt dressing should cure that.

A note on belts in general: new belts stretch a lot, and need frequent tensioning until they stretch in. After that, likely you’ll need to tension that belt about twice a year, but you should check tension at least once a month.

 

[K c m]

I am not familiar with that particular machine, or Morbarks in general, but I’ll give some of my more generic opinions.

A machine without a clutch will work I’m sure, but may be more difficult to start when it’s cold, as you have to turn the drum as well as the engine.

Belt could be damaged, knives could be burnt or bent if they were hit hard enough, but not likely.

Check your belt tension - if something jams the drum solidly enough to stop the drum, the engine should stall, that belt should never slip. Check the manual for the tensioning spec, make sure that belt is tight enough and does not have a glazed spot. If the belt is glazed, a little sandpaper and some belt dressing should cure that.

A note on belts in general: new belts stretch a lot, and need frequent tensioning until they stretch in. After that, likely you’ll need to tension that belt about twice a year, but you should check tension at least once a month.

Good advise, thank you. Yeah i pushes belt down and no give at all. That could be a lie about no clutch because on idol the belt doesn’t spin. Only when engaged will it spin. Yeah it was Reving down as the piece was being processed and feed wheel was reversing but it was at the end of the log and it split thus causing a few small pieces to jam. I saw it happen and ran to turn off.

 

[Reach]

It appears that it should have a clutch, from what I can see on the Morbark website, but someone here who knows those machines can likely give a better opinion.

Belt tension on a 1590 Bandit (Bigger chipper, so it may not be accurate) requires no more than 1” deflection at the center of the belt with 100 pounds of pressure. I just tensioned one today that had probably 1.25” deflection at 100 lbs, but it was slipping under heavy load. It doesn’t take much to allow slip when you don’t want it, especially with larger engines.

You might want to call your dealer for some suggestions, and to ask how to best check the belt tension. Also, make sure your clutch is properly adjusted, if it’s slipping it will very quickly burn itself up, and clutches are expensive!

 

[Jehinten]

Unfamiliar with that machine. But can you recall what the smoke smelled like? The smell of a belt and of a clutch would be different.



Personal opinion I suppose, but 11" pin oak is too big to be chipping in a 12" chipper. I stop chipping at around 8-9" in my 12" on hardwoods and a little bigger in soft woods.

 

[K c m]

Unfamiliar with that machine. But can you recall what the smoke smelled like? The smell of a belt and of a clutch would be different.



Personal opinion I suppose, but 11" pin oak is too big to be chipping in a 12" chipper. I stop chipping at around 8-9" in my 12" on hardwoods and a little bigger in soft woods.

Good advise my man! I gave it a go,did pretty well but I’ll side with caution next time.
The smell was a plastic smell not like truck breaks

is there an online site that carries all commercial chipper parts?

 

[Jehinten]

is there an online site that carries all commercial chipper parts?

@Trevor Balgavy can source many new parts, I don't know if he'll have everything that you need. I've ordered through him a couple of times and it was an easy process and quick shipping.

 

[kludge]

@Reach the Morbarks do have a clutch. The options they sell manual or centrifugal as options in recent models. So this sounds like Kcm is running manual.

@K c m many Morbark parts are not universal as far as I know. We tend to buy from the dealer as a result.

As to the jam, it usually stalls our engine. So it sounds like there is something slipping somewhere it probably shouldn’t. Although I don’t have experience with the most recent models or that on in particular. If the drum was stopped, but the engine running the clutch or belt are most likely culprits. We do have to replace the manual clutches on our M12D every several years. So I might start by eliminating that as a possibility as it’s certainly more expensive than the belts to be eating up with friction.

 

[Reach]

@Reach the Morbarks do have a clutch. The options they sell manual or centrifugal as options in recent models. So this sounds like Kcm is running manual.

@K c m many Morbark parts are not universal as far as I know. We tend to buy from the dealer as a result.

As to the jam, it usually stalls our engine. So it sounds like there is something slipping somewhere it probably shouldn’t. Although I don’t have experience with the most recent models or that on in particular. If the drum was stopped, but the engine running the clutch or belt are most likely culprits. We do have to replace the manual clutches on our M12D every several years. So I might start by eliminating that as a possibility as it’s certainly more expensive than the belts to be eating up with friction.

@kludge Thank you for the confirmation on the clutch, I thought it should have one but I have seen stranger things.

@K c m Definitely check the clutch and the belt tension, as it seems one is off. Your dealer is your friend in cases like this, they do have some knowledge most others do not, and are usually willing to share it free of charge if you keep a decent relationship with them.

If you need an independent repair shop, I can give you a recommendation. It’s a little Amish shop about an hour’s drive from you, but they do good work at great rates. We use them for all our Bandit and Cat problems.

 

[K c m]

Thank you Mr. Reach and me. Kludge.
tge way it works is i turn on the chipper it has a clutch(i had belt Schoud off looking at it) while idaling the clutch is spinning, hit button on screen and it engages belt. The smoke cane from clutch for sure. I smelled it. In so far as it operating great it is, had everything apart this morning. I think i got to it very fast so no big issue.
thank you for your advice and help.

mr. Kludge where you located? Amish country starts about an hour west of me

 

[kludge]

@K c m I think Reach is south of us, more in Amish country. We are between Reading and Allentown. I think he was the one who made the mechanic offer.

 

[Reach]

@K c m I think Reach is south of us, more in Amish country. We are between Reading and Allentown. I think he was the one who made the mechanic offer.

Yes, I live square in the middle of Amish country, just outside of Gap, around the corner from the famous Gap Arborist Supply.

 

[K c m]

Yes, I live square in the middle of Amish country, just outside of Gap, around the corner from the famous Gap Arborist Supply.

Roger that fellas! I appreciate your input and advice. It’ll be second nature soon.stay safe fellas

 

[Trevor Balgavy]

I looked at a few of the 1215s we've had through here an they all had a AutoManufacturing brand clutch/pto on them. I would guess you smoked the clutch when you plugged the drum. That probably glazed the disk some but you'll probably be fine at least for a while anyway. I don't remember who mentioned it but 12" light, handfed chippers will definitely struggle more on wood over 10", especially hardwood. But obviously it will happen every once in a while. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, I've ate, slept, and breathed wood chippers for 13 years so even if I don't have the answer, I will probably have an opinion!