Over vs under CDL chipper???

Gareth's Tree

Gareth's Tree

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Ashtabula
I have been running my Moorpark 17 chipper since I started tree work 16 years ago. It has been ridiculously reliable which is part of the reason why I have just kept it. However, it is getting fairly worn down at this point and could really use a refurbishing. I had looked into doing that last year but I never pulled the trigger. I really like the simplicity of the machine and the reliability of it, but I am debating upgrading to something that will feed brush better.

My machine only has one large upper feed wheel. I ended up needing to rent a bandit 200XP last year and even though the machine is significantly smaller than mine I was impressed with how well it fed brush. Have been considering replacing my chipper with something like a bandit 18 XP or the older 1890. Those seem like the biggest machines you can get that can still be option under CDL. I'm not really too interested in a winch or even a big engine, but I would like the oversized feed rollers.

My other consideration was - My brother and I work together with one other guy, and my brother and I have our cdls. So I had been debating getting an over CDL chipper.

So my question is - for company that does not specialize in large trees, would there be that much of an advantage of going to an over CDL chipper? Or do you think I would see enough of a production increase going from my Morbark 17 to something like a bandit 1890 or 18xp? (I am also concerned that if I got something over CDL that if my brother is on vacation or something it would be a pain to get the crane and the chipper to jobs without an extra CDL driver)
 
Gareth's Tree said:
So my question is - for company that does not specialize in large trees, would there be that much of an advantage of going to an over CDL chipper
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Why an 18” if not focused on big trees? Bigger is a big time saver and nicer with machine feeding and brushy conifers, so totally get wanting one. Just curious money wise vs ~10k less for a 15”. Seems like chance of a non cdl driver would make the choice there..
 
Serf Life said:
Why an 18” if not focused on big trees? Bigger is a big time saver and nicer with machine feeding and brushy conifers, so totally get wanting one. Just curious money wise vs ~10k less for a 15”. Seems like chance of a non cdl driver would make the choice there..
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Yeah that’s was my question as well. I can’t imagine needing a cdl chipper unless you’re doing mostly large tree removals… and the labor market being what it is, requiring cdl drivers could be a real hindrance.

I don’t think you’d regret getting the Bandit 18xp. That’s quite the machine.

I think you’ll also find that the addition of a bottom feed wheel will help more with chomping brush than size of engine or throat opening.
 
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I’ve seen the teeth on the rollers on Morbarks before. They ate brush really well but they had upper and lower feed rollers. The one was a very hard used machine and the teeth were visibly blunt.


Just a thought, how’s the springs that pull the roller down? One place I was at, had this Vermeer chipper that was terrible at feeding brush, and the old man there saw both springs were noticeably loose and sloppy. He clamped 3 or 4 of the coils and welded them together. Night and day difference.
 
Jonny said:
I’ve seen the teeth on the rollers on Morbarks before. They ate brush really well but they had upper and lower feed rollers. The one was a very hard used machine and the teeth were visibly blunt.


Just a thought, how’s the springs that pull the roller down? One place I was at, had this Vermeer chipper that was terrible at feeding brush, and the old man there saw both springs were noticeably loose and sloppy. He clamped 3 or 4 of the coils and welded them together. Night and day difference.
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I could see about tightening the springs some. I know they're not particularly loose. They've actually broken several times over the years and I just bend a new end on them and hook them back up. So they are getting shorter as time goes on LOL
 
Jonny said:
I’ve seen the teeth on the rollers on Morbarks before. They ate brush really well but they had upper and lower feed rollers. The one was a very hard used machine and the teeth were visibly blunt.


Just a thought, how’s the springs that pull the roller down? One place I was at, had this Vermeer chipper that was terrible at feeding brush, and the old man there saw both springs were noticeably loose and sloppy. He clamped 3 or 4 of the coils and welded them together. Night and day difference.
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I actually thought about a Morbark chipper as well as the bandit. I certainly don't have many complaints about mine. It just seems like a lot of people really like the bandit machines
 
I think, from what you have now, stepping up to an 18XP will make a tremendous difference for you. If you don’t work on big trees, and you don’t need all the horsepower, I don’t think there’s any real reason to go to a bigger chipper than that. That machine will fill a 14 foot chip truck in half an hour or less if you can keep feeding it.
 
I had a model 17 for years and loved it. Then I got a 2400 and it was even better. Now I have an 18" bandit (model 1590xp- their model #s are rather inscrutable) and it is the best chipper I've ever had. Under cdl. Perkins 174 hp tier 3 diesel. Has 3 feed motors instead of the usual 2 and that is super key. Eats brush like a fiend and burns very little fuel. The only way you're going to get a better chipper is go even bigger to a 1990 (lord only knows what model # they are these days).
 
cory said:
I had a model 17 for years and loved it. Then I got a 2400 and it was even better. Now I have an 18" bandit (model 1590xp- their model #s are rather inscrutable) and it is the best chipper I've ever had. Under cdl. Perkins 174 hp tier 3 diesel. Has 3 feed motors instead of the usual 2 and that is super key. Eats brush like a fiend and burns very little fuel. The only way you're going to get a better chipper is go even bigger to a 1990 (lord only knows what model # they are these days).
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Thanks for chiming in! It is encouraging to hear that there's a noticeable difference between a Morbark 17, and a Bandit 1590 or 1890. Thanks!
 
cory said:
I had a model 17 for years and loved it. Then I got a 2400 and it was even better. Now I have an 18" bandit (model 1590xp- their model #s are rather inscrutable) and it is the best chipper I've ever had. Under cdl. Perkins 174 hp tier 3 diesel. Has 3 feed motors instead of the usual 2 and that is super key. Eats brush like a fiend and burns very little fuel. The only way you're going to get a better chipper is go even bigger to a 1990 (lord only knows what model # they are these days).
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I never heard about the three motors for the feed wheels though. Was that something that was optional? Or was that a standard feature?
 
Yes it's optional and makes all the difference in the world. The top feedwheel has 2 motors on it, one on each end, it provides loads of extra feeding force. I ordered the chipper and before it arrived my 2400 shit the bed so I needed a chipper asap so I had to buy a regular 1590 and run it until the spec'd chipper came in. The regular 1590 was utterly average and not as good as the 2400 had been. The 1590xp runs circles around a regular 1590.

Mine is a 2014 with 2900 hrs on it, runs perfect, no significant repairs other than replace one feed wheel motor, not likely related to the 3 motor option, I think they had a bad run of them according to what dealer said.

Another option that is nice is hydraulic swivel discharge. I was feeling cheap when ordering the machine and wasn't keen on spending another G because the manual swivel on the Morbark was perfectly adequate . The salesman was like... Dude. Don't be stupid. And yeah the hydro swivel is awesome and totally worth it.

The Perkins is awesome too. Runs between 174*-176*F year round, in heat or cold, no matter what or how much we are chipping.

Ok I actually thought of one thing that is less than perfect on the machine- the winch controls. With the Morbark you could winch in while chipping but the BB prevents that- you can only winch OR chip, not both at same time. I think it's supposed to be a safety feature but I don't like it and it also wastes some time. Oh well.
 
cory said:
Ok I actually thought of one thing that is less than perfect on the machine- the winch controls. With the Morbark you could winch in while chipping but the BB prevents that- you can only winch OR chip, not both at same time. I think it's supposed to be a safety feature but I don't like it and it also wastes some time. Oh well.
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That is a new chipper thing, Morbark is that way too now. The older Bandits were better. And the new Bandits allow you to pull a very short way with the winch while chipping, the new Morbarks do not have that option at all.
 
Good info.

I guess the manufacturers know more about the pitfalls of certain mechanical set ups than most individual users and they are likely tired of getting sued for preventable accidents, so I guess it is what it is.
 
cory said:
Good info.

I guess the manufacturers know more about the pitfalls of certain mechanical set ups than most individual users and they are likely tired of getting sued for preventable accidents, so I guess it is what it is.
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I think that’s some of it, I’ve also heard that certain large corporate clients started requiring such designs, so all the chippers got them. It’s hard to make a safety system optional without opening up oneself to a liability disaster.
 
Reach said:
I think that’s some of it, I’ve also heard that certain large corporate clients started requiring such designs, so all the chippers got them. It’s hard to make a safety system optional without opening up oneself to a liability disaster.
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Good for safety bad for everything else!
I do think that a winch is the most dangerous part of a chipper Imo
But the old saying goes you can’t fix stupid
 
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