chippers

chadd

whats your favorite chipper? whats is got? and why do u like it?

treevet

I've got a bc 1250 a with curbside and a 115 turbo diesel Perkins mfctrd by Vermeer. I love it. It is light enough to take across lawns at times. Plenty of power. "a" means auto feed. Curbside means you can pull up to curb and pull a pin and hydraulically rotate entire unit into the job to feed. I could buy any chipper I want but this fits. Service is great but it has had very few problems or down time. The last chipper I had for 25 years. This is a keeper. I may buy another one to have 2 as they are available used all over very reasonable.

I've got 2 Vermeer stumpers and they are a great company IMO.

chadd

i use to run a 1250 with the curbside. it was a mid 90's, no auto feed. it always had a problem, had a ghost. after an incident with it we got rid of it as no one wanted to use it again. i tested alot of machines before deciding on a new one. the new vermeers were decent but the sales man pissed me off, and i didn't like the safety devices. so we went with the new brush bandit intimidator. it is insane. has a 168 hp perkins 15x18" opening and incredibly strong hydraulics. winch, auto feed, and adjusting feed wheels. out did anything i tested by far for the price and class.

also got a small brush bandit 6x9" opening no extras but has a diesel when most of its competitors were gas. it is a great machine, but after running the big guy it cannot take the abuse we have become use to.

vermeer stumpy as well. tough machine. been rolled countless times and almost destroyed a few. minor repairs and it's right back at it

treevet

Without the autofeed this machine would be worthless. Also I bought it brand newin 2k and only myself and 1 other person feeds it and it gets the best maint. like all my stuff. I don't do any pure chipping jobs.

That sounds like a great chipper but for my application, in and out of tight and hilly and winding driveways, and sometimes across lawns this is the optimum size for me. I couldn't do that with a huge dual axelled unit. I also do firewood so all the wood gets boomed into a truck. It seems that the winch aspect to get those huge limbs to the unit would be a little slow as opposed to taking smaller ones up by hand. As for the lumber, I see these guys struggling those big honkers to the chute and looks like high injury potential.

Different strokes........

chadd

it is still a single axle unit, it it on a 5 ton hino fe and i live in one of the hilliest parts of canada. i can put that thing anywhere, and the winch is great for large pile as well as big limbs (at 6500lbs its not lite). but with a lack of market for firewood it save alot of time with winching whole trees closer. if something is too big or it, it saves time on dragging by moving it all at once and then processing at the machine. but defiantly different strokes. for my application it increases efficiency. i can stack brush for 20 feet (as long as it is done right) and it will eat it like nothing, which is a great gas saver

treevet

How many feet does the winch reach from the chute. When it is dragged to chute how is butt gotten up on the table? The vermeer one has a little knuckle boom on it but no winch. How much did it cost?

Eric Frei

Man, we winch some stuff near a 100' ... I think depending on the dia of rope you can get up to 150' on the spool.

Winching stuff up hills, skidding stuff closer to the chipper etc, it's very handy. What if the grade is too steep? What if the soil to moist?

Also the winch doubles as a tree pull rope.

I only wished they made the turret so it swings out of the way coz when you load with the Kanga it gets int he way hanging over the feed table.

It's very handy and quick to use, you'll be surprised what it can drag.

Have put up a video in this thread so you can see the winch on a land clearance job in action. We wouldn't have got that chipper closer down the hill due to soft soil.

Brisbane Land Clearance Job

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treevet

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat vid! Think woke the wife and kid w the sound track. Loved the special effects. Also loved the part where you burned ass away from the falling tree. You got some track potential there Ekka.

chadd

can't seem to watch it. when i download it it stays in windows format and won't work with my mac. but defiantly know what your talking about. winches are the way to go, but on my machine the rollers and arm the cable come out of is dead center above the hopper and has came in contact with my head a few times, always on the days when ur chipping with out a helmet for some reason.

OutofMytree

Fave chipper has got to be the Bandit 1890. Sucks whole cotton palms in and doesnt even burp. Love the ability to scarf over a tonne of cocos palm then winch the whole thing in, head and all. Of course it makes a few drag marks....

We hire this beastie for really big trees or for mass palms. First day we had it out on site my wife, who groundies for me regularly, is looking for the hydro crush control for the feed rollers. She does the girlie thing and pulls on the 1st hydro lever she can find. Which turns out to be the chute direction control. Whole crew wet themselves laughing at the look on my face when I see chute swinging across the street doing a mighty good impression of exorcist-style demon vomit (it was eating a nasty old date palm at the time). I had the last laugh tho, they got to shovel it all back in the truck!

Note to Ekka. Did my eyes decieve me or did I see "someone" running with a 660 bar forward??!!

TrevMcRev

That would have been a classic!

treevet

May buy a slightly used BC 2000 Vermeer (1200 hrs.) with a 200 hp diesel. No winch but a real good price. Wonder if anyone has any familiarity with pos. or neg. on this machine. Don't know which diesel it is but any info on either one will be helpful. Plan to keep old one (900 hrs.) BC 1250. Looking for a man eater with the EAB knocking on the door here.

TrevMcRev

It should be a good machine at those hours.
I run an 1800A, similar. Has been very reliable and is now up to about 4500hrs! with no major problems. Had some metal fatigue inside the feed chute just before the anvil require repair. And trouble with rims & tyres, weirdo size 12x16.5"that might not be as much of a prob sourcing over there. here a rim is $550, so is a tyre Just finally found a conversion to 16" rim & tyre thats both rated for the weight. All up was cheaper than 2 new orig tyres & from here on in any other replacements will be cheaper.

If your happy with your local vermeer support then go for it (i'm not, but thats another story i havent gone public with just yet)

It should have a healthy appetite for Ash!

TrevMcRev

900 hrs since 2000!!!
You've been running it efficient Start/chip/shut down
Mine has been mostly employee operated, which probably accounts for 1/2 its hours as unnecessary running in between volume ready to chip. Not how i like to work myself, but it's different when you pay the bills hey

treevet

Thanks for feedback Trev. Was shopping for 1800 at first but 2000 was easier to find. Man, 550 times 4 = $2200 and this bc2000 has tandems, that would be a big hit to take. I remember my old chev pickup had 12x16.5's. Wish I could send you a set but you did the conversion. Good show.

I couldn't be happier with my Vermeer service support system. They are down here the next day, 45 miles, and know the guys personally after the years. Got 2 stumpers too. One guy that since transferred was named "Nobody". Always got a laugh out of that. It was just like calling him Joe or Bob. It was his real name.

treevet

They got orders to stage brush, chip and shut off. Also we do a lot of firewood. That may need more monitoring with this machine as it will be fed with Dingo, and crane. We'll still keep the good firewood.

My biggest worry with the big wood eater is it consuming cabling hardware and, sometimes, possibly concrete. We find it (metal) hidden at times in the upper canopy with no sign or warning. I bet a 5/8 lag bolt with thimble could wreck some havoc inside the bed knife, blades and rotor.

TrevMcRev

The rims are old f250 stud pattern - 8 x 165mm(6.5") PCD. Not too hard to find, but the load rating was the killer on most rims & tyres. Running on a tandem set up will lower your needed rating, but then again the 2000 is probably heavier though...

I were close to having to go alcoa's ($$$) before finding a rated steel rim & truck tyre that worked.

on efficient chipper running, i only put 900hrs on my 6" bandit diesel in 5 years, but the vermeer has really been worked

"Nobody".... You mean that was actually the guys name??? Wacky parents he had.

treevet

"this is your brain on drugs" (picture an egg frying in an anti drug ad on Tv here) is my guess

Eric Frei

Here in Qld the rego jumps a lot for the 20" due to it's weight.

Chippers are classified trailers and when the GVM exceeds 4500kg then you pay more, dont know the $'s but the bc1800 is around 4100kg and the bc2000 around 6500kg.

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treevet

Boy that's a big difference on those 2 big chippers. Wonder if that includes the grapple on the bc2000?

I heard somewhere they have a bc2100 on the market now.

OutofMytree

Kerb weight regs same over here in WA. Over 4500kg and you MUST have airbrakes fitted to trailer. If you check out Aus chipper distributers the weight of 18" machines is often "mysteriously" 4450kg.... Taken for inspection with fuel and hydro tanks drained?? Perhaps a feed wheel or two missing? Actually if you took out drum for weigh in it would save you 500kg....

Been pricing up a new 18" chipper and it looks like, in Aus anyway, that its 140hp or nothing to beat that weight requirement. Even a 165 puts you at 4700kg.

On a brighter note I am 1 step closer to a new Bandit 1590xp! These babies just kill the pig in all the key area's I wanted. The infeed is 3 1/2 " smaller than the 1890 but u get the same motor, feed system,winch, auto feed (one that works ...) and all at only 3700kg.









On a sad note, if you want a new chipper NOW, expect to pay up to $18,000 more than a month ago due to the slide of the aussie dollar. Lucky I am buying old stock!


Oops, I forgot the Redroo/Woodsman does come with 200hp and under 4500kg. That would be the exception rather than the rule.

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treevet

What motor you getting with this up coming chipper. I am getting a 200 hp but haven't heard which one yet (used unit also). Any preference? I currently have a 115 hp Perkins with a turbo. Wonder just how functional the turbo is in this application. Chipper will swallow whatever can be manned into it without jamming. I am sure it will be a big number to replace (planned obsolescence).

JohN Dee

Psst... Treevet: Construction Equipment, Farm Machinery and Trenching and Trenchless Equipment Linky to the bc2100xl. Option to get 275hp motor jebus! Hmm hydraulic winch able to be lowered and raised so loaders can get in there easy, I remember someone complaining about that one... Man all up THAT THING IS BEAST

PDF link on BC2100XL

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treevet

Thanks John, I dl'd it. Can't afford it but like to dream a little. Can afford a used bc2000 though. Had a real good year. Bought a new Dingo, Conveyor, Surround sound big screen and a new (almost) Beemer 3 series wagon, had house painted, etc. Been spending like a drunken sailor. Big fun. Fiddle while Rome is burning? maybe

treevet

This a cool unit from Dave at TNT Tree (BMG)

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TrevMcRev

Whhoaa baby

I want that

How the hell does it hold it?? I cant picture carrying the weight of that in the back of my feed tray securely......

treevet

e mail Dave at Branch Manager Grapple where I got the picture from. I am sure you ve got to have 2 axels to swing it and you prob only got 1 on your 1800?

OutofMytree

Man that is some neat packing.

I do have some concerns over weight distribution though. I have that loader myself. It weighs 750kg. Thats an awful lot of weight to put on the feed tray. Not to mention an awful lot of weight to have behind your rear trailer axle. Thats gotta mess with the steering when you figure how much down pressure you lose on the tow hitch.

Still. Its a neatly packed unit isnt it......

OutofMytree

Bandit coming with 140hp CAT. Its the motor of choice for a large number of machines over here. All of which are imported from over there......

soutz

That is a very cooool unit.