super small chipper/ homeowner sized chipper for small jobs.

Sean, you wanna take this MacKissic off my hands? I've had it for 10 years and have heavily modified it. Possibly the worst designed piece of equipment I've ever owned for ease of maintenance. I tried sharpening the hammers for awhile, but it doesn't work as well cuz you're taking weight off. Now I just flip'em and replace 'em.

Original looked like this:
http://www.mackissic.com/HSC_SC800.html


Now:

PICT0001.jpg
 
Butch I think that Canada quite possibly may be becoming the land of the unprepossessing practictioner of partially punctuated run-on sentences rolled in tarps ---or something.............
 
Uhhhhhhh....

What?
Chainsaw chip, I assume he means what we used to call "rashering up" running the saw repeatedly across a pile so it gets less voluminous. What we used to do in the back of a truck in the Stone Age.
Good idea actually.
Small chippers.......I don't know..I just couldn't bear to part with money for one. You're better off grabbing an armful of the brash and marching round the house and putting it through a proper one. Or persuade them to have a fire or leave it piled up or basically anything rather than a homeowner type chipper.
 
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  • #29
I can't really make money on little $200-300 pruning jobs if I have to haul a chip truck and chipper, even two in the same day. Its a slow beast to drive into town and back out, plus around town for a hundred pounds of branches, or three hundred pounds of branches. I'm handling them twice when I chip at home. Wood recyclers are too far to be economically feasible unless I have a really big load from a bigger series of jobs, without running out of room by the end of the jobs, causing two trips.

I can always sell it for what I got into it, if it doesn't work out. Fruit tree season is a couple months away. Maybe people will be looking for Christmas money after being done with fall cleanup projects.
 
Out of curiosity Sean how much more would it cost to take the truck and chipper compared to a small truck and micro chipper? Not a lot in it I reckon, maybe an extra 10 or 15 dollars in fuel (guessing you don't live too far from town)
A decent micro chipper 2000 dollars maybe, that buys a lot of fuel.
 
Chainsaw chip, I assume he means what we used to call "rashering up" running the saw repeatedly across a pile so it gets less voluminous. What we used to do in the back of a truck in the Stone Age.

We call it "slashing down" and its still pretty common here in Oz- because machinery and everything else is so damn expensive:X

I recently bought a Greenmech cs100, its a 4" 18 HP chipper and its sole purpose is to replace the need for slashing down as its a total bastard of a process.
 
I have a lil chipper I bought used 400 self propelled and a vac. Only used a few x. Junk it's meant for herbaceous and cane type debris. Toro makes a nice small chipper I keep meaning to rent/try. My guess is anything with out feed wheels is a difficult chip soon as it gets dull.
 
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  • #34
Bob, its a consideration, Thanks. Seems like the bigger bearcat pulls straight material in without a lot of pushing.



I'm super happy to have a bigger chip truck and chipper, which fits my niche well, frequently.


Mick, as you know, fuel is only one cost of transportation. My pick-up probably gets 2.5-3 times the fuel economy of my chip truck. 20-40 miles round trip. 15 miles max round trip if I'm working in the country near me, generally speaking.

Chip truck is 1990 that needs to be replaced. I like to have my pick-up along, as I've had too many troubles with the chip truck, honestly, where I've needed the p/u for a jump start, or tow. I've got an electrical gremlin at the moment.

Generally, I have use for the pick-up with a trailer, or whatnot, when I'm taking my chip truck/ chipper on 'regular' jobs. If its getting late, I can send the guys home in the one truck, and stay to finish with the other truck.






Its much slower to drive dump truck/ chipper. Overall, with curves and hills and traffic light stop/ go. I"d guess its at least 25% faster, if not much more to drive a pick-up around town. Paying an employee during the extra times costs something. I might need to run out and bid work/ saw shop stop/ errands while he works, so again slow driving.

Fuel into the chipper, too (minor difference). Warming up an old V8 takes a 5-10 minutes idling to bring it up to operating temperture, and brush needs to be brought around to the chipper.



Running around town is a PITA with a chip truck and chipper, trying to do bids/ errands at the same time, where a chip truck and chipper is of no advantage.

Takes time to squeeze a chip truck and chipper into tight, long, steep driveways is a hassle, too. Sometimes, I have to disconnect the chipper from the truck, reposition the truck and/ or chipper (well balanced and spins by hand on flat pavement), then reconnect, in order to get into, or out of position in driveways.

If it get a small, tow-behind, or hitch platform compatible, I can also use it with my small SUV that is kid compatible, in case I need to drop her off/ pick her up in town from the nanny/ daycare.

My pick-up isn't really kid compatible.
 
i would never have believed it but I started with the DR chipper. than I got the 6" morbark. the DR just sat there until I gave it to a friend just getting started. Recently got a 12" bandit and my 6" morbark is just sitting there. I hve not found a situation yet where I would rather use the 6". Im glad I went step by step but once you have a bigger chipper it doesnt make much sense to go smaller. Anyone want to buy a 6" morbark?
 
There is a 6 inch Morbark for sale local here a guy offered me... Almost no hours on it. Has a pretty wide throat. Almost the same as the 8". He wanted too much money for it for my liking. But then again... it is like brand new.
10k... I figure 10 - 15 k would be better spent on a Bandit 95 or something.
 
that 6 inch morbark I towed behind my VW pickup for many years. it can be pushed into backyards. A loader can carry it anywhere. You can wheel it around by hand on the pavement but not on grass. the throat is wide, much wider than the 6" vermeer.
 
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  • #42
Once you are dealing with a tow-behind, bigger is generally better, provided access being good for either.
 
I almost forgot Sean... There is a DR mower with chipper attachment for sale near here. I think he wanted 22-2500 for it. Not the best little chipper, but it wheels itself.
 
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  • #47
I'm seeing 3" capacity, 8 hp Bearcats in the $600-900 range on Craigslist. Seem to come up regularly. Winter is a time for clean-up, as well as fall (and spring and summer), so I hope that there is just a floating supply of them over time.
 
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  • #49
Need a bigger p/u truck for a dump trailer, and still have brush to deal with.
 
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  • #50
Yes, a dump trailer in time, but not for a couple hundred pounds of fruit tree water sprouts and little pruning jobs.

I have three single axle trailers, from 750 pound payload up to about 3000, which currently can haul mini behind chip truck or pick up, and costs 5-10 times what a little chipper does.
 
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