Vermeer 1250

[Tucker943]

Im buying this chipper tooorow morning. Late 90's unit with 2000 hours on it. mechanically perfect and well maintained. I am not too up on vermeer chippers but Im able to pick it up for a bargain off a friend. Anyone have any experience with these?

 

[NeTree]

Tons. What do you want to know?

 

[emr]

I have one now. Besides our engine problems it is a good chipper. I guess any chipper can have issues with the engine and I hope yours is good. I think the design is a good one. I have also used the morbark 12incher and a newer vermeer 1000 and I would take a 1250 over those any day. Best of luck with it and post some pics when you get possession of it.

 

[Tucker943]

I used the chipper for a day and liked it. Are they a decent machine? I know they arent a bandit or morbark but I can take this machine in excellent order for 4500 bucks so I going to roll the dice and buy it. I wanted to step up fro my old FMC chuck n duck.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'd steer clear of Vermeer, myself. They seem to have a lotta issues.

 

[NeTree]

Only engine issue I ever had was once in awhile the carb would ice up. Keep the oil clean, and you're good to go.

The sideways feed wheels... either you'll love 'em or hate 'em. A lot of people don't like the feed table height, but I prefer it over the lower Bandit and Morbarks.

Keeping the old machine as a spare?

 

[Tucker943]

This unit Im buying is a diesel. No, I let the FMC go for 1800 bucks.

 

[NeTree]

Dang, I've been wanting another CnD, too.

 

[Tucker943]

I wouldnt have sold it to a treehouser. It was hammered.

 

[NeTree]

Thanks. I think.

 

[Old Monkey]

I worked as a groundie with a 1250 for about a year. It was OK. I don't care for the side feed rollers as they tend to thrash you on crooked pieces of brush.

 

[emr]

I hear that as a common complaint but in the last 3 years I have had that happen to me about 4 times. If you know that can happen, but just adjust your feeding style to try and prevent it. I do notice with the side feed wheels that brush gets stuck in that dead space fairly often. That is my biggest gripe with the design.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Steve Hansen runs one. I like them them, they are a good solid old fashioned chipper. The side rollers work well on bushy material.

 

[Tucker943]

Well, looks like i got screwed. Chipper didnt act up when I tried it out. Bought it, put it on a job, and it drips oil out the blowby tube until it warms up...............Im not happy.

 

[sotc]

What engine? I know my Cummins came with a blowby bottle that needed to be emptied every so often, kind of a goofy setup. If not that I wonder if you have the wrong viscosity or a bunch of gunky oil. Perhaps a little diesel added to it, run it on light duty to operating temp and change the oil.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Likely a 4236 or phaser Perkins. Easy peasy to work on with cheap spares available. They often breath a little heavily.

 

[Tucker943]

Its a 4cyl 86 hp perkins. Drips oil out the tube until it warms up and then stops. Maybe a few ounces at most........

 

[Tucker943]

Im sick to my stomach.

 

[Tucker943]

The machine has been sitting for quite awhile. How it got past my eye is beyond me. I tested it out in a dirt/stone parking lot and I must not have noticed it until we got on pavement. I dont even know what to expect for price to have a diesel mech put new rings in it as a side job.


Willie Im going to give your idea a try. You say add a little diesel to the engine oil? How much you think?

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Its no big deal dude. Seriously, I had a brand new turbo version do the same, but it never got any worse. I've seen people put a coke bottle with a tube to catch the drips.

 

[Tucker943]

A part of me seems to think you are right Thor. The thing fires up the instant you touch the key and runs fantasctic. Ive got myself so worked up and upset. Part of me says just run the damned thing.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

The machine has been sitting for quite awhile. How it got past my eye is beyond me. I tested it out in a dirt/stone parking lot and I must not have noticed it until we got on pavement. I dont even know what to expect for price to have a diesel mech put new rings in it as a side job.


Willie Im going to give your idea a try. You say add a little diesel to the engine oil? How much you think?

I don't think Willie said you had to put some diesel in the oil to cure the dripping. But more like the diesel already could be in the oil and be taken responsible of the oil bubbling and dripping.
So like he said, dump it and feel the engine with new oil. That could be enough .
If it's by a poor design, you have to work a little on it to enhance it

 

[NeTree]

Ed's right; it's normal. Catch it in a bottle and fahgeddabouddit.

 

[brendonv]

You can make an "upgraded" catch bottle instead of a soda can. Simple plastic plumbing pipe, I've seen it done on diesel pickups. Looks slick, but I'm pickier than most.

 

[stehansen]

I wouldn't be sick Tucker. Sounds like no huge deal and I think you got the chipper for several thousand less than I see them priced in the Tree and Landscape trader. I have the perkins turbo motor. If your bearings on the disk get noisy change them before they screw up the shaft. I think it's 7-800. Grease those little rollers that carry the feed roller that pivots pretty often. I've never ran anything else so I can't really compare it to other chippers. If the blades are razor sharp and the bed knife has a nice sharp corner it will cut good. I chipped a bunch of large wood once and sheared off the rivets on the center plate of the clutch. So now I don't chip much stuff larger than 4 inches. My Perkins is currently leaking at the oil filter housing and where the bell housing bolts to the block. Usually if a diesel engine has compression issues it will be hard to start. So I'm betting yours has quite a bit of run left in it.