Vermeer BC190XL chipper, thoughts, experiences?

I had a BC 1200, chuck and duck for maybe a year. It sounded like death when it was running, a roaring screaming beast. And when it pulled a limb in it was at light speed. There was nothing slow or forgiving about it.

The Vermeer BC 935 I have now has feed wheels and an actual sane speed that it pulls the limb into the feed. There is an element of control with this chipper... The 1200 was like a hungry alien.
 
Sean, the machine was running poorly, wouldn't run at top speed but we were using it anyway. Because it was running sub optimally, it got clogged. We shut it down to unclog it. He reached in the trap door near base of discharge chute to unclog it but the drum/knives had yet to come to a complete stop, they were still barely turning but that was more than enough. His couple of severed fingers lay there on the infeed chute near the drum, they looked like they were still trying to clutch something. We put em in a baggy with ice but no go reattaching them.

Yes, Gary, the 1600 sucked just like the machine you describe. It was deafening to run, whipped you with brush constantly no matter what, and usually made shitty chips.
 
Brian, I was about to ask you if it was an older model. My 2014 M12R weighs in at around 5,500 lbs. Newer Model 13's are close to 7,000 lbs! I wanted to get a new 15" Morbark a year or two ago but they're over 9,000 lbs!!!

Morbark and Bandit dealers will be at the Trees Florida Trade Show next week. Maybe I'll strike a deal on one of their demo models.
 
Do you guys run your chuck and ducks at full throttle?

I only do when machine feeding it, rarely at that.

On the last day of my employee's time before going to the Carpenter's Union, i said "Watch this!", WOT, and machine-fed a piece... his eyes got big. He said, "I've never seen it easy and throw chips like that!!"
I sez to him, i sez,"You'z never seen it throttled up to 10!"
 
I do mainly. I want it to throw chips, not clog, which would likely be better if i fixed the extra bar it uses for making the pressure differential and added the bottom duck bill thing on the chute. I need to scale mine, i couldn't imagine using something smaller but I'm only running one chipper. After shimming mine as recommended by the old timers here mine is a thing of beauty. I'll try to make a video of it, it will gobble anything you can drag to it like nothing. Couple of nicks to help branch unions fold, 5" on down, and let it eat.
 
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  • #33
You’re right, it got a bit confusing. That’s the one I’m keeping.
Thanks for the vid, better than the others I found.
 
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I’ve enjoyed my vermeer. Responsive techs and overall has been bulletproof for 600+ hours. Like any dealer, you pay a premium for parts and service, but in return have a machine backed by solid warranty and support to keep working. That was my biggest desire when purchasing a new machine and they haven’t let me down. Anyone who rags on vermeer hasn’t dealt with them in recent years and their reworked customer support mentality.
 
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  • #35
Well I’m half way across France atm.
8 hour drive so I’ve taken a bankers draft.
 
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  • #38
Ahh apologies, I should have updated you.

In a word no.
I promised myself to be cool headed and pragmatic and it served me in good stead.
I left the hotel nearby early doors and went to the agricultural dealers for 8.30.

First impressions, a little shabbier than it looked in the photos.
Second impressions, the oil filter had the hours on which it had been changed written on, a hundred hours ago, clearly the talk of a full overhaul and service was just that, talk.

We opened up the chipping chamber to inspect the wheel (by now the salesman had joined me and the mechanic) to find the blades fairly fooked on one side, but fine on the other. The salesman told me I could turn them, I said I knew that, but you should have done it if you had serviced it (silence)

B1ADFDA5-812D-4902-9EAD-32F0C15E049C.jpeg 403B217D-CE10-4FA0-B71B-CFD09B06E36A.jpeg 8C3C18A1-9FB5-4CC8-818D-2D69D4E730B9.jpeg Then I asked to get to the anvils, after some confusion we opened a plate to access the anvils and rear of the rollers.
Anvils not too bad, but I reached my hand in to retrieve a piece of concrete and a pebble sitting blade side of the rollers. The final straw.

I explained that I was happy to pay top money for a top machine but this was far from that.
Packed my tools and drove home without a seconds regret.

Land Rover is here though. Pics for your delectation
 
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  • #40
I wouldn’t describe them as that Gary (not quite anyway) this was a machine that they were unfamiliar with, some sort of trade in against an agricultural machine.

Chanchers rather than shysters, the mechanic grinning with pleasure as I dismantled the salesman’s BS (whose cologne made my eyes sting that early in the morning) will live with me for a long time.
 
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