Talk me out of buying a Woodmax WM8H

[radas]

I would, too. That's more like a weekly price, for a pretty decent machine. If you are chipping up to 4", get a machine that's rated to 6", not less. Otherwise you will beat yourself to death trying to chip it.

How much land do you have? How many trees to be felled? And of course, if you have woods you'll always have branches falling.

Speaking of which, feeding a chipper of any size is pretty hard work, and you have to hustle or you are going to waste a lot of fuel. Are you up for that workload? if you are, consider buying a used standalone chipper. Get your tree-felling done, buy the machine, chip it all, and sell the machine.



Here's the low cost option for your back:

Spend the money on a grapple.

Then choose your poison:

• Haul the brush to your burn pit. Grab a chair, your favorite beverage and a good book..
• if you have enough land, put it on the back 40 out of sight. Just pile it and leave it for the wabbits.
• Build deer shelters to attract game.
• Lots of options.

I'm limited here because of my 1 suburban acre but I have strongly considered a grapple or at the very least, a 36" thumb for my forks. I like the idea of burning in my 5' pit but using just the forks gets messy and will likely take longer than chipping

 

[radas]

I did. And I took this thread as he is sorta set on buying one, but wanted someone with first hand experience to talk him out of it. Not big enough, cheaply made, crappy welds... stuff like that.

I think a chipper is a game changer, if you have the need for one. After using ours at work, it has really surprised me with what it will chew up, the auto feed is freaking awesome.

For me it's more of a want than need, right now I really want one because of the size of the piles I have from felling a bunch of trees but in the future I will only trim and take care of fallen branches and buckthorn saplings... So it could still be handy but only used 1x or 2x a year after year 2-3. I have the other side of my property that needs significant clearing like the woods in the picture and I could see getting a lot of use for that side too. After both sides are cleared, it would just be a maintenance activity.

 

[radas]

I use wood chips as base for my compost pile, it and kitchen stuff. Bought a WM WC46 a couple years ago and love it. Needed one to self feed and lower down than the chipper hatch on the Mac Kissic TPH-122 that I'd had for 16 years. Also didn't need to shred leaves any more because my source dried up.

One of the advantages of the Woodmax is it has a built-in lever to raise the feed roller in case of a jam. I have to put a low rise floor jack under the lift point on the WC46 to do this.

You'll occasionally get a plug of the entire casing if putting stuff with small vines into it. They tend to plug things up.

I appreciate the info, I was leaning towards the Woodmax because of the self feed and from the videos I've seen of the b2650 (same as my LX) running both. The Woodmax did not bog down as much with 4" material like the woodland Mills did and I hate the idea of babysitting after putting material in the chute.

 

[radas]

I burn an enormous amount of sticks, brush, limbs, logs.. . I burn over 20 times what you have in that pile annually (not bragging or anything). All from trees on my 2 1/2 acre suburban lot, and sometimes the neighbors. I like to burn , it makes my hillbilly heart sing. I would not want a chipper. Good luck.

I wish I had this luxury, being on one acre in a subdivision really limits my ability to burn in large quantities. I do burn smaller quantities on occasion but I prefer to chip and line the floor of my woods in those cheaps for a neat appearance. I have one male 'Karen' in my sub that likes to call the FD on me when I burn. It's a nuisance but the FD doesn't harass me much because they are familiar with this neighbor and I have a permit that I renew annually.

 

[radas]

Thank you all for the responses, didn't expect this many replies on the topic. So I am torn between getting a thumb on my forks and getting a chipper. The thumb 'need' outweighs the chipper 'want' in the short term but the chipper will make life easier. I'll have to ponder this for a little while before I make my decision.

 

[radas]

I guess I would ask is buying the chipper a fireable offense? . Either way it ultimately depends on how bad you want it.

As long as the chipper doesn't come equipped with an attractive younger woman, I think my punishment will be short-lived

The wife is seriously complaining about the quantity of implements that I've accumulated over the past few months. TIAD is a serious condition fellas!

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

For me it's more of a want than need, right now I really want one because of the size of the piles I have from felling a bunch of trees but in the future I will only trim and take care of fallen branches and buckthorn saplings... So it could still be handy but only used 1x or 2x a year after year 2-3. I have the other side of my property that needs significant clearing like the woods in the picture and I could see getting a lot of use for that side too. After both sides are cleared, it would just be a maintenance activity.

Get the chipper, use it a few years, sell it. Think of any loss (if any) as a rental fee.

 

[Elliott in GA]

The dumpster is a good idea! I hadn't thought about that, that might be the way to go for those one time large jobs. My only limiting factor is the lift height of the FEL on the LX... It is not very high

I have an LX (LX 2610 SU). You would need to confirm with your supplier, but the 20 yard dumpsters that I have rented have 4 foot sides - easy to dump full grapple loads or even manually throw over. The 20 yard dumpster is 4 feet tall all around. I got rid of an old tumbled down shed (metal roof, roof trusses, main support posts and etc.) by hand with a 20 yard dumpster; I did not use my tractor due to my concern over nails. Also, it would not have saved much time or effort to make a pile to collect with the grapple versus just throwing the items directly into the dumpster parked next to the shed.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I'm limited here because of my 1 suburban acre but I have strongly considered a grapple or at the very least, a 36" thumb for my forks. I like the idea of burning in my 5' pit but using just the forks gets messy and will likely take longer than chipping

One acre? I've got you beat by a looong way! I've got 1.03!


When I moved in, the back third was forest. I guess it was cleared when the house was built in the 70s, but nothing had been done since then. The front was lawn with some big trees - sycamores, oaks, and cedar.

I've cleared the back except for a nice hickory, an oak, and three cedars. some years later I took out 13 big trees in the front because they were in my septic field. They ranged from a 10" cedar to 40+ inch sycamores. I rented a 6" chipper for 3 days to take care of the branches from that project.


And now that's done. I have the occasional branch falling, and that's it.

All that to say, you don't need a grapple or a chipper. This is a one-shot deal for you and then your chipper and/or grapple will sit and gather rust. Money not well spent.

Yes, I'm a party pooper.

 

[radas]

Get the chipper, use it a few years, sell it. Think of any loss (if any) as a rental fee.

Mark BX25D ruined it for me maybe I'll convince my buddy to get one and borrow his like I do with the stump grinder lol. That being said, I may still buy the poor man's grapple and make my forks more useful for moving small piles.

I have an LX (LX 2610 SU). You would need to confirm with your supplier, but the 20 yard dumpsters that I have rented have 4 foot sides - easy to dump full grapple loads or even manually throw over. The 20 yard dumpster is 4 feet tall all around. I got rid of an old tumbled down shed (metal roof, roof trusses, main support posts and etc.) by hand with a 20 yard dumpster; I did not use my tractor due to my concern over nails. Also, it would not have saved much time or effort to make a pile to collect with the grapple versus just throwing the items directly into the dumpster parked next to the shed.

That makes sense, the last roll off I got was a 10 yard but it was a compact and had high sides. I think the 20 yard containers are much shorter. I will check on these if my buddy can't make it by with his 14' dump trailer tomorrow.

One acre? I've got you beat by a looong way! I've got 1.03!


When I moved in, the back third was forest. I guess it was cleared when the house was built in the 70s, but nothing had been done since then. The front was lawn with some big trees - sycamores, oaks, and cedar.

I've cleared the back except for a nice hickory, an oak, and three cedars. some years later I took out 13 big trees in the front because they were in my septic field. They ranged from a 10" cedar to 40+ inch sycamores. I rented a 6" chipper for 3 days to take care of the branches from that project.


And now that's done. I have the occasional branch falling, and that's it.

All that to say, you don't need a grapple or a chipper. This is a one-shot deal for you and then your chipper and/or grapple will sit and gather rust. Money not well spent.

Yes, I'm a party pooper.

I'm actually at .88 or slightly higher with my woods (common area with exclusive use) rounding up for ease hahaha. Indeed you are the party pooper, but I get it and you're right. Once my clearing is done, it's over and just maintenance. Maybe I'll look at the thumb for $750 and can use it to load roll off containers, my buddy's dump trailer, or dump in my pit and for other general use.

 

[NCL4701]

Sorry, can’t help you with why you shouldn’t buy a chipper. If you have stuff to chip and you can’t or don’t want to burn it…

Edit: My apologies. Just realized you have about one acre of land to deal with. If you’re not planning to use it for anything other than personal use on a one acre property, purchasing probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Not to hijack but I have a set of new knives for an older Woodmax 8” chipper I bought and never used. When I sold the chipper (which worked well BTW) I had a brain cramp and failed to give the new owner the extra blades. PM me if you have an interest.

 

[D2Cat]

I wish I had this luxury, being on one acre in a subdivision really limits my ability to burn in large quantities. I do burn smaller quantities on occasion but I prefer to chip and line the floor of my woods in those cheaps for a neat appearance. I have one male 'Karen' in my sub that likes to call the FD on me when I burn. It's a nuisance but the FD doesn't harass me much because they are familiar with this neighbor and I have a permit that I renew annually.

Well this information changes the picture for sure! No chipper. Burn all brush, and try to do so when the wind is from the opposite direction of "Karen's" house from yours. Help him develop his composure and social skills!

 

[radas]

Well this information changes the picture for sure! No chipper. Burn all brush, and try to do so when the wind is from the opposite direction of "Karen's" house from yours. Help him develop his composure and social skills!

Karen got himself into a situation recently where the local powers at be demanded he take his multiple outbuildings down... You know, rules and all I still burn frequently too lol.

So my decision making was done for me, my buddy with the stump grinder just ordered a WC46. I will rent it a few times and then resort to burning the seasonal brush. I hoped this thread helped anyone with small property decide whether or not they need a chipper.

My implements for property cleanup for small property will consist of forks and possibly a thumb in the future. If/when we upgrade property size, the chipper and grapple are on my list.

 

[D2Cat]

Karen got himself into a situation recently where the local powers at be demanded he take his multiple outbuildings down... You know, rules and all I still burn frequently too lol.

So my decision making was done for me, my buddy with the stump grinder just ordered a WC46. I will rent it a few times and then resort to burning the seasonal brush. I hoped this thread helped anyone with small property decide whether or not they need a chipper.

My implements for property cleanup for small property will consist of forks and possibly a thumb in the future. If/when we upgrade property size, the chipper and grapple are on my list.

That's a good outcome. You don't have to put the cash out, except to "rent", buddy gets a bit of income from his implement, and it forces both to communicate and remain friends.

 

[SDT]

Just as the title says, talk me out of buying one. The CFO is not a fan

We don't have a ton of property right now, but we do have a lot of trees and saplings that I've spent many hours clearing/burning/hauling offsite. I refuse to rent a tow behind chipper for $600/day so I've paid a few bucks in gas and disposal fees to have the brush hauled away or slowly burn it in my 5' fire pit.

I want a PTO chipper so that I can grind up mainly 4" and smaller branches/brush/etc... To mulch my wooded area and not burden my buddy with a dump trailer on the weekends or myself hauling and burning. I would also loan it out to my buddy who lets me borrow his stump grinder when I need it - paying it forward.

Here's an example of some brush I'd prefer to chip from clearing 20 small cedars. This is not typical, but I'd expect half or 1/3 of this roughly 2x per season as long as I'm not feeling anymore trees.

View attachment 83997

I've looked at used PTO chippers, and folks are asking near new prices for 20+ year old woods units and similar. I refuse to buy any of the no-name Chinese brands I see popping up for less than $2k.

I, too, spend much time dragging, sawing, burning downed trees, branches, etc., but I stopped clearing wilderness areas about 30 years ago because I already mow far too much.

Still, when things fall, mostly dead ash these days, in areas where I mow, I need to clean things up.

I do things the old fashioned way. Drag trees/branches to burn areas, saw into stackable pieces, build brush piles, and burn at suitable times.

I've watched tree trimmers (have Duke Energy lines on some of my properties) using chippers and have not bought one because I do not see how it would save much time and effort. Still need to move trees/branches to chipper or chipper to trees/branches, and still need to saw into small pieces in order to feed into chipper. I simply drag trees/branches to suitable burning areas, stack and wait for suitable burning time.

FWIW: Yes, cedar trees are a real PITA for muiltiple reasons.

 

[SDT]

The grapple is the next thing on my list, then probably done purchasing implements or attachments for quite a while. Most of my tree work is very close quarters right now so I can get by with dropping a few trees, cutting the smaller branches and limbs off and feeding them into the chipper, and then cutting the remaining trunks into 4 or 5 foot sections and hauling them to a burn pile with the Polaris Ranger or the bucket on the tractor. That said, a grapple would probably be handy. I'm a chiropractor in real life so I know I should be doing a better job of minimizing strain on my lower back.

I bought a grapple about 10 years ago but it sits in the barn.

All of my tractors (except the 12 speed 52 8N with 1,100 originial hours and BTR which functions as my quad) are mowing tractors. FELS come off in the spring and mowers go on. Reverse in the fall.

Too much trouble to mount FEL(s) and grapple to move downed tree(s) in mowing season. Occasionally will use L6060 with 4-in-one bucket to move drift wood, branches, etc., if in fall/winter and FEL/bucket already attached and debris not too heavy. Easier to use 8N to drag than to mount counterweight on 6060.

I simply use 8N/BTR to drag tree/branch to suitable site, saw, stack, and burn.

With a bit of experience, one can situate burn pile properly around dried stump, properly tend fire, and have stump burn into ground so as to drive right over with mower next season.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Maybe I'll look at the thumb for $750

I'm looking hard at a thumb. I heat with wood, and it might just help move a log or two. I'm just not sure how much I would be able to lift with my itty bitty BX25.

But that's a thread for another day.

 

[flyidaho]

I have about 10 acres treed, and I am very happy with my WoodMax. 4 seasons now I think, no issues, and the chips are a BONUS on my 1/4 bike trail that winds down along a stream, and drops 147' vertical.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I've watched tree trimmers (have Duke Energy lines on some of my properties) using chippers and have not bought one because I do not see how it would save much time and effort. Still need to move trees/branches to chipper or chipper to trees/branches, and still need to saw into small pieces in order to feed into chipper.

They use chippers because they need the branches gone NOW, not some unspecified time later. (But they don't need to cut them much. When you can toss a 30' long branch with a 6" butt into a chipper and have it dragged in and gone in a minute flat, not much cutting is needed.)

Those of us who have the option of burning will save some time, but not much labor, with chipping.