Review: Woodmaxx MX9900 Chipper

Garrik

New member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Aug 7, 2019
22
4
3
San Jose, CA
Last fall, I went through hours and hours and hours of research and conversations with folks here before buying my first tractor and set of attachments. I am going to post a few reviews so that others can benefit from what I have learned. One of the biggest purchases that I made, and the one that probably took me the most time and energy, was a chipper.

I have an infinite supply of redwood slash on my 170 acre property, some of which is in annoying places and needs to be chipped. I also have lots of branches of various species of oak and madrone (I am in the firewood business, among others), and lots and lots of tan oak brush that needs to be chipped as it is cleared.

My first question was, do I buy a PTO driven chipper, or a stand-alone unit. The thing that drove me here was price. I was able to buy my chipper for a little over $5k, and I could not find a good stand-alone unit with similar specs for anywhere near that price. A decent towed Vermeer chipper or similar in the 8" category was well over $10k used.

I settled on the Woodmaxx brand largely because they are made in the USA. I feel pretty strongly about supporting American businesses when I can. I also spoke to them on the phone, and they came across as knowledgeable and reasonably customer centric. I settled on the MX9900 simply because it was the biggest chipper that they offered, and I felt that my MX6000 could drive it comfortably. I also wanted the hydraulic feed just because I am lazy lol. I probably have 50+ hours on the chipper at this point.

The unit arrived in good shape, and the initial setup was easy. It is important to remember that the legs can be extended - it is much easier to mount if they are raised up a bit, at least on my tractor. The hydraulic oil did foam quite a bit at first, as mentioned in the manual, but that went away quickly.

I did have a number of early teething pains, all of which can be put down to what might be charitably categorized as a drive for efficiency on the part of the manufacturer. These things vibrate when they run. A lot. Any nut or bolt that is not torqued or better yet Locktite'd will vibrate loose, and a bunch of mine did. The rod under the feed chute that drives the speed control came apart (nut vibrated loose), which left us unable to control the speed of the wheel. The main drive belt cover bolts backed themselves out and the cover fell open. In my view, all of these bolts should have lock nuts or Locktite on them, and they do not as the unit comes from Woodmaxx.

But once those issues were dealt with, the unit has been outstanding. It does what the specs say that it will do, at least with softwoods like redwood. 8-9" limbs are no problem. With oak, esp. dry hard oak or madrone, we do have to be more careful or the unit will jam. 4-5" is probably the max for a really stout oak limb that is dry and hard. But overall, I am extremely pleased. Having a chipper on site has proven to be a huge win over renting one. Having the largest chipper that my tractor could drive similarly. I really like the hydraulic feed with speed control, it makes chipping an easy two man job assuming that you have some way to weight down the tractor driver's seat or otherwise defeat the safety switch. Given that we have complete control of the speed of the wheel, including a neutral setting, from the chipper control station, I feel comfortable with that. It is possible to chip with just one person, but one to haul and the other to feed makes for quick work.

Overall, I am very pleased. The chipper has been reliable and performs as expected. It was expensive, but compared to a towed unit, it was very reasonably priced. I had to call Woodmaxx a couple of times during that early phase, and they were responsive and knowledgeable as expected. I feel that this chipper is good value for money, and I would make the same decision again.

Hope this is useful. Lots of folks here helped me before I made my various purchases, and I would like to pay that back a bit...
 
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SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
546
83
USA
First off, to the best of my knowledge they are designed here (except their WM series) but are built across the pond. Woodmax has no manufacturing capability in New York state where they are located at. Just offices and a warehouse.

Glad you are happy with it. I sold mine. I got tired of feeding it and then having to dispose of the chips, there are just so many flower beds available.

I did have one advantage in that I sharpen chipper knives in my machine shop so I own a knife grinder and knives get dull eventually (depending on what you chip).

They hold their value, I sold mine for what I paid for it and sold it quick too. 1 day on CL and it was gone.

I have a large woodlot as well but I prefer roasting limbs. Much easier and quicker.
 

UpNorthMI

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3200, L3901, MX5800, SVL75-2, KX040
May 12, 2020
850
564
93
Up North, MI
Last fall, I went through hours and hours and hours of research and conversations with folks here before buying my first tractor and set of attachments. I am going to post a few reviews so that others can benefit from what I have learned. One of the biggest purchases that I made, and the one that probably took me the most time and energy, was a chipper.

I have an infinite supply of redwood slash on my 170 acre property, some of which is in annoying places and needs to be chipped. I also have lots of branches of various species of oak and madrone (I am in the firewood business, among others), and lots and lots of tan oak brush that needs to be chipped as it is cleared.

My first question was, do I buy a PTO driven chipper, or a stand-alone unit. The thing that drove me here was price. I was able to buy my chipper for a little over $5k, and I could not find a good stand-alone unit with similar specs for anywhere near that price. A decent towed Vermeer chipper or similar in the 8" category was well over $10k used.

I settled on the Woodmaxx brand largely because they are made in the USA. I feel pretty strongly about supporting American businesses when I can. I also spoke to them on the phone, and they came across as knowledgeable and reasonably customer centric. I settled on the MX9900 simply because it was the biggest chipper that they offered, and I felt that my MX6000 could drive it comfortably. I also wanted the hydraulic feed just because I am lazy lol. I probably have 50+ hours on the chipper at this point.

The unit arrived in good shape, and the initial setup was easy. It is important to remember that the legs can be extended - it is much easier to mount if they are raised up a bit, at least on my tractor. The hydraulic oil did foam quite a bit at first, as mentioned in the manual, but that went away quickly.

I did have a number of early teething pains, all of which can be put down to what might be charitably categorized as a drive for efficiency on the part of the manufacturer. These things vibrate when they run. A lot. Any nut or bolt that is not torqued or better yet Locktite'd will vibrate loose, and a bunch of mine did. The rod under the feed chute that drives the speed control came apart (nut vibrated loose), which left us unable to control the speed of the wheel. The main drive belt cover bolts backed themselves out and the cover fell open. In my view, all of these bolts should have lock nuts or Locktite on them, and they do not as the unit comes from Woodmaxx.

But once those issues were dealt with, the unit has been outstanding. It does what the specs say that it will do, at least with softwoods like redwood. 8-9" limbs are no problem. With oak, esp. dry hard oak or madrone, we do have to be more careful or the unit will jam. 4-5" is probably the max for a really stout oak limb that is dry and hard. But overall, I am extremely pleased. Having a chipper on site has proven to be a huge win over renting one. Having the largest chipper that my tractor could drive similarly. I really like the hydraulic feed with speed control, it makes chipping an easy two man job assuming that you have some way to weight down the tractor driver's seat or otherwise defeat the safety switch. Given that we have complete control of the speed of the wheel, including a neutral setting, from the chipper control station, I feel comfortable with that. It is possible to chip with just one person, but one to haul and the other to feed makes for quick work.

Overall, I am very pleased. The chipper has been reliable and performs as expected. It was expensive, but compared to a towed unit, it was very reasonably priced. I had to call Woodmaxx a couple of times during that early phase, and they were responsive and knowledgeable as expected. I feel that this chipper is good value for money, and I would make the same decision again.

Hope this is useful. Lots of folks here helped me before I made my various purchases, and I would like to pay that back a bit...
I have the same Woodmaxx MX 9900 chipper model, I use it a lot and I’m very happy with it, I’ve had no issues, I just ran it for 1.5 days this weekend, cutting back woodland trails. I run it on all of my tractors from 25 pto HP to 50 HP.
 

alexeaton

New member

Equipment
L6060
May 5, 2021
10
2
3
Minnesota
I have the same Woodmaxx MX 9900 chipper model, I use it a lot and I’m very happy with it, I’ve had no issues, I just ran it for 1.5 days this weekend, cutting back woodland trails. I run it on all of my tractors from 25 pto HP to 50 HP.
Anyone know I can buy one now? I signed up to be notified by Woodmaxx when it's in, but I'm curious if anyone has more information.
Alex
 

UpNorthMI

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3200, L3901, MX5800, SVL75-2, KX040
May 12, 2020
850
564
93
Up North, MI
Anyone know I can buy one now? I signed up to be notified by Woodmaxx when it's in, but I'm curious if anyone has more information.
Alex
I would suggest giving WoodMaxx a phone call, they are nice guys and very professional. I’m sure they will be able to give you a real answer on availability.

Hopefully you will get your hands on one. Good luck.
 
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nuctrooper

New member
Jan 29, 2019
7
1
3
Greater Seattle Area
Anyone know I can buy one now? I signed up to be notified by Woodmaxx when it's in, but I'm curious if anyone has more information.
Alex
I was on their list for about 2 months before they called saying one was ready. MX8800 arrived about three weeks ago. Awesome unit.
I went on the list for the 86, 8800, and 9900. When they called, they said they had 86 and 8800 available, and the 9900 was still a month out.
 
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alexeaton

New member

Equipment
L6060
May 5, 2021
10
2
3
Minnesota
I received my Woodmaxx 9900! I think I signed up on their waiting list 5 weeks ago. They called to say it.was in about 10 days ago. And now I got it. Too bad now I don't have time to tinker with it though.
 

Dennis.D

Active member

Equipment
L6060, Erskine hydraulic snow blower, back hoe
Feb 16, 2018
146
59
28
Central, ME,USA
I have a 8H and I'm very pleased with it. My prediction is when they do become available the price will be 50% more. Seems like everything coming from China region that has been unavailable for over a year has a big increase in price when they are available again.
 
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