Wood Chippers - Anyone done an exhaustive study for the B2601?

[Bonanza 2026]

Hi folks, I am hoping to pick up a new to me 2023 B2601 tomorrow (IT's CHRISTMAS!) and I am hankering for a wood chipper. I figured, surely, one of you engineer types made a spreadsheet with circles and diagrams listing the pros and cons to each and every PTO wood chipper available and coming to a winner on price, features, and performance.

Or in leu of that, how about some good guesses or options on the subject.

I've seen the following mentioned on the forum or youtube - Land pride WC1504, WoodMaxx MX-8500G+, and Woodland Mills WC68.

And somewhere I saw where you might have to shorten the PTO shaft? How hard is that? Will I have to?

And I also saw where I might need a top link adapter bracket to attach to a quick attach hitch. Is that the case for all of them?

 

[jimh406]

I don't know of any exhaustive comparison, but this guy did a comparison of two models and he has a B2601. This is one of his videos, but he has more on wood chipping.

 

[Bonanza 2026]

That's a good start. Thank you.

 

[NCL4701]

I have a WC68 with over 100 hours on it. I like it. No first hand experience with any of the others. That’s probably not helpful.

The PTO shaft question. You won’t know if it needs shortening until you get the chipper mounted on the 3 point and do some very basic measuring. The owner manual for whatever you buy should have detailed instructions for measuring and shortening if needed. There are also numerous videos on YouTube demonstrating the process. Minimum tool requirements for determining appropriate length and shortening (if needed) would be tape measure, a marker, cheap manual hacksaw, and something to debur the cuts (a file, etc.). The PTO shaft fitment is necessary, but it’s not a factor choosing a chipper.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I think you need to decide on how capable of a machine you require/want before decideding on a brand.

For instance: if you require a chipper that can “chip” 10-12 inch logs, then you will be disappointed in anything a B or BX can run.

(My SIL has a machine that can do 10 inch logs….. )

However, if you need a 2 inch chipper then you probably have lots of choices.

Just an observation….Good luck sir

 

[netspyder]

so, i have a woodland mills wc68 - at the end of the day, i chose this model because it has 4 cutting blades where most of the others have 2. it'll kill the tractor if it doesn't snap the shear pin if i try and feed stuff that's too big. the woodmaxx ones were a close second when i was comparing, because they claimed better performance from lower hp requirements. i have probably 50 hours on mine... and the only real complaint i have is that the "infeed speed adjust" is a joke. as soon as you try and slow it down to feed larger pieces it stops feeding entirely. so, in my experience it has 2 speeds - go and stop. it does help to work the feed switch when you're feeding larger or harder material.

i believe that the choice of chipper will not affect your requirement to trim the pto shaft. so far, i've lucked out with all of my implements and haven't had to trim any of them... but don't skip that check! it's a bad day if you crack the hydraulic reservoir, i imagine.

 

[matt-m]

Woodland Mills WC68 on a B2601 here. Does great. I'm not trying to chip "maximum advertised" diameters, but still very useful in keeping the place cleaned up. I've gone through massive piles of limbs and heavier branches in short order. Main thing on larger stuff is getting an angle cut on the leading edge to help the single feed roller get the piece started.

Some other notes. No top link adapter bracket needed on the three point. Make sure you cut the pto to size with how you plan to attach the chipper. I pick mine up with a quick hitch and sized the pto shaft with that config. That pto shaft length would probably not work if i direct mounted it without the quick hitch. Also I have self-configured a top and tilt setup (a very worthy upgrade), and needed to be mindful of my typical transport position (top cylinder all the way in) when sizing pto shaft length.

Like with about any 3 point implement on the little B, if the front end loader is off you will be very light in the front end. I fabed a bracket for the front that will take 3 of the 70lb John Deere style suitcase weights. These help a bunch on keeping the nose down.