Chipper/Shredder Recommendation

Hi, all,

I've found a like-new chipper/shredder (only used once by a little old lady on Sunday...) that I can buy for under $100. It is a Craftsman 7.5 Horse power chipper shredder with a Briggs & Stratton Inotek engine. Does anyone know if they are good, bad, or otherwise? It looks like it retails for about $650, so it seems like a good deal. Perhaps too good, but that's why I'm asking.

That certinally is a good price for a well enough chip / shred .Some people grow down right mad with a C/S,because they are not feeding it where the machine can take it,ie;stuffing too much wet leaves,or grass in , and expecting it to perform like the add.A person has to learn the technect,or get ill with a machine that only does what it is designed to do.I know,I've been there,and I thaught I knew every thing.So look at the motor,try it ,look at the chipper knife,with the engine off,touch it lightly with your finger.If it is sharp,then you can expect little use , if it is so dull that you can saw your finger up & down ,and it want cut,then you know why they are selling it.

Kurtwall,

Unless there is something badly wrong with it, the Briggs & Stratton INTEK OHV 7.5hp engine alone would be worth over $100. Even if the chipping blade is dull, you can remove it and take it to a professional sharpening place to have it sharpened.

When you re-install the blade, be sure to use some LocTite 243 on the screws and tighten them real well, because the blade takes a lot of repeated impact and you don't want it coming loose during operation.

I'm not a big fan of Craftsman shredder-chippers, but it sounds like the price is right on this one.

MM

Can either one of you recommend a chipper or chipper/shredder for me. I know I asked you this same question in another thread, Mike.

We have tree limbs from pruning (fruit trees, some pines, other ornamental trees) and lots of smaller branches and stuff.

It has been hard for us to get any recommendations as not many people use these. The one advice I did get was to get just a shredder and not a combo as the combos weren't 'heavy-duty' enough.

Thanks,
Gwen

Gwen, we get what we pay for, and todays chipper/ shedder is built by the same co.,in contract with the manufactor.I read and do have a working knowledge as well as maintience,on grounds kipping equepment.I bought the DR chipper,just the chipper,because I built my own shredder,from a flywheel from a stump cutter,and I use carbide tips on the hammers,and it will shred 2" and under to a desired size,and I won't be with out it.( you could never sale one like this.)The DR is a well made chipper,heavy duty,and worth the price.If you go cheep,you will go with inferior equipment.,I have been reading about the DR chipper/sherdder,and it looks built well enough ,that if I didn't have my home made monster,I would consider the 18HP modle.Hope this helps. Mike

I have used my 10HP Troy bilt and love it. It rarely clogs and will shred green, 2+ " stuff rapidly. And it has a bag so I can pull it to where I'm working to collect the debris right off the cut. It doesn't tip when I drive it on a slope and I can move it on the level with my hands. Nice machine and I paid 650 last year.
Oh buy the Craftsman for a $100 you could make another 250 just on EBay.

Kurtwall -

How old is that Craftsman? In the early 90's I had one that wouldn't hold still - it danced around while in use. Took another person to hold it in place while I fed it. Also the discharge place was on the opposite side from the hopper, so I had to keep running around to pull the shredded stuff away from the hole, then run back to put more in. Now I have a Crary Bearcat, but it was expensive and I had to drive 500 miles to buy it. It's better, still with some inconveniences.

kabocha

Hi, kabocha,

The Craftsman looked to be brand new, but the bidding has already exceeded what I'm willing to pay. I'm mostly trying to cheat an arborist out of the exorbitant fee to remove and haul away some green meatballs and gawdawful juniper bushes -- the idea being I could get a chipper, hack down the green meatballs, chip/shred them myself for composting, then sell the chipper. I don't have any real trees on my property (yet), so the long term need for a chipper/shredder is minimal. It's still cheaper to rent one and do the work myself than pay a tree removal company to do the work for me. I could stand the workout, too.

Kurt

Thats what I thought 6 years ago in my infant garden and now I'm chipping my trimmed laterals, fir tree blow down, and shredding July through September.

We have a 10 horsepower Troybilt also and we love it, as a matter of fact we don't know what we would do without it, we bought it 7 years ago for 500.

Gwen,

I recommend the MacKissic 12PT10 shredder-chipper:

http://www.mackissic.com/consumer/images/consumer%20images/chipper_shredder_consumer2_img.jpg

I have been using my "Mighty Mac" for three years, and I really like it. It can chip limbs to 3½" and the hammermill shredder is very versatile with optional screens. I use my ¼" screen a lot to make very fine stuff for rapid composting.

MM

Hi Kurt -

I, too, think it is better to have your own machine. Hauling one back and forth to the rental place would be very hard, so I wouldn't want to do that often. I love having one so I can make two week compost if it's planting time and I need some fast! My most recent batch was leaves, pine needles and dried cow pies - no, I didn't mean cow peas. Yum! What beautiful fluffy stuff.

kabocha

If it's a $100 and it runs, BUY IT !!!!

Looking for a great way to produce plant loving compost? [HYPERLINK@paulgadawg.turnwill2.hop.clickbank.net]

Lilburnjoe,

That hyperlink doesn't seem to work.

MM

I just copied it and pasted it on the address bar. It works.

Thanks everyone. The price ended up exceeding what I was prepared to pay at this time. This is our first year in the house, so our budget is tight.

We have an 8 HP Simplicity and we love it. It will take up to a 3" limb with no problem.

Lilburnjoe, Soferdig,

OK, I copied and pasted the link into my address bar and that seems to be a long infomercial for an e-book about "The World's Best Compost". Is that a scam or is the book worth it? I am a little suspicious when someone is selling a book and they won't even tell you how many pages it has.

MM

I have not read that book. So I am suspicious why Liburnjoe has marketed it so much. It seems like an advertising page for some pyramid scheme. Jump in here and enlighten us Liburnjoe.