Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Chippers  (Read 6563 times)

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Chippers
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2018, 07:55:17 pm »
When i first moved here i bought a so-called small professional chipper (off hand I can't remember the brand and it's cold in the barn right now). It cost around £2K at the time. Bloody near useless. Yeah, it can chip a 3" branch if you shove it in the side access. Yes it has a huge top hopper.. but stick a decent load in there and the darned thing jams or stalls. Worst is that it can process quite quickly once you get the hang and the rhythm of it but the ejection duct is at the bottom, near the ground so you have to keep stopping to kick the chippings clear or pull the whole thing forwards.
I do use it for the garden 3acre prunings etc but hedge cutting stuff usually gets piled into a field and torched 'cos the processing time would be silly.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Chippers
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2018, 11:08:06 pm »
<< but hedge cutting stuff usually gets piled into a field and torched 'cos the processing time would be silly. >>

Ah that's interesting pkevet.  I had the idea to speed things up, as well as not to waste the small stuff by burning, so if it's more of a faff to chip than to burn, then we'll carry on burning.  Anything of a handleable size gets turned into kindling, big stuff into firewood.  The brashy stuff looks such a huge volume just to burn, but I suppose it's mostly space.  Mr F says we would use more fuel fetching, using and returning the chipper than we would save from burning the wood and releasing carbon into the atmosphere that way.  Some wood prunings we leave in piles in woodland for wildlife to use as it slowly decomposes, but not thorny stuff like hawthorn.  A problem we had a couple of years ago when it was too wet to burn off the brashings immediately, was that a colony of sparrows moved in and built several nests in the pile, so it then had to wait until autumn ::)
« Last Edit: February 25, 2018, 11:41:12 am by Fleecewife »
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Chippers
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2018, 09:27:11 am »
I'd guess I've got some 2-2.5miles of hedge sides that need to be kept under a measure of control - which means sections get attacked each year but it's a few years getting round it all. I did about 1/2 mile+ last year using loppers mostly + some chainsaw and was pulling out 2-3m lengths of hazel, willow etc and ripping out stuff that had invaded through the fence or hung low over it to hit tractor cab top. It was a lot of wagon-loads. Chipping it with my chipper would have been several days work and not much of it was thick enough to bother using as firewood (I have plenty of that from fallen trees and my woodland). I did feel gulty 'cos when the power company did the length of hedge under their wires -5yrs ago?- with a serious chipper i got a good 3 wagon-loads of lovely leaf and woodchip from that 150m hedge that probably would have filled 10 builder bags. I swapped a wagonload of mulch with a neighbour for rotted horse dung- a win for both of us. But age is taking the toll on how much i want to faff about. Hire charges on a big chipper or paying a contractor to brush the hedges is ££. Some areas get a bit hilly and boggy for a big tractor by the fence so dragging it to the wagon is preferable.

Then as you say it's fuel to run the chipper and drag it around + delivery/fetching costs and hire.

Maysie

  • Joined Jan 2018
  • Herefordshire/Shropshire Border
Re: Chippers
« Reply #18 on: March 08, 2018, 03:49:35 pm »
Reading this thread, I now feel less guilty for clearing my brashy bits with bonfires. 

We are clearing around 15-20 years of hedge neglect and have miles to do, so I was thinking of a chipper as a 'better' solution, but it sounds like it probably isn't the easy-fix answer that I thought it initially appeared to be. 

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Chippers
« Reply #19 on: March 08, 2018, 06:23:36 pm »
Hi Maysie
Are you laying your hedge?  It would be perfect for it after that length of time.  If you haven't thought of it, there are hedgelaying tutors wanting unlaid hedge to teach with  :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Maysie

  • Joined Jan 2018
  • Herefordshire/Shropshire Border
Re: Chippers
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2018, 01:19:08 pm »
Hi Maysie
Are you laying your hedge?  It would be perfect for it after that length of time.  If you haven't thought of it, there are hedgelaying tutors wanting unlaid hedge to teach with  :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree: :tree:
Have been on the course (Midlands Style), bought the billhook (etc) and am now getting on with the hedge laying while things are still dormant (just). 

Was delighted to see that a lot of our hedges are Hazel, so we have plenty of our own stakes and binders! 

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Chippers
« Reply #21 on: March 12, 2018, 11:08:37 pm »
Sounds like you're well prepared :D   Watch out for hedgelayer's elbow (RSI).  And don't worry about mistakes because it soon all grows back and hides the windy gaps  :D .  Some before and after pics would be good to see.
We're still trying to get the final stretch of hedge done with the wee tractor and cutter bar, but today it got stuck in a snow drift and took an hour to dig out.  Meanwhile the birds are starting to flirt so nesting won't be far behind.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Maysie

  • Joined Jan 2018
  • Herefordshire/Shropshire Border
Re: Chippers
« Reply #22 on: March 15, 2018, 01:33:37 pm »
The weather has set me back the last few weekends, so I know I am now cutting it a bit fine this year now, as I dont want to affect the birds nesting. 

Shame though, as I was keen to 'hone my new-found skills'. 

I am sure there will be some 'before and after' photos taken.  Whether I share them or not, will be a decided when I stand back and take a look at the finished job!   ;)

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: Chippers
« Reply #23 on: March 27, 2018, 05:22:11 pm »
Watch out for hedgelayer's elbow (RSI).
oh yes .. do watch for this - I had it last winter, took months to heal.

 

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