Chipper 101

[lxskllr]

How do you all check belt tension. Do you use a gauge, or just guesstimate it? The spec on mine is ¼" deflection @ 12-13#. I don't know how closely I can estimate that weight. A cheapo Chinese gauge is about $40 on amazon. Alternately, I guess I could use something like a stick, and put a saw on top. My 362 is close enough I think.

 

[Burnham]

A small old school analog spring cylinder scale can work. Like this?

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Lots of variations on the type.

 

[lxskllr]

Good idea Burnham. I actually have a tension handle around here somewhere if I can find it. I used to have the idea of collecting antique survey equipment, and I picked one up at an antique shop. I need to remember where I last saw it ~25 years ago :^D

 

[lxskllr]

I have a project somewhere down the line, and I wonder if I should be scared to attempt it. The chipper needs a muffler. The one that's on it is a rusty disaster, and I'd want to just put in a new exhaust manifold if I did it. I haven't inspected closely, but I think it's about due for one, and it would make the muffler swap much easier for <$200 extra. How bad is it extracting rusty exhaust components? I'm guessing the studs would have to removed from the motor, and new stuff put in. Is that something I want to deal with, or is it better paying someone more experienced, and with all the proper tools to do the job? Everything is right there, but the rust and heat worry me.

Related... Would JB weld patch over rust if I wanted to try stopping some leaks in the meantime? Since both the manifold and muffler would be changed when the time came, sloppy JB Weld won't hurt anything, but if it's pointless to put it on rust, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Burnham]

I wouldn't bother...it won't stick to rust.

 

[Burnham]

But this can work...there are other similar products as well...google muffler wrap.

 

[Burnham]

Ooops...dead link. Try the google search, John.

 

[lxskllr]

The problem I have is gaps between the manifold and muffler. I /may/ be able to bolt it up correctly, but I think it might be too rusty to do anything proper to it. I haven't looked at it really close yet. I had more pressing issues with the ignition, and didn't want to fill my head with unnecessary stuff, since the exhaust doesn't matter if it doesn't run correctly... Or at all. Mike and I had it on a job, and I was concerned we wouldn't be able to get the stuff chipped. For a bit, it seemed like we lost another cylinder.

Next thing on the list is valve adjustment. I'll order a gasket, and take care of that soon.

Kind of off topic... Do y'all have any opinion on how well typical rental companies maintain equipment? I'm wondering how sloppy they were caring for the chipper, and if that's typical. The anvil was never flipped since new. The hydraulic strainer doesn't look like it was ever removed, and I'm wondering if the valves were ever looked at. Do rental companies just do the bare minimum to keep equipment going, or was my chipper owner on the lame side, and some places take proper care of their stuff?

 

[Tree09]

I've brazed them with success, and you can often find them online as well sometimes. Only use a grinder when cleaning, you don't want to spread the graphite from the cast all over the surface since it prevents stuff from sticking. I wouldn't use jbweld as my first option since it gets pretty hot, i would either weld it or braze it, and brazing is arguably better. Lots of people do the minimum, or even worse do the max incorrectly when working on stuff, you'll go insane trying to figure out why they messed it up that bad.

 

[Kaveman]

Run the engine up to temp, get it good and hot, then shut down and break the nuts/studs loose. That's basically the procedure in the Hanes manual for all my trucks, it's worked just fine for me on small engines when I'm worried about rust or heat cycles. I also try to give a nice, firm, square rap with a hammer on the stud, before and after I run the engine, just to try to jar things loose.

 

[SeanKroll]

For touch ups I use this little carbide knife sharpener. It has two carbide inserts, handle, and cuts on the pull stroke. It works. Machine shop for sharpening.

I touched up my blades, yesterday. 5 minutes of work. Great results.

I don't recall how long it's been since changing blades.

I am very diligent about only chipping clean material, hauling off dirty rakings that have gravel.


I don't chip like many people, here, do. Limbs are commonly under 6" in diameter and relatively soft. Almost no dense hardwoods.

My ignition coil died two weeks ago. I grabbed a rental bc700 for a couple hours for a storm cleanup of geary oak and madrona, very hard and dense woods, locally.

What a slow, Pain in the neck.

We were both happy to have my usual chipper back.

I needed to sharpen up when brushy elm clogged my discharge chute.
My anvil gap is probably not optimal.
Brushy birch, not run through at a fast enough rpm is a clogger.


Better cutting seemed to greatly increase my discharge... not apples to oranges, as my throttle control is not marked for the range in which it can operate. Seemed to corollate, though.

 

[lxskllr]

I haven't had a clog yet(crosses fingers). That job with Mike I mentioned, I was running rpms way low so we could get the job done. I had the autofeed set to 2.5k high, 2.0k low. I was afraid it wouldn't pass the wood, but it all went through. That was maple. A different wood may have clogged with the same settings.