Thinking about getting a chipper

[Grendel]

So I've been mulling this over for a few months. I'm leaving a lot of money on the table by not being able to do any meaningful cleanup. 95% of the work I do is rural, and if I had a little chipper I could blast into the woods with, I'd be cruising.

At work we've got a Vermeer 9" 935. I like it, but it's not what I want to go with personally. I've looked at the 12" models, and I'm not sure I need something that big. Really a 9" stays in my price range (used for sure), and would handle what I need it to. . .

Anyways, I'm seriously looking at This Bandit 90XP. I know it looks a little outdoor dog, but it's low hours. I'm having the owner send me some pictures of the big stuff, the rear main on the engine and the disk. He got it off a landscaper who quit the business and has just been moping around his property with it. . .

What do you guys think?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Bandit 90's rock, but I think that one is overpriced.

 

[Grendel]

Thanks Butch, I'm not defending this particular machine. Totally open to suggestions on what a fair market value would be for something like this with less than 1K hours on it. . .

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm no expert, for sure.

 

[Altissimus]

Low hours for real? My Autofeed and engine clock were the first two things to break on mine (brand new)

 

[Grendel]

Guy says it's still counting them off. . .

 

[Tucker943]

That's $3500 high. Keep shopping.

 

[pantheraba]

I have a Vermeer 935...really enjoying it for now...cranks easily, has been very reliable so far. I paid $6000 for mine. It looks pretty rough but seems mechanically sound.

I started with an awful BC1200...chuck and duck, scary dangerous thing. It was possessed..needs a drum bearing right now...and a fuel tank...engine is very strong (six cylinder Chrysler) but now that I have experienced feed rollers I plan to get rid of the BC1200. I need to Craiglist it to someone that knows how to replace a drum bearing.

My BC935 had about 940 hours on it when I bought it (it is a mid-90's model)...was owned by a landscaping guy, didn't use it much. Hour meter still works...but if I run it two hours it increments four hours. So maybe it only really had about 500 hours when I bought it? It has a Deutz 3 cylinder diesel...seems plenty good enough for me.

I don't think I want a 12" throat..that means you gotta pick up even bigger logs to get them up on the table to the autofeed rollers...some 6-8" logs are bad enough. And I usually don't put big logs through it...try to either get folks to keep them for firewood or leave them on site to decompose.

If someone insists we will haul logs off site to a wood yard (and sell them for next to nothing) but it's a hassle for us.

 

[pantheraba]

haha...just posted and noticed Chris said it's $3500 high...that jibes with what I got mine for. $9500 does sound pretty high.

 

[BOTS]

Bandit 90's are really good chippers!

Actually that price is not bad after looking at all the pics

u should make an offer and see what happends

 

[Grendel]

Thanks Chris, Gary, Scott, this is all helpful input. Another consideration is finding something within say. . . six hours drive from my house.

I'll make a lower cash offer if I go with that particular machine. Still shopping for sure.

 

[pantheraba]

I really, really do like having a chipper. A lot of jobs we probably didn't get because the brush was going to be such a problem. I enjoy running the chipper...dragging brush...not so much.

 

[treebilly]

What do you have to tow it with?

 

[cory]

Yeah, watching a chipper eat big brushy limbs and instantly turning them into nice chips loaded into your truck, it is amazing to watch, even after all these years. I sometimes imagine the inventors (morbark) watching that first hydraulic disc chipper eat limbs, they musta been... holyyyyyyyy chit, we are onto something!!! Ha!

 

[Grendel]

Just a 1/2 ton GMC Rich. Doesn't own me anything.

I feel the same way Gary, Cory, I could watch that every day. I love the violence err. . . power/action of it. . . if that makes sense. Same reason I like chainsaw. haha

 

[flushcut]

I would say it depends on what year that 90 is because if it's a 10 year old machine with 440 on the ticker means to it sat more than it ran so more water/rust in the bearings.

 

[Altissimus]

1/2 Ton Haul truck , I'd look for a Morbark 7". Get it closer to the work in many cases. (Used to rent a few machines regular , one of them a Bandit 9" w Perkins. Def a great disc machine) Towed the rentals w a 3/4.

 

[Bermy]

I just got a 6" Chipstar with a 27hp Deutz diesel...I tow it with the 3litre Isuzu. anything over 6" is good for firewood.
I did a small job yesterday...more landscaping type stuff, pulled out a big rose bush and some dead shrubbery with the truck, then chipped the lot, turned two loads up and back to my tip spot into a quarter load of chips...
I like my chipper!
Second hand so we went over it pretty thorough once we got it home, so far I had all the knives it came with sharpened, replaced all the knife bolts, flipped the anvil, put an edge on the feed roller 'ridges', adjusted the feed rate, scraped off some rust and cleaned up all the messy excess grease. Other than that which is really just maintenance, its working well.

 

[Grendel]

Cool! I've seen pictures of your smaller chipper Bermy, it looks like a really nice setup. I'm still looking around. . . Really want a Bandit 90 though.

Thanks

 

[DMc]

Just a 1/2 ton GMC Rich....

Do you plan on chipping into that as well? The chipper alone will be a load for a 1/2 ton truck.

 

[Grendel]

No no, I'd just be short hauling it around the neighborhood and blasting chips into the woods. . .

 

[DMc]

Ah.....OK.

 

[pete mctree]

I seldom take chip away so I bought a 6" tracked machine - I just load it on the trailer & away I go it really multiplies my options as I can take it to the job & it pulls like a train
Unfortunately, I don't think you have the same options over in the states.

 

[pete mctree]

Bloody upside down pics !!!!!

 

[Grendel]

What an awesome little machine Pete! That would be about perfect for my application.

Cheers