Wood Chipper

We're a rugular old group of MacGyver's around here!

i had considered renting one but it's something I'll need about once a month or once every other month. 

I can atest to this......His neighbor doesn't know it yet but angle has been secretly cutting down their obnoxiously large tree and he needs a way to get rid of the evidence.

One branch at a time!!! 5 years from now someone will wonder "wasn't there a tree there?"

Quick update... I decided to buy the one from Harbor Freight... http://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/power-tools/55-hp-chipper-shredder-95964.html

The reviews were mixed but I decided to take a chance.  When I first found it online I think I seen the price at $299 but then when I went back a bit later it was at $389 whcih was a bit over my budget.  But then I found a coupon for 20% off which brought the price down to $311.  I also decied to get the 2 year extended warranty for about $70 just in case.

I took it home, uboxed it, and filled it up with gas and oil and started that puppy up....in the garage.  Let's just say that a more environmentally conscious would not have been happy.  So I took it out side and took it for a test run.

It was exhilirating to hear the noise of the engine, and slowly push branches down into the chute and see them come out as tiny wood chips.  The test run ended up turning into an all out wood chipping frenzy.  Any branches that I could get my hands on and would fit in the chute were doomed.  In the end I caught myself looking around the house for a tree that "needed" to be pruned and had to force myself to cut the engine off.

In a few months I'll get my chance to do it all over again.

Final review:
I wish I would have gotten it at the $299 price rather than $389.  While it doesn't seem like the most well built piece of machinery I've ever bought it did do exactly what I needed it to do.  But even if it does decide not to start up one day, like some of the reviews say, I've got the extended warranty so I'd just be able to trade it in for a new one.

Sounds like a good deal, as long as it does what you need it to do...

Quick update... I decided to buy the one from Harbor Freight... http://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/power-tools/55-hp-chipper-shredder-95964.html

The reviews were mixed but I decided to take a chance.  When I first found it online I think I seen the price at $299 but then when I went back a bit later it was at $389 whcih was a bit over my budget.  But then I found a coupon for 20% off which brought the price down to $311.  I also decied to get the 2 year extended warranty for about $70 just in case.

I took it home, uboxed it, and filled it up with gas and oil and started that puppy up....in the garage.  Let's just say that a more environmentally conscious would not have been happy.  So I took it out side and took it for a test run.

It was exhilirating to hear the noise of the engine, and slowly push branches down into the chute and see them come out as tiny wood chips.  The test run ended up turning into an all out wood chipping frenzy.  Any branches that I could get my hands on and would fit in the chute were doomed.  In the end I caught myself looking around the house for a tree that "needed" to be pruned and had to force myself to cut the engine off.

In a few months I'll get my chance to do it all over again.

Final review:
I wish I would have gotten it at the $299 price rather than $389.  While it doesn't seem like the most well built piece of machinery I've ever bought it did do exactly what I needed it to do.  But even if it does decide not to start up one day, like some of the reviews say, I've got the extended warranty so I'd just be able to trade it in for a new one.

Make a couple of photo copies of your sales receipt before the ink fades on the original.

OK, but now you gotta store that equipment!  (That's why I just rather borrow from Eric LOL.)

Google: "Rony v. Costa tree."  Recent appellate decision out of Marin about a guy who, without his neighbor's permission, sent an unlicensed day laborer into the neighbor's tree to cut away some branches in order to clear room for the guy's outdoor pizza oven exhaust.  $15K damages awarded after the judge agreed with the neighbor that the resulting cuts made the tree "very odd looking" hahaha.

In an odd twist, the guy avoided getting slapped with treble damages and attorney fees b/c he used a day laborer to do the chopping, instead of cutting the tree himself.  See Bus. Prof Code 1029.8.

Moral of the story:  If you are gonna jack with your neighbors, don't get your hands dirty.  Insulate yourself by hiring a judgment-proof day laborer to take the hit.   

OK, but now you gotta store that equipment!  (That's why I just rather borrow from Eric LOL.)

Now that I've cut down quite a few trees I've got room to put up a shed...that's my next task.  I've been talking to Tuff Shed but they're a bit pricey.

Moral of the story:  If you are gonna jack with your neighbors, don't get your hands dirty.  Insulate yourself by hiring a judgment-proof day laborer to take the hit.   

Great!!! Another place where my peoples will be used as scapegoats.     

Quick trip to Home Depot and build it yourself!

 

  It is nice to have a chipper/shredder!  My buddy Dan before he moved to NM gave me his old chipper he got a Costco maybe 14yrs ago?  I had to take it to a small engin repair shop in Santa Cruz, as it wouldn't run for long, but now after a new carb, it runs strong and anything up to about 4" is mulch bait!
  Living in a redwood forest with fur and oak trees, I have work for my chipper for many years to come.
Oh, I store it inside my storage shed, away from the elements now,turn of the gas and let the engin run out the gas in the carb, then drain the gas so it has fresh gas at each use!

I highly sugfgest running Stabil in with the gas ... even if you aren't planning to set it up for Winter.  Running the fuel out of the carb helps but it won't get all of it out so the Stabil will help with the little left behind.

I just happen to have one for sale....Lescha ZAK-1800, elec high quality German made item. Cuts up to 1-1/4" branches. I used it for two years in my yard. I cut most of the trees down and have not used it for a few years now. Comes with manual and spare parts kit.  $100

I swear NCKA is the "do anything" sight....what problem or need CAN'T this group meet!

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