Wood chipper review

A quick review the Harbor Freight PREDATOR 6.5 HP (212cc) Chipper Shredder. I got mine with a coupon at around $499.

It came mostly assembled and well packaged. Almost all the bolts are 10mm or 13mm, making maintenance easy, and it came with good instructions. This chipper/shredder uses the HF predator engine, which appears to be a clone of a 1990's Honda engine. This engine is very common, and there's a lot of videos about how to maintain, repair, and modify it.  Parts are cheap and plentiful. This is normal gas engine, not a two stroke that requires a gas/oil mixture.

I have used it a bunch recently. It's a great tool. I chipped about 15 kitchen size garbage bags of salmonberry shrubs, spruce limbs, and alder branches today, giving the chips to my mom. That represented about 30 minutes of chipper operation, this thing chips fast. The chips are small, less than 1 inch and more cube shaped than flake shaped. I like the chip size and shape a lot.

Only two stoppages, each caused by me feeding too large spruce limbs into the the branch chipper portion. Each was easy to clear, but required me unbolting the back plate to clear the stoppage. This was a good exercise, because it showed me how easy the cutting blades will be to replace- dull blades on a chipper cause issues, those need to be easy to sharpen or replace. No stoppages on alder or salmonberry, even at slightly over the 3" diameter limit. I did not use the larger hopper feeder that is designed for light vines or pine needles or whatever. Just branches.

My mom's husband and my lumberjack friend who was running my biochar barrels as I cut branches were both impressed with the performance of the machine. It starts easy, but it is a pull start like a lawn mower so it is not for the elderly or the physically disabled. It is also quite loud, I equip foam ear plugs under noise cancelling ear muffs when using it. It is moderately heavy, as it needs to be to remain steady while operating, but it has wheels.

I don't like the cheap way the chip collection bag "attaches" to the machine, as it is just a draw cord tightening around the outlet.  It comes off occasionally, which can result in the loss of a few chips. I'll make a modification to improve this, but used a bungee cord today. I also don't like the wheels. These squeak and don't turn smoothly when I pull the machine along my gravel driveway. I'll replace the wheels with something better if I have time, but there's no urgency.

I did add a fuel system cleaner to the gas because of condensation in the tank is a real issue on the coast, plaguing all sorts of small engines.  

Anyway, this is a great tool. I am using it to fill large raised beds along the contour  lines of my hilly homestead, creating terraces and foot paths while clearing out the terrible salmonberry shrubs that choke out everything else and are a real fire danger.  With this tool, those become a fantastic raw material.  

Here's a link to the chipper
https://www.harborfreight.com/65-hp-212cc-chipper-shredder-62323.html

Highly recommended.

Hi Jeff.  Nice review.

Personally I have a love/hate relationship with wood chippers.  Like you, I completely understand the utility of a wood chipper.  My particular use is to make chips for my mushroom beds.  However, my personal experience is that I need a chipper that is about twice the size/diameter of the average (or perhaps larger) material being chipped.  For instance, I used to rent a 6”, 15 HP gas chipper and it chipped 3” material just fine.  4” material went a bit slower but still worked and 5” material could still be chipped, but it was difficult.  6” material could technically still be chipped but it took a LOT of time.  The chipper stopped, reversed and took multiple shots at chipping the branches.  Eventually it would work.  However, I had a lot of material to chip and the chipper broke—multiple times!!  

Eventually I decided that I needed the 12” 85 HP diesel chipper.  And WOW, did it chip up the material like a monster!  And I broke even that one when I fed a tree trunk 12” in diameter!  It did an amazing job (we bush-fixed it).

But overall, it does make me wonder about owning a chipper.  If you are chipping up materials that are 1”-2” in diameter or smaller then that chipper probably works just fine, and I bet that it is a fine machine for most households.  And from what you have said, it sounds like this is the case.  So good for you for finding the right machine that fits your needs at the right price.  Honestly, I think that HF tools & machines are often overlooked, underrated and are generally a good value.  I have purchased a handful of tools from them at really good prices and the tools work very well for my needs (and I am very picky about my tools).

You are absolutely correct about the noise!  Is it even possible to have a wood chipper that chips quickly and quietly?  At the moment I think not and you are right to protect your hearing—as are your neighbors too!! But I say that last part in jest.


Ending this convoluted response, I want to say that I think that you found the right machine at the right price for your needs.  Please let me know how it works out in the longer run.  What size material are you chipping, how long does it take?  What are the chips like?  Etc. etc.

Nice job!


Eric

I went in shares with about ten other households about a dozen years ago and we bought a used 12" 8HP chipper from an estate sale. I used to use it two or three times a year to munch through all the branches and prunings that this place generates. Then I started making biochar.

I haven't brought the chipper over since. I still use lots of wood chips but the local arborist drops them off here.

Phil, was that chipper perhaps an 80 HP chipper as opposed to an 8 HP model?

Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:Phil, was that chipper perhaps an 80 HP chipper as opposed to an 8 HP model?

Eric

I think it's the predecessor to this one:

Hansa towable chipper

and now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it's a 12 or 13 HP engine. 80 would be a monster! This one handles diameters up to 75 mm if the wood is still green and not ridiculously hard. Dry stuff is more troublesome and seems to wear the blades down faster.

Ok, I just saw the link and now it makes sense.


The intake is 90mm, or about 3.5 inches.  That sounds about right for a 12HP engine and I bet it works well.  It looks like the chute is 12”.

The reason for my confusion is that the last time I chipped, I rented a chipper with a 12” intake—and yes, at 85HP, it was an absolute beast!

And I could never afford one of those by myself, but divided up with a bunch of neighbors, maybe.

At any rate, thanks for the clarification.

Eric

I have a small gas powered chipper.  It works well and makes really nice chips.  It's great for someone that wants a way to dispose of smaller yard waste.  For the number of chips I need, it just isn't big enough.  Large gas (or diesel) powered chippers are very expensive, and I already have a tractor, so for me, a PTO chipper was the way to go.  I went with the WoodMaxx 8" PTO chipper.  This thing is a beast.  I don't normally chip anything bigger than about wrist size, but this eats branches that size like butter.  It still takes an enormous amount of material to make a lot of chips, but I have about an acre of box elder that I coppice to use for wood chips, along with any other branches I may have from trees cut for firewood or that just died off, blow downs, that sort of thing.  Wood chips are one of the most important assets I use on my land, and a quality chipper makes a huge difference.