Chipper Challenge - Vermeer AX17 versus BC1500 and AX19

We recently took ownership of a brand new Vermeer AX17, their newest sub-10,000 lbs model. It joins an already proven fleet of Vermeer wood chippers we have here at Seattle Tree Care in the BC1500 and AX19. There's no better way to welcome a new chipper to the family than to have a good ole chip-off between the three siblings. Peter and James provide expert opinions and cutting-edge knowledge about all three workhorses. After comparing the AX17 to both the AX19 and BC1500 we throw everything we can at them to see how each holds up. Peter grapples with chunks of Ash, Black Locust, Pine, and Madrone as mechanic-turned-groundsman, James, keeps the rollers turning and the blades cutting. Which one of these three will emerge as the victor? You might be surprised if you're expecting the heavyweight, AX19 to win just because of size. The featherweight BC1500 might have something to say about it. Will the AX17 choke or will it stand on its own and prove newer is better and faster? Vermeer even stops by and shares some very interesting information about what might be coming down the pipe. You don't want to miss this one!
00:00 Vermeer BC1500
04:08 Vermeer AX17
14:20 Vermeer AX19
21:35 Chip Off
29:43 Conclusion

[@matthenckel9901]

We have an AX17, and has been totally awesome! We couldn’t be happier with it. It’s a beast!

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Good to know, thanks!

[@isaaczach4497]

would be cool to see a yard tour, how many trucks there are, chippers, etc. would also be cool to see the mountain of saws you run. how you keep everything organised .

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Cool idea...I'll see what I can do.

[@jefferyturner1920]

Appreciate all the time and effort that you put into your videos.. you really have an impressive company ..

[@DanielAtkinsFirewood]

I would say it's a good comparison of all 3 chippers.. to bad the new one broke down, but that's OK. That's what the warranty is for, and hey, at the end of the day, we are all human putting stuff together.. 😁👍

[@SeattleTreeCare]

I really liked the remark Phil, from Vermeer, made in regards to being Made in the USA. He added "...by people". It's true. And as we know...none of us are perfect.

[@jelinektreeservice]

We demoed at ax17 before we bought our bandit 18xp. Was a good machine but decided to go with more horsepower. We totally agree with cone holders, wheel chock holders and a place for rakes and shovels right in a chipper. When talking to bandit about customizing our machine they advised against adding those options in Michigan because they said different states classify the chippers differently for license plates. In Michigan you don’t need a license plate on a chipper but if you store equipment like hand tools or cones on the chipper than the state says it can be classified as a trailer and have to get a plate for it. We added the options anyway because we think it adds value compared to worrying about getting pulled over for that small item.

[@jayzerblazer]

Love all your videos, you can tell you put alot of effort in to them and I appreciate that. The equipment review style videos are super informative and would be interested to see others like this. Of course the tree videos are awesome as well. Thanks

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

That’s awesome and thanks for the kind words🤘🙏

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thanks for the feedback! We appreciate it!

[@dylanbrown8411]

Bc1500xl very good reliable chipper. Low cost to run and own. I really like our bc1800xl. It’s an amazing chipper. Same John Deere they put in the ax19. Fun video

[@spencerbird1273]

Awesome video from Peter and crew! I’m an Arborist in the process of getting my ISA certification to start in the tree business. I’m located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I’d love to see a yard tour of Seattle Tree Care’s equipment or a tour/comparison of bucket trucks!

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Best of luck with your ISA and thanks for the suggestions!

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Heck yeah, lets do this.

[@TimNonn.]

Great presentation!

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thanks for watching

[@jameshancock18]

Just found your channel, always looking for new arborist videos and these are brilliant. Maybe you could do a video on all your saws and another on climbers gear Stay safe all

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Great suggestion! Welcome to the channel!

[@arborsafetree5746]

Awesome video! I feel all those chippers are under horse powered. Plus Vermeer equipment has gone down hill. A bandit 15xp 18xp or a 19xp will chip two of those logs to the one the vermeers are chipping. Plus have bigger infeeed and way more options! More production and less down time buy a bandit!

[@alexmatthews2332]

Hearing about the instant warranty claims on these was sad. I'm pretty new in the game and man couldn't imagine dropping that kind of coin and having something not work off the lot.

[@jameshancock18]

Having heard about august hunikes ax19 always being broken, now this ax17, I’d buy a bandit

[@alexmatthews2332]

@James Hancock I've got a bandit 100 and a 250xp both older used machines and they run great! They have needed work and that's fine lol. The only time the 100 let me down was the shaft started walking inside the bearings. That got rebuilt last year and runs great now. The 250 is a different animal I wish I bought it when I started out 8 yrs ago. Got that 100 for 4500$ best money I ever spent.

[@rafaelcardenas1202]

I totally agree 👍. They pretend a 120-130 hp will chip a 15-18 inch log without a problem. That's a lot of stress for the engine. I think you need around 160+ hp to do it well without putting so much stress on the machine.

[@nephilly87]

Bandit chippers 💯

[@mfahim1995]

Thank you for the honest review! Way to have a great attitude. Vermeer lost a lot of business from this video. Lord knows I’m buying bandit without question now haha. So thank you for helping us choose between the two! You have built a great company, good work!

[@SeattleTreeCare]

I prefer the honest approach. Peter was 100% all about it being a very candid and truthful review. We believe people should be informed before making large purchases such as these. Thanks for watching! Check out some of our other videos and be on the look out for a few more reviews coming soon.

[@94jhammer]

This was awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Glad you liked it!

[@Cummins6720]

We run a bc1000xl. Have been looking into 18 to 20 inch upgrade. Have owned my bc1000xl for 6 years. Demoed the 1500 . It broke first day . We had the chipper for a week. It was ok . Lots of mechanical issues with newer vermeers. I have switched to bandit since for grinders and will most likely buy a 1890xp bandit and or 1590 bandit used. Get it pre emissions. My current bc1000xl is a 2008 with the 3.3 cummins. Probably the best year chipper made in my opinion. Just simple to work on . And bulletproof motor .

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Great points. Yes. We have had about 6 or 7 BC1000s and they are super solid machines. Really simple and easy to operate for the field crew.

[@kwtreecare4023]

Damn, you guys are in a whole different league compared to the UK, most firms run 6-8 inch chippers unless on site clearance, then 12-24 inch (Whole tree chippers).

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

That’s cool. So many different ways to get a job done. I will say, having a larger chipper allows you to pretty much process a whole tree on-site👍

[@nashneubauer9016]

Love the detailed video! Good job.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@nicklarson685]

Thanks for sharing

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thanks for watching!

[@jamesweir139]

I love my 04 1400xl/ 1500 I got it for a great price but it needed a ton of work. It has 4060 hours and I'm replacing the clutch for its first time. It's very low maintenance compared to anything else of that size 👌👌 mine also has adjustable roller carriage spring tension the new 1500s do not... 🌲🎉🎉

[@BLTrees]

I am really happy with my Rayco RC1824 it has the 160hp Cummins and the offset bottom feed roller. I think all the chippers with the large oversized top infeed roller are the best for sucking in material, better than than the vertical feed rollers that don’t hold logs down which end up kicking around and feed into the top part of the drum. The down sloped infeed tray like on the AX series also helps with dragging logs in as they are better balanced and not overhanging the rear of the hopper. The Bandit box slider style lift and crush doesn’t compare to the large top roller for pulling power. I think the hydraulic motor that drives the top feed roller on the Rayco RC1824 is a piston type motor same as used for drive motors on tracked machines stronger than gear type motors?

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Sounds like a beast!

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thats a good question. I would imagine so but that would definitely be more of a question for our mechanics. If I remember to ask, I run it past one of them next time Im in the garage.

[@kevinboyer8678]

nice to see that big yellow iron i work in plant 7

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

That’s awesome!! Do you build wood chippers?

[@kevinboyer8678]

@@petergruenwoldt5394 not now the plant I work in makes HD drills

[@guyrioux333]

OK I'm definitely will keep going with morback and I'm getting a new XPC 15 from bandit impossible to get a morback 15 this years in Canada so I have no choice to get my second choice as a bandit

[@jpallen719]

Im mixed on the Vermer chippers we run 2 chippers one is a bandit XP200 and the woodsman 750 older models…. and I have to say, bandit makes a really strong dependable chipper. It has been flipped jackknifed trees landed on it any number of things and it continues to work. I guess depends on maint and how much use they see.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Appreciate the feedback! Thanks for watching!

[@bishopcorva]

Friend's dad had a buddy on a tree crew that was being fast and loose. Got one of the ropes wrapped and lost an arm up to the bicep before anyone could hit the reverse. Everyone had to go home for the day while he went to the hospital. Friend and I were tasked with cleaning the chipper after photos and incident reports. To the teenager me, the fact a guy lost his arm and nearly everything else. That didn't bother me on the whole. What did was the smell after the chipper had basically been stewing in July heat for a week and a half. So many bluebottle flies, flies in general. Plus the smell of rotting flesh. We two absolute geniuses figured why not start it, get the disk going and just run some limbs through. That'll clean out the inside. Worked alright but remember, genius work, discharge chute right into the wind. Burned the clothes because there was no amount of washing to get that funk out. As for the 17, I think that because the one feed roller motor is leaking, it's bypassing internally for any sort of direction except for to feed in. Probably a bad deal or scored shaft allowing the pressure to just keep turning it forward against any back pressure from a valve system. The overpressure likely blew out a connection gasket and the leaking is just a sign of it rather than the cause of the not reversing.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

WOW! That's insane! Your friend is lucky to be alive. Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you've got some stories!

[@jelinektreeservice]

I would be nice to see a video showcasing your ditch witch 3000.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

Thanks for the suggestion. We were just discussing this yesterday. Nice to know we were on the right track.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Good idea, We have one Ditch Witch 1550 and we could compare it to the SK 3000. Thanks for the idea!

[@travisthetreeman]

Great video! Ever had an issue with the BC1500 auto feed working intermittently? We have one that seems to struggle once its warmed up good.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Interesting, never had that happen before. Sometimes for us the feed wheels will stall out on small branches and it’s because behind the wheels needs to be cleaned out. Auto feeds always worked for us. Thanks!

[@finksies23]

We run a 18xp Bandit. Almost 4000hrs on 175hp Perkins with no issues besides a fuel pump. I just bought a 19xp 175hp with a few more features. For running multiple crews Vermeer seems to have the most safety items, but for a one crew company that’s just more stuff to break.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Bandits are beasts! Up until recently we have net had a Bandit dealer in our area and so I’ve always had Vermeer. Very different manufacturing styles.. Bandit and morbark hand made and Vermeer way more assembly line like process. Good and bad on both, but I wonder if the issues we had right out of the gate would not have happened with a bandit. Let’s go Tree Equipment Manufactures..Time to step it up and help the tree people out that buy your products by making the best possible machines they can 🙌

[@alexmatthews2332]

@@petergruenwoldt5394 You won't hardly need a local dealer if you run a bandit. I have two quite used machines keep the knives sharp and they just run. My one is a bandit 100 from 1988, it got partially rebuilt last year just bearings new shaft and disc balanced. I have a 250xp now that's from 1997 and it's such a beast, I'd like a newer one but buying used has allowed me to expand my business in other ways and with Bandit I seriously have almost no downtime even running older equipment. Also I am not a fan of electronics or tier 4 diesel engines. They fill the truck quickly and make for a smooth day.

[@hightechredneck_0566]

Would like to see a comparison between a Bandit 20XP compared to a Vermeer 2100

[@BLTrees]

The 2100 is a beast I think it would have to win over the 20XP and most of the Bandits have the forestry chute that doesn’t allow for changing angle if the truck isn’t lined up or spraying onto the ground beside the truck

[@famfirst6660]

Morbark had a feed roller open door also with the down pressure on the freed wheels

[@prothompson]

I haven't run the 19ax or 17ax but I do love the 1500. We have 2 1500's and a bandit 1890xp. I would rather take the 1500 over the 1890xp any day. They just keep running day in and day out.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

That’s awesome. Honestly. The BC1500 are a great machine. Spoiler alert: We just found out the AX-17 replacement knives are $225 per knife😳 They are 3/4” thick and definitely more expensive than a BC1500 knife. Hope you are all doing great out there and thanks for the comment🙏🤘

[@prothompson]

@@petergruenwoldt5394 That's steep for a knife. I think we pay 95cnd for the ones on our 1500.

[@josephmorgan4108]

I dont think that the first chipper was set for logs. Possibly set for brush which let too much feed to the drum before (never) attempting reverse.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

That chipper actually had a mechanical issue that required it going to Vermeer for repair. Would like to go back and revisit this video now that we have it back and it's been run through some jobs.

[@josephmorgan4108]

@SeattleTreeCare oh, ok. Im I'm glad you got the issue resolved. Be safe out there.

[@4.0gpa44]

The Ax 19 would be under cdl if you towed it behind a 2500 pickup truck. Behind a 26k chipper truck your limited to 10k chipper weight, but you can alternately go heavier than 10k if the total is under 26k, such as with a pickup truck.

[@tarpontail2750]

Bandit!

[@OnlyOneRyanZiegler]

I have 2 BC1500’s (2008 and 2013) and my biggest problem with both of them are the motor mounts breaking constantly and the drum bearings going even with daily greasing. Any input on either issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Shoot. thats a bummer and I bet that is frustrating when it happens. Our 2 1500s have not had that exact problem but I wonder if the problems yoiu are having could potentially be related? Maybe you have a damaged or bad drum and is out of balance creating excessive vibration?

[@mackenzietreeservice5043]

Our BC1500 keeps breaking motor mounts and bolts too. Wtf?

[@DanielValenzuelaMammothTreeSer]

I am not sure when you guys refer to the chippers are under CDL. Towable equipment are NOT included with over-all or combined GVWR with the vehicle. Towable equipment are considered fifth-wheel which are NOT included with over-all or combined GVWR. Trailers are included with over-all or combined GVWR with the vehicle. Under CDL is 26,000lbs and under.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Great info and thanks for sharing!

[@JohnSmith-kz1ll]

It’s not reversing cause the hydraulic leak

[@mfahim1995]

What comms are you running??

[@SeattleTreeCare]

We use Sonetics.

[@jacobbuckley8232]

Dang brand new $130k chipper and it's junk can't even use it wow.

[@petergruenwoldt5394]

Seriously right???!!!!

[@DanielAtkinsFirewood]

That's what a warranty is for.. I got a new wood splitter back on September 2022, and 20 hours in the main hydraulic value was leaking internally.. a few emails later, I got the new parts to fix it..

[@jacobbuckley8232]

@@petergruenwoldt5394 right

[@alexmatthews2332]

Im sorry but vermeer has absolutely nothing on Bandit as far as durability goes. All of the panels controls etc are a fraction of the thickness. Btw, 3 gal hydraulic capacity?? I'm not down for that.

[@HAUSS81]

Sounds like Boeing builds Vermeer chippers.

[@SeattleTreeCare]

🤣🤣🤣