DR Power 11.5 (Pro 400) Chipper/Shredder Demonstration & Review

This is a demonstration and review of DR Power's Pro 400, their 11.5 ft/lb (7HP) chipper shredder.
www.drpower.co...

[@DavidPx]

November 2023 update - the machine continues to work great. Only maintenance has been one belt.

[@paulcarter5337]

I have an electric wood chipper and I get stuff fly out to, so best way it to have the wood your chipping and to load is to stand at the side then load it, then that way you are out of the way of anything flying out of the chipper, hope this helps you to stay safe and operate better in the future, but always use PPE to protect yourself, and with that then a full face shield is the best that safety glasses, good luck with your chipper and safe chipping in the future, paul

[@kenjisasaki1606]

After watching 50+ wood chipper reviews, I found yours to be the most thorough and convincing so I’ve decided to order one today. Thank you!

[@Deuce_Allan]

What did you wind up getting and how do you like it?

[@user-rn4nv7tj1l]

One of the best reviews demonstrated 👍 thank you

[@earvinhenderson4917]

Great job David. Very thorough and a quality review. It was almost like watching Consumer Reports evaluation. Very helpful.

[@kennethlowe6337]

Update on mine I put a Hilliard extreme duty clutch 1" i.d x 3 11/16 o.d lost a little speed but gained torque. Now uses a 5L 290 belt so much easier to pull start clutch engages at 1800 rpm. And it hasn't clogged or stalled yet after 5 months of heavy use. Hope this helps someone 👍🇺🇸

[@RJN82]

I own one of these with electric start and it really is a beast! Stay away from vines and other stringy material as they can wrap around the axle leading to a time consuming disassembly/reassembly process to unwrap the mess. Once we learned that lesson it's been a pleasure to grind down piles of debris into great mulch for flower beds and natural paths.

[@ezekielmorgan9306]

How long does the Dr 300 chipper take to mulch a ton of guava wood

[@gumboproductionslifeatthed7196]

Oh thank you very much my wife really enjoyed it she got her first chipper it's like heaven

[@michaelwarrick4180]

Thank you, great video! I just bought this machine, largely due to your demonstration and excellent tutorial. I have read in other comments here, the machine won't chip a 4 inch branch and I believe you were very clear on this point. I have an older craftsman with a stated 2 inch capacity and I wouldn't attempt anything larger than 1 inch. I went with this machine over the 300 because I expect it will handle 2.5-3 inch branches much easier than the smaller model. Anything bigger is going on the fire. bigger. Looking forward to getting my new machine up and running.

[@jmreg7391]

Thank you, very thorough. I got the 501 because of your review.

[@louiepalma2436]

Good presentation,concise and on point. Thank you.

[@123trini123]

I'm considering purchasing soon. Great review and demo. Thank you.

[@davidfournier9870]

I am considering purchasing this chipper and you demo was very helpful.

[@FatCigarMafia]

It's a great chipper and Mr. Peters' showcased it wonderfully. You will not be disappointed!

[@Jason-kg4rs]

I just bought one. It is good but not as advertised: 1. all the bolts keep coming loose....I will buy lock washers and fix this. 2.The shredder is really only suited for leaves and very small twigs. The whole thing got jammed to the point of having to take it apart with a 1/2 inch stick. 3.There is no way this thing will handled 4 inch branches in any slightly efficient manner, I have to kid glove 2 inch branches. I do like it and it will suit most of my needs if it preforms as well as it did first use. It makes great mulch. All that being said it is not as advertised the shredder option is weak, and 4 inch branches is not going to happen.

[@JeffSmith-eq3kc]

@@Jason-kg4rs that's not normal. I have used my probably 50 times and have never had it clog. I've done up to 3" thick limbs pretty easily. Gotta be a little slow but no issue. No issues with vibration and bolts. I'd call them, there's something wrong with that unit.

[@Deuce_Allan]

@@Jason-kg4rsstill using it? We are thinking of getting one to shred and make mulch for our hobby farm since the soil is pretty sandy.

[@Jason-kg4rs]

@@Deuce_Allan I still have it. Haven't used it much. Where do you live, I'll sell you mine.

[@qconard]

Great video! I bought the DR Pilot for my farm and very happy with how that performed so I always look at DR first. Thanks for the video / info

[@keithsmith3118]

Man definitely knows what his chipper is capable of and is comfortable around it.

[@darrellh9060]

Nice product review and blade change , I have the same model with electric start the battery that comes with it is pretty wimpy and lasted 1 1/2 years so I modified the battery tray and replaced it with a stander mower grade battery . I have very similar wood that I chip and have also found size chipping can be challenging over 2 1/2 inches thick dependent on how hard the wood is , I have been having some severe vibration on wood stock with harder wood recently so that may be from my blade wearing I have sharpened it 3 times but have a new one coming in a few days . The wood I chip varies such as fir branches ,wild cherry, pine ,lemon cypress, fruit tree branches chip quite well harder brittle wood is tougher and seems to take its toll on the blade . I have experienced screen clogging with leafy green branches and have used a hose to wash out the screen and the hammers while its running to clear out the debris , probably not recommended but saves taking out the screen . I like your taking off the discharge deflector I've been using a snow shovel constantly to remove the build up .

[@rhymereason3449]

Thanks... *very* informative and helpful!

[@kylestrickland6826]

Very good in-depth review and thoughts

[@spambott1]

You are a great teacher. Nicely done!

[@shexdensmore]

I personally wouldn't wear anything that could catch easily, because like you said. Those branches are accelerating to 40mph instantly. You could develop a hole I'm your shirt without knowing about it and a branch could pull you right down.

[@markp1512]

it worked pretty good on the bigger branches . I sold a Bushmaster 15 hp , the thing was heavy and I wasn`t happy about the way the clippings came out at the bottom of the chute . I wish there was a great 3-4 inch chipper that had the chute at the top that threw out the chipping . if yours had the top chute exit I think it would be even a better chipper

[@kstuart3924]

Great video and review! I just purchased this machine and I’m also dealing with a ton of buckthorn. I not sure how you grab it so easily, my buckthorn has crazy sharp super pointy thorns about 3” long, a real pain to handle but the chipper makes short work of them. Definitely going to try your blade sharpening method. Thanks again 🙂

[@kstuart3924]

3” would be the biggest, but most of them are 1 1/2 - 2 1/2”. I’ve found a pair of leather welders gloves work great! I’m in southern Ontario just north of Toronto. Thanks again for the great review

[@sidneywhite749]

I have mostly palm branches wonder if it will work, expensive failure if it doesn’t.

[@michaelmcmenzie6928]

Good video thank you for the info

[@pilotmike797]

I just buried my Sears chipper/shredder and aM looking for a replacement. But it seems to me you need a 15HP engine to really work well

[@billylane6665]

I bought one about a year ago. Before I had ten hours on it, the drive shaft broke. I never fed anything over 2" in it. DR did cover the rapairs with the warranty but it took about 4 months to fix. When I got it back, I hadn't put five hours on it before the fly wheel came loose. I'ts been in the shop for three months with no idea when DR will ship the parts.

[@DavidPx]

That sucks! I just had to replace the drive belt on mine but otherwise no issues.

[@stevew3978]

I have a DR chipper/shredder model 300 (I call it the 9.5 since it has 9.5 ft-lbs of torque). The 11.5 model (with 11.5 ft-lbs of torque) is still a consumer model. I wouldn't classify it anywhere as a prosumer model because it's not powerful enough. Its chipper function is very good. In fact, the self-feeding feature on the chipper chute is too aggressive. If you drop a 3" to 4" log in the chipper chute, it will self-feed very aggressively and vibrate like crazy. Then the engine will stall after it takes too big a bite that the blade can't chop through because of the undersized engine. Stalling puts a lot of wear on these direct-drive small engines that don't have a belt drive to absorb the shock. You can chip 3" to 4" logs, but you'll have to pull the log back, feed it slowly, rotate it constantly while feeding it, and keep it from self-feeding too aggressively. The biggest limitation of the DR consumer models such as the 11.5 and every model below that is they have a narrow throat in the shredder hopper. The shredder hopper throat on my 9.5 model is 2"x6". Since it's so narrow, vegetation clogs in the throat constantly. The 11.5's throat is 4"x6", twice as big as the throat size as the 9.5 model. I wish I had bought the 11.5 model instead.

[@raycooper5132]

Yes I agree I’m considering selling my unit as the shredder feature is useless. The intake is small, it feeds too fast and bogs even on vines.

[@brucewheat6929]

Thanks for the walk-through. How does it do on piles of leaves? My dead Craftsman was great at this because the chute would drop down so they could be raked in.

[@todddavidmoore]

I also want to know how it deals with raked leaves.

[@Jason-kg4rs]

It sucks at leaves... the shredder shoot is practically useless. You have to remove the flaps and feed the leaves very slow.

[@brucewheat6929]

Then it grinds them to dust. Useless as mulch. Hell of a chipper though. Top chute is useless.

[@robngoma]

Great,thourough review!

[@allendeanhuscusson459]

I hope that you’ll show a good view of what goes through the machine

[@zanepaxton7452]

I have my concerns. The top hopper clogs up very quickly with smaller branches; the shredder then clogged up and seemed to be clearing so I let it run to clear itself. Bad idea. Then the slipping belt-drive got so hot that it started seriously melting the plastic belt cover... The guy I bought it from said he didn't use the top hopper because it clogged so quickly.... is that normal? Basically it seems unusable because of the constant clogging. Dryer materials seem to be more readily processed than green materials. Feeding longer Blackberry vines could be dangerous given the viscous speed it pulls materials into the top hopper. (About $65 to replace the belt and plastic cover). Safety: Mine can be hard to start and the cord snap-back is VIOLENT; one cord handle snap-back broke the plastic carb cover ($81 to replace). It demands serious respect and I wish I bought the electric start model! One snap-back hit my fingers which hurt like hell; note to self: thicker gloves are a great idea. As an approach driven by experience, I pull, then instantly return the cord to the start position to prevent the violent snap-back. I also ordered vibration and impact resistant heavy gloves; in addition to the cord snap-back here is also a lot of vibration when the blade get dull. (www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00REG8JNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I will be sharpening the blade more frequently as it vibrates, sometimes smokes and can stall on semi-dried 2-1/2" acacia branches. FWIW: I don't have a fireplace or I'd save and burn that size and bigger. Frequent sharpening is really needed as you noted. I bought a Work Sharp - WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener for sharpening that is a great tool. It's also noisy so I bought the combo hard-hat, ear-muff and mesh face guard. Safety first!

[@kennethlowe6337]

Morning Zane I had the exact experience with mine being hard to pull start. I put a Hilliard extreme duty clutch on the engine it has a 1800 rpm engage springs easy to start then slowly bring in the rpm,s to get disk turning. Northern tool or Amazon stock them. Hope this helps you. 👍🇺🇸

[@charlescoker7752]

Wonder why they change the motor to the 9.2hp on the 410 Pro?

[@ernestpaul2484]

So this unit should rip thru pine branches like nothing. We had an ice storm (small) that caused a great amount of broken pine branches to fall. I have 10 acres and the front 5 are what I need to clean up.

[@charlescoker7752]

Have you ever had a jam? If so. How hard was it to un jam?

[@geetee8443]

Does this machine come with a collection bag?

[@rondacorkhill1654]

So, I appreciate the video. Is there a setup video you can recommend? I know there's not a lot to it but as a very uneasy power tool owner (including this one) I always appreciate youtube university to help me from messing something up or killing myself. LOL.

[@FatCigarMafia]

Set up is easy. Instructions could be better, but are good enough. If you have two people you can put this thing together pretty quick. I also had to assemble the base of mine. I did it by myself, no issues.

[@photoapeal]

I would have liked to see how easy or difficult it is to move around the property, is it just wheeled by man power or does it require a riding lawn mower or ATV & hitch it up?

[@photoapeal]

@@DavidPx I decided to purchase the same model but I did order it with the electric start option. There was another video by the manufacturer that briefly shows the handle cut out & how to move it manually. Your video showed me how large the material can be going through the machine. The bushmaster model said leaves only through the shredder opening which seems limiting but with this one you can put twigs etc... through it which seems more useful to me. Appreciate the response! 🤠👍🏻

[@FatCigarMafia]

Mr. Peters' assessment is correct. Slightly tough to pull over bumps n stuff, but doable. I hook up to a mid-commercial zero turn mower and just drive it around looking like a bad xxx making my neighbors jealous. Ok, not really, but the tow extension is the ultimate in convenience for transporting the machine.

[@AlpacaRenee]

Has anyone tried mesquite in this machine?

[@anhnguyen-ex3dy]

Where to buy this Machine ?

[@JohnMiller-oz7gv]

Thank you. The DR brand machines are well built.

[@wrongfullyaccused7139]

The machine is well built but the briggs engine is garbage.

[@happy_dad4211]

Is this model made in the USA?

[@markmiller2901]

That looked like a lot of work stuffing that branch down in the beginning of the video. Not such a big deal if there are only 3-4 of them, but I have 50 at time.

[@DavidPx]

This machine wouldn't be a good option for you. It's not made for that level of work.

[@JamesSmith-ns6ke]

Aren't there any shredder flails to sharpen, or some machines call them J-Knives?

[@DavidPx]

Yeah there are shredder flails. The manual states to reverse them when dull but I've never had to touch them.

[@kennethlowe6337]

Great video and don't ever put a 10ft vine in shredder. Hurts like hell . I have the same unit and I don't use the shredder anymore.

[@panayiotispanayides2141]

Before accessing the blades, you should have shown that you turned the machine to OFF and disconnected the spark plug for safety, not only your but others too who may attempt this blade change. Otherwise a useful video.

[@retirednuke]

Really? That's obvious....

[@panayiotispanayides2141]

@@retirednuke You are a year too later with such a stupid reply.

[@Jason-kg4rs]

If you cannot tell that it isn't running you should not own one Mary.

[@therrienmichael08]

Price Check ?

[@charlescoker7752]

Just bought the 410 Pro. $1299.99. If you add electric Start $1499.99.

[@charlescoker7752]

The 410 does not have the 11hp. motor. They put a 9.2 hp. Guess they did that to keep the price lower.

[@wrongfullyaccused7139]

Learned my lesson. Will never buy another DR product as long as I live. That good for nothing briggs engine spends more time not working that running. Nothing but trouble.

[@aldenpines]

You might want to try using a spray bottle with water to clear the allen head screws instead of a pick. Eventually, the pick will damage the screws.

[@charlescoker7752]

Or use an air compressor to blow it out.

[@Jason-kg4rs]

I regret buying this machine. It chips small stuff well and that is it. It cannot chip anywhere near 4" material. The shredder is all but worthless. There is no point to feeding branches into the shredder when you already have the chipper. You have to remove the safety flaps to get anything in it without using a push stick. It will not shred anything green without clogging. And you have to drizzle dry leaves in slowly or it will also clog. This machine is not remotely worth the 1200-1400 price. I will never consider DR again for anything. The DR advertisement for this model on KZbin has its comments turned off if that is any indication of performance. If anyone reading this is in the North East Ohio area and is dead set on getting one. I'll let this one go for $800. Bought it in May 2022 has around 10 hours on it. It's electric choke. It just doesn't do what I need it to.

[@Deuce_Allan]

Thanks for your thoughts, we are looking for a chipper just to make wood chips for decomposing and making mulch for the property. We do not need it to clear our branches as we can burn everything. Do you have any recommendations on a solid professional machine, but nothing huge. Something we can tow around with our RTV on the property.

[@FatCigarMafia]

I can hear almost every swallow you make. Great video, but man I almost had to stop watching because of this. I'm sorry for being blunt.