#91 Chipping Big Wood with the WoodMaxx MX-8800 PTO Chipper

[@frankrubino1883]

I can’t thank you enough for showing us how to un clog a MX9900 chipper. I sent 2 hours reading the manual and other places until I found your presentation. You may wish isolate that segment for easier availability for us inexperienced “chippers”. 😊

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Glad it helped!

[@stephenrhodesianridgeback7418]

Preparing the branches for the chipper cutting them the proper way is where it all starts . Anything you can do too help twisty branches go thru and fold down going thru the power feed wheel . Makes life so easy on a chipper . I started cutting twisty stuff right where it comes off the main stem 3/4 thru . When it goes into the chipper it break folds down and goes right thru . Good Demonstration 👍

[@DudeRanchDIY]

I totally agree! Most of the branches I chipped in this video were cut by me but some by the homeowner, making relief cuts at the crotches makes life much easier!

[@glfnrtrvr]

Thank you for this video!! I just bought the smaller MX 8600. And am waiting for it to be delivered. I have an old pto chipper that still works well. But I wanted to upgrade to a larger one. After much research I went with the WoodMaxx. American made! 👍I learned a lot from my old chipper. But I was concerned how to unclog the WoodMaxx. It was great that you "purposely" jammed the 8800 and then walked through how to fix it. WoodMaxx should pay you for this instruction video! I am shocked at the size of wood you are feeding into your chipper! Your "start. stop" technique is also very helpful! Thanks again! Great video!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Glad you found the video helpful! It’s a great piece of equipment and like anything takes some time to figure out how to maximize productivity. Thanks for watching!

[@soundwisestudios5340]

Just ordered my WoodMaxx MX-8800. Can't wait till it gets here!!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Awesome!! You’ll love it! Used mine last week!

[@champagnefamily]

Jake, thanks for the video. I recently bought my Mx8800 and love it! Today I had my first jam after an initial 12 trouble free hours . I recalled watching your video detailing this process a while back when I shopping for my chipper. I Just jumped in the house to find your video for a quick refresher and I was able to clear the jam and quickly get back to work. Oddly enough the branch that was stuck looked an awful lot like the one you pulled out in this video. Thank you! Keep up the great work.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

So glad I could help! When that happened to me for the first time I wished there was a video showing how to un-jam it! Took me a while to figure out! Thanks for watching!

[@FatherOfTheParty]

I usually keep a battery powered chainsaw handy for quick cuts of misshaped pieces. I'm more likely to use it as opposed to fighting a strangely shaped piece since it doesn't require starting and I usually don't need the power of a gas saw. Good stuff, looks like an awesome chipper and I'm trying to decide between the MX-8800 and the Woodland Mills (WC88) chipper. Thanks for showing real world usage of the MX-8800

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Yep I have the little Milwaukee hatchet just for cutting the crotches. I love my WoodMaxx

[@inspectr1949]

I believe that the WC88 has 4 cutters Vs 2 for the MX-8800?

[@edwardhammond1624]

I got one of these chippers and I managed to jam it with an 8" piece of sassafras in under 2 hours of operation. Totally my fault. It was the butt end of a 20 foot small tree trunk, and I got distracted as the RPMs went down at the end of job. My fault, could have been avoided with 10 seconds and a little better attention. Anyway, about 6" long trunk piece stuck between the intake and the wheel. I was dreading fixing it because my last chipper required massive disassembly to clear a jam. But this one? Super-easy, which makes for a happy Memorial Day. Undo two clips, lift the motor/gate, insert a rod to hold it open, and bang, you've got access the machine's innards. Reached in, pulled the offending sassafras out, and put it back together. Ten minute, no strain jam clearance. Great!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Yep super easy to unjam!

[@pauljaney21]

Found your channel a week ago and started binge watching

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Glad you’ve been enjoying my videos! Thanks for supporting/watching and be sure to subscribe for more!!

[@glfnrtrvr]

Thanks!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Thank you!

[@james5360]

I noticed the rollover bar in the folded position, you might make a habit of unfolding it before using the tractor as no one plans on it rolling over. It can save your life if you use it properly. Food for thought

[@Aaronzap15]

Nice chipping Jake. Looks like the pile is getting big. Gotta Spread them in the wood yard👍🏻

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Thanks Aaron, it certainly is! Never enough time!

[@ericlakota1847]

Works really well

[@DudeRanchDIY]

It does exactly what it’s supposed to

[@angryman71]

I just got the MOODMAX WM-8M... very well built... does a decent job.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Congrats! I’m sure you will love it!

[@MrDoyle07]

WoodMax is the cat’s ass of the wood chipper universe.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

I’d have to agree, for the price point and features you get they are hard to beat!

[@farmerbob728]

Looks like a nice machine... for the person who's going to use it a time or two a week.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

It’s been a great machine, I don’t use it all the time but when I do it’s usually most of the day out on a tree job and it always gets it done.

[@davecalvo6418]

Cool video, I think I will be buying this unit for my "85 Ford 1710" front loader tractor, I like this chipper and I think its a great investment, thanks again for sharing Dave in CT

[@DudeRanchDIY]

It’s a great chipper! Very handy to have around the property and for special jobs!

[@williamwhite9275]

Another great video and sounded like you had a Oops with the saw hitting the trailer lol but we have all done something similar i would say

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Thanks William, yep I knicked it a bit! Fixed up the tooth with a file no problem!

[@wkimzey]

Watching your videos on the WoodMaxx MX-8800 Wood Chipper, and it occurred to me that instead of burning piles of brush, I could move the chipper around the property and chip as I go. (Then your buddy suggested that-so you guys set the stage for my insight.) If I’m clearing autumn olive, maybe still with berries on it, will I just be propagating autumn olives more than they already are? I can imagine the birds have spread so many seeds all over the place over the years, that I’m not really increasing the chance of propagating because it is so strong already? Do you have thoughts on this?

[@DudeRanchDIY]

I wouldn’t be too worried about that. The seemingly small amount you chip could never compare to the amount the birds move around! Burning would probably be faster overall!

[@davehale8513]

Are there any detents at neutral? It looks like the bar goes from forward to reverse too easily. Can you comment on how easy it is to set the speed to 1 or 2? Thanks for the video. I felt like this was a very “real world” example of this machine in use. Do you feel like the 32 PTO hp is enough for this machine?

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Yes there is a neutral position for the feed wheel. The bar doesn’t move as easily as it looks on video. You definitely have to put some force behind it which is good because it helps prevent branches from reversing the direction when they are getting pulled through. As far as setting the speed it’s as easy as just positioning the bar to whatever speed you want. Typically I run it at full speed unless I’m chipping larger hardwoods where I will slow it down or even use my “bump stop” method. I try to keep everything as realistic as possible to show the chippers true functionality and potential. I feel that my tractor has more than enough power for the chipper, I consistently chip 6-8” hardwood with no problem. I believe they advertise it as working on tractors with as little as 20 hp at the pto which might be a bit underpowered in my opinion.

[@stephendevore1800]

I have the same chipper. What size casters did you put on the base ? Do you wish you would have gone bigger or are you happy with them. Thank you for the great video.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Honestly not really sure what size they are, I got them at the dump and welded them on to prevent scraping on driveways when loading/unloading! They work!

[@j.alanmorgan]

Hi Jake, Question: Can you adjust the chip size coming out to get larger “chunks” ?

[@DudeRanchDIY]

I suppose you could adjust the anvil a bit no I don’t think there is much adjustment for chip size other than that.

[@matthewtaylor2185]

I wouldn't recommend doing that. Bigger chunks when the knives are getting further away from the anvil puts more pressure on a chipper flywheel and it could damage the machine. Your mileage may vary depending on your chipper model, but that has been my experience.

[@howard5567]

Jake: Will I do appreciate you holding my feet to fire. Yes both Vermeer are commercial units, and belong to Carl's community. So between Carl's sawmill & my mill, firewood generates a lot of by-product for the wood pellet man. Somewhere between 60-80 cubic yards. The used mill has already cut the 8X8 post & some dimensional lumber to put a roof over its head. One of these day will go into fresh split do-it-yourself firewood lot & subcontracted labor. Bring your own IBC Totes. To answer a lot of people questions: I have two ex-wives, I don't wont the first one to ever find me. Catch ya on #92!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Sounds like a good plan Howard! I’d love a sawmill one day!

[@dandetweiler9750]

Do u need aux hydraulics from your tractor for this chipper? Like a 3rd function or power beyond?

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Nope! It’s run solely off the PTO!

[@gloydmckay2658]

So that is running off the belts which is why you need to pay attention to belt tension. 😮

[@HangNguyen-ty7zv]

How many HP Tractor can handle

[@DudeRanchDIY]

According to their specs a tractor with as little as 20hp at the Pto can run the chippers. The more Pto hp you have the better it will work.

[@jeffmayeux1692]

Great video Jake. What is the market for wood chips? I know you do firewood but is there money in wood chips? Keep the videos coming.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Ehh not much of a market for wood chips as most tree guys including myself have to pay to dump them, everyone always offers free chips if it’s a geographically desirable location based on the job!

[@craigsmartin]

How many hp is the tractor? Cool setup!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

39 hp

[@craigsmartin]

Thank you!

[@inspectr1949]

PTO HP?

[@gloydmckay2658]

​@@inspectr1949 I wonder if horse power is short or belts are not. Plentifall enough to take a constant feed

[@gloydmckay2658]

I see the stub that was sticking out the side is cool for demanstration, So for all practical purposes you need to keep material too a smaller size for better production.

[@traviscover590]

I like your new video today you did a really good jop cool video today buddy 🍺🍺

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Thanks Travis! 🍻

[@mikeadams2339]

Thannks for walking us through the unjam!

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Figured it’s pretty useful to know! I wish I had a video explaining it to me the first time it happened!!

[@chrisscheel680]

What hp is your tractor running it?

[@DudeRanchDIY]

Hey Chris, my tractor is a 39hp Kubota L3901. WoodMaxx recommends anything over 20 pto hp but the more hp the faster you can chip larger hardwoods.

[@warped2875]

@14:50 Oops! Get out the files!

[@gloydmckay2658]

I should not have to push feed that thing ,we are seeing a lot of lost time feed system must be bad

[@kf5tjc]

I disagree. I see a lot of wasted time trying to force-feed pieces that should've been trimmed down in the first place. Also see wood that is way too big being fed into it and dragging the engine down, which forces him to "feather" the hydraulic feed using the e-stop bar.

[@garryroot593]

That chipper needs feed rollers or something you are working your a// 📴

[@DudeRanchDIY]

It has a top hydraulic feed roller, feeding the larger wood in there is sometimes hard to get the roller to initially catch on the log

[@unlimiteduploads2971]

not sure why u wanna put in wood that you can use as firewood when you see the size of those requires you to sit there "stop" "forward" "stop" "forward" all the time, not being able to just put something into the feeder and then grabbing the next branch to chip. maybe wasting some firewood to flex for the video and showing what the chipper "can" do at its best but thats also more unrealistic since people are not gonna be wanting to sit there and click stop and foward like that for a proper usecase.

[@unlimiteduploads2971]

and the feeder seems pretty cheap and troublesome, constantly issues.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

8” logs aren’t worth my time to split because they don’t yield much firewood. We chip up to about 14” on the job.

[@Shane_Jennings]

A tractor with more horsepower would help a lot.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

That tractor puts out far more Pto horsepower than the minimum required 19 stated by WoodMaxx

[@Shane_Jennings]

@@DudeRanchDIY i meant no disrespect. But any equipment like that will handle the tougher loads better with max horsepower rather than close to minimum.

[@DudeRanchDIY]

None taken, my tractor puts out 31 hp at the Pto. The biggest difference I’ve found using this chipper is green wood vs. dry. It chips green wood much easier