Should I buy a used Bearcat Chipper/Shredder?
cornshucker
17 years ago
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krislu2003
17 years agomaineman
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Do I need a chipper and a shredder?
Comments (17)Ray, "Now thinking of using a Home Depot sized, electric cement mixer to mix the different sizes of material. Whadda-ya-think?" I would hold up on the electric cement mixer until you see firsthand what comes out of your 12PT10E machine. I have used my Mighty Mac to mix old compost with leaf litter and deadfall, simply by feeding the two materials together and using a larger screen like, maybe the standard 1-inch screen or the ¾" or ½" screen. Being bashed around in the hammermill section mixes materials rather well. I think that is a much more "active" mixing than you would get in a cement mixer. There's nothing to say you can't reprocess some material that came out of the machine right back through the machine with the same or a different screen. A couple of years ago I ran some dry leaves through the 1-inch screen and as I started adding them to a compost pile noticed that it looked like they were going to form a separate "wet" layer. So I decided to reprocess that pile of "one-inch" leaves with some old rotten deadfall (dead and rotten twigs and small rotten tree limbs, tree bark, some scooped up leaf mold, a few acorns and pine cones, and some dirt). That mixture came out of the ½" screen as a nice porous dark fluffy product that "looked" already composted, although it went into a new compost pile. I wouldn't worry too much about the "powder-like" texture that Dmullen mentioned for the ¼" screen. I think that was just his word choice to convey that the product is very fine compared to what other screens produce. Depending on what you put through it, the one-quarter-inch screen can produce some very compostable material, and it is my favorite screen. Dry leaves through it might need something else for porosity, because they tend to shatter and the particle sizes can range from ¼" on down to almost dust. But when you are processing small greenish tree branches and twigs, you can get some longish fibers that "sneak through" the ¼" holes. They can be various lengths, and some of them might be 2 inches long or more, which gives the product a kind of fine fibrous texture that has plenty of air space for composting. Depending on what you feed and how you feed it, you can get a whole spectrum of products from just the ¼" screen. The same principle holds true for the other screens as well. Incidentally, if you do see some longish piece of something appear on your output pile that "sneaked through" a screen hole, just toss it back into the hopper. It won't be so "lucky" the second time through. Before you spend money for a concrete mixer, I do recommend that you experiment with the MacKissic as a mixer. It can work well. While you are processing some new material for compost, throw in a little old active compost every now and then. The hammer mill will do an excellent job of "marrying it" with the new material to inoculate your pile. MM...See MoreWould a small chipper/ shredder be good for us?
Comments (13)Hey, I agree that used is the way to go. Once you get it, you'll find more uses for it. The small units you mention are made for just what you're talking about now(dry, dead branches), but they come up short if there's any amount of moisture in the product to be shredded. I had one to chop up my sweet corn after season and it constantly plugged if they weren't brittle-dry. My first "real" chipper/shredder was a mid-80's Troy Bilt Super Tomahawk I bought three years ago for $175 and $150 in parts to fix it up. With the bar grate installed, the flail shredder was great for light, loose, slightly wet stuff like leaves, garden waste, the last bit of a branch after you chip the big part, etc. I wouldn't even look at a machine without a flail shredder. The bigger Mackissics, bigger Bearcats, older Troy Bilt Tomahawks, and BCS BIOs all have them. Most of these can be found sub-$500 and all can be found sub-$1K used. I'd still own it, but have upgraded to a used BCS BIO-100 that mounts on my BCS tractor. It's a great machine, but way outta your price range. I got it for a great deal, or it woulda been outta my price range, too. They're $1400 new without the power unit. A power unit would be over $2K Let us know what you decide. Bill in WI...See MoreChipper/Shredder
Comments (24)Thanks for the input greenhobby. I've got 40 acres, and most of it it wooded. The part I mow is mowed and vacummed with a large collection system on the mower. The collected grass, and leaves in the fall, has given me a hug compost pile. I dump the grass/leaves on one end, and pick black dirt off the other. Occasionally I 'stur' the composting part with a front end loader. Some of the stuff likes to stay in grass like clumps, and isn't composting well. I figure that stuff would be really nice if run thru a shredder. I also heat my house and domestic hot water 100% with wood, for about 9 months of the year. So there is alot of 'trimmings' that I don't use for heat. I have been burning them in a burn pile in the winter. But local fire officials frown on these types of activities unless the ground is covered with snow. I would like to chew up some of this stuff to make mulch to put around some smaller pine trees. I planted some pines on the boundry line some years ago. I mostly have oak, maple, elm, cherry, and cedar here. So I think the 12PT-10 is about the size I could use, without financially destroying me. Where can I go to get the best deal on-line? I like the "no tax" I usually get by ordering out of state. Free shipping is a plus on this type of thing too. :-) Lloyd...See MoreOlder Bearcat chipper/shredder question
Comments (1)It may be a model made only for a specific retailer or a special buy. Email or call at customer service Bearcat or Echo. They should know which model is similar. They may want the serial no. Due to liability, mfrs usually provide operating manuals free....See Morecornshucker
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