Wood Chipper Made From Old Chopper

Wood Chipper Made From Old Chopper WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 29-3-18 Nuisance brush around the farm is easier to deal with for Eugene Keener of Smithville, Ohio, since he turned a 717 New Holland forage harvester into what he calls his "chipper-chopper". "Almost any pull-behind pto-driven harvester would work as a chipper," he says. "This one is probably 30 years old or so and you could likely pick one up at an auction for $500 or less." The conversion took Keener a total of five hours. "The head is removed so all that's left is the basic chopper. The unit originally had nine blades. I removed six of them," he says. "The three blades make about a 1/2-in. long chip. I fabricated a 3-ft. long, tapered chute that extends out from the gathering rolls." During use of the unit, the operator feeds the big ends of branches into the gathering rolls, which pull them into the chopper knives. For safety's sake, Keener says you need to reverse the direction of the gathering rolls' kick out controls (kick out control stops brush from feeding into the chopper.) Since the operator stands beside the unit, feeding it, pushing the kick-out control is safer than pulling it. "It takes about a 50 hp tractor to run it right, and it will handle 4-in. or smaller diameter brush," he says. "It's really good for clean up after you fell a tree or for cleaning up brush along fence lines. You can load the chips right into a wagon if you want, and they can be used for mulch around buildings. The advantage is that you don't have to burn the brush to get rid of it, and I was surprised how small a pile it makes after you run through a large amount of brush." Keener says the rig could be easily converted back to forage harvester mode. He does this whenever he wants to chop up swaths of old weathered hay and put the organic material back on the field. "I run it without the six knives because it takes less power," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eugene Keener, 7033 Akron Rd., Smithville, Ohio 44677 (ph 330 669-2440; email: ravae1 @juno.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.