Tree Limb Chipping 101
Our customers are often trying to figure out the best solution to their tree-limb problems. Whether they have small branches that have accumulated in their yards over time, have a tree down from a recent storm, or have old shrubs and bushes that they want to get rid of, we have the answer! Renting a wood chipper or chipper/shredder is a convenient and economical way to take care of tree-limbs.
Benefits: There are some great benefits of renting a chipper. First, using a chipper saves you the time and hassle of having to gather all of your tree-limbs, load them on a trailer, and make several trips to the landfill. Multiple trips to the landfill, by the way, can end up costing more when you consider the cost to dump per load, fuel back and forth, and your precious time. Second, if you were planning on burning, you don’t have to worry about the hassle of getting a burn permit or having to wait for that small window once per year when your local government allows burning. A third great benefit is the fact that chipping limbs creates mulch. Mulch is a nutrient releasing wood chip that can hold in soil moisture and block weed growth—I know you hate pulling weeds! Further, mulch can really improve the look of your landscape! For more information on the types and benefits of visit the cooperative extension HERE.
Options: At Nickell, we like to make sure we set our customers up with the right equipment for their respective projects. In order to accomplish this goal, we carry three types of chippers. All of the chippers are great, each having its own purpose.
The first in Nickell’s line up is the Eliet Chipper /Shreader. If you plan on chipping anything up to a limb 4 inches in diameter, this is the chipper/shredder for you! This unit is very unique among chippers. Eliet was the first company to introduce a chipper/shredder that is self-propelled. Eliet’s motto is “take the machine to the wood, not the wood to the machine.” This motto captures one of the key benefits of this chipper/shredder. You can literally drive it up to the brushes or limbs at various places in your yard and simply throw the brush, branches or limbs right in. This means, of course, you don’t have to spend the time and labor involved in gathering branches, limbs or brush from every corner of your yard into one pile next to the chipper! Moreover, the Eliet is designed to fit through a 30” gate and with our tracked version, or as Eliet has named it, the “Cross Country,” you can cover virtually any terrain.
It is amazing what this chipper/shredder can do! In addition to the ability to get into tight places, fit through small gates, and maneuver through tuff terrain, the Eliet chipper/shredder is capable of handling just about anything one would put in it below 4 inches. Our customers have put shrubs, bushes, Christmas trees, small branches, vines and limbs up to 4 inches in diameter and 10 feet in length!
The second chipper in the Nickell line up is the Vermeer BC 625. This is a true limb chipper. It is rated to chip limbs from 2 inches in diameter up to 6 inches in diameter. The benefit of renting a chipper this size is the ability to chip limbs up to 6”. The six inch chipper is also equipped with a shoot system that allows you to direct your mulch in any direction. Many of our customers like the ability to aim and shoot wood chips they plan to use for mulch into the back of a truck, wheel barrow, dump trailer, etc.
The Vermeer 6 inch chipper is a towable wood chipper. However, it is light weight when compared to many of the large towable chippers. All you need is a vehicle equipped with a 2” towing ball. Don’t let its lighter weight fool you, however. It is a real workhorse chipping up to 6 inch limbs!
The largest chipper in the Nickell line up is the Vermeer 12 inch chipper. This chipper is our largest chipper designed and used for applications that require an aggressive, higher horse power machine. This chipper will take up to a 12 inch log! If you have a fallen tree and want to save thousands of dollars paying a company to come in and remove the tree, you can rent this machine and chip it up with ease. Like the smaller 6 inch version, this unit has a shoot used to direct your chips in the direction you desire. It is also a towable chipper which only requires a two inch ball, but be sure your vehicle is rated to tow at least 6000 lbs. As our customers say, this chipper is a real “beast!”
Last of all, and just in case you are wondering about safety and skill levels required to operate these machines, just know that one of the reasons we purchase and rent the Vermeer wood chippers is that Vermeer is innovative when it comes to safe design. Vermeer has intentionally designed their machine so that the operator can feed limbs at a very safe distance. You would literally have to climb into the machine to reach the feeder! (By the way, please don’t do that!) If you are concerned about operating one of these machines, don’t worry. We at Nickell Rental pride ourselves on giving expert advice and instruction on every item that we send out. This means the experts at Nickell Rental will answer every question, guide you through the process from start to finish, and help you over the phone, if by chance you get to your home or job site and need us.