I have a relatively small property but could use a chipper/shredder damn near 24/7/365 with all the oaks, shrubs etc. Also have a lot of bananas that need to have their soft canes and leaves mulched up. Can someone suggest a good value for one around the $1000 mark? Should be able to cut up to the standard 2" or so diam., be pretty good as far as basic maintenance needs.

DRs, Troy-Bilt?
tks.

My neighbor bought one some time back. He had the same idea as you. Ear protection, a hard hat and good gloves are needed and the cheaper ones, like 1000 dollar ones jam all the time. You are better off renting one of the commercial ones or paying someone to do the job. It is a lot more work and hassle than you can imagine. Rent a machine first and see how much you like it. The 200,000 dollar ones are something else to watch.

My Dad lives on almost an acre in New England and bought a Troy Bilt almost 20 years ago and it is still going strong.

A lot of people buy these and use then once or twice then never again.
I would buy a lightly used chipper, one a year or two old that's in good shape.
Buy at least an 8 HP model or larger. Most home versions are only good for 3" at best, no matter what they claim. To do 2" buy rated for 3".
To do larger you'll have to rent a commercial unit or hire a contractor.

Have a neighbor that pisses you off?

Recently sold my 10hp TroyBilt chipper/shredder. Used it heavily over 20 years with great effect once the nuances of grate size and types of materials to be processed have been learned.

Unlikely you'll find adequate new chipper for $1000. I had prior 6hp model unsatisfactory.

I borrowed one last year. An 8 horse. What a spectacular PIA. If you didnt trim everything to jut the right chute size, it would get stuck and it had to removed and cut down. Some times the peel, or bark would get shredded and wrap around the works, so I had to disassemble it several times. My elderly neighbor laughed and said he quit shredding 30 years ago. Now he burns everything. My advice: rent a really big shredder, hire it out, or burn it.

Sorry. Could not resist. Handy for lots of things.

 
I had a good (Wallenstein) 3 point chipper for my tractor, for years. It worked well, but as I aged, I figured out it was just as much effort to lift the branches to feed the chipper, as it was to lift the branches and throw them in my trailer. Now I take them to the transfer station. A year's worth usually costs about $8 to dump. They have an articulating shovel type thing mounted at the back of the pit. You back up and the shovel (really a pair of jaws) reaches out and scrapes it out of your trailer. No work on my part at the transfer station. I pack my trailer down with my tractor bucket or pallet forks, and the stuff compacts nicely. I get a lot more in that way, and when the shovel thingie sets down on the pile, it all comes out of the trailer as one big bunch. They use old mattresses after the dump to sweep out your trailer. One swipe with the folded up mattress usually gets all of the small debris. I recently sold my 3 point chipper for $1,000. Guy from New Mexico drove over to pick it up.
 

6 inch models here rent for $200.00 per day.

I say cut the stuff saturday through thursday and rent one on friday ,

that 6 inch cut machine should have you done by noon , easy.

other wise you will be going through a $1000.00
home model every other year

I agree, hire someone to do it, we borrowed a chipper from a friend one of the troy built units when I did a major trimming of the trees project, you have to spend a lot of time trimming up the cuttings to fit, then as stated deal with problem branches, and finally, figure out what the hell you want to do with a giant pile of chips. It's not a good idea to put fresh cut wood chips up next to your house so it's not great mulch unless you treat it imho it's a ton of work for very little gain.

The pros use Vermeer and it should tell you something that Vermeer’s smallest chipper is 25 hp

I was in the same boat a number of years ago. Had a huge pile of limbs and yard waste to chip and dispose of. I checked to buying a chipper, then renting one and finally hired a pro with a towable chipper that was run by a 6 cyl engine.

He and his son chipped it all in about 45 min. and hauled it off for $200. All I needed was hearing protection, a beer and a cigar for my part. Oh, and $200 in twenty's.

I still haven't bought a chipper and never will.

Jim

As you calculate that 2", understand that includes the curve of the branch typically. The chute on mine is about 12" long and is a 2x2 box. Soft material will bend to fit, dry dead fall limbs won't. Or a branch that has a small stub.

I tried real hard to use mine. It was more work than it was worth, but volume wasn't really a concern for me. The mulch worked out well, the leaves were for all intents and purposes were gone. But I'd have to dedicate days not hours to its use.

While it is labor intense & requires learning a new skill, there was a type of woodsy-satisfaction of a home gardener to play a role in speeding up the cycle of regeneration via mulching/chipping.

Of course, there are many days of sweat I'll never get back, reducing a very large pile/piles of branches/etc down to a few paltry wheel barrow loads.

Besides the effort/inconvenience/chore like aspect, along with maintenance of machine and whatever the expense of buying may have been....is the year round issue of 'just how much room is occupied by this thing'.

We would have a couple major work days all day long just shredding our stock pile, plus several couple-hour-long seasonally, to keep orderly our 1+ rural acre.

We haul off a 5x10 utility trailer load of yard debris every few months that formerly we shredded. Seems a sad waste but we have more time for other chores.

 
If you get your own, absolutely put no dirty stuff in there (such as bushes that have been plucked out of the ground and have the roots with lots of dirt). You will spend more time at the grinder resharpening your knives that you do chipping. Freshly cut branches and limbs are best, and your knives will go a long time between sharpening.
 

Echo BearCat.
I have one barely used I am selling. Not near FL. though. Check them out. Good units.

Know what? Think you guys convinced me! I'm a gardener, love to plant and work the dirt, and could probably charge admission to my tropical backyard but after reading the reviews of some online, prices etc and hearing your input I believe your suggestions will save me a lot of $$ and sweat!

tks..!