Don’t get stumped

Wood chippers and stump grinders are essential components of every tree care business. Choosing which one to buy should not be too taxing of a process for one major reason – there are only a handful of manufacturers of these products, and most of the features and functions are similar in nature.

Thus, the question of what to purchase depends primarily on the size of your jobs and the size of your business.
 

Wood chippers.

Although there are some electric versions, mainly geared toward home use, wood chippers for commercial use run on either gas or diesel.

California’s recent passage of laws regulating emissions of small engines has propelled manufacturers to make a more fuel-efficient gas chipper.

Because of this, the Denver-area landscape company Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care switched from using diesel to gas chippers in the past couple of years. Nate Talocco, senior operations manager at Swingle, says he prefers gas, anyway.

“Diesel isn’t strong enough to run an engine hard enough to chip wood. Gas technology with a fuel injector engine has been the biggest change to the whole industry,” he says.

Others, however, prefer diesel, such as Admiral Tree Service in Pittsburgh.

“It gives you better horsepower than gas; it runs a lot smoother,” says Robert Jeke, the company’s vice president.

For the most part, wood chippers are pretty standard.

Basic machines translate into basic principles: “The bigger the chipper, the bigger the wood you can chip,” Jeke says. If you are working with smaller trees, a smaller chipper will do the job.

Some come with winch cables and grapples, but all wood chippers should have standard safety features.

“There’s a reverse bar on all newer chippers,” Jeke says. A good thing, especially if someone’s foot gets caught between rollers, for example.

How many chippers you need depends on the size of your business and how often they’re being used.

“It’s based on the forecast for how much work we are going to be doing that season,” says Bjorn Gjerde, CFO of Senske services, based in Kennewick, Wash., with additional locations in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

Swingle reported owning about 50 chippers, but for smaller companies like Admiral, three chippers of varying sizes fit the bill.

Most chippers that are used daily should have a lifespan of 10-15 years, provided that the machines undergo regular maintenance such as daily greasing for proper lubrication of moving parts, oil changes, changing out knives regularly and routinely checking inspection points.

“Maintenance is imperative, says Talocco, adding Swingle’s chippers undergo daily, weekly and monthly inspection and maintenance.

Regular maintenance will not only preserve the chipper’s life but will make everyday usage go more smoothly. “Efficiency is the name of the game in this industry,” Jeke says.

Talocco says the industry is working on releasing a hydraulic wood chipper sometime in the future, though its effectiveness and popularity remains to be seen.
 

Stump grinders.

More varieties exist in stump grinders than in wood chippers. Talocco says that choosing a stump grinder often comes down to safety features, as the machines are dangerous to operate.

For example, remote controls are a newer safety feature so the operator doesn’t have to be standing next to the machine. Another option is a plexiglass screen that protects the operator from flying debris.

And similar to training wheels on a bike, some models have an extra set of wheels to prevent it from tipping over or toppling down a hill.

A bigger machine will do a bigger job in a speedier amount of time. “When we’re doing residential work, we tend to default to a wide machine to get into backyards without having to move fences,” Gjerde says.

Talocco recommends having different sized machines for different applications; a determining factor would be making sure the grinder be able to access the stump, whether it’s in a small space in a backyard in a raised planter or something closer to the street, for example.

Maintenance issues are similar to chippers. It’s important to place them on a routine inspection schedule.

Talocco says for Swingle, the lifespan of the grinders, which are used daily, are 5-10 years, while Jeke reports his company’s grinders have lasted 12-15 years.

Gjerde says checking the teeth are important, as they are easily breakable and bendable.

Like chippers, the choices are diesel or gas, but unlike chippers, stump grinders are predominantly diesel fueled, at lease at this point in time.

However, this could change in the near future, says Talocco, as emissions laws also affect grinders.

The author is a freelancer based in Pittsburgh.