Garden is the most beautiful and peaceful place of a home where you can enjoy the beauty of nature and get a feeling of relaxation. But, just planting some trees is not enough to get a beautiful surrounding; you have to take extra care of it so that it does not turn out as a jungle. Its hard work and you cannot do it without any tool or machine. Some tools are made solely for this purpose and out of them, chipper is one of them. This guide focuses on chipper shedder reviews and how to choose the best machine for your garden work.
Do you know about these machines? If no, you should first understand what are they and what they do? This information will help you in understanding and use the tool in the better way so that your work becomes a lot easier and faster.
Introduction to chipper/shredder
Let me tell you that wood chipper and shedder is not the same tool and it is essential to understand how they differ. Although both the machines cut the wood into chips and small pieces but their features are different.
• Features of wood chipper- one-hopper, long chute
• Features of wood shedder- two hoppers, short chute
A chute is that part of a machine which ejects the shredded or chipped wood. Apart from it, they also differ in the area of use.
Area of use:
The wood chipper is the powerful machine that can shred heavy wood and thus is best for commercial purpose in industries. Wood shredder is a small machine that is not as powerful as chipper hence it is used for residential purpose. It can chop or shred into small wood. Both of these machines are widely used in agricultural, manufacturing and wood recycling industries.
Go through the features and chipper shredder reviews before buying any tool for your garden. Those who need for their residential purpose should buy a wood chipper. However, there are many types of them – drum, disc, high-torque roller.
Types of wood chipper
1. High-torque roller
These machines don’t produce much noise and its grinder or roller rotates slowly. Its features include anti-jamming and self-feeding and thus dust doesn’t accumulate around the machine. It is the quietest machine among all types of chippers.
2. Drum chipper
It is considered as a dangerous model because of a huge drum that gets power from the motor that is located at the center. This part of machine ensures that the wood comes inside the machine, gets chipped and shredder wood goes out from the chute. They make much noise but process the wood quickly. These machines are dangerous because any minor mistake while operating it can result in fatal accidents. It also needs costly maintenance and repairs.
3. Disc
This machine cuts the wood precisely by a disc-shaped cutter that contains sharp steel blades. It cuts the wood at the very fast rate and due to its sharpness and precision; it is common in manufacturing and other industries.
So, these were the types that are common in use. These machines are very efficient in their work and thus are very costly. Therefore before investing in any of its models must see chipper shredder reviews. Invest after careful analyzing every aspect of your requirement and machine.
How to buy the right wood chipper?
While buying a chipper, you will get lots of options that will make it challenging for you especially when you are not aware of your requirements. These tips can help you to some extent, so take care of these given points while purchasing.
Size
Chippers come in different sizes and to get most out of them; one should buy according to the size of branches. Most home wood chippers can process or chip the wood of branches that are 3 inches in diameter. Thus, size is the first important factor for purchasing the best wood chipper.
Power sources
Power sources put the impact on the operation of a machine. Some are the sources of power of chippers are the electric motor, gasoline and power take off. Electric chipper is best for residential purpose as it is cost effective and portable as well. Gasoline powered or PTO is good for the bigger purpose. Since these machines make noise, heavy and expensive so be sure about your need before investment.
Additional features
A machine that could do only a specific function is not considered beneficial for an industrial and commercial purpose. You need something that can do other works like cleaning and shredding. Hence choose a model that is multifunctional and can do other works as well so that you don’t have to buy machines for those works. In this way, you can save extra money on your investment and make a one-time investment.
Collection bin
A machine usually consists of collection bin where the shredded wood gets collected. These leftovers are not waste and can be used for decoration or other work. A small bin will require manual intervention for its cleaning whereas a big bin will make your cleaning work easier. However, bigger bin means extra weight so choose according to your convenience.
Reduction ratio
You may have seen a machine of 10:1 ratio in chipper shredder reviews. What is this ratio? It’s called reduction ratio that defines the size of chipped wood. 10:1 ratio defines that the machine would produce chip wood of 1/10th size of original wood. This ratio is helpful in estimating the size of your output. Hence it is the important factor that can help you in taking the decision.
Once you consider these factors, no doubt that you will get a good product. This way you can make a smart decision and get a great deal for your purchase. However, buyers sometimes make widespread mistakes while operating these gardening tools. Improper use and wrong handling of tools can lead to injuries and fatal accidents. Some of these mistakes include inappropriate dressing and not wearing helmets, gloves, earplugs, and goggles during the operation.
Focus on your safety and make sure that you don’t hurt yourself while shredding the woods using the wood chipper. Hope that this guide has made your task simple, so go through the chipper shredder reviews and buy the best model.