How Does a Wood Chipper Work?

Wood chippers are practically an essential tool for professional arborists. Their role, quite simply, is to process tree branches and other green waste into more manageable woodchips. The resulting woodchips are far easier to dispose of than bulky branches, but you also have the added bonus of being able to create much with your wood chipper.

However, it’s not just arborists that can benefit from a wood chipper. Landscapers, gardeners and even builders may temporarily need wood chipper hire for specific projects where there is significant vegetation to clear.

In this article, we’ll discover how a wood chipper works.

How are wood chippers powered?

Wood chippers are typically powered by either petrol, diesel or electric engines. The engine powers the chipping mechanism, so its power effectively determines the machine’s cutting capacity. Generally, in Australian conditions, the higher horsepower models are preferred as they offer a more reliable performance. Hansa wood chippers are popular for their durability, as are Bandit wood chippers. For professional applications, power is important because you’re more likely to require heavy-duty performance.

Different material feeding systems

A wood chipper’s feeding system, or material intake, is where branches and other green waste are fed. Some wood chippers use either a gravity feed system, where the natural weight of the materials is enough to push it through the chipping blades. Alternatively, hydraulic systems are common in heavy-duty chippers. They use powered rollers to pull material into the machine, which means a much more consistent performance. Arborists and industry professionals typically favour hydraulic systems as they offer increased control, but the benefit of gravity-feed systems is usually a lower purchase price.

Understanding feed capacity and chipper size

When choosing a wood chipper for your needs, it’s important to understand the feed capacity and chipper size. Basically, the size and capacity relate directly to the types of jobs your machine can handle. The infeed throat opening size determines the size of branches that can be fed through the mechanism.

If you use a wood chipper regularly, and for large jobs, you’ll appreciate a larger feed capacity and chipper size. Ultimately it means you don’t need to pre-cut branches as small, and the machine can handle a greater variety of vegetation with consistency.

Disc chippers vs drum chippers

Depending on the model, a wood chipper typically uses either a disc or drum mechanism for cutting. Disc chippers, as the name suggests, use a flywheel-mounted disc with sharp ‘knives’, cutting through the material as it spins. If you’re creating woodchips for landscaping or producing biomass, a disc chipper is the best way to go, as it produces more consistently-sized chips.

On the other hand, drum wood chippers use a rotating cylindrical drum with blades to break down material. Most professional-grade wood chippers use this mechanism because drum models are more effective when dealing with larger items or bulk waste. For commercial applications, it’s hard to go past a hydraulic drum chipper, but for smaller jobs that require more precision, disc chippers are a suitable alternative.

How wood chippers convert branches into chips

If you’ve seen a wood chipper pulling large branches through its blades, you might still be confused about how small wood chips come from this process. If the resulting wood chips are your goal, it’s super-important to get the right blade configurations. You also need to understand how to operate the machine correctly, to ensure consistent, uniform wood chips.

This process may not be as relevant if your main goal is to break large waste down into smaller chips for disposal. However, being able to produce and reuse wood chips is much more environmentally friendly than simply disposing of them.

How wood chips are discharged

Once the cutting mechanism does its work, the only job left for the wood chipper is to discard the wood chips. Most wood chippers feature a chute where wood chips pass down into a collection bin. Modern chippers even feature adjustable discharge chutes, which are useful for mulching or composting tasks. Ultimately, all wood chippers are a little different depending on their intended application.

Whether you’re a landscaper, arborist or other professional, most modern wood chippers from reputable brands such as Hansa and Bandit give you plenty of versatility and performance-enhancing features. You just need to find the model that’s perfect for your needs.

Need to know more about wood chipper hire?

You don’t need to be an arborist to be interested in hiring a wood chipper. They can be extremely valuable for all types of garden maintenance jobs, especially if you have significant garden waste to get rid of. We’ve got a wide range of wood chippers available to suit different project scales and needs. Tree Care Machinery are your local experts when it comes to professional-grade wood chippers. Contact our team to discuss your specific needs today, and we’ll be happy to help you.