Ive had my WM-8H about 6 years now. Pretty much every plastic handle on any lever has vibrated off and disappeared. Also the plastic covers over the bearings. And the threaded rod on the F-N-R lever HURTS when you back into it to dodge a limb and theres no handle. Prolly my biggest complaint is they should have used round-headed bolts like a carriage bolt in the feeding chamber, cause the square edged ones snag limbs _constantly_ forcing me to stick my hand in to pry them loose, and since I mostly chip hedgeapple, its like reaching into a gigantic medical "sharps" container thats also full of pissed off electric eels; and if you are lucky, it doesnt slice you to ribbons (or worse drag you in) when you break it loose and it takes off again (you cant switch the feed into neutral to do this or it will simply re-hook when you take your hand away and you wont have gained anything), also the thorns hang up on the lip of the feed chamber and its always on the other side from where I am standing. I definitely wear thick leather work gloves (plus goggles and earmuffs), yet still had so many glove perforations from thorns I couldnt use my left hand for a day, but thats the wood's fault not the chipper's. The spring loaded handle on top to let you raise the feed gear for large items bounces around like a madman while its running, be very careful not to be within its sweep especially with your head. Also the feeder loves to flail the wood back and forth as different elbows present themselves to the feed gear, this is also very dangerous with thorn covered wood. Basically stay forward of the opening (ie towards the tractor) as much as possible and wait for the action to die down. But having said that, I am very happy with the chipping once I can get the stuff into the chamber. It would be downright fun to use if I had skinny straight wood like in this example, pine or something I just just push in and walk away to get another. I dont know how many hours I have on it, guessing at least 50, the hour meter no longer displays anything; but it is starting to jam up in the discharge chute (4 times this week) so I think the knife has gotten dull, I also noticed the chips are looking more like long soggy strips like pasta now rather than small square-edged chunks like they originally did. Planning to change sides on the knife, which is why I am looking at chipper videos. I wish they had some sort of (optional) chute I could add on to direct the chips down into a trash can or something to make distributing them easier. I tried various sized drain tile with no success. So far the only thing I have successfully captured chips in is the 90" wide bucket on a fullsized backhoe, which works really well as long as you have a spare backhoe and a 30' x 15' space free beside your chipper to park it in, but most of the places I chip I can just barely get the chipper into, frequently have to dismount from the wrong side of the tractor cause theres no room on the step side.
Lightweight is good and what did I use it for it’s a lawnmower ru-vid.comUgkxTPN04aT-Qdjr_KS3ql7ng8wnU3wwsCqk also recommend Yes it is lightweight so hence not as robust as our old one. But if you take care it does the job really well.
Ran one of these on some black cherry a few weeks ago. One person running the controls and the other loading wood.. as fast as I could load wood on the splitter, it would be split and ready for another log
This is an older post but I think it’s very important to let everyone know it is very dangerous to place one’s hands on the ends of the log, sure the operator has to have a hand on the lever to throw piston but it’s always good practice to never load a splitter with hands on the ends of the log, was difficult to watch his hands in potential danger so often, if your hands are never on the log ends they can never be crushed by machine.
Sounds pretty much like it splits what my little WEN Electric 6.5 ton does. But like with that one, there are problem woods, esp anything with knots or odd things like that. I do have to say I hate splitting elm.
Manufacturer comment about we don’t tighten bolts because we want customer to become familiar with all bolts is BS… what other manufacturer makes that claim??? Think about Ford making that claim…..lol…
I got one of them and for the life of me I can't figure out why they still use a manual belt tensioner! Nothing but trouble! All they have to do is remove the engine pulley and install an electric clutch like all new equipment has done. I burned up so many belts I put in under my tractor shed and never used it again. I'm old and can't change it anymore. Luckily a friend asked if he could try it and it caught on fire and burned completely up along with four acres of his horse pasture! I would like to get one with a remote control box, electric start and a ELECTRIC CLUTCH THAT CAN BE TURNED ON AND OFF WITH THE REMOTE CONTROL BOX THAT CAN BE MOUNTED ON THE TRACTOR! but until they make some changes I'm not gonna be getting another one!
own a 7 ton hydrolic and a 8.5 ton rapid splitter.. main difference . constant 7 ton vs peak of 8.5 ton. when you hit a harder part your tons drop fast with a rapid splitter. i only use my fast splitter for pine wood types. i am busy with a diy splitter. i am using a 7.5kw motor. what is ofcourse really high power. i calculated with a stroke of 2 seconds over 50cm the pure engine power delivers only 2.8 tons.. i am planning to go with a 4 seconds stroke so i have at least 5 (5,6ton) of constant power. i am using a flywheel of a boat to have some extra peak power the idea of the high kw motor is that i can add extra weight on the flywheel.
I'd suggest chipping off some of the paint around that support strut, and using a standard stick welder to close that topside off. I think folks have gotten a wee bit spoiled with the mig welders.
What does this model cost brand new? The reason I ask is because I am looking at a used one for sale for $2500 and I don’t really know if that’s good or bad it looks to be in good shape he says he’s only used it about 20 hours and he’s done with it hard for me to believe that somebody would buy a piece of equipment like that knowing that they only have about 20 hours of work but that aside I am curious? also would like to know anybody’s opinion on buying this type of equipment used? Or should I just buy one new? Thanks any help on the matter would be appreciated
A new one like mine is $2745 with free shipping. www.woodmaxx.com/WM-8M-Mechanical-PTO-Wood-Chipper-p/wm-8m.htm When I bought mine it came with and extra set of cutting blades. There is no hour meter on the machine so who knows how many hours are on a used one. $2500 sounds high to me for a used one.
Thank you very much for the information. The Machine looks clean and close to new but like you say I have no way of actually knowing how used it is so if you don’t mind me asking how much do you think a machine like this would actually be worth?
@@noggafarm well I was hoping to see how you’re pulley system and it’s relative components look like on a complete machine . Could you sometime when you get time take the covers off and send me some photos of them?
You called it a "manual feed" -- I think you meant to say "mechanical feed". I've read some posts saying that the feed speed on this unit is too slow compared to the Woodland Mills hydraulic feed, but IMO the speed is perfect. Thanks for your excellent review.
I have one of these mowers... Works very well... I have had mine for over 15 years. I've put mine through it all. Even heavy brush. Takes multiple passes . Just go slower..
Love mine. already have done 12 cords in 2 years. did some hackberry trunk pieces were 28 to 30 in in diameter. So huge I needed the laoder tractor to get them to the right height. at times you might have to 'hit' and retract the arm a couple of times but it powers through all types of wood, wet or dry. True Beast
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I am likely getting the 8H model. Not to be critical of your choice, but my reason for the "H"... I have a lot of varied wood from a wildland fire to deal with. On the ten acres, most all of it burned over. I have some pine along with oak and manzanita. Burnt, dry manzanita is a very hard wood. The variable hydraulic feed speed on the 8H will allow a slow feed for the hard wood and a faster speed for the soft wood. The slower feed also reportedly makes smaller chips. The fire took my home, and in the garage I had, among a lot of equipment, the Woodmax DC-1260. I had some problems with it and their customer service was excellent. My wife and I have both worked extensively in customer service and we know good service when we get it! Why not another 1260? I have a 40HP tractor now.
I had to remove the 2 side plates. Whenever I stored it mice would somehow get in and make a home. I haven’t found any problem running without them. Great tip on the safety switch, I’m going to try that.
Looks like that belt pulley is already starting to rust because of bad galvanizing. Goes to show just because it has Made In USA on it doesn’t mean it’s going to be great quality. That steel was probably made in India or Pakistan. They should start putting Assembled in USA on there.
OK, glad I watched because if anyone offers me a sycamore tree for firewood I will decline. I’ve never seen a log so small that gives so much resistance to splitting. Obviously, this would be challenging to a large hydraulic splitter as well. The true test of any purchase is whether you would purchase it again after using it and I have had this splitter for Many years and I would definitely purchase it again. Having the large table area is a definite asset.
Hi Peanut Man, Yes, I would buy it again. The problem is, the new models require you to have both hands on the machine during operation. Safety. Lots of comments about how you will cut off your hand. Like all tools, if you aren't safe, you get hurt. Life is dangerous. Sycamore; I found that if I cut it into rounds and let them sit for a couple months, it split just fine. Sycamore just burns fast in my wood furnace. Thanks for you comment.
I have had the hydraulic model for over five years and have around fifty hours on it. I don’t remember having to tighten anything, other than the belts. Maybe the Chinese have forgotten how to tighten bolts and screws. I always run it at full rpm and blow it out prior to storage. It was locked up when I went to use it the next time.
I believe the instructions say to set the machine slightly lower than your PTO at an angle not to exceed 15 degrees.. looks like yours is set up slightly HIGHER.. Is there a reason for that? Your stiff leg is almost too short as a result.
Thanks for the observation and question. The legs on the chipper are set for as short as they will go. The tractor is a Kubota L5240. Maybe I should get a smaller tractor so that the chipper will sit at the correct angle. If Woodmaxx had put a lower hole in the legs/skids, I would have used it.
lol wow shows you how much they care about their product when it could potentially just fall apart. I would never buy. Got a Bandit chipper and have yet to need to do any nut bolt tightening on it. Also poor design those nuts should not be on the inside of the shoot cause that is just more objects for the brush to catch on before it goes into the chipping head or like you said when a nut came loose and could have gone into the shipping knives. Very bad when sch rap metal might start flying. Not sure that flap would stop a piece of flying metal. And having issues around the bearings and shafts. It is like you are really gambling every time you fire this thing up if it just might fly apart. Watching your video and knowing how other chipper work I would never buy that chipper. Belongs in the scrap pile. Today you pay for what you get. Pay the price get quality or pay the price being cheap and it just might fall apart.