What Size Of Wood Chipper Do I Need? What professionals say

Are you struggling to figure out the right size of wood chipper for your garden? It’s a common challenge, but we’re here to help. Our expertise in this field will ensure you make an informed decision that suits your requirements.

What Size Of Wood Chipper Do I Need?

Chipper size depends on material type and diameter. Small buoyant for twigs and leaves. Standard chipper for 1-2.5 inch branches. Size up to 10+ HP for 3-4 inches. Match chipper to debris diameter. Larger debris needs more power.

Read further to understand the intricacies of garden maintenance. Learn how the size and type of garden debris can guide your choice of a wood chipper. Discover why larger debris requires a more powerful chipper. Arm yourself with the knowledge to make an informed decision.

How to Determine the Right Size of Wood Chipper You Need

As stated above, there are two main factors to consider that would help you determine the right size of wood chippers for you. The first one involves categorizing the type of material that you plan on chipping. Whether it’s shrubbery, branches, or other types of yard debris, this is a crucial step in your investment.

For the second factor, you’ll need to determine the diameter of the material you plan to chip. This will help you choose the size and capacity of the chipper you need. The Engine of the chipper, whether gas or electric, plays a significant role in this.

A commercial wood chipper is excellent for more extensive materials and can handle a higher volume, making it perfect for more significant properties. On the other hand, a smaller commercial wood chipper might be more suitable if the size of your property is more petite.

• Different Models, Different Knife Sizes

The chipper’s knife included in the kit is also an important consideration. For example, wc375, WC475, and wc575 have different knife sizes. Specifically, the wc375 is designed for smaller materials, while the wc475 and wc575 are intended for more extensive materials.

Lastly, remember that our wood chippers, like all our machines, are designed with the user’s needs in mind. Machines are built to last and provide efficient and effective service for years. So, you can be confident whether you choose a Mac, WC375, or any other model.

Step 1 – Determine The Type Of Material You Plan On Chipping

Here are some types of material that you might want to chip or shred:

• Dead twigs and landscape clippings
• Dead leaves
• Tree branches and trunks
• Yard brush and overgrowth

● Small Twigs and Landscape Clippings

The first type of yard work that most homeowners and landscapers have to deal with each year includes trimming bushes, twigs, shrubs, and other organic plants. Each year, you spend many hours preparing your roses, shrubs, and other plants for the spring.

When it comes to the clippings, what should you do then? Although you can just let them be and mulch some of the water, this only works in some cases. A wood shredder or chipper is a better alternative to handling clippings.

– Choosing the Right Machine for Small Twigs and Landscape Clippings

In this scenario, you can decide to go with either of these machines, as they are both capable of handling twigs and landscape clippings.

However, you must note that a wood shredder will do the job better and more easily accessible because it lacks guard flaps on the input and expels much smaller output than the wood chipper.

So, if you want to process small twigs and landscape clippings, then the size of the machine you need can include a shredder, a chipper, or a combination unit.

● Dead Leaves

It is usual for the beginning of the fall season to bring a sense of dread when you have so many leaves that must be cleaned up. Cleaning up these leaves takes a lot of time for many people and is tiring. However, you might ruin your lawn if you let them be and do nothing.

You may decide to deal with leaves in the following ways:

• Trash bags: Collect the leaves and stuff them into several lawn-sturdy trash bags to be hauled away.
• Burn: Collect and burn the leaves while possibly violating local rules or laws.
• Mulch with lawnmower: Try to mulch the leaves using your lawnmower, which doesn’t solve the problem.
• Mulch with lawn vacuum: Use a lawn vacuum to collect and mulch the leaves.

A lawn vacuum with a mulching feature is arguably one of the best options. However, not everyone has access to a lawn vacuum (your particular model may not even shred the leaves up to a fine consistency).

– How Wood Chippers Work

Hence, a good alternative would be to use a wood chipper. Wood chippers are specifically designed to reduce organic material from about 15 bags to 1 bag, and the resulting shredded material can even be used as compost for gardens and landscapes.

If you don’t have a garden, you can spread the shredding across your lawn to serve as a fertilizer due to the high nitrogen content. A wood shredder has small hammers or blunt blades that rotate at a high speed to shred and reduce leaves and other material to an excellent consistency.

A standalone wood chipper cannot achieve this consistency as it only clogs the machine. So, if you plan on shredding leaves to a finer consistency, then the size of the machine you’ll need should include a shredder or a wood chipper with the shredding feature.

● Tree Branches and Trunks

Tree branches are another type of organic material most homeowners must deal with. You can end up with lots of tree branches on your lawn due to various reasons:

• Some species of trees naturally drop branches from time to time.
• Some species of trees are susceptible to heavy winds and storms, which make them drop their branches when heavy winds blow through.
• When you cut down a tree, it is expected to have loose branches and tree trunks that would require cleanup.

If you have many trees in your yard that often require yearly cleanup, then the size of the wood chipper you’ll need depends on some additional factors, which you will find in step 2 below.

● Yard Brush

Another type of material that many homeowners have to deal with is yard brush and overgrowth, which include some invasive growth you want to get rid of. If you have the land, an easy way to get rid of yard brush is by burning it in a yard pit.

However,  you will end up losing valuable organic material, which could be pretty helpful in feeding your garden and landscape. A great alternative to burning is using a chipper to chip the yard brush and use it as mulch or compost for your garden or lawn.

– The Limitations of Standalone Shredders

In this case, if you have a constant supply of brush, a simple standalone shredder cannot do the work correctly as most brush is beyond its capacity.

If you’ll be dealing with a lot of brush, then the size of wood chipper you need is a wood chipper that requires sharp blades for chipping. We will talk more about this in step 2 below.

Step 2 – Determine The Diameter Of The Material You Plan On Chipping

The second factor you must consider in finding the right size of a wood chipper for your needs is to calculate the diameter of the material you want to process.

● Less than Half an Inch

Most standalone shredders can shred material up to 1/2″ in diameter, but not more. If you plan on shredding only material under a half-inch in diameter (twigs, leaves, and small branches), then a standalone shredder will do just fine.

However, choose a chipper if your task requires more than shredding leaves, as it provides more flexibility.

● Between 1 Inch and 2.5 Inches

As the material goes beyond half an inch, a standalone shredder becomes less efficient, and you realize that you need features only a chipper can offer.

Unlike the shredder, a wood chipper has one or more blades designed to handle more extensive materials, such as tree branches. A home-model chipper can handle material with a diameter up to 2.5 inches.

However, when you constantly feed branches of diameter greater than two inches, you could deform the blades of your chipper. You’re good to go with any residential chipper if you work with a material of more than 1″ but less than 2.5″ in diameter.

● Between 3 Inches and 4 Inches

The final category of the wood size that consumer chippers can handle is material between 3 and 4 inches in diameter (anything that goes beyond that would be left for commercial tree chippers to take).

This is where it gets tricky as some manufacturers claim that their chippers can handle 3″ debris, yet their blades are not hardened steel and can prematurely dull. Instead of taking the risk, you can try to size up your chipper and get a bigger one with at least a 10 to 14-horsepower motor.

A chipper with higher horsepower is an excellent choice as it can quickly handle many types of yard debris, such as larger-diameter brushes, tree limbs, and overgrowth, so if you’ll be working on many 3 to 4-inch branches, size up and go for a chipper with higher horsepower (that fits your budget).