Hi all, I have seen a lumag hc10 petrol wood chipper for sale not too far from me, quite new and a bit less than half the retail price. I haven't had a chipper before, I don't do big tree works, it would be more for chipping up shrub/ hedge reductions and small branches.
I have two queries- are these a decent enough machine? , and have you bought a chipper and then either thought they are great or a waste of time. I'm concerned that the time spent chipping up might outweigh the time spent just trailering up cuttings and disposing of at green waste site. I think many of my customers would still want the chip disposing of rather than leaving on site.
As always advice greatly appreciated,
Regards, Martin
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I used a Alko silent electric one... I always hankered after a petrol one.
On the charging... anything like that I used to charge the time it took to chip.
So if you want the waste piling in a corner it is x
if you want it chipped then its 2x
and if you want it taken away its 3x
People seemed to accept the fact it cost more to chip stuff
I agree with Adam I've used electric ones In Terrace gardens etc when access to remove waste is limited. Hiring an Eliot major or Timberwolf trailered one if needed but the cost of owning a chipper and maintaining is not remotely worth it. A customer asking a tree surgeon seems happy to pay £500 a day round here expects waste off site and a chipper is quickest but for me I'd sooner load the caged ifor Williams and do 3 trips to the tip. Time wasted chipping is way longer than loading up and going 4 miles to the tip. Getting insurances for public and staff I expect will treble off your premium. Not as safe as loppers and a trailer
never used a lumag i have used a Eliot before if its mainley soft leafy stuff its a waist of time as they bung up and its mutch quicker to load it in the trailor
Agree with David. We have an Eliet Major which has survived 20 years of abuse. Lumag seem a decent make with generally positive reviews. Regardless of make none of these chippers/shredders process sappy green waste well unless it can be mixed with woody material. So it's really down to convenience and whether the cost can be justified along with the time taken to feed the material through the machine, collect it up and either dispose on site or remove. We don't charge extra for disposal or chipping this is costed into the price . We use an old mower to run over sappy waste and hedge pruning this reduces it to an extent where it can be blown back into the hedge/shrubs thus reducing/removing waste removal costs. Appreciate this can't be done everywhere.
So to summarise, if you can justify the cost and the machine will process the type of waste you're generating go ahead but generally it's more cost/time effective to remove the waste from site without processing it.
Hi Martin,
I just used that same machine here for the past two weeks. A mate bought one new last year to do bits n bobs ,and I have two gardens in the city that both have a lot of winter pruning like grasses, Roses, catalpas , bamboo(not my idea) continus , wisteria etc. old houses that are not very big bag, or any bag friendly.
The lumag was small enough to fit down a hall way that a wheel barrow would be tight in. I have had Eliets on hire before and no chance they 'd fit in these situations. So that's a big big plus. It don't take up much room in the sprinter te boot.
Performance wise I gotta say I was impressed. Ripped through all the woody stuff ,5cm and the grasses as well. Very thin twiggy things like lime twigs , whispy rose shoots and the odd bit of bamboo we're less good though( same with nearly all shredders imo)I wouldn't put wet leaves and what not through it as I know it would be useless. Easy to unblock too we found .
We discussed it today as to whether it would be worth purchasing and the overall opinion was that it would be useful to have it for winter work where space was an issue, clients had a compost and wanted to keep their clippings( an area growing and growing) and reducing hedges like laurel etc..
The down side is of course that it is limited in what it can and can't do.We were however surprised to find we didn't loose any time compared to last year on the same work, less time travelling to the refuse centre too.But for the price compared to Eliet etc Its a no brainer for me , as long as you can afford it, have the work for it and don't mind it sitting around a fair chunk of the year idle..The client too has to be on board with this'look'.
I have not yet checked about where to buy them , apart from online directly from lumag , or about servicing and sharpening but I guess my local guy can handle that.
Paul
Paul, did you buy a a Lumag HC 10, if so what are your thoughts?
I like the look of the Lumag, if I needed a chipper it would certainly be a main contender, but, as other have said, it wouldn't be suitable for hedge cuttings. I have an electric Bosch AXT 25TC, which although is only a domestic machine, it really is a little beast! I bought it specifically for one job where I was asked to pollard the new growth on a large willow, the access was through the house and about 80m from the van. It did a sterling job and has done for about 5 years.
When it comes to hedge cuttings, I tend to pile them up on the ground and beat them down with a hedge cutter. I have also reduced a massive pile of cuttings down to virtually nothing by chucking them in a tonne bag and putting a brushcutter through them, the Oregon blade is brilliant. I keep meaning to construct a pop-up ply box to perform this task - if you hit the tonne bag with the blade it tends to tear it up in spectacular fashion!
I did hire an Eliet chipper once but it really was more bother than it was worth. Find it far easier and quicker to fill the trailer up and then get the chainsaw and slice it up in various directions.......... reduced it all to a third...... then repeat till the trailer's full and then down to the tip.
Hi, thanks for the replies. That particular machine has sold now anyway. I was thinking of smallish woody stuff, I wouldn't bother trying to shred up hedge cuttings. I'll stick with loading the trailer and running the chainsaw through it when necessary. I think you have confirmed what I was thinking- that a shredder could be a useful tool for some jobs but not too often. I'll put the money towards a new mower for this season for now.
I'd just get a trailer and charge for removal. Chippers aren't worth bothering with unless that's all you do.
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