Chipper/Mulcher suggestions

[Bernmc]

I need to get a decent chipper, and wondered if anyone here has suggestions.

I'm a buy-once-cry-once kind of guy, so would rather spend a bit more up front and have something that lasts.

We live on a steep, heavily vegetated block. Lots of gums and figs, as well as a ton of leaves and small stuff that needs to be mulched. We won't necessarily need to drag the machine all over the place, but will at least need to get it to the middle of the cliff face of a block. 100-150kg is probably as much as we'd manage to move.

There seem to be a stack of options out there, and it's hard to tell which are quality, and which are Chinese bolt-flingers. Edisons (https://www.edisons.com.au/michigan-commercial-series-wood-chipper-garden-mulcher-shredder-mulch-chip/) and Bigger Boyz Toyz (https://www.bbta.com.au/Mulchers/) have reasonable-looking machines, with reasonable reviews.

I'm tending towards the Hansa range (https://www.hansaproducts.com/au/products/acreage-au/?category=engine-powered-au), but their machines are 2-3x the equivalent other brands - are they worth the extra cash? The C7 (https://www.hansaproducts.com/au/product/acreage-au/c7/) is probably just about capable of what we need, and at just under 100kg it'll be movable. Next model up (C13) is double the price and double the weight, so probably impractical.

So, spend the extra on the Hansa, or get one of the other brands...?

[NCArcher]

Bit of a price difference there but the fact that the Hansa has a Honda engine would tip the scales for me.
If I could afford it I would go the Hansa. Looks like a quality unit.

[Bernmc]

Yeah I’m a fan of the Honda too

[damian]

I ought a chinese one off ebay years and years ago. It's got a 13hp honda copy motor on it. Parked outside the back of my house in the weather still works fine. I should take it apart and sharpen the blade though. The engine has never been a problem. I always forget all the settings to get it started though, but once I put on teh choke, turn on fuel and enable ignition it starts easily. The belt guard mounts broke and I need to reweld them.

It's done a LOT of work.

You might be startled by just how little mulch you get after feeding branches leaves etc all day long. Never ceases to amaze me. A lot of stuff now I just pile it up and let it rot down naturally.

2c.

[Ironwood]

My father bought one of the C7’s a few months ago. It is a quality bit of gear from what I can see.
He’s 86 and has trouble starting it, so he doesn’t give it much use. But when I go up to visit he and mum, I always give it a workout. It is surprising how quick it chops branches and spits the chips out. I never put in anything bigger than about 30mm thick though. I have choked it twice by trying to put too much green leafy stuff in at once.

It is much better than the 15year old chipper that I have, not sure of the brand, but it’s a similar size with a Briggs and Stratton engine. I also have a larger one that is pto driven off my 60 hp tractor, the Hansa C7 obviously couldn’t compare to it, but I suspect the pto Hansa would be better than mine.
Both of mine don’t like palm leaves, the bigger one is ok with the smaller Alexandria Palm leaves, but doesn’t do well with Coconut leaves and similar.
Dad said the salesman told him the Hansa can handle palm leaves, maybe if you only had a couple of smaller leaves at a time it might be ok, but I think if you had dozens to put through, or big and hard leaves , you might be disappointed.
My parents have a half acre block with a lot of gardens and shrubs, the C7 is ideal for that type of work, and I definitely would recommend it for similar work, but if you want to put a lot of big stuff through it on a regular basis, I think you would need to look at a bigger machine.

[Bernmc]

Turns out the 'can cut palm fronds and other fibrous stuff' just refers to the fact that the Hansa cutting flywheel is cantilevered. So the fact that it doesn't have a through-shaft means there's nothing for the fronds to wrap around on the cutting side of the disk to stall the machine.

Had a look at the C13 at our local Tinks. It's a big machine. Would be fine on a flattish block - it's actually quite easy to move around. But stairs or slopes... would need a man-beast. I'd be tempted if I could find one 2nd hand, or if it was a bit cheaper, but I think I'll have to go for the C7 and work around the limitations.

We had our palms removed a while back - got tired of them hurling huge spiky leaves at us, so it's just leaf litter and solid branches that it'll need to deal with.

[Beardy]

The tree loppers don’t like putting palms through their machines and usually just tip them

I have a few different machinery items with Chinese motors and must say they have been extremely reliable but you can see the difference in the component quality

If you buy an item with a Honda engine the motor warranty is valid with any Honda authorised service centre but not the rest of the machine. You would need to seek warranty from the supplier for that.
That is of course provided the seller is a genuine Honda Australia approved reseller in the first place

Go bigger than you think you need otherwise you will get frustrated with it.

[tony_A]

Have had a 5hp Hansa for about 10 years and its given good service. Good for chipping branches, less so for mulching leaves and mushy stuff. It works nicely with straight branches and it can rip through a pile of branches reasonable quickly. Twisty stuff and right angle branches can jam in the infeed chute and working with that sort of stuff is slow and frustrating.
Its awkward to push on uneven ground, made a little tow bar onto it to pull it around with a ride-on.