bought a kemp chipper

[ivarr893]

not sure what specific model. looked at it last saturday morning for 2 minutes and bought it for $100-.
go pick it up in a few hours. had to get a van from taylor rental since i drive a jeep tj.

in the 7 days since, i have done a little net searching and youtubing and have a few ideas about improving it .
ie: 5hp now thinking 9 - 12 possibly electric start, many cheap snowblower engines on craigslist. will a snowblower motor even be the right choice for a chipper ? what i've read so far seems like it is built like a tank so up-sizing should not be an issue.
perhaps milling the plate and adding a second chipper blade. will that make it more efficent in chipping speed ?
welding up a two wheel trailer with old lawn tractor wheels for it instead of the 4 wheel setup it has now.
will know a lot more once i get it here and take a detailed inventory of what i'm dealing with.
say it's got a 3" capicity on the chipper which is just fine with me, that's all i need but would like as quick and smooth as possible with as large a motor i am able to get ahold of.


pics will be added, open to considering ideas.

 

[Sawdust]

Welcome aboard, you got yourself a tank of a chipper/ shreader very well made. The chipper blades are still available. Are you missing any of the shredding knives. Those have to be made. Post some pics of yours when you can. I bought one last year really cheap. Here is my link it might help you.

Kemp K6CH Wood Chipper

I’m going to start a new thread for this in case it can help someone. I picked this up on Market Place for $20. The PO assured me it was legit and it had been under water for awhile. I drove about 2 1/2 hours round trip to get it. It had been under water for about two days, he used it for two...

tractorfanatics.com

 

[ivarr893]

quick drive by picture drop. not as clean as i thought but under a barn overhang on a farm. going to pull the body off and see what's going on.
two wheel with a tongue instead of this 4/wheel pivoting thing happens immediately

 

[ivarr893]

i see not thet i dropped this in the wrong forum, anyone that has the ability to move it please do so.
just let me know where it ends up.

 

[Sawdust]

i see not thet i dropped this in the wrong forum, anyone that has the ability to move it please do so.
just let me know where it ends up.

Your ok here

 

[Sawdust]

quick drive by picture drop. not as clean as i thought but under a barn overhang on a farm. going to pull the body off and see what's going on.
two wheel with a tongue instead of this 4/wheel pivoting thing happens immediately

I’m with you on the rediculous 4 wheel setup it’s way too top heavy for pulling. My plan is to put two wheels mid way or so for a good weight ratio over the hitch. I’ve had mine on an incline with the tractor at a slow idle in first gear while I walk along the side of the chipper keeping it from falling over.

 

[ivarr893]

took the body off and drum out this morning going to work now.
three shredder blades bent a little.
will order greaseable pillow blocks.
is any reason i shouldn't cut it for a 2nd chipper blade. how about 3 ? how about 4 ? opinions please.

 

[ivarr893]

PGN ucp205-16 bearings ?
any other brand that makes something more heavy duty or would be better for this application ?

 

[4getgto]

Some reason they have figured that one blade was enough . I'm sure they were trying to keep the price down but if two were better I think they would've have went route.

I have the one below which is pto driven and does the job fine. Whether 2 or more blades work better I don't know..

 

[Sawdust]

I agree with Bill if two blades were better they would have put two. I’ve ran 3” branches in mine with no problems just trying it out. For me 3” branches are firewood not mulch. A lot of bearings on Amazon to choose from.
PGN UCP204-12 Pillow Block Bearing - Pack of 2 Mounted Pillow Block Bearings - Chrome Steel Bearings with 3/4" Bore - Self Alignment https://a.co/d/2AY11rh

If you need to replace your chipper blade this is where I got mine.

Blade/Knife Kemp Master Gardner Brush Chipper (1123)

www.chalmersindustries.com

 

[ivarr893]

so if i understand the dynamics right, the shredder flail i guess is the way to describe it, just keeps battering the material around and around until it's small enough to drop through the holes ( didn't measure them yet guessing 5/8" - 3/4" ). so how about i bust out the 2" cutoff wheel and turn them into ovals sort of a pattern like this ?
not looking to make decorative mulch, this is strictly a service tool to keep me from having ugly brush piles and even more importantly from having to burn. i am done with these burn piles. so stuff the size of broken small potato chips is fine with me. i only have 5 1/2 acres, it will inevitably be bittersweet vine, rose bramble, honeysuckle, maple poplar and white pine saplings and smaller branches sub 3". probably sub 2".

 

[ivarr893]

chipper blade is actually in quite good shape. found that replacement blade for $5- cheaper shipping from chalmers own account on ebay so i ordered one. pillow blocks are on the way.
think i should sand and paint everything inside ie: drum, grate, bodywork and hoppers / chutes with that rustoleum truck bed rattlecan stuff. did the inside of my lawn tractor trailer with that a couple years ago and it has been really great.
how about the slot in the drum for the chipper blade, it's pretty thin. if i made that bigger would that help in any way ?

going to try and find someone to sandblast the drum with the shredder ( teeth ? ) before i do anything to it.

 

[Sawdust]

Although the bed liner is a good product I wouldn’t use it on the drum. It might cause some resistance preventing the mulch from escaping quickly. I wouldn’t alter the chipper area any. There is a close tolerance in the adjustment of the blade. Do you have a manual for yours.

 

[ivarr893]

yes have the original manual, but it's really generically useless. basic homeowner type. found this PDF of the same manual i got. but i have the k6ch model.

i'm a little concerned about cracking the pully when i have to pull it to change the pillow block on the drive side. did you ultimately decide if you did it or if it was already there when you got yours ?

 

[Sawdust]

Since I heard it pop while putting it back on I’m pretty sure I done it. I guess I tightened one side too much before the other one. I think I torqued the bolts on the new one just a quarter turn at a time.

 

[ivarr893]

ok, engine .
how much hp is going to be too much ?
80 miles away, but there is a vanguard 10hp for $66- on craigslist. BUT i sent the guy an email asking 3 questions. is it really a vanguard or just a vanguard air cleaner cover? is it really 66 bucks ( because that seems very low ) ? does it run?
told him it was a 1 1/2 hr drive for me.
his entire response, " come an look " no he didn't use the D in " and " .
so i'm reluctant.

 

[Sawdust]

I just realized I left no way to contact me, should you want to buy my Kemp. dthdunn@cox.net

I have set no price. The new motor cost around $300 and I'd like to get some of that back. I will be posting this Kemp for sale online later today. I'll try EBay and other sites. Love to get this Kemp to someone who appreciates the machine.

I sent your post to one of the other mods to see if they can re list your post in the For Sale thread. Good luck!

 

[olcowhand]

I sent your post to one of the other mods to see if they can re list your post in the For Sale thread. Good luck!

I don't have time right now, but if nobody moves it before I can get to it tonight I'll do my best.

 

[dodge trucker]

Man id like to borrow that thing for like 10 minutes.
Long enough to shred up a couple of bales of hay/straw for mulch/cover on to
what is gonna be a freshly seeded front yard for the 2nd time this summer.
I threw in the towel earlier today on my front yard, tired of looking at what looks like a mix of soybeans and (mostly) crabgrass.
I sprayed the HE11 out of it with roundup, in gonna re till it in a couple of days and try again.