Wood Chipper Buying Guide

The classic movie Fargo showed us the power and versatility of wood chippers.

They work even better on tree limbs.

If you have trees in your yard, you're inevitably left cleaning up after Mother Nature every Spring and Fall.

Instead of a discarding all your waste into a burn pile, save some money and make your own mulch.




Electric Chippers & Mulchers
Electric chippers may resemble a golf bag, but that's where the similarities end. These compact machines are powered by an extension cord and a regular household outlet. Just plug it in and start chipping.

Electric chippers are rather small and lightweight so you can transport them easily. Also, the fact they are electric means they need less maintenance such as oil changes and spark plug replacements. Because of their small size, they can only mulch
branches up to 1 3/8 inches in diameter.



Chipper Vacs
You could use a leaf blower or rake, then shred or bag all your leaves later. Or you could save time and just use a chipper vac right off the bat. Just walk behind one of these and suck all the leaves off your lawn in no time.

If you have small branches and twigs as well, a chipper vacuum will shred them to smithereens. However, if you have lots of thick branches you'll want to step up to a chipper shredder instead.



Chipper Shredders
Chipper Shredders come in three styles: portable, tow-behind and PTO (power take-off).

If you cut down lots of trees for firewood, you turn the trunks into logs. But to get rid off the branches, just toss them in the hopper of a chipper shredder and all you'll be left with is free mulch. However, if your primary fall cleanup task is getting rid of leaves, chipper shredders aren't the right tool for the job.