How Does a Wood Chipper Work? [Explained]

If you’re someone who works in agriculture or landscaping, you’ll have come across a wood chipper many times. They are often found on job sites that require the removal of old trees or natural wooden debris. But do you know how wood chippers work? In order to get the most out of one, it is important to understand what they are, how they work and how others use them to make their job easier and more efficient.

What is a Wood Chipper?

A wood chipper is a machine designed to turn larger pieces of wood, such as tree branches or trunks, into chips. They come in different shapes and sizes depending on the size of the task at hand. They are commonly used by people working in the landscaping, forestry or agriculture industries. Most wood chippers are either petrol-powered or PTO.

How Does a Wood Chipper Work?

The process of how a wood chipper works can be split into four different steps.

Feed Material Into Chute

The first step of how a wood chipper works is simply feeding the wooden debris into the infeed chute. Make sure to feed in the thick end of the branch or trunk first and allow the chipper to pull the wood in as opposed to pushing it into the chipper. Avoid putting anything in the machine that may damage it, such as metal. 

Wood is Pulled into the Chipper

Now the wood has been fed into the chipper, it is an area called the ‘hopper’, which then draws the wood into the chipping mechanism. Most machines do this through ‘feed rollers’, which grip the wood and pull it along the mechanism. Depending on the density of what you are looking to feed into the chipper, you can adjust the speed of the rollers to maximise performance.

The Chipper Begins Chipping

Depending on what sort of chipper you have acquired, either a disc or a drum chipper, this will decide how your machine chips wood. Fundamentally, they do the same thing, just in slightly different ways. A disc chipper has a rapidly spinning disc, and once the material touches this disc, it begins to chip. This is because there are sharp blades mounted on the disc, making it more efficient. Centrifugal force allows the chips to be expelled once they’ve been cut.

In drum chippers, however, the rotating drum pulls the material in, and then the blades on the drum’s surface cut against a stationary anvil. Thanks to the force generated by the rotating drum, the chips are easily discharged out of the chipper through the chute.

Chips are Discharged

Once the machine has finished chipping, the wood chips are then discharged through a chute. This chute can be adjusted to change how spread out the chips are when discharged, or even as simple as where they are discharged.

Benefits of a Wood Chipper

There are several reasons to consider purchasing a wood chipper for your farm or job site. Below are some of the key benefits many of our customers have been discovering since acquiring their new wood chipper. 

Efficiency

Arguably, one of the biggest benefits of a wood chipper is its ability to deal with such large quantities of wooden debris, such as branches and twigs, and turn it into fine wood chips within a matter of moments. This makes clearing huge wooded areas a far easier task than cutting down and chopping up by hand. The wood chips that come as a result can then be used for other aspects on the farm or the land you’re working on.

Good for the Environment

Depending on how fine you wish to grind down your wooden debris, a wood chipper represents a great opportunity to do some good for the environment. While it may seem like you’re having a negative effect on the surface, once you have created these wood chips, you have lots of ways you can positively impact the environment.

They are biodegradable and great for soil quality as they are great forms of mulch, holding moisture and slowing down the growth of weeds.

Cost Effective

If you own land that requires regular tree maintenance or work within the landscaping industry, a wood chipper is a handy machine to have at your disposal. Instead of hiring a machine when you need it, paying a premium for the temporary use each time, consider purchasing one. This will save you money in the long run, especially the more you use it and take advantage of its results.

Explore Wood Chippers at Oxdale Products

If you’re interested in securing a wood chipper for your upcoming jobs or just as something useful to have on site, why not browse the Oxdale collection of wood chippers? If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, and a member of our team will be on hand to assist you with your query.

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