Troy-Bilt 8hp chipper shredder,

[Alpha8D]

Just received an 8hp Troy-bilt chipper shredder, was new in 1989 and still like new. has not run in 5 years, very little use. :DI have no experience with a chipper shredder. It appears robust and simple. Came with 3/4 in bar grate, extra set of kives, belt, air cleaner and manuals. I have the winter to give it a going over. Question: Any advice from someone who owns one on what it's capable of and how no maintain and not abuse it? Any defects I should be aware of?? I would like to chip up the wind blown downed branches and perhaps leaves for mulch. The manual says it will handle 1 to 3 inch branches. Is that 1" hard and 3" soft and green? Thanks ahead for any advice.

[Alpha8D]

Yikes, I just proofread this. "how no maintain and not abuse it?" should read,"how TO maintain and not abuse it?

[Tom Deutsch]

Sounds like a nice package. The dry branches will dull the knives quickly on these home-size chipper shredders. I just burn the dry branches. With 8hp (like mine) inserting a 3" branch will seem like a lot of work as it chews on that branch and vibrates your fillings out. Nice soft green pine branches are the exception -- if your blades are sharp you can process fairly good sized stuff. Unless yours is a self-feeding design, make sure you push the branch against the blades -- less vibration that way. If you're chewing up hardwoods, you'll probably want to save anything over 2" for firewood. As for maintenance, I'd spray the blades with a little PB blaster after each use. There may be a grease zerk on the bearing, not sure. As far as the engine, I'll defer to the experts but of course keep the oil clean and filled, fins clear, filter clean, gas fresh, etc.

[D-17_Dave]

BE CAREFULL if this has the TEC. engine. I repaired a few of these while working for a local dealer some time back. The engines would get too hot while pulling this load and would seize the piston up or scar the piston locking the rings and looseing compresion. The key was not to let the oil level get anywhere below the full mark, run a heavier weight oil in them, like 10W40 in cool weather, and give the engine time to breath and cool off between heavy branches. The bottom line was these engines weren't built heavy enough for this application and just plain burnt them up. I went round and round w/ the engine rep and the Troy Built rep on this. They both wanted to point the finger at someone else. Bottom line is I got the customer a new engine on one and told the other 2 guys they could fight it if they chose. I quit soon after that.lol I hope this helps.

[Alpha8D]

Tom, Dave, Let's see if I got this right... I would be better off using the chipper only on the green limbs I cut from by trees and under 2 inches to be conservative. I'm to use the shredder on the small stuff both green and dry downed that are under 1". Anthing over 2" goes in the campfire. Also, I should count my blessings this unit has a Briggs 8 hp. Advice appreciated, thanks.

[HubbardRA]

When I cut up tree limbs I will usually cut up anything down to about 1", for firewood. I like to use the 1" pieces to get the fire going really good before going to larger pieces. This unit that you have should easily chip anything below 1". Since I haul my limbs to the dump, the smaller ones pack so much better on the trailer. At the moment I don't have a chipper/shredder because I live on 1/3 acre. Can't justify the need on such a small place.

[Karl_Brandt]

I bought on of these Troybuit Tomahawk chipper/shredder with a 8hp Briggs & Stratton engine in 1992. When you chip branches you feel the vibrations in your hands,you have to wear heavy gloves to feel less of the vibrations. The shredder takes up to 1 inch dia, in branches,chipper takes 3 inch dia.in branches.This machine does a very good at chipper/shredding branches.I had this machine running last Saturday,my dad was chipper some branches...we let them sit till the fall and then chip them.My dad uses the chips for his pigeons and chickens. The only problem we had with the Troybuit Tomahawk chipper/shredder. Twice I had to weld the cute were you chip the branches.[:0] Karl [url]www.simplicityva.com[/url]

[PatrickE]

I have a Troybilt also, it has a tecumseh engine on it. I don't think I would ever put a 3" thru it, 1-1/2 or less, bigger stuff goes to slow and just gets cut for the wood pile. We trimmed up about 12 trees and pulled 10 bushes, ran it all thru and had enough mulch for all the flowerbeds and around the shrubs. Its easier if you let the stuff dry for several weeks or a month, but when I'm in the mood to trim or cut stuff I usually fire it right up and get it done. I am real happy with it, I have pulled the chipper blade and sharpened it once, and also rotated the shredder blades. We used it alot this summer, mostly because the house we just bought, everything was way overgrown or covered in big ugly bushes.

[OldFarmTractor]

I have had the Troy-Built 8hp Briggs since I bought it new in 92 or so. I use it on a somewhat regular basis, running it out of fuel since that somewhat is often quite long. I chip up to 2 inch branches, either dry or green. I have yet to replace the blade or the knives. It is a nice machine. I always wear eye protection, ear protection and gloves. The only thing that stall is is green white pine branches with the needles.