Craftsman/MTD wood chipper

[cycub Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cycub]

Let's talk about this wood chipper I picked up yesterday. It's a Craftsman 247.787852. I think it was made by MTD. It was a "ran when parked" deal... I got it home and it started pretty easily. Great. Since it started and ran I took off the tins to blow out the cooling fins, changed the oil and got new spark plug and filter. The gas was also old but it seemed to run okay so i figured it would be easier just to run out the old gas during use. The blades should probably be sharpened or replaced.

I do not know much about various vintage small engines but the engine and the overall chipper seems fairly well built. I know it is heavy, which should be good for a chipper. It looks like you can still get parts. But overall, I am underwhelmed.. It is hard to feed in sticks because the larger ones need to be super straight and feeding smaller branches in the larger chute you can only do one or two at a time. I feel like I need to only run the thing in the middle of the week when my neighbors are at work because of how loud it is for the work I get done.

So I want to be excited about this thing because it was cheap and seems reasonably well built, but am kind of underwhelmed. Am I doing it wrong? Anyone have any suggestions to convince me it's worth taking up space in the garage?

[J-Mech Owner Find all posts View Profile Close J-Mech]

I do not know much about various vintage small engines but the engine and the overall chipper seems fairly well built. I know it is heavy, which should be good for a chipper. It looks like you can still get parts. But overall, I am underwhelmed.. It is hard to feed in sticks because the larger ones need to be super straight and feeding smaller branches in the larger chute you can only do one or two at a time. I feel like I need to only run the thing in the middle of the week when my neighbors are at work because of how loud it is for the work I get done.

So I want to be excited about this thing because it was cheap and seems reasonably well built, but am kind of underwhelmed. Am I doing it wrong? Anyone have any suggestions to convince me it's worth taking up space in the garage?

I think it's hilarious you call this thing "vintage". It's old or vintage only if you are in your 20's I suppose, lol.

Couple things you need to be aware of: The engine is only a 5hp motor. Not really very large for the work that it has to do. So, you might run out of HP while feeding sticks in.
Other thing to make note of, is that it is a chipper/shredder. The large chute feeds the shredder, and the small chute the chipper. Any stick larger than say your little finger should go in the small chute.

I don't know why you can only feed in one or two sticks at a time into the larger chute. Is it because the motor bogs down? Or because they won't fit? If it's a fitment issue, you're stuck with what you have. If it's a power issue, it may be due to the fact it's only a 5hp, or it may not be running right. You'll have to clarify the problem for me/us to get any more advice on that.

I don't know why the larger sticks have to be "super straight". I've used one of those before, and had no issues with curved sticks, but I also don't see many curved sticks. If they are, just break them down until they are small enough to feed in. You'll have to use your hands to break them. If that's too much work, then get some loppers or a saw. I really don't know how else to help you figure it out.

Don't be afraid of the noise. Screw the neighbors. I'd run it anytime that isn't "quiet time" per your local ordinances. Including Saturdays. If the neighbors don't like it, that's just tough. As far as noise making you think you are tearing it up, you won't. Chipper/shredders are noisy. VERY noisy. Feed stuff into it until the engine pulls down. You won't hurt it, it just sounds bad. I'd wear some ear plugs, or ear muffs, lol. If the neighbors complain, hand them a set of ear plugs and tell them they will help.

[SS5150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close SS5150]

I've got a Craftsman chipper similar, that I bought new in about '12. It has a 1450 Briggs on it (not hp rating, IDK what hp it's rated at, but this one had a higher power rating than a Troy Bilt or Cub Cadet chipper, both of which are very similar). I feed leaves through the shredder side and sticks (up to 3") on the smaller side. Get earplugs and eye protection. Mine works good but I usually have to work leaves down the shredder chute. I use an old broom handle.

[cycub Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cycub]

Ha, yeah what I meant by vintage isn't so much 'old' but rather various time periods. So I guess vintage as a noun instead of a adjective? I suspect a 5 hp Briggs in the early 90s meant more than 5 hp in a Briggs today. Anyway, I am in my 30s and so this probably was new when I was in elementary school. The lawn boy I use for trimming is older than I am. You can see it peeking into the pictures.

I can only feed a few sticks in because of space. I didn't bog the engine at all. Sticks needing to be straight is due to the fact that the chute is about 4" square at the business end near the chipper so you have to break up the sticks to take out any doglegs. I get that it is small so someone doesn't try to chip a 6" stick.

I had on earmuffs and safety glasses, Brian.

Anyway, I want to like the thing but may just need to adjust my expectations.