Rent a wood chipper to easily turn branches into mulch.
Homeowners, tree specialists and other contractors use towable, rental brush chippers to reduce fallen trees, branches, leaves, shrubs and other vegetation. A brush chipper uses blades or cutting disks to cut up the material placed in its hopper before discharging it through a chute. Reasons to rent a brush chipper include:
- Saves money. Renting a brush chipper to reduce trees, branches and related debris into a more compact load can cut trips to the landfill and cut the associated transportation, landfill fees and labor. Use or sell the mulch and chips you produce for landscaping projects.
- Environmentally friendly. Many localities no longer pick up residents’ yard waste and many local ordinances prohibit the burning of yard waste. Turn yard waste into decorative and fertilizing mulch by renting a brush chipper.
- Affordable. Renting a brush chipper offers an affordable means of cleaning up downed trees and branches. In addition, if a storm or natural disaster takes out several trees in one area, neighbors can share the cost of the brush chipper.
- Makes business sense. Small tree-trimming businesses, which cannot afford the equipment investment for expensive, tree clean-up equipment, can offer a full range of services by renting brush chippers. Renting can also help these companies send out more crews than their own equipment fleets can support.
Considerations when renting a wood chipper
The variety of towable brush chippers available at your local, ARA-affiliated rental store might make it difficult for you to decide which one to rent. The following descriptions will help clarify some of the differences between brush chippers. Your local, ARA-affiliated rental store professional also can assist you in renting the brush chipper that will work best for you.
- Power supply. Most brush chippers run on either gas or diesel.
- Cutter head. Disk-style brush chippers use a cutting wheel for cutting, but drum-style brush chippers use blades or knives. Disk-style brush chipper rentals cannot accept as large of a diameter of wood branches as more efficient drum-style brush chipper rentals can. Disk style brush chippers also produce a smaller chip.
- Horsepower (hp). More horsepower usually means that you can finish bigger chipping jobs faster. Rental brush chippers containing gas-powered engines typically offer anywhere from 16 to 35 hp. Whereas, horsepower ratings for many diesel-powered brush chippers exceed 85 hp.
- Feed opening size. Before renting a brush chipper, you should know the maximum size of limb that you want to feed through the chipper. The size of a brush chipper’s feed opening determines the size of limb that the chipper can accept and grind. Various chippers can handle branches that range from 3 to 20 inches in diameter.
- Safety features. For safety, many brush chipper rentals feature feed-stop bars and extended chutes.
Best practices
Before you use this equipment, please review the tips below and read all manufacturer warnings and instructions. Your local, ARA-affiliated rental store professional can provide you with complete instructions.
- Properly secure rented brush chipper for transit.
- Follow safe practices when hooking up and towing the rented brush chipper.
- Ensure body parts stay clear of the rented brush chipper’s cutting parts.
- Do not point the rented brush chipper’s chute at a person or structure.
- Never wear loose clothing or jewelry that can catch on brush going into the rented brush chipper.
- Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Keep onlookers at an appropriate distance from the worksite.
- Situate the rented brush chipper on level ground for use.
- Chock wheels to prevent the rented brush chipper from moving.
- Place brush that you will shred near the rented brush chipper in an orderly manner that makes it easy for feeding into the chipper.
- Only feed brush into the rented brush chipper while it is running at full throttle.
- Feed the wood part of the branch — not its leafy offshoots — into the rented brush chipper first.
- Never feed rocks or metal objects through the rented brush chipper.
- Shut down rented brush chipper’s engine at let it come to a full stop before attempting to dislodge any brush jams.
Contact your local, ARA-affiliated, rental store for information on available rental products and services to meet your wood chipper needs. To locate the rental store nearest you, use the Rental Store Quick Locator above.
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