New to me chipper

Visited a neighbor yesterday and he mentioned that his daughter was going to be storing a bunch of stuff in his garage. He had a chipper that had been stored there for several years that he had tried to start a month or so ago and just didn't want to fool with it. (He is a trauma surgeon in charge of several hospital trauma units about our area and somewhat mechanically challenged). He wanted it gone immediately and gave it to me. It is 7 years old, has only been run for several hours. It appears brand new. It was stored without gas in the tank but the motor was not run free of fuel. He bought a new battery, added fresh fuel and carb cleaner and tried to start it. It ran briefly but rough and smoked a lot so he shut her down and decided to get rid of it. I explained That all it probably needed was the fresh gas, carb cleaned, oil changed and bearings lubed. "Don't want it anymore, take it". I obliged. Has an 18 HP Briggs and Stratton V twin and will chip up to 5.5 in limbs. It is a chipper only and does not have shredder flails. It is a DR 30.00 Commercial Rapid Feed Chipper. Hope I can make it run!

 

That is sweet!
I would say you did OK on that deal.

 

Mighty fine. Shouldn't require too much to get things spinning.

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Nice get! I’m sure you’ll have many years from it!

 

It’s early in the day but I think we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen…

 

Can’t beat that with a stick!

 

Very nice of him.

 

BONUS: If you have a gruesome chipper injury, you have the perfect neighbor nearby!

(TBH I don’t feel 100% great about that joke—please be careful.)

 

I thought it was funny! Paul and I joke that he is not the guy you want to meet professionally!

 

Charged the battery and changed out to fresh gas. Went to check the belt and discovered it was melted down. Evidently this is what was smoking. Removed the remains of the belt. Unfortunately it looks like an expensive one, The flywheel was bound by a large plug which is probably why the belt toasted. I freed it and all spins smoothly. Checked the motor out and charged the battery and changed out to fresh gas. One puff of starting fluid and away she went. No smoke. It tends to want to surge but seems to be getting better the more it runs. This is all no load since the belt is gone. I am going to add some Yamalube Ringfree to the gas in hopes of cleaning the inside of the carb. If that doesn't clear up the surging then will have to remove shrouds to get to the carb and clean the float bowl and pickup tube. Also removed and sharpened the knife. So far so good!

 

Even with the cost of a belt and a few hours labor you still got one heck of a deal.
I have been keeping an eye out for years for one but the only thing I see are high dollar for abused equipment or the tiny Troy Built style that is more of a garden shredder.

It is not on my must have list so the search continues.

 

Bike shop boss used that ring-free frequently.

 

I normally cringe at the thought of most chippers. This one looks to be packing some beans though with that v-twin. It's my feeling that any chipper under 10hp is going to be better at making noise than it will at making chips.

Nice score!

 

Have used it myself a couple times on my Honda outboards. I'm a believer!

 

Great deal. Nice you can fix it yourself.

 

All is not well in chipper land! The motor runs well now after carb cleaning. Needs belts but I have located suitable belts at reasonable prices locally. Everything else is in great shape except....The rest of the story is that: when the belt started to melt down and smoke, He unloaded a fire extinguisher into the belt clutch and it needs to be replaced. DR Power wants just under $1000 for a new one. I feel this is a ridiculous price but am having a hard time cross referencing a generic unit. Many companies use generic parts but have a proprietary part number and closely guard their specs so they can charge famine prices. I know there is a cheaper clutch out there that will work. May have to join an outdoor power equipment site to pick their brains. In the meantime I'm stymied unless I just sell the thing for parts.

 

Pictures and part numbers of the clutch. People here will be able to help, I think.

 

Or you might be able to get a repair kit. What is the problem with the clutch?

UC IM INTEGRAL MOUNT (SHEAVE) CLUTCH - Carlson Industrial

 

Ugh! That’s rough! But have a feeling that you’ll be able to find something that works.

 

Yes, pics please. Almost anything can be fixed.