You just might consider a full service dealer where you can touch it, smell it before you buy. It will also be assembled, serviced and parts and after sale service will be available. Of course you just might have to pay a leetle extra for that.

Will you ship it back to- the Lawnmowershop.com and West Power Tools when you need service or repairs or order parts from them too?
If so go for it!

I don't want to hijack this thread, but bamboo are you implying that if you don't buy it from a dealer you have no right to take it to the dealer and pay them for service or parts? I've heard that sort of thing before and it sounds crazy to me. When I get that, "did you buy it here" line, I make a mental note that I may not want to go there for service again nor make my next new purchase there - especially if it is obvious that the question is rhetorical. If you buy something and move, does that automatically qualify you for something less than a dealers best service when you take something in to them?

That said, I appreciate what Canguy said about being able to see, touch, and feel the chipper in person. If there is a dealer somewhere close to him, I would recommend going there. Then, even if the price is a little more, I would say he should then go ahead and buy there because that opportunity is worth something. I think things get a little more murky when the price difference is large, but you can often avoid that situation when you have more than one local dealer to choose from.

Getting back to the original question, the Mackissic stuff seems well made, but if you don't have a dealer near you you might want to check out the Simplicity chippers. They seemed pretty good when I was considering buying a new one. They appear to be the same as, or very similar to, the Ardisam Earthquake chippers. Unless you are towing it, you might appreciate the difference in weight (especially if your property is sloped). I think a comparable Simplicity model is much lighter than the Mackissic - and I am sure much lighter than the old Roto-Hoe I have. Part of that weight savings is the plastic hoppers. Plastic is a big turn off for some people, but the hoppers aren't the working end of the machine so it makes no difference to me. I can't imagine how anyone would ever put much weight onto either hopper so I think it is a non issue. In many applications, plastic doesn't equal cheap.

Derbyboy,

I agree with Canguy that it would be a good idea to find a local MacKissic dealer.

Of those you mentioned, my choice would be the SC763, because the LSC506 and LSC510 are leaf shredder/chippers that don't have a hammermill section for shredding. However, you do have to "pour" your leaves into the SC763 (I would use a big plastic basket) while the other two machines have the option of just sweeping the leaves in.

The advantage of the SC763's hammermill is that in addition to the standard 1" screen, you can get optional ¼", ½", ¾" round hole screens, an oblong hole "bar" screen and a welded bar screen. The last two are for handling wet materials. You can remove the screen altogether for really wet material. The ¼" screen lets you pulverize dry leaves to a really fine consistency.

In general the various available screens for the SC763 give you a lot of versatility in the products you can produce. I have the somewhat larger 12PT-9 (now a discontinued model) and I have every screen for it except the welded bar screen. My favorite is the ¼" screen, because it can turn leaves into a soft, fluffy product ready for almost instant composting or for direct use in the garden as a great mulch.

I suggest you also consider spending more to get a 12PT-10. It has a bigger hammermill and a bigger chipper section as well, and will let you process material faster. It's 3½" chipping capacity and versatile 24-hammer hammermill are, in my opinion the current "sweet spot" in MacKissic's line. And its "wagon" design makes it easier to move around. You could get it with electric start (12PTE-10) but mine (the same except 9hp engine) starts easily on the first or second pull and I feel no need for an electric starter. MacKissic's design wisely has an automatic centrifugal clutch so when you are starting the engine only the engine is involved and you aren't trying to turn the hammermill rotor or the chipper flywheel. Some shredder-chippers don't have that feature and are hard to start for that reason.

But whatever you choose, you can't go wrong with MacKissic. Their designs have evolved out of a lot of practical usage.

MM

I appreciate the suggestions and certainly do value local service. However I have been unable to find any Mackissic dealers even remotely close to my home in Louisville, Ky. I am curious why there are not any more dealers than there are given the documented quality of the Mackissic line.

I mow with a Broadmoor Simplicity tractor and have had a favorable experience with Simplicity. I have looked the 8hp Simplicity shredder. I was a little concerned with the amount of plactic on the machine and felt it would crack over time. The 8hp runs about $800 versus about $1100 delivered for Mackissic SC763. I can't imagine that either machine will require that much maintenance that I couldn't handle. I understand that is a risk I would be taking.

I agree with maineman. My MacKissic is a 12PT-10 and it is by far the best shredder I have ever owned. It starts on the first or second pull of the cord.

It has plenty of power for anything that I need to do and the Briggs and Stratton engine could be worked on by almost any shop or myself.

There are other parts to these shredders but they are simple machines and I have no doubt that I could fix it if it ever became necessary.

We do not have any local dealers so I bought mine from West Power Tools. They are excellent to work with and seem to be able to answer any question about the equipment that they sell. I would not hesitate to buy from them again and in fact, next year, I may buy a rear tine tiller from them. My front tine tiller is 30 years old and I think a rear tine tiller would be easier to use.

I have 6 pieces of equipment with Briggs and Stratton engines. They range in age from 1-30 years old and I have never had to do anything to those engines but change oil, perform tuneups, clean carburettes, and once or twice replace rope in the starters. All of this could have been done by almost any shop but I prefer to do it myself.

Derbyboy,

"However I have been unable to find any MacKissic dealers even remotely close to my home in Louisville, Ky. I am curious why there are not any more dealers than there are given the documented quality of the MacKissic line."

That is odd. We have a dealer about 30 minutes away from our place in Manchester, Maine. And Maine is somewhat sparsely populated. I suggest you call MacKissic about this matter at 800-348-1117 and ask for the name of the dealer you should use.

MM

I did send them an email with the link you posted yesterday. I will keep you posted. Thanks

My local dealer has an LSC06 will beat any internet price, so you may want to bring a printout with you, yours may as well.

The LSC models are nice because you do not have to pick up the leaves and put them in the machine. The LSC can be tipped over so the intake chute is on the ground and you can rake or blow the leaves into the shredder.

Birdman, where are you located? I received an email from Mackissic and said they do not have a dealer in the Louisville area. I am willing to drive a reasonable distance otherwise it becomes cost prohibitive. I can buy directly from Mackissic or the internet. The sc763 is the same price direct from them or west power. West power is lower for the 12PT-10. The LSC model is similar to the old craftsman I have and do like the design. Confused! :)

Derbyboy,

I am way north of you in NY

I bought a 10 HP Honda - Troy-Built Chip/Shred on sale at a going out of business sale at a local hardware store. Got it for cost and it's great.

I am in the need of purchasing a chipper/shredder ... of fair size.
I have never owned or used one.
The internet is a very good place to do the research.
This site has provided lots of good info.
It appears the Mackissic 12PT-10 may be the best unit for me .... but I am still researching.
Has anyone used the Mackissic SC150?
Their site is advertising it as a 'new' unit to their line.
I also see references here to "West Power Tools", but Google does not give me any links to it.
Can someone here provide me with a link to their site? (assuming they have a site)
Thanks!

Lloyd,

The MacKissic 12PT-10 is an awesome machine. I purchased one a few months back and have run 12 100' oaks through it and tons of other stuff.

For instance, I used a simple gold claw tool to twist up sections of my lawn that were not growing well. This claw tool takes up the grass/roots/and dirt in about a 7" circle. I then ran piles of it (grass/roots/dirt) through the shredders with 1/4 inch screen. The material that came out of the MacKissic looked like dark rich peatmoss. I put it back on the lawn to feed/seat the new grass!.

I also purchased the following for it:
- Oil dipstick
- Oil extension tube (so when changing the oil, it
doesn't drip on the unit)
- Digital hour meter
- Mobil 1 10W30 synthetic oil (after 7 hours break-in)

Hope this helps your decision process...
-greenhobby

Thanks for the input greenhobby.
I've got 40 acres, and most of it it wooded.
The part I mow is mowed and vacummed with a large collection system on the mower.
The collected grass, and leaves in the fall, has given me a hug compost pile.
I dump the grass/leaves on one end, and pick black dirt off the other.
Occasionally I 'stur' the composting part with a front end loader.
Some of the stuff likes to stay in grass like clumps, and isn't composting well.
I figure that stuff would be really nice if run thru a shredder.
I also heat my house and domestic hot water 100% with wood, for about 9 months of the year.
So there is alot of 'trimmings' that I don't use for heat.
I have been burning them in a burn pile in the winter.
But local fire officials frown on these types of activities unless the ground is covered with snow.
I would like to chew up some of this stuff to make mulch to put around some smaller pine trees.
I planted some pines on the boundry line some years ago.
I mostly have oak, maple, elm, cherry, and cedar here.
So I think the 12PT-10 is about the size I could use, without financially destroying me.
Where can I go to get the best deal on-line?
I like the "no tax" I usually get by ordering out of state.
Free shipping is a plus on this type of thing too. :-)

Lloyd

I ended up with a Bearcat 70380. It has an 8hp Honda engine and appears quite sturdy. Lists for about $2,200 and bought it virtually new for $750. I was undecided until I was able to get this deal.

The 12PT unit does a nice job chipping up to its max capacity, the shredder is fairly readily plugged on the input side because of the modest size entry point into the shredding chamber. It shreds great, but it takes some skill to get some materials to feed in properly. The SC183 chips bigger stuff, and will do so at less than full throttle. The shredding chamber is huge and difficult to plug. However, the wide range of screens aren't available for the SC183. The specs for the SC150 state it has 2 chipping knives. One of the nicest features of the 12PT and newer SC183 is they only have one chipping knife (the older SC183 had two knives, Mackissic wisely changed to one on newer models). It therefore takes less power to chip, and the chips are more uniform in size as a full bite is more likely taken on each knife pass. That, and it's twice as quick to sharpen only one knife. I enjoy both the 12PT and SC183, they're nice machines. My thought is a person should step up to the SC183 rather than SC150 if the 12PT isn't big enough. Better motor, better clutch, bigger shredder, bigger chipper (and, unfortunately, seriously more bucks). Westpowertools is good to deal with.

Derbyboy,

Sounds like you got a really great deal on the Bearcat 70380. Happy chipping!

MM

Thanks bbriggs!
With your help, I finally found "Westpowertools" .... all one word.
That's about the only way I didn't enter it into Google.
I had read the comments about the advantage of the single chipping knive, but had not noticed that the specs for the SC150 states it has 2 chipping knives.
Thanks for the heads up on that.
I don't think I want to spend the bucks required for the SC183.
The 12PT still looks like my best choice so far ......

Lloyd

I picked up a LSC506 (6.5hp Intek) last week from my local dealer and could not be happier. I have 1/2 acre with 11 giant trees and after the weekends storm made short work of all my leaves and branches. My garden now has a pile of compost for the winter. Laying the LSC506 flat makes feeding it a simple chore, I used a backpack blower and just slowly blew the leaves towards the chute and they sucked right in.

First pass through created small particles, I took the bag and put it through for a second pass and the compost is tiny almost dust like.

IMHO, a great tool for $550 for the homeowner looking to make their own compost. Get it local, they are always willing to deal and cash always gets a better price. Service is a huge benefit of buying from the local guys, I never thought so but every time I go there they throw in a tuneup or a sharpening for free

obviously ~DelcoGreg~ has never owned/run a major name brand dealership. If he did he would be swamped with crotchety old men DEMANDING their rights for service and FREE warranty of online and box store (Wallycrud and HomeDumbo) purchased cheap Chinese copies similar to the real thing I sold ~(made in USA)~ in name only. Meanwhile your steady PAYING customers patiently wait for "Mr Important" to move along so they can do biz.
I solved his problem, I retired, sold the biz to a competitor who thought he got a deal, sold the overtaxed high maintenance building. I banked a SEVEN digit nest egg and built a 5 acre peaceful suburban ranchette paradise with 1200 sq ft of fully equipped shop and a dream home for my gal. Mt steady customers know where I am, look me up, get made in USA NOS parts and FREE help and pay for my time in CASH. I ought thank those jerks like DelcoGreg... now I piddle all I want, take a nap when I please and regularly tour our grand USA in my MCI bus. Please direct Greg to his local pimply faced kid at WallyCrap to get service and ... tee,hee,tee,hee...get this... PARTS:))))))
thanks,
Bret
retired owner/dealer for a major ~what used to be~ USA brand

Hello chipsters,
I've been researching around looking to get a PTO driven chipper for my tiny Deere 425 lawn and garden rider. There is a rear PTO and 3 point hitch which I think is either a category 0 or 1. I've narrowed it down to a few models and I was just wonderng if anyone has any experiences using a chiper on a small 20 HP tractor ?
I was thinking of a MacKissic Might Mac TPH122 or a DR CPR3PTX

Thanks, Dennis

Here is a link that might be useful: TPH122

The TPH122 appears to be the 12PT mechanism with a PTO drive, a nice unit which would be easily driven by a 425 even at part throttle (I ran a 425 for years, they're very good units; I run a 12PT-10, also a very good unit). Seems the self-powered 12PT-10 is about the same price, why not go that way? The 10 hp unit provides adequate power and then you have your lawn tractor free to use for other things. No experience with the DR CPR3PTX, but I see you'd lose the shredder. The 12PT has a nice shredder, pretty useful for a variety of tasks if you're into that sort of thing. I also run an SC183 McKissic, a 16 hp 4.5" capacity chipper shredder. 16 hp is not excessive for that size chipper. If the DR unit is similar, it will require most of what the 425 has for big limbs. I wouldn't be afraid to run either one on a 425, the choice would depend on what size limbs you wish to chip and whether you wish to shred. The extra inch capacity makes a big difference when introducing limbs, particularly those with stiff wide crotch angles. All the screens available for the 12PT shredder, however, make it a mighty attractive unit to me. Nice to have both.

Dennis,

I agree with all the comments made by bbriggs. I envy him his MacKissic SC183. It's a powerful machine with big chipping capacity and a big hammermill section with a handy big throat for jam-free feeding. I have an older MacKissic 12PT-9 which is basically the same as the current 12PT-10 except I have only a 9hp B&S engine.

The problem of feeding limbs to a chipper-only unit like the DR CPR3PTX is that, as you near the end of feeding a limb to the chipper, you are left with a handful of small limbs and twigs that don't feed handily to a chipper. It is much easier and more natural to just toss them into the big hopper of a hammermill shredder section.

With that DR, you don't have that option. It's tedious and dangerous to try to push the little stuff down the throat of a chipper. I would eliminate the DR based on that.

If you do chose that DR, plan on a lot of preprocessing of your limbs with a lopper and bow saw to remove the little stuff. But that will leave you with piles of little stuff and no machine to process them.

Incidentally, DR offers combination chipper-shredders that look like they would be good. One of them looks so similar to a comparable MacKissic that I wonder if MacKissic didn't make it.

MM