I wish I could find a place locally to rent one. I looked at some electrical ones but I'm wondering about their feeding mechanisms.

I tried to rent one and was told that the rental fee would be such a large percentage of the cost of the unit that most people would feel rip off.

Apparently the maintenance cost of are rental unit are very high

Great advice about buying used. I saw quite a few for sale on Craigslist. But how do I evaluate them? Wondering if the motors burn out easily? Most are the "Troy Built" model. Most folks say they are "hardly used" which makes sense because you are not going to be chipping every week if you live in a typical suburban or rural yard area.

In my experience motors rarely fail. Usually what fails is something else, as the deck on rotary mowers.

If it is hardly used, and the unit backs up the fact that it was hardly used, then it is probably safe. I planned on buying used and one of the things that I was going to check was to ensure that it started. Note: At least my new Cub Cadet goes clunk when you slowly turn it over, it is just the flails falling.

$300 for a used unit, you'd better be handy, and make sure before purchase that parts are available. Also, do you want a gas engine setting around for infrequent use with the issues of ethanol compromised gas we have to deal with today? I'd look into an electric unit. I've gone to an electric chain saw, power washer, etc. for that exact reason. Are they as powerful as the gas units I used to have? No, do they do a reasonable job given other considerations? Yes. I've attached an electric chipper link from amazon, chosen at random, highly rated. Go to youtube, you'll find a lot of videos there of various electric in use so you can evaluate.

https://www.amazon.com/Joe-CJ601E-Electric-Chipper-Shredder/dp/B007VX11O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494980264&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+chipper+shredder

The motors on the electric ones seem so wimpy though . . .

You shouldn't need a very powerful motor for what you need. 10 years ago I would of shied away from anything electric. I have recently used a few electric lawn mowers that compete with their petro counterpart. I see no reason small chippers wouldn't fair the same.

Depends on what you mean by electric. While the power may be there, the source of the electricity can be a problem. My son in law has a battery power mower, It takes a couple of hours to recharge for every hour of mowing. It works nicely when you keep the grass short.

If it is a corded model the cord length limits the area where you can use the unit, and then there is the problem of avoiding the cord when in use.

An electric chipper that is not moving about within about 100' of a power source, may work for you. My electric chain saw manual recommend not using more than 100' of cord because of the power drop.

After reading the responses to your question, I think there is a lot of good insight given.

I have owned 2 chippers. My first ended up being my wood chipping school. I would advise the rental route for first 1 or 2 uses. This being said after I spent $400 on my first and found out how useful it is or was.

The process is to beat and chip by force these twigs into tiny pieces. A violent process. The blades and hammers will start to wear within a few hrs of use and with out a way to isolate the vibration or re-balance the wheel every few hours it will develop a vibration that will affect the welds in the housings, the bolts, etc.

If it is underpowered or the work was underestimated you will be digging into the housing to clear the jammed material frequently. Oaks are hard wood compared to say pine as a soft wood, another consideration. I have oaks, palms, pine, and fruit trees.

The dilemma; Any direct shaft chipper will nickel and dime you because they don't address the vibration well, approx $1,500.00 and under. Any indirect drive unit such as a drive belt, will be approx $2,000-$40,000 +.

My $400 chipper (Black Max brand now at HF for $500) lasted 20 hrs before the welds in the housing gave out. Motor is fine. It's not cost effective to weld it back together, won't hold. The warranty was handled well with two housings being replaced without hassle but they were breaking faster each time.

The one I have now is more than I need but was a great deal used ($800, new $3,500, Eliet Major). The local box store rental dept had 68 hrs on it. A belt drive, full steel, 9hp Honda motor (quiet), commercial bearings, and the blades are common combine blades, very tough, cheap, sharp, and easy to get locally. There are good units that are used out there but not many. Look for vibration problems if getting used.

The mulch is worth it.

Well, that's why I thought to go the rental route. I have a spot to hold the wood, a mix of oak mostly and a bit of pine and a few other species like silver maple. Then once or twice a year, shred it all up. But right now I haven't found a source of a place to rent them. I had a feeling they wore out quickly, from what I've seen of them in use.

Have you found a local source yet?

I know it's been a month, but I've had to find a "proper" string trimmer and learned that the dealer's for garden equipment (professional yard equipment) often rent these machines.

I asked the HD rental shop, where I bought my machine, as to how much they charged? They said approx. $65.00 for the day, that wasn't bad, considering the cost to buy a quality 9hp machine. The 20hp, eat trees machines are $160.00 a day rent at the same place.