Spent 4 hours on a removal only to have my chipper jam up with wet oak

Last Tuesday I was taking down a big red oak in Brookline and the whole job went smooth until I started feeding the wood through. The chipper just stopped dead with a wet limb stuck in the feed wheel. Had to spend 45 minutes digging it out with a pry bar and a chainsaw. Anyone else run into this with late season oak that's been sitting in rain?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver52324d agoTop Commenter

Honestly, that sounds brutal. We had a similar nightmare last fall with a client's backyard full of rain-soaked Norway maple. Took forever to get the chipper going again because the wood was basically waterlogged logs. Ended up having to switch to a whole different strategy with the tractor just to get it all broken down.

the_olivia24d ago

Ngl I feel your pain on that one. Nothing worse than a 45 minute dig-out after a solid removal, especially when the wood's been soaking up rain for days. Wet oak is just a nightmare in the chipper, I've had it grab chunks and lock up the feed wheel on me more times than I can count.