Whole-tree chippers convert stems, tops and slash into chips. They sit between harvesting machinery and biomass processing, and their commercial outputs include pulp chip, biomass fuel, landscape chip and simple residue reduction.
The defining commercial characteristic of a large chipper is that it is almost never the bottleneck by itself. A 440 hp chipper waiting for an excavator to bring one tree at a time is expensive idle capital.
Whole-tree chippers sit between harvesting and the biomass market, converting stems, tops and slash into pulp chip, biomass fuel, landscape chip or simple residue reduction.
The defining commercial characteristic is that the chipper is almost never the constraint by itself. A 440 hp machine waiting for an excavator to bring one tree at a time is expensive idle capital, and the feed system and haulage are what actually set throughput.
This is also the one category where the contract genuinely must precede the fleet. Chip specification, moisture, contamination limits, tonnage, delivery point and transport requirement all determine whether a chipper or a grinder is the correct machine.
Indicative published manufacturer and distributor figures. Confirm every specification, lift chart and hydraulic requirement with the manufacturer or authorised dealer before purchase.
A high-production whole-tree chipper in the Australian market, supported through Vermeer Australia as part of RDO Equipment.
| Power | ~440 hp / 328 kW |
|---|---|
| Weight | ~14.8 t |
| Material capacity | ~584 mm |
| Infeed roller width | 864 mm |
| Infeed | Dual-chain |
| Control | Remote control |
| Wear components | Replaceable high-wear components |
A large brush chipper at the top of the arborist range — capable, but not the same production class as a whole-tree chipper.
| Power | 275 hp / 205 kW |
|---|---|
| Infeed opening | 40 × 24 inch |
| Rated material capacity | ~533 mm |
| Theoretical feed pulling force | ~4,536 kg |
| Aggregate trailer mass | ~8 t |
Full published specifications, commercial fit, and what to verify before signing — for each machine.
These are the numbers that determine whether the purchase works. Specification sheets rarely contain any of them.
Assemble every one of these before contacting a supplier. Any line you cannot answer is where your commercial risk sits.
Each of these is a documented pattern, not a hypothetical.
Obtain consumable prices at quotation stage and model annual expenditure. Use the dealer quote checklist.
Purchase price is the smallest part of most forestry equipment decisions. These are the variables that decide what the machine costs per unit of saleable production.
Knives and bed knives are the recurring cost, and contamination drives them hard. Fuel per tonne is the measure that exposes an under-fed machine — a chipper running below capacity burns fuel without producing.
Truck and chip trailer availability usually decides realised throughput. Modelling the chipper without modelling the haulage cycle produces a number that will not be achieved.
Model these against your own contracted hours rather than accepting a generic hourly rate — the machine cost calculator works the arithmetic with your figures, and the bottleneck analyser shows whether the machine is the constraint at all.
The same machine class suits very different businesses in very different configurations. These are the situations that recur.
Specification sheets are written for global markets. These are the factors that change the answer here.
None of these are proof of a bad supplier. All of them are reasons to keep asking.
Any line you cannot answer is where your commercial risk sits. Take this to the supplier meeting.
The comparisons, buyer profiles and fleet packages that turn on this machine.
The tolerant machine — for material that is dirty, mixed, contaminated, irregular or stump-heavy.
Highest-throughput felling in the full-tree system — cut, accumulate, bunch, repeat.
Drags stems to the landing — the workhorse of full-tree and tree-length systems.
Geometry beats size — the grapple should be selected according to material flow.