Forest care - machinery for forestry work: chippers, shredders and chainsaws

Shredders belong to heavy equipment - professional petrol shredders or tractor-attached models weigh up to 175 kg. Diesel (professional) shredders range from 1.2 hp to 7 hp. They are equipped with wheels and a frame or feet to stabilize the setting. The noise emitted by the equipment is slightly less or comparable to the operation of a lawn mower. They are also distinguished by their ease of movement.

The shredder consists of the following components: Loading hopper - usually takes the form of a long tube or, in smaller devices, a small opening. Safety considerations make the opening through which the branches are inserted small. For this reason, it is sometimes shaped like a bone or the letter T to prevent accidental insertion of a hand into it. Unfortunately, this makes it a bit more difficult to insert the branched elements, which need to be properly prepared in advance with scissors or secateurs.

Housing and carrying handle - the housing is usually made of durable plastic, making the device lighter and producing less noise. A special handle, located on the top of the device, makes it easy to transport.

Chassis - wheels allow you to ride on uneven ground. It is equipped with a frame made of steel tubes, which allow the device to work stably even in difficult conditions.

Based on the type of cutting elements in the device, shredders can be divided into:

• knife - The cheapest models that can handle small thin twigs,
• knife machines with worm drive - Designed for cutting larger and tougher branches,
• roller with milling rollers - can handle the thickest wood waste.

With regard to the cutting mechanism, we distinguish:

• knife shredder (disc) - The branches, when inserted into it, are pressed down and cut into fine chips by a blade or blades rotating on a disc, which dull with each use, so they require frequent maintenance;
• cutter shredder - independently pulls the branches inserted into it, which increases the speed and comfort of work (cutter blades cut faster).

Inside the tractor-powered shredders is a shaft with swinging hammer knives of a specific shape that rotates, powered by the tractor's power take-off (PTO) shaft. The flail work somewhat resembles that performed by a traditional lawn mower, although the blades rotate vertically, not horizontally. The difference is that the knives placed in it are stronger, harder and adapted for cutting wood. Wood material shredded with a mulcher can be left on the ground as bedding. The flail shredder can have different working widths. There are also models of equipment that allow the collection of this material, which is then bagged or managed in a composter.

Log and branch chipper

Unlike flail shredders chipper for logs and branches is a stationary machine. While it does have a travel system that allows the device to be dragged to another workstation, it cannot move while performing the task. The machine resembles a large mill, into which cut branches are put in order to get a stream of shredded chips from the other side. Wood chippers are devices that are used in farms, forests, parks or orchards. Used to grind wood into wood chips or cut into smaller pieces.

There are three basic types of chippers:

• Disc - usually mounted on a tractor's three-point hitch, require less power, but also the diameter of the material they chip is smaller. Used for shredding branches and logging residues. Their working element is the cutting discs. A popular manufacturer of these models is the company CEDRUS
• Drum - have higher power requirements, and are often even powered by their own internal combustion engine rather than the tractor's PTO. The working element is a large rotating drum on which the knives are mounted. The rotating mass of the drum adds force to the machine, as in a flywheel. As a result, drum chippers can chip even thick tree trunks and are used to produce biomass for energy needs. Popular manufacturers of drum chippers include the brand CEDRUS

• Waltz - most commonly used in orchards to crush so-called growths. Roller chippers often have their own electric or combustion engine. The cutting mechanism consists of knives attached to a shaft. The number of pairs of knives determines the length of cut of wood chips.

The most popular models consist of 6 or 8 blades, which can cut branches up to 100 mm thick into 8-15 cm sections. The most popular models of this type of chipper are the R-120 8-knife model made by CNC Technology and the RX90 model consisting of 6 knives made by Ziko.

Wood chippers come as:

• diesel chippers,
• electric chippers
• drives the equipment with the help of a power rotation shaft using a tractor.

Chainsaw - ideal for forestry work

During forest maintenance work, the following will work well chainsaw, diesel, which is also commonly referred to as a chainsaw. Use it to cut down a tree or trim branches or bushes. All in a quick and effortless manner.

Remember!