Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to chip a big mulberry?

Had a giant mulberry come down last month in St. Louis, trunk was about 30 inches across. I figured chipping the branches would take maybe half a day since I got a decent 12 inch chipper. Took me three full days, no joke, because those branches are stringy and kept jamming up the feed wheel every 20 minutes. Anyone else deal with mulberries turning a quick job into a whole week ordeal?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean1191mo ago

Gotta be honest, I'm scratching my head a bit here. Three days for a 12 inch chipper on some mulberry? That sounds more like a problem with your feed setup or maybe the blades were dull. I've chipped mulberry before and yeah the stringy bark can be annoying but I've never had it jam up that often. Usually just means you're feeding too fast or the anvil needs adjusting. Mulberry is soft wood so it chips pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Might wanna check if your chipper is actually sharp enough for that kind of work.

hart.taylor1mo ago

Does your chipper got a hydraulic feed? My buddy in KC had the exact same problem with a big mulberry last summer. He was using a 10 inch gas chipper and spent almost 4 days on it cause the bark just wrapped around the feed wheel like rope. He finally just started cutting the branches into shorter pieces like 2 feet long instead of feeding them whole and it helped a ton. Still took forever though.