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This last Saturday morning I cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor on the chipper. Using a new battery I had purchased, I crossed my fingers and turned the engine over. As you can see, the repair work was successful and the chipper came to life. Yes! (Video clip is 2:41, not long.)
The items I chipped were a few small branches that had fallen out of trees in the neighborhood during spring wind storms, plus the trunk of our past Christmas tree. I was very pleased that everything worked the way it should!
There are a couple more small items to take scare of — a battery hold-down kit and a hook for one of the safety chains need to be acquired — but for all practical purposes the chipper is ready to go to The Lot and begin helping with the clean-up. I don’t expect that to happen until May, depending on weather. Nights at The Lot are still consistently below freezing.
Colorado requires all trailers to have a license plate. It turns out Texas doesn’t have this requirement for trailers under 4,000 pounds, so I didn’t get a title or registration at purchase, just a Bill of Sale. To get a Colorado title and plate I’ll need to schedule a “certified VIN inspection” with the State Patrol, which includes more paperwork (and fees). Combining that with my Bill of Sale, I will need to go to the DMV and apply for a title, registration, and license plate. I will need to supply the DMV with the rig’s weight, a number I found in the service manual (1,680 pounds.) The weight will figure into the cost of getting the license plate as Colorado charges more as the trailer weight goes up. And, of course, to legally pull the chipper to the inspection place I will need to go to the DMV and get a 3-day temp permit. They don’t make the process easy…
Around the house, I am digging up dandelions and have mowed parts of the lawn. Our tulips are beginning to bloom and a recent small rain has helped “green up” grass and trees. Spring has arrived.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
(The chipper sure is loud.)
Happy Trails.
Good job!! Here in Iowa we can fill all the paper work online and then they give us a permit to go have it inspected. DEB
Well done – sounds like most of the work will be getting the trailer plated…
I didn’t see any “cloud of smoke” on startup or while it was running, and the chips seemed to come out okay — engine & blades seem in reasonably good shape.
Ear protection would be a good idea, and you should rig up something (rather than your hand) to push the last of the brush through the chipper.
Maybe you can rent out your time with (cities) or the Forestry Dept. – you provide the chipper, they do the hard work!
Deb:
Thanks for the note. I work in one county but live in another…makes the process a bit more difficult!
Larry:
Yes, the trial run seems to indicate prolonged use will be OK.
Chipper has an indeed-roller that grabs the brush and feeds it to the chipper knives. Feed roller also has s stop and reverse controlled by the bar above the chute. Also a panic kill switch right by the feeder. I plan to keep hands well away from the feed roller!
I had planned to buy noise-reducing ear muffs before I start chipping in ernest.
Pam already has me chipping brush to provide retirement income!
Jerry