ForConstructionPros.com

Whether you're acquiring your first chipper or are an experienced user well-versed in chipper selection, it pays to carefully consider your options and periodically reevaluate your needs to match the chipper to its intended application.

"There is a wide variety of chippers on the market — anything from small 6-in. chippers used primarily in residential applications to large 1,000-hp units that can chip large-diameter whole trees," says Dan Brandon, marketing manager at Morbark. In addition, there are several styles — disk or drum, towable or self-propelled and hydraulic or manual feed units.

To ensure a proper match to your jobsite, there are a number of questions you should discuss with your equipment dealer or manufacturer representative.

What will you do with the chips?

It makes a difference if you plan to collect the chips or blow them back onto the ground. Recycling is a growing trend. Easily more than half of all chipped product is collected and turned into a saleable item, most commonly boiler fuel or landscape mulch. "Entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to add revenue to the bottom line," Brandon says. "If they can get paid for what they create, it enhances their success."

Plus environmental regulations in many areas are clamping down on what can be brought to the landfills — many of which have stopped accepting any type of green and wood waste. Burning is also banned in a growing number of places.