Opinions on wood chippers for making mulch

What do you guys think about chippers for making mulch? How useful are they really? Any recommendations?

Cheers

If you are talking about small ones for the garden then I have gone through a couple, I would get another one if this one broke and I only really use it a couple of times a year when I do a blitz on the pruning.

There are a couple of types, some have a pair of blades spining on a horizontal plane, much like a lawn mower, avoid that type, they throw sticks out the top and gunk up too quickly, the blades also need replacing fairly often.

The second type has a big cog which grabs the wood and shears it off against a metal plate, doesn't need sharpening and there are no blades to replace. This one is the one to get, quieter too.

Neither of them do too well when you use a metal bar to push the branches through.

I was going to buy a chipper at Home depot, but the one I wanted was not in stock. Anyway, I ended up buying a 10HP patriot chipper and boy am I glad I did.

http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Products-CSV-3100B-Stratton-Gas-Powered/dp/B002KHVKQY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366003945&sr=8-2&keywords=patriot+wood+chipper

It has a direct drive (NO BELTS!), attached to a 70lb flywheel. I primarily use the chipper part of the machine, and hardly ever use the shredder part. If the wood fits down down the tube, it will chip it. I used to think my last drops of fuel would be used with a chain saw, not anymore. My last drops of gas will be used on my chipper. I can replace my chain saw with a bow saw. Nothing could effectively replace my chipper.

A few years ago we harvested some large maple trees. Now they coppice out every year, and in two years I have perfect sized poles to run in the chipper. If the coppiced poles get larger than 3 1/2" in diameter, I cut them into 4' poles for my rocket stove.

Someday I will figure out how to run the chipper on wood gas, using what else, but chips of course. Yes I would strongly recommend a chipper, but invest in a good one like the Patriot.