Eric Hanson

Hi Jeff.  Nice review.

Personally I have a love/hate relationship with wood chippers.  Like you, I completely understand the utility of a wood chipper.  My particular use is to make chips for my mushroom beds.  However, my personal experience is that I need a chipper that is about twice the size/diameter of the average (or perhaps larger) material being chipped.  For instance, I used to rent a 6”, 15 HP gas chipper and it chipped 3” material just fine.  4” material went a bit slower but still worked and 5” material could still be chipped, but it was difficult.  6” material could technically still be chipped but it took a LOT of time.  The chipper stopped, reversed and took multiple shots at chipping the branches.  Eventually it would work.  However, I had a lot of material to chip and the chipper broke—multiple times!!  

Eventually I decided that I needed the 12” 85 HP diesel chipper.  And WOW, did it chip up the material like a monster!  And I broke even that one when I fed a tree trunk 12” in diameter!  It did an amazing job (we bush-fixed it).

But overall, it does make me wonder about owning a chipper.  If you are chipping up materials that are 1”-2” in diameter or smaller then that chipper probably works just fine, and I bet that it is a fine machine for most households.  And from what you have said, it sounds like this is the case.  So good for you for finding the right machine that fits your needs at the right price.  Honestly, I think that HF tools & machines are often overlooked, underrated and are generally a good value.  I have purchased a handful of tools from them at really good prices and the tools work very well for my needs (and I am very picky about my tools).

You are absolutely correct about the noise!  Is it even possible to have a wood chipper that chips quickly and quietly?  At the moment I think not and you are right to protect your hearing—as are your neighbors too!! But I say that last part in jest.


Ending this convoluted response, I want to say that I think that you found the right machine at the right price for your needs.  Please let me know how it works out in the longer run.  What size material are you chipping, how long does it take?  What are the chips like?  Etc. etc.

Nice job!


Eric

Brianna,

I understand a bit better now.  Just to be clear though, Southern Illinois is not dominated by vast farmlands the way Central Illinois is.  In fact, Southern Illinois is forested and very hilly—the land looks much like Wisconsin but with a much warmer climate and oak and hickory instead of pines.  But if you are geographically limited to the area around Lisle, then I understand your situation better.  In that region, the land prices are much higher and the ‘cide use is much greater.

I wish I had better news for you.  It seems like the immediate move is to get out of the mold-infested dwelling in which you currently live.  At least that eliminates one problem.  As for the other, ‘cide problem, I respect your desire to live as far away as possible, but it may not be possible to completely eliminate that other one altogether and still live in the geographic area you wish.  But if you move out of the one dwelling you could at least eliminate one problem altogether and still live in the Lisle area.

This might be a case where one needs to manage problems when they cannot be totally eliminated.  In a perfect world, management would not be necessary, but in our imperfect world, management of imperfect situations is often the way we get the most out of life, be most productive, and generally be be happiest.

As I stated in the opening line, I wish that I had a perfect solution, and I don’t.  Ultimately, the way out of your current situation is up to you and you alone.  If I can help you in any way, I will offer that help without any expectations other than if you benefit, sometime in the future, please pay that help forward to someone else in need.  All I can think about right now is to get out of your current dwelling/situation as mold problems are very serious, and are probably (in my estimation) a more immediate threat than the other ‘cides, however undesirable they may be.  This might literally be a case where you have to pick your poison, but again, you make the decision that you think is best.

I wish you the very best.  And if I can help in any way, don’t hesitate to ask.

Eric

I did it!!  I trimmed up all the extra branches that needed to be cut before the main trunk comes down.

The new saw was much lighter and easier to control than the old Kobalt pole saw.  It’s 10” blade effortlessly cut through the remaining wood.  I have used a similar DeWalt pole saw and it may have been even lighter still, but I have no regrets as I am buying into a battery platform and there are other tools that I may (well, almost certainly will) acquire down the road.  And as I said, it is noticeably better in all regards over the Kobalt saw.

I should also add that I started this project with a fully charged, brand new Milwaukee XC 6 AH Battery.  The project drained one bar out of four on the battery meter.

I attached a picture down below to show the after effects.  I might have to dig up an old picture of the “before” effects.


I consider it a win!


Eric

Brianna,

Can you be more specific about what part of Illinois you need to leave?  If you are in the Chicago metro area or anywhere close to, perhaps you might consider Southern Illinois.

Southern Illinois is practically a different state than the Chicago metro area.  The area is overwhelmingly rural and there is land available for a fraction of the cost of the price near Chicago.  I am sure that you can find land with appropriate hookups and there are nowhere near the regulatory hoops to jump through.  The climate is entirely different than the Chicago, so if you are considering the move, please take that into consideration.

If this sounds helpful, let me know and I can point you in some promising directions.


Eric

Josh,

Thanks for the diagram.  That is basically the way I trim when I am cutting limbs.

Eric

Anne, Jay,

Thanks for the cautionary note.  Just to put your mind at ease, I have used a pole saw plenty of times in the past.  In fact, it was this last attempt at use where my motor burned up!!  And I am always cautious when using these.

I was just informed that we will be hiking today, so I might have to wait until tomorrow to see how the saw works.

On a slightly different note, I went on Amazon and found a little Ridgid to Milwaukee adapter so that I can use my old Ridgid batteries in Milwaukee tools.  I do still plan on buying a pair of generic Milwaukee 6 AH batteries (about $50 for the pair) just to always have a couple ready and waiting when I might need one.

I will report soon!!

Eric

Yesterday broke down and bought a new pole saw for a tree removal project I have had since January.

Earlier this year I posted about how I lost a beautiful tree to an ice storm.  Although the tree still somewhat stands, the trunk is split to the ground.  I took down what I could earlier, but my older pole saw smoked (Kobalt) and the soft ground prevented me bringing in my tractor to finish the rest.

I recently saw a Milwaukee Pole saw on sale at a local farm store and to boot, buying one got be a free 6 AH battery (though I still had to buy a charger).  I jumped on it!  My old pole saw was heavy and awkward and I took the chance that the new one would be easier to use.  On top of that, I have always liked Milwaukee tools and this gives me a chance to get into that line!

I am going to test out the pole saw later today and report back.

And like I said, new toys (tools)!


Eric

Hi Pearl,

I agree with everything that M.K. already mentioned.  I have not had great luck piling new chips on top of old, but I am pretty sure that I buried the old chips far too deep.  I would consider new woodchips (avoid old ones if you can) spread about 1"-3" deep.  Maybe consider some straw as the Wine Caps just love to get started on straw.

Good luck!

Eric

Brody,

Lack of/poor sleep/insomnia can pretty much wreck every part of one's life--certainly human relationships.  Some basic anatomy/functional explanation of the effects of sleep loss go something like this:

Believe it or not, despite running literally *thousands* of tests, the only human function that suffers from lack of sleep is the ability to focus or concentrate*.  I put a little asterisk at the end of the sentence, because the ability to concentrate then affects virtually every other human function and therefore lack of sleep worsens virtually every human function but in a slightly indirect way.

With regards to mood/cognition/emotions/etc., our frontal lobe (especially the prefrontal cortex) serves in part as a sort of switchboard that automatically bats down emotional impulses.  For instance, if you were told to *NOT* hit the person directly next to you, then the very first thought that enters your mind is "Hit the person next to me."  Of course, that is a bad idea and the frontal lobe immediately shuts off that impulse, you just sit there and the person next to you is none the wiser that momentarily you were thinking about hitting them.

But when we are sleep deprived, our frontal lobes don't do this job so well or automatically.  We can still shut down the impulse, but it takes a more concentrated effort, and sometimes when we are concentrating on shutting down one impulse, another might slip through.  With regards to mood and emotion, our frontal lobes are constantly shutting off impulses that are situationally inappropriate.  If we are happy and some angry impulse enters our mind (hit the person next to you), we shut that off and we keep being happy.  But when we have to constantly *WORK* to shut these off, other impulses slip through.  What others perceive is that we are moody, we snap easily, lose tempers and get emotionally impulsive.

So good for you that you found the mold and the two of you are getting better sleep!

Eric

Coydon,

The term “resin” works for me.  Actually, it’s probably a better term than plastic or wax do let’s just go with resin and call it a day.

Thanks for the clarification.

Eric