New Used Wood Chipper

It's a Kemp K6CH 5HP wood chipper/shredder/mulcher and it's pretty awesome and terrifying. The machine is pretty old. The engine is from about 1980 according to it's production date. I thought my electric chipper was pretty slick with its ability to gobble up 2 inch diameter branches and turn large piles of trimmings into wheel barrows full of chips. Well this beast puts the electric unit to shame. The heavy hardened steel tree devouring drum in it's belly doesn't even notice a 3 inch diameter branch being shoved into it's gaping mouth.

The catch to me getting this beast is that I had pick it up and it didn't start. It was put away years ago and forgotten in the corner of a garage full of fuel and stabilizer. Over the years it collected dust, the fuel evaporated out leaving a dusty machine and a gummed up carburetor, and was cluttering up a garage.  So a little research and some elbow grease I got the machine figured out and running like a champ.

I could have skipped removing the carburetor from the engine had I had a little more experience, but it was a good chance to learn some more about my new device.

I could have just pulled the muffler and that little cap in the red box to get the whole thing working. Under that cap is some milled channels and a rubber gasket that was frozen up with some old gelatinous fuel stabilizer. 

This was the other problem spot. The vertical rod in the picture is the throttle arm and it was missing the throttle knob. Down is idle, up is run, and gravity kept it in the idle position. Clamping in in the run position made it purr like a large hungry lion with a fresh kill.

After a about 3 hours of cleaning, fiddling, and an oil change I have another pretty awesome yard tool that I can use at any location on the property. I should hit some spots with a wire wheel and a can of spray paint  to take care of some rust on the belt cover, but that is a project for another lazy weekend.