20 Best Wood Chippers For Home Use (Feb 2023 Update)

I've owned the Sun Joe SDJ616 for around 4 years now. It does a good job of shredding the leaves. It does not clog given the design as gravity feeds it. Here's what I don't like.. I feed it with a snow shovel. It can't handle anything more that a few handful of leaves without someone standing over top pushing them down. In fact, forget about this being a one man operation unless you have some small in the city postage stamp yard. My son feeds me the leaves and I push them down. They should offer the hopper in a bigger size with a wider opening to allow a larger volume to flow through.Drone Commander

I like the shredder, however, I have found a design flaw. The manual says to clean the external foam filter regularly to maintain operation. What the manual does not tell you is that there are two internal foam filters that must also be cleaned. However, to get to these internal filters you must void the warranty because you must remove the motor cover. To maintain this unit, turn the unit over and remove the 5 screws holding the motor housing in place. Once the housing is removed the two internal foam filters are accessible. I do this after about every 15 minutes of use. If you don't clean these internal filters it is not a case of IF the shredder will fail but WHEN it will fail. Other than that, the shredder works as it should.Bonnie Laycock

DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB ON LEAVES. NOT SO GOOD ON PINE STRAW. MY YARD IS MIXED LEAVES AND STRAW. A LARGE HANDFUL WITH LOTS OF STRAW HAS TO BE PUSHED IN, TENDS TO PACK AROUND THE EDGES IF FED TOO FAST. STRING WEARS FAST IF ANY STICKS GO THROUGH. I RAKED A PILE AND PLACED UNIT NEXT TO IT. LOTS OF BENDING CAUSED NEXT DAY BACK PAIN. IF ONLY LEAVES, 5-STAR FOR THE PRICE. CUTS TO SMALL PIECES, REDUCED VOLUME, GOOD FOR MULCH. VERY SMALL CHANCE OF HITTING A FINGER. RAN LOTS THROUGH, HELD UP WELL, LOOKS LIKE IT WILL LAST.AikenDon

It makes cleaning up the yard easy. The instructions were somewhat cryptic when putting it together but we made it through. One note is that you may have to cut off some limbs on larger branches to get them through the opening. We really like this machine!tdredfulh2o

This machine doesn't bog down like others in its class. It starts really easy and it seems to be build really well. I highly recommend it.kn5582

The instructions were great and the assembly was easy. Ive run it now for a couple of hours on several different occasions and it worked great. Very satisfied with the productTim

I decided to take a chance on this chipper and so far so good. It does what it’s supposed to do and has plenty of power. I did manage to clog it up once by putting in too many branches that still had leaves on them. No big deal – now I know not to do that again. My only criticism is with the tow bar. I like to get a cart under the discharge chute so I can transport the wood chips around. The tow bar is in the way. The chipper comes with two bolts to bolt the tow bar on, but I just replaced those with a clevis pin so that I can easily take the tow bar off and then I can get my cart under the discharge chute. Overall, I recommend. It’s a decent chipper for the money. Parts are available on the company’s website.Archie

Took about 2 hours to assemble. But once I put it to work it did pretty well. Only issue was when I fed about a 2" branch into the chipper. It tried to pull it in so fast that it bogged itself down and stopped. I had to open the chipper chute and the shredder cover to remove chips to be able to even turn it over with the starter rope. Only way I could dislodge enough chips was to vacuum them out with a shop vac and keep moving the shredder wheel back and forth till I was able to get it free. After I got it back operating I was more careful in chipping large branches by holding back the branches so they didn't feed so fast. Then it worked great. No more problems and I worked off a large tree worth of branches in a few hours. Made a lot of good mulch.Mark

PRICE: Ordered at a big box DIY store, but then found it for much less at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's price was much cheaper that any other competitor. Arrived with free shipping at the store in about two weeks. The store's on-line clerks tore the 150 pound box on both sides trying to get it on a dolly… really? That was the only damage to the box. Chipper was otherwise undamaged. BUY OIL: Before leaving the store, be sure to buy 1 quart of 10W30 and 2 quarts of 15W40. ASSEMBLY: Installation directions were straightforward — took about 45 minutes to completetaking my time. Most of it comes in the box assembled, you just have to install the hopper, wheels, and stand. The box only comes with 20 oz of 10W30 oil, but this beast need 37.5oz. This is why you have to buy the extra oil. Pour the 10W30 into each pour hole; there is one on each side of the engine. After 5-8 hours of running it, you have to change the oil to 37.5oz of 15W40. I cycled the engine a couple of times with the spark plug disconnected and before adding gas to lubricate all the internal engine parts. STARTING: On the left side of the engine, move the gas lever to "ON", engine speed on near high (i.e., near the rabbit), and the choke to the middle position. Flip the ignition switch on the right side of the engine to "on". Put your right foot on the stand and pull the cord with your left hand — it is a long pull, but the engine will start immediately after the first pull USING: Use ear and eye protection — it is loud and chips will fly out of this machine; prepare for both. This beast will eat limbs easily, whether they are green or dry. However, I found that mine will clog if fed branches with lots of leaves. The machine will tell you when the bag is full or if there is a clog — chips and shredded material will come out of the feed tube. Power down the engine, pull the spark plug and unclog the exhaust chute and start it up again. This beast easily ate through a huge pile of limbs in a couple of hours, leaving behind several bags of ships and shredded leaves. Twigs do not shred or chip well; they come out the exhaust chute at about 2 inches long. POWERING DOWN. I found that using the OFF switch on the right side of the engine was the easiest way to turn it off and then to restart it. To restart it, you just flip the switch to "ON" and pull the starter cord; you do not have to mess with the other levers (choke, gas, and engine speed). QUALITY: All metal parts; except the wheels. Wheels are plastic. The axle seems to be the weakest link — it is puny compared to the wide plastic wheels and the 150 pounds it is trying to move. Be careful when trying to move it across uneven terrain or towing it, I am not confident the axle will support the weight. Might have to test out the 5 yr warranty later on……SamsBestFriend

Purchase two of these units in August and both were missing parts. Boxes opened, resealed and shipped incomplete by suppliers. Beware….MrPB1

I have a 1 acre wooded lot and I seem to constantly trim branches, cut down trees and clear brush. I let my brush pile get out of hand (again) and it had grown to almost 15 feet wide and long and 8 feet high. Normally I would wait until winter with a little snow on the ground and burn it but it was just getting too big. I got this Patriot Chipper to take care of it. SO far I have about 7 hours on the pile and it's close to half gone. This chipper handles heavy brush very well! The 10hp BPACOD3

I bought this chipper with high expectations, and I'm disappointed. I have a Earthquake Tazz Chipper Shredder too but this expensive machine that's not what I expected. Worst is the bagging system, combined with the poorly designed exhaust chute cover. The bag is too short, and hangs down to the ground at an angle from the high exhaust chute. This puts a fold in the bag, and causes it to overfill quickly. There is a large amount of leakage at the bag-chute junction, and the unneeded long bolt at the bottom of the chute will surely wear a hole in the bag quickly. Using three fairly long branches, the unit went from empty to full and locked up due to clogging in less than five minutes. My previous chipper gave far more notice of the bag being full, the bag was longer, and the exhaust was closer to the ground, allowing the bag to lay flatter. Design details are disappointing on a unit this expensive. Several assembly bolts are undersized for the holes they fit in, and the instructions tell you to install them in a manner that will obstruct the leaf chute. (Heads on the outside, with the bolt sticking in) The design of the exhaust chute cover has already been mentioned. The chute also clangs constantly when pulling the unit over uneven ground. The curved "kickstand" is undersized and for some mysterious reason, is installed with a pin and key, instead of a bolt, causing it to move around under pressure. The "kickstand" is open square tubing without a plastic cap, allowing dirt and debris to get into the curved metal piece. It gets the job done, but at twice the price of my old chipper, and with more frustration. I would not purchase this unit again, nor would I recommend it to a friend.pmor_7

I recently purchased the Chipper/Shredder and only just now had an opportunity to try it out. It seemed fine, chopping sunflower stakes easily until it jammed. I was unable to free it up with a stick and had to disassemble it according to directions provided. The directions did not match the product. I 'figured it out' then found that the outer bearing would not slide off the shaft. By the time I got it off with a gear puller the bearing was damaged. At this point it is not useable or returnable. I would say skip this product, it is not suitable for shredding garden waste.Dave

Bought this Patriot Electric chipper because my Simplicity Electric Chipper burned out after 17 yrs. of work. No comparison. Spend more time clearing out the blades than I do actually chipping leaves and stems.Lablift

At first I didnt like the design of this machine it has not enough strength of standing up. You really had to stand behind the machine to tilt it back to move it forwards. The wheels are made of cheap plastic. Safety is my goal when using outdoors machine equipment. There is no mentioning on safety on display video. Zero on wearing safety goggle or earplugs or headsets. The machine is loudNew Guy 2022

Very noisy. Advertised also that it has two (2) 7 inch blades. No way this will fit into the machine. Actually it has Two (2) 2 1/4 inch blades. Wrongly advertised. Not recommended to buy.Rick

Simple to assemble, only took about 15 minutes to be ready to use. Started on 3rd pull. Reduced last years bin full of limbs and yard debris into usable mulch with no problems. Self feeds straight branches, and pulls in handfuls of leaves and stems as long as you do not feed too much into the hopper at once. Feed the material slowly, and keep a long tree branch around in case you need to clear the hopper. I got this to replace my 30 year old lawn chief chipper that was a pain to use.Handyman

I am always leery about buying expensive items from walmart. But, I really needed a wood chipper and this one had free delivery to my house. Oh my goodness! This little wood chipper grabs up the branches and chews them down like they are nothing! Be careful to not have any loose clothing or absolutely anything that could catch as you drop the branches in- This machine is a beast! It grabs the branches with real force and pulls them right in. I have chipped dry and green branches- NO PROBLEM! I am 100% happy with this purchase. Used it all summer. No problems.Jean

The best priced 3” chipper I could find. They all do the same job and this one worked like a charm. 7hp engine that ran flawless. Blades chewed up my 3 inch and smaller branches. The bigger ones I saved for fire wood so a 3inch was as big as I needed. I bought this for a fraction of the price I would of paid a crew to trim and remove limbs. The work was not too bad and the chipper did all the hard work. My best friend just showed me the knife he just bought for $500 and I chucked as I told him on my new wood chipper for over $100 less than his new fancy knife.Myesha

This is a very well built unit and should give me years of service. Used it a few times so far and are pleased with the job it did. Consider the width of the tractor to attach this too, mine was a bit narrow for the standard hitch configuration but could be worked around. Only bad side was that the PTO shaft was not smooth, had a burr in one of the grooves that needed to be filed down to fit. Would buy again.Jacobus van D

I bought the smaller of the two chippers for my 24.9 hp Yanmar SA424. My last chipper was a Bearcat for a 33 hp Deere. This new chipper out performs the other hands down. I had two people walking limbs to me to feed into the chipper and they couldn’t keep up with me feeding this beast. This machine actually self feeds with four large cutting blades. The opening is way wider which means little fussing and removal of side limbs to make it feed. Wow, did I ever make the right choice this time. Engine never slowed down either!Mark F

I have used the chipper extensively and it the only time it failed is when I tried a 6 inch branch. Another shear bolt and I have been working again since. I do wish you had replacement blades in stock just to have a second pair on hand. Will pick up when you get them back in stock.George M

The best chipper I've ever worked with! Very reinforced finish, adjustable at all levels, potent, five-star engine, it's doing the job that two chippers used to do.Anonymous

So far so good. I've really enjoyed my YardBeast after having it for only the past 3 weeks. It's easy to assemble from the various parts that showed up. I added the required oil and gas, and I was in business. It's very loud, so make sure that you're wearing the necessary hearing protection and shatter-proof glasses.No problem gobbling up 3" diameter branches. processed over 40 branches in less than 20 minutes. I needed to trim a couple of branches to make some branches fit into the shoot, but that was a small price to pay for the efficiency of chipping all those branches. Highly recommended.Steve S.

I have since received the wheels and assembled. The manual was there all along. I did not realize it was in canister until I started to assemble it. The company shipped quickly once I called which I appreciate. The chipper is running great now!John R.

It was fairly easy to assemble, I just wish I would have installed the longer axle first, as with the short axle the machine tipped over very easily. It's an excellent chipper for the money.William B.

Very pleased with quality of the chipper. Will chip wood very quickly, making quick work of brush. Very heavy ~400 lbs. Assembly instructions are nearly worthless. Lay out all bolts and use process of elimination to assemble. Would purchase again.Anonymous

Ryan did an awesome job. The PowerKing 9.5hp chipper came in well packaged and undamaged. The chipper is the real deal. I have chipped everything from twigs to 4" and better with this unit. I wanted a pull start and didn't want to try to pull start a 14hp. I have no battery to deal with and it gets the job done. Great machine, great sales company!Delaware C.

It works well, however, it can be dangerous when feeding small items in the top hopper due to bounce back. Otherwise, it's a fairly solid product. I would also recommend running the gasoline out of the fuel line by turning the fuel valve off, and then waiting for the unit to run out of gas rather than simply shutting it off using the lever. This prevents stale fuel from entering the engine during storage.Jacques B.

Great chipper. Easy to put together. Great price. Exactly what we were looking for. I only used it a couple of times, but no issues at all. Always started right up. Some of the pieces did come out bigger. But that is good for what it is used for. Fast service, fast shipping.Melissa W.

I definitely would NOT recommend this Chipper. It all started just trying to assemble it. A 30 minute job took a little longer as the one wheel would not seat low enough to get the cotter pin thru the hole, had to file a metal bur off but also had to wrasp off some of the plastic on the wheel to make it fit. The next problem was one of the bolts would not go thru the hole it was suppose to so i had to drill out the opening to make it work. However once assembled it did start up on the very first pull and every time after as that. It was once of the reasons I bought this chipper it had a Kohler motor which I have had good results in the past with. After checking up on the wife using it to clear the tree trimming I noticed it was leaking gas out of the "Carb Carbon Canister" while it was running. I contacted Yardmax to see if this was normal or if something was defective and they just told me to find someone to fix it and I had to pay for the repair then Yardmax would then reimburse me if it was a warrenty issue. They would not even help me find some one in my area to take a look at it. It took a while to figure out that the part leaking gas was and what it was suppose to do but to make a long story short if you overfill the gas tank it will suck gasoline out of the tank instead of vapors and dump the gas out a hole and onto the lawn. The tank was never over filled and it would dump gasoline onto the lawn even with the tank less than half filled. I did find a local authorized Kohler repair shop that basically said that if Wal-Mart will take it back that that would be the best thing to do, so I did. Went down the road on my way back from returning it and bought a different chipper.Dennis

Great performing chipper shredder. The 11.5 engine is larger than most of the chippers in the big box stores and gives plenty of power for both chipping and shredding small branches and leaves. The clutch makes starting easy, always on the first or second pull. This is a high-quality machine which appears built to last.Mark F.

This is a very good chipper.The design of the shredder leaves much, too much, to be desired. Unless you feed the leaves in one at a time they tend to bunch up right at the neck just prior to entering the hammer-mill section of the machine. You can try to clear this jam with the handle of your rake but you will find, as I did, that this machine will shorten rakes very easily. Apparently, my technique of gathering leaves with two rakes to drop them into the hopper is too much and will cause the machine to choke. The motor is running fine it is just that the leaves are not feeding in.I thought it might be the size and shape of the leaves but that is not the case. It will not accept sugar maple nor red maple without choking. I am very disappointed with the chipper/shredder.David B.

I purchased this item on line with store pickup. After unpacking, I found the top of the shredder was broken in shipping. The box wasn't damaged and was in perfect shape. If this shredder couldn't handle shipping, it probably wouldn't last long doing light shredding in one's garden. IMO, find a better made product.FrankR