Viewing post #2951356 by Rubi

nmschoolhouse said: I find the above conversations most helpful. There seems to be a wide opinion and lots of chipper shredder options out there. My situation is a bit different. I have primarily branches of juniper and pine trees, no grass and few leaves. Most of the branches have been sitting for years and partially rotted.

My criteria for this machine is it must be easy to maneuver and preferably electric. I would be willing to cart my debris to the machine. My intent is to create mulch as a top dressing and to work into the soil of new garden beds.

Any thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sharon Ward

Dry wood is difficult to chip. I think my bigger gas chipper is 11 HP and it struggles with dry wood when the blades aren't freshly sharpened. The dry wood dulls the blades very quickly. If your sticks are freshly cut, you might be able to use an electric one if you go slowly. The electric could handle your old wood if all of your dry sticks are very small- probably under half an inch.