Purchased this after the 10/31 snowstorm in the north east. I have almost 2 acres with tons of trees, and it was going to be impossible to rent a chipper in my area for months with all of the tree damage.
The reason this does not get 5 stars from me is the assembly, and the oil fill.
Regarding the assembly, attaching the hopper was not easy. There is a metal liner in the bottom that goes inside the chipping area, and the plastic hopper goes on the outside. I had to remove the safety flaps on the top of the hopper just to see what I was doing, and even then, getting everything to fit before bolting up was tricky.
The oil fill cap is behind the chute. It is nearly impossible to access. I had to use needle nose pliers to get to it, and even then I could only turn the cap a few degrees. Once removed, you will need a funnel with a long neck to fill the oil reservoir. A simple design change, of adding an 8" riser tube on top of the fill cap, would eliminate this problem entirely.
Having said this, these are NOT reasons to dissuade you from making this purchase. This think is a beast, and with out it, my yard would still look like hell. I has chipped up yard debris from a variety of different trees with ease. Usually starts with one pull (although a "heavy" pull).
I also purchased the tow bar. Although it does what it is supposed to do, that is overpriced for what you get. It is just two channels that go around the handle and wheel axle, and each channel has two cotter pins. The do not fit snug to the bars. Just guessing at dimensions here, but if the handle is 3/4", then the channel that goes over it is 1" wide. So as you tow the chipper, the finish gets scraped off.
CSD RESPONDS: Please let the folks at Earthquake know your comments- we're sure they will find them helpful. You can contact them at (800) 345-6007 or www.getearthquake.com.
Purchased this after the 10/31 snowstorm in the north east. I have almost 2 acres with tons of trees, and it was going to be impossible to rent a chipper in my area for months with all of the tree damage.
The reason this does not get 5 stars from me is the assembly, and the oil fill.
Regarding the assembly, attaching the hopper was not easy. There is a metal liner in the bottom that goes inside the chipping area, and the plastic hopper goes on the outside. I had to remove the safety flaps on the top of the hopper just to see what I was doing, and even then,...
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