Should you always clean out the chipper before leaving a job? I'm split on this.

I spent a whole Saturday last month cleaning out a 12-inch chipper on a job in Maple Ridge... took me 45 extra minutes at the end of the day. But the client's neighbor had a fallen ash tree scheduled for the next morning, and I was worried about leaving wet chips in the drum over Sunday. Guy I work with says he never cleans it unless it's been sitting for over a week, claims it saves him hours a year. But I've also heard horror stories about rust and dull blades from leaving debris in there. What do you folks do when you've got back-to-back jobs with a short gap?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyl391mo ago

Oh man, I have DEFINITELY been there. I once left a chipper uncleaned for FOUR days over a long weekend and came back to find the drum so jammed with wet alder that I had to take the whole thing apart with a pry bar. Took me three hours and I looked like I had been in a woodchip fight. So yeah, I'm in the clean-every-time camp now. I know it eats up time but the thought of rust on those blades or having to break up a hardened clump just makes me twitch. Plus I feel like if the customer sees you hosing it out and checking everything, they think you're a pro. It's a pain but it saves me a bigger headache later.

the_brian1mo ago

That alder story got me. Two years ago I left mine uncleaned after a cedar job on a Friday. Came back Monday to find the whole drum locked solid. Had to hammer chunks out with a sledge. Lost a whole morning. I was the guy who never cleaned it either. Figured it saved time. Not anymore. Now I always blast it out with the hose before I leave. 45 minutes beats 3 hours with a pry bar any day.

laura_chen411mo ago

Oh man, I used to be totally in the "skip the cleanup" camp myself. I figured a quick blow-out with the air hose was good enough, and if I was getting back to it the next day, what's the big deal, right? But then I had to chip wet maple on a Monday after leaving it uncleaned over a weekend, and the rust spots on the blades were just... ugh. That was the last straw for me. Now I'm with you both, I hose it down every time no matter how tired I am, because a few minutes of prevention saves me from cursing at a stuck drum for half my morning.