General Information

Blades

Main parts of the chipper.
Sharpening and setting them determine the quality of the chipped material produced and the efficiency of the chipper.
Sharpening is a simple recovery of the cutting edge
Changing blades takes about 20 minutes.
Simply loosen two to six screws (depending on model) to remove and replace the blades
A shim is used to select the thickness of the chip product.
On the SUPER-PAIN 280 and the SUPER-PAIN 450, chipper's output and absorbed power depend on the number of blades.
About the SUPER-PAIN 450 on three-point tractor, the four blades version will be chosen for a tractor with less than 20 hp, and the six blades version for a tractor with an higher power.
SUPER-PAIN 450 (6 blades version), 600, 900, 1300 and 1700 are perfectly able to work with only 3 blades, when we want to work with the settings for thicker chips, less power and big diameter to chip.
The number of blades doesn't change anything on the quality of the chipped material.
Only the setting of the blade passing over the disk surface defines the thickness of the chip.

CUTTING TABLE

Jean PAIN chippers are designed from the very beginning to produce a homogeneous chipped material with a maximum thickness of 4 mm and the particularity to ensure the total absence of big piece and sawdust.
This granulometry is obtained without refiner at the output, which ensures:

• maintaining the efficiency of the chipper even after years of use,
• no jamming in output
• no sawdust (chippers with refiners sometimes even re-chip small granulometry),
• a lower absorbed power,
• quieter operation.

BIG PIECES

The big pieces of wood, of variable length and thickness, causes some troubles :

• need to screen when making compost, and these splinters can cause blockages in the ground at the use of compost;
• risk of blocking the feeding screw in automatic boilers with the damage it causes;
• risks of hurting animals xhen used as animal bedding.

SAWDUST

Sawdust is producet by chippers equiped with a refiner; with this equipment, some produts which are already thin enough can't go out of the chipper and are re-chipped many times by the refiner.
Sawdust causes some troubles :

• need for multiple reversals when making compost; sawdust tends to suffocate the fermentation and have a decomposition rate different from the rest of bigger chips ;
• production of "flights" in automatic boilers, with the dirt that causes ;
• risks of breathing troubles for animals when used as animal bedding.

HYDRAULIC BOUGH-DRAGGER

The chippers can work by "gravity feeding", which means the boughs are dragged by the only strengh of the blades, without any dragger's help. This option doesn't change the chipped material quality, which is not related to the feeding speed. However, in this situation, it is best to prepare the bushy branches and forked and adjust the maximum diameter to the power available.
Hydraulic bough-dragger is a guaranty of a best comfort during working, an increased chipper's production and an absorbed power management. It allows to reach the maximal capacities of the chipper, whatever could be the available power -with some limits, of course.
The hydraulic bough-dragger is composed of following pieces :

• a main hydraulic pump (fitted on the disk or the diesel engine) (except on SUPER-PAIN 450);
• rollers driven by 2 slow hydraulic motors, high efficiency;
• pressure and opening of the rollers activated by a controlled jack;
• a distribution group with the necessary valves and regulators (except on SUPER-PAIN 450) ;
• a ventilated radiator ensuring optimum operating temperature even in harsh conditions;
• control of the absorbed power (“no stress”) by continuous measurement of the disc’s speed indexed at the startup of the rollers (optional on SUPER-PAIN 450).

REMINDERS FOR THE CHOICE OF A CHIPPER

When we want to apply the Methods of Jean PAIN with branches of a diameter bigger than 8mm, we must chip the branches. (grass and fallen leaves can be added to the heap without chipping)
First, please remind the word of Jean PAIN on the page 48 of his book THE METHODS OF JEAN PAIN : "... it is better to have a long, thin fragment than a short, thick one ..." .
Experience shown us that the thickness of these fragments shouldn't in any case exceed 4mm, and that the best thickness was around 2 or 3mm. The materials should never be reduced to sawdust or pulp (risk of suffocation).
The most important thing to get is the good granulometry before composting. Any refining during composting will change negatively the compost value and lost an important part of the mass of the fermenting heap. Similarly, any refining after the composting phase releases inhibitors blocked in the biggest chips. Any additional manipulation (refining, screening, turning, ...) greatly increases the cost of compost.
SUPER-PAIN chippers obtain this granulometry at the first -and only- cut.

At the choice of a chipper, no matter it is big or small, these are the main points to remind :

• The chipper must respect the granulometry as we defined it upper :
  • better a chip than a splinter ;
  • maximum thickness 4mm, even on small branches ;
  • wood's fiber must be cut short anough to let the water infiltration ;
  • chipper should not turn the wood into pulp or sawdust.
• the chipper must be able tu chip any fresh or humid vegetals.
• the chipper must be very strong-made. Wood produces very bad vibrations at chipping, which could damage the chipping unit. The more the chipping unit is heavy, the less vribrations will damage it (inertial effect).
• a chipper cutting the wood needs less power than one which crush or defiber it, for the same granulometry at output.
• a chipper whose blades are fixed on a disk needs less power than a chipper whose blades are fixed on a rotor, for the same granulometry at output.
• a hammer mill (crusher) is sensitive to plants with large fibers (jam), and does not respect the granulometry without the addition of grids.
• a chipper with grids or recycling is sensitive to humidity (jam).
• about small or medium chippers designed to be moved manually, prefer ones equipped with large wheels with solid tires (like wheel barrow).
• for the safety, the hopper should be long enough so that no one could unintentionally touch the chipping organ (disk), the chipping system should not reject splinters by the hopper.
• a simple chipper will be easier to maintain than a complex one.
• during trial chipping, do not simply chip maximum diameter. Check the good granulometry even on small branches.