In article ,
"PrecisionmachinisT" wrote:

FWIW, I have a fairly large burn pile I'm going to torch probably tomorrow
and pretty sure I haven't used the chipper in at least 5 years.

Other than the burn part....

I rented a monster chipper 8 years ago. Got a free "upgrade" in size (6"
to 9") since the rental place didn't have the size I reserved in working
order. VW engine (1600 cc.) Miserable, but effective, at least where
things had been piled specifically to get chipped. Unless they had
grapevines in them, which would jam the chipper up, so those had to be
removed (once you've cleared a 36" disc a few times, you learn to pull
the vines ahead of feeding the branches...) Random piles took too long
to disassemble to be efficient getting into the chipper.

I could use a decent hammermill for grinding up small stuff to rot
faster, but haven't found one I'd care to spend money on. Bigger "stuff
you might chip" mostly ends up as firewood.

So, I pile brush. If feeling moderately impatient, I pile horse manure
on the brush pile. With or without manure, the brush pile will shrink
over time. Either more brush gets added to the top, or the pile shrinks
to nothing. The active piles are worth manuring, just to weight them
down for more space to pile in the first place, and for the faster rot
(and further space created by shrinkage) in the second.

This will not work so well in desert climates, I suppose. Here, stuff
left out will inevitably rot, and do so faster if helped along.

Not so quick as chip or burn, but a lot simpler & quieter. Just pick an
out of the way spot and pile brush.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.