GreatCircleUSA Mini Wood Chipper Shredder Mulcher Ultra Duty 7 HP Gas Powered 3" Inch Max Wood Capacity EPA/CARB Certified Aids in Fire Prevention and Building Firebreaks

I have used my GreatCircle 2.5" chipper 5 times now. After renting industrial chippers for landscape needs, I decided to purchase this smaller model. I deliberated going with this 2.5" vs other 3" models. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from these smaller chippers. To my surprise, it has been great chipping my live oak, cedar elm, cedar (TX juniper) trees around my property and saved me time & money from having to rent a larger chipper. Here are some pro's and con's that come to mind:Pro's:- put together easily & initially started up fine. Received well packaged.- engine has started up each time w/ no issue. Changed oil after 5 hrs use per manual.- have chipped about 10 cu yds of material.- portability of machine & overall build quality is solid.Con's:- compared to industrial model, I have found that this small model is like a toilet plunger. You have to feed in material and hammer it in (w/ large wood piece, not your hands!) on the smaller branches.- separate manual for engine- unit is best braced so it doesn't move on you during heavier chipping. It's portable, but downside is that it can vibrate and shift on you as you go about your business.- doesn't include oil funnel for hard to reach filling. After reading reviews, bought this (a must) to make it easier: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EH4V0Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1- have emailed customer service inquiring if my 2.5" chipper will require same replacement blades as 3" model. Replacement blades are available on Amazon. Waiting to hear back.All in all - this has surpassed my expectations. If you need a smaller unit for lighter work, this may ideal. Yes, I wish I had selected a larger model. But with that comes heavier weight. As long as I feed 2.5" and smaller, it works fine. Also, be prepared to make cuts so branches are straight. 2.5" is not a lot of flexibility, but cutting was easier when it went branches went straight in. Also, unit DOES mulch leaves. I cleaned up area regularly by throwing in all debris into hopper. I did have a neighbors "loquat" tree with heavy leaves. The machine exhaust tube did get plugged. It was easy to remove 3 bolts and clear the discharge tube & I was back at it. So, given my need for annual pruning and clearing of trees, I have enjoyed this unit and the benefit of the resulting mulch vs the burning or headaches in dealing w/ the brush piles.

Product operates just fine. The chips are small and therefore compost relatively quickly.If the 3” size isn’t an issue, I would get the one with the onboard mulcher. Twigs don’t chip very well. They tend to come out whole and take the longest to turn into dirt.I can only use the chipper for about 20 minutes before my back can’t take anymore for several days. In the future I’ll be mounting it on a platform or raised pallet. It’s not a problem if I'm can work standing up straight. As is, it’s a true back killer.Update: after further use I replaced the blades (I’m not a great blade sharpener) It doesn’t take long for the blades to dull, but it is dull blades that let the twigs come out battered but mostly whole.The weld on top of spark arrester has broken loose with about 8-10 hours of use.Overall I’m pleased enough how well the motor runs and ease of starting.

So, I have 3 huge piles of wood. I mean, LOTS OF WOOD.I waited and waited and finally found this on sale. It arrived well, missing one nut, but not a big deal.I only ran this for about 2 hours, the oil fill is ANNOYING to say the least, honestly, even the oil should have come with a special funnel too.Other than that, I shoved branches 3" wide ( some with Y branches that were trimmed, but still there). It did bog down if you let it feed all at once( LIke a 5 foot 3" branch, would kill the engine all at once). Overall though, I haven't even cranked it up past half power and it has worked fine and well beyond what these reviews led me to believe.It's a wood chipper, It works great, it CAN HANDLE 3" wood. Maybe not "Wet" fresh stuff, but it does work well and as advertised, so far.If it throws a rod, or some other "low quality" thing I'll update my review. I'll be using it at least 8 hours tomorrow, for a total of 10 hours, I expect it to work fine, if it doesn't I'll let you know.Overall I suspect the people having issues with this machine just don't use common sense. In the directions it tells you the top two nuts won't fit on the chute if you just press on the chute, following the directions makes them fit easily and perfectly, right there on the paper.As for an engine to only run for that short period of time and "lock-up" they probably didn't put oil in it, probably not admitting it so they could get a refund.As for the capacity, it cuts fine. IF you put TWIGS in there, like tiny things that shouldn't even go in a wood chipper, yes it comes out in strings, because its a tiny twig and doesn't get " chopped". Any wood with any girth produces nice small chips of wood.Overall, For the price, this thing rocks. I chose this over every other option in the price range and I am not disappointed. It runs smooth, cuts good, I mean, I can't complain about anything, except for maybe the one missing nut, even that though, isn't a reason to leave a seller and product a bad review. It's a $0.15 part, that it could very well do without.If your looking for a chipper and considering this one, The "bad reviews" are nonsense, It's sad because I almost didn't buy it, and regretted it when I did before it arrived. I'm so glad I did!!!