If you have lots of woody brush to deal with, and you have a 13hp or larger (11hp or larger if diesel) engine on your walk-behind tractor, this implement will get the job done FAST. The steep input chute angle plus the aggressive 2-blade design on the chipper flywheel makes it virtually self-feeding. You just put the stuff in the hopper and pretty much let go! Another great feature of this unit (and people have asked us for this feature for years on our Chipper/Shredder units, but the chamber designs of those models simply will not work with it) is a top discharge chute which will actually “shoot” the chips into a truck bed, wheelbarrow, garden trailer, etc. The end louver of the discharge chute is adjustable up & down to control the angle of discharge in a 75 degree range or so. For comparing the speed of chipping material for this unit vs. the Chipper/Shredder combo machines: the “Max. Chipping Production” of this unit is 210 Cubic feet per hour (TWICE the chipping production of the BIO-150 Chipper-Shredder).

The limitation of this model is that it is NOT, technically, a “Chipper/Shredder”, and therefore not designed to handle wet material at all. It is incredibly fast dealing with dry, woody material (Max. Diameter 2.5”), but green garden waste or damp leaves will clog the discharge chute quickly. (If the branches/brush you are feeding into it have green leaves on them, this won’t bother it…the ratio of woody material going in vs. leaves will be sufficient for the woody stuff to blow the leaves on out without clogging.)

We actually tested it as kind of a “straw chopper/blower” too…(really, we used hay, but the concept is the same): It did a good job, but the main limitation with this type of material is that if you try to feed too much in at once, you’ll clog the input hopper because of it’s “funnel-shaped” design: you have to toss in handfuls not much bigger than the bottom of the hopper. (We also ran into trouble with some of the hay that was damp…as mentioned above, damp material clogs the output chute.)

While the Chipper/Shredders we carry are more versatile in terms of the material they will handle, there is certainly an application for this implement because of its speed (as far as dealing with brush/small branches: about 4 to 6 times faster than the Chipper/Shredder combination units) and its ability to “shoot” the chipped material into a truck, wheelbarrow, canvas sack you tie onto the discharge, etc.

One important thing to keep in mind on this unit is that is does not have a exact physical limitation on the size of material you put in the hopper (the chipper/shredder combo units have a design that simply won’t let you put anything “too large” through their chipper input chutes, because it won’t fit through the feed hole at the base of the chute). The hopper on this machine is about 8 inches across at its smallest! Therefore, you COULD drop a 4 or 6 inch diameter branch in the hopper, and the result would be the chipper will instantly stall. (In order to protect the walk-behind tractor gearing & clutch from incidents like this, the chipper is equipped with drive belts, which will slip when the chipper is stalled.)

So, it must be kept in mind that 2.5 inches is the MAXIMUM diameter of branch this chipper will accept, and if the chipper is repeatedly stalled, the drive belts will quickly fail from overheating. (They are a standard size and, should the need arise to replace them, they can be obtained from any auto parts or lawn & garden store.)

Be advised that Chippers in general are designed for handling GREEN wood…they will also handle dry (seasoned) wood OK, but you will have to sharpen the chipper blades more frequently.

Fits BCS or Grillo* tractors 13hp & up Gas, 11hp & up diesel.
(*requires PTO adapter to fit Grillo G131)

Click Here for a video of the BIO-90 chipper in action

NOTE REGARDING COLORS: While we typically try to match the colors of the Chipper/Shredders to the brand of tractors they are fitting on, we cannot always guarantee this. (For example, Caravaggi’s “standard” color is RED…so occasionally a red one comes through. Works just as well, though!)

NOTE REGARDING SHIPPING: To save our customers money AND reduce the chances of shipping damage, these units are shipped dis-assembled (fully assembled, it is so large, it would cost considerably more to ship).

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Caravaggi Bio-90 High-speed Brush Chipper

• Shipped disassembled
• Maximum Chipping size: 2.5”
• May require additional accessory to fit BCS 660, 750 or 948
• PTO adapter required to fit Grillo G131
• Item BIO-90 fits BCS 749 - 948, Grillo G131 w/ adapter
• Item BIO-90-G fits Grillo G110
• MSRP: $2299 $2100