Can large tree branches be chipped?

Yes, large tree branches can be chipped, but this is dependent on the overall size of the branches, the type of wood it is, and what kind of wood chipper you are using. Here at Nottingham Tree Surgeons, we use powerful professional machinery that can chip many large branches down into small pieces of wood. Not only does this greatly help in clearing away tree waste, but it also keeps your gardens and property looking tidy and presentable.

A small chipper will only be able to Chip smaller branches. Larger machines are better able to take in thicker, heavier pieces of wood. Before we start chipping, we usually get a look at the branches and try and work with the right machines so that we can get the work completed efficiently, while also reducing the risk of damage to the machinery itself.

The type of tree that the wood is is also something that can affect how easy it is for machines to do the chipping.

For example, the chips that we would get from a large Oak tree would be tougher, and perhaps heavier, than the chips that we might chip from some other trees.

Large branches can also contain other obstacles that will make them harder to chip than other woods. This could be thick knots, bends, or other parts of the branch which are simply too heavy. We always take time to examine the wood.

The way in which wood lies, or whether it is old/rotten may well determine if they can be chipped. In some cases very dry or rotten woods can be harder for the machinery, and rotten branches may break down strangely. Not all bits of wood would want to be put through a chipper as they may also contain wires or other scrap.

The largest advantages of Chipper usage are that it saves on garden space; by piling the wood out of the way it makes everything so much tidier. A large pile of branches would take up a lot of room, both on a property that you live on or in, and on a workspace. Once you have chipped the wood, the volume of wood is decreased so that it can easily be disposed of or stored.

The chips from the branches can also be quite useful as an alternative to being thrown away; you can put the chips around trees/plants etc in your garden that would have the desired effect upon it. This saves on using a larger area, and also helps the ground stay moist, and can help make areas of your garden look very pleasant. Try not to pack these chips around the base of a tree as you will get rot etc that way.

If parts of the branches are actually too big for the chipper as a whole, it will be a need to perhaps cut them smaller so they will fit into the machinery. Large trees will be tougher, so it may be that you may need to use machinery that is larger or is a professional grade to deal with them efficiently. This will ultimately save time.

Your property is part of the equation; if you have particularly large branches then you may need large pieces of machinery, and thus large amounts of space; if your drive is particularly cramped, then it will mean we need to move wood through other parts of the property in order to be able to deal with it, this will unfortunately take longer. We will of course check the areas of property for the chipper usage before we continue with using the machinery.

Machinery can be very sharp and dangerous and requires that everyone keeps away from the chipper when in use. It’s really something that you should let professional trees surgeons do as a job as although there are large branches, they do have a weight to them when considering how large they really are and whether a machine can lift it properly without any injury.

People often ask me if the branches themselves can be chipped, and in most situations that yes, but certain parts of a large branch that will perhaps weigh so much, these may well be too thick to be chipped or that particular part of the branch should be logs/wood. These are pieces that should not go into a chipper if too heavy or too thick.

The overall size of a wood chipper is a factor to take into consideration; some people choose smaller machinery to use themselves, for a small task, where some trees require greater machinery, by looking at trees individually we know where we can safely say which size of machine should be used for all different trees.

The size of the volume of wood is another factor to consider; a lot of wood will necessarily take up space when laid around a particular area of your property that will obviously require more work for a chipper and for placing wood chip etc. At Nottingham Tree Surgeons we work together with people who require us to do pruning etc, and ask you where you want your wood chip to be put once the job has finished or if you want any waste removed after the chipper.

Wood chippers may sometimes be used to aid various different types of work such as pruning, etc. When they have finished trees, and this creates large piles, you might want to chip this, and then it is much less hassle. There are some types of branches that shouldn’t ever go into a wood chipper, and these are normally branches that lie on the ground as that may produce sharp objects like wires, etc that would either break the chipper’s blades or be a real hazard. This means all branches must be checked.

When you have loads of branches left after work has finished, they may be chipped to clear space on your property. At Nottingham Tree Surgeons we understand that the branches may be quite thick too, so may well refuse if they are too large.

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