A wood chipper turns a pile of branches into a neat heap of mulch, which saves trips to the garden site and gives you free cover for beds and paths. The wrong machine is a frustration: a small electric shredder chokes on wattle, while a big towable chipper is wasted on a suburban garden. This guide explains petrol, PTO and diesel machines, branch capacity, disc and drum designs and what to check before you buy a wood chipper for sale. Tell us what you need and dealers send you free quotes, with no obligation.
Branch capacity comes first
Chippers are rated by the thickest branch they take. Be honest about what you cut:
- Up to about 4 cm: electric garden shredders for soft prunings and leaves
- About 7 to 10 cm: petrol garden chippers for hedges, fruit trees and small branches
- About 12 to 15 cm: tractor PTO or larger petrol machines for plots and farms
- 15 cm and more: towable diesel chippers for tree fellers and contractors
Run a machine at its limit every day and it wears quickly. Buy one size up from your usual branch.
Petrol, PTO or diesel
A petrol wood chipper machine stands alone and moves on two wheels, which suits gardens and smallholdings. A PTO chipper runs off a tractor and is a good fit if you already own one, as you skip a second engine to maintain. A diesel towable chipper is built for daily trade work, sits on its own trailer and feeds from a wide hopper, often with powered feed rollers that pull branches in.
Disc or drum
A disc chipper has knives on a heavy spinning disc and throws an even chip, good for mulch. A drum chipper has knives on a drum and handles bushy, leafy brush well. Either way, the knives need sharpening or turning, and the anvil needs setting. Ask how easy it is to reach the knives, whether spares are stocked locally and who services the machine near you.
Safety and the mulch
Look for a stop bar across the feed hopper that you can reach from either side, a hopper long enough to keep arms away from the rollers and a chute that turns. Feed from the side, butt end first, and never reach in. Wear eye and ear protection and gloves without loose cuffs. Fresh chips make good mulch; see wood chipping and mulching. If you only chip once a year, wood chipper hire may cost less.
What to include in your request
- Thickest branch you usually chip
- Petrol, PTO or diesel
- How often you will use it
- Whether you need it delivered
- Spare knives and a service plan
Wood Chippers for different clients
- Homeowners: turning hedge clippings and fruit tree prunings into mulch for beds and paths
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: chipping branches on site so the complex sends fewer loads to the dump
- Farms, smallholdings and plantations: a PTO chipper for orchard prunings, wattle and windbreak trimmings
- Businesses and commercial property: a grounds team chipping prunings from office parks and hotel gardens
- Schools, churches and municipalities: parks and cemeteries chipping branches into mulch for municipal beds
- Developers and building sites: reducing brush from a cleared stand to chips before it is carted off
- Servitudes and fire breaks: chipping branches cut from servitudes and fire breaks on the spot
- Tree fellers, landscapers and garden services: tree fellers and garden services buying a towable chipper for daily work
Frequently asked questions
How much is a wood chipper in South Africa?
What size wood chipper do I need for a garden?
Can a wood chipper handle palm fronds and gum bark?
Who sells the chipper, you or the dealer?
Wood Chippers by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg