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

Having never used a chipper before, I was reluctant to buy one for fear of injuring myself. However, after watching a video of the Great Circle Mini Chipper, I was persuaded that it was suitable for me. And it was! It was fairly simple to assemble. Next surprise -- it started right up.I bought the GC Mini Chipper to deal with the many dead branches that fall on my property. Most of them are less than 2" in diameter. The chipper had no problem "grabbing" the branches and spitting out the chips. Within a very few minutes I was very comfortable and confident using the chipper.Some time after receiving the chipper, there was a noticeable fall-off in its efficiency. Lacking prior experience, I didn't know how much usage to expect from the blades. So I called customer service at GC. When i got a recorded request to leave my name and number, I did so with deep doubts that I was going to receive a call back. Mirabile dictu, Sandra called me the next day. She listened carefully and said she was committed to helping me. She literally sounded happy to discover that my chipper was still under warranty. She asked me to send pictures of the blades and my purchase receipt. (When I took pictures of the blades, I could plainly see that the were worn.) Despite my unusual schedule, Sandra persevered. When we spoke she explained that the problem seeme to be simply that the blades were worn. Unfortunately, wear is not covered by warranty. Sandra explained that the life of the blades depends on various factors, importantly the density of the wood one is chipping. Sandra quickly arranged to send me new blades.All told, the customer service that I received from GC was exceptional.

The assembly directions were inconsistent but we managed to get it put together in a decent amount of time. Unfortunately, the unit is not very well balanced so will tip over if you are not careful to put the wheels in a divot. It is also very unwieldy to maneuver on uneven ground. All that aside, it performs as advertised and does a very good job chipping up the branches we loaded into it. I noticed that it doesn't mulch up a lot of leaves very well but the branches are absolutely not a problem.All in all, we are happy with it and it will help us greatly on our homestead.

Arrived sooner than expected and very well packaged. Assembly was straight forward with decent instructions. After adding oil and gas, it started on the first pull. The engine is powerful and controls are well placed. I especially like the variable speed control. This unit is primarily a chipper so it does a poor job of shredding but will eat up leaves and twigs if feed slowly. Three inch green Douglas fir limbs bogged it down and stopped. Two inches is no problem so anything bigger I just split before feeding. I was using a standard garbage can to collect the mulch output when I suddenly realized that the exhaust muffler was to close to the garbage can causing it to melt. I now use a five gallon bucket since it sits below the muffler output.It appears that it will be a major task to replace the blades as the entire unit needs to be disassembled. Additionally, there was no listing of any part numbers for either the engine or the chipper itself which will be problematic in the future. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend this chipper at a very reasonable price.UPDATE: I have used the chipper for about ten hours and it works pretty well but the blades became dull rather quickly. I was chipping mostly green Douglas fir limbs and some dry oak branches. I was surprised how fast they became dull. I purchased a replacement set and replaced the dull blades. The process is quite difficult. The entire chipper must be disassembled to get to the blades and its difficult to get the bolts off of the original blades. Other chippers I have had were much easier to access and took a lot less effort. After replacing the blades it works great again. Overall, I like the unit a lot but blade replacement is a real pain. UPDATE: I have now used this chipper for four months. The engine is great and starts right up. The #1 problem with this chipper is the blades. They become dull VERY fast. After about an hour of use (chipping oak limbs) the blades effectiveness drops to about 20% of normal. As a result, the blades need to be replaced. In order to replace the blades, the unit needs to be completely disassembled, new blades installed and then reassembled. The process takes between one and two hours. I spend more time replacing the blades than I do actually chipping. It's a shame because with new blades this unit works great.