Wood chipper Hire: How to Safely Clear Your Yard and Garden

After a storm, a seasonal garden clean-up, or a tree lopping session, the pile of branches left behind can quickly become a project in itself. Hauling green waste to a tip is time-consuming, expensive, and often requires multiple trips. Wood chipper hire turns that pile into a useful resource - processing branches, prunings, and woody material into wood chip mulch that can go straight back into the garden.

At Flexihire, we offer diesel wood chipper hire across Queensland and Northern-NSW, with machines capable of handling branches from light prunings up to 150mm in diameter. This guide covers how to choose the right chipper, how to operate it safely, what PPE you need, and how to make the most of the material you produce.

##Why Hire a Wood Chipper Instead of Hiring a Skip?

For most homeowners and landscaping contractors dealing with green waste, a wood chipper is a more efficient and cost-effective solution than a skip bin - particularly for larger volumes of branchy material.

• A skip bin fills quickly with bulky branches due to the air space between them. A chipper reduces the same volume of material by up to 10:1, eliminating multiple skip hire costs.
• Chipped material has immediate practical value as garden mulch. Rather than paying to dispose of green waste, you produce a usable product on site.
• A single day of wood chipper hire is sufficient to process the green waste from most residential tree trimming or storm cleanup jobs.
• For landscaping contractors managing multiple sites, a chipper allows green waste to be processed and re-used on the same property rather than transported off site.

##Flexihire Wood Chipper Range: 100mm and 150mm Diesel

Flexihire's wood chipper hire range includes diesel-powered models suited to different branch diameters and job volumes. Choosing the right size prevents overloading the machine and ensures efficient processing throughout the job.

###100mm Diesel Wood Chipper

The 100mm diesel chipper is suited to lighter residential work - pruning clean-ups, hedge trimming waste, and branches from small to medium trees. It handles material up to 100mm in diameter and is compact enough to be manoeuvred through standard side gates and into rear gardens. It is a practical choice for homeowners and gardeners managing routine seasonal maintenance.

Best for: residential garden maintenance, pruning waste from fruit trees and garden shrubs, hedge and topiary trimmings, and light clean-up after small tree removal.

###150mm Diesel Wood Chipper

The 150mm diesel chipper is Flexihire's heavy-duty option, designed for processing larger branches and higher volumes of material. It handles branches up to 150mm in diameter, making it suitable for arborist clean-up work, storm damage clearing, large garden renovations, and land clearing tasks where significant volumes of woody material need to be processed efficiently.

Powered by a robust diesel engine, it delivers consistent performance across extended hire periods and is built to handle the demands of commercial landscaping and tree services. The high-speed drum or blade cutting mechanism reduces large branches to uniform chip quickly and with minimal operator effort. If you’ve been searching for wood chipper hire near me, the 150mm diesel is the machine most hirers in Queensland reach for when the job involves anything larger than light garden prunings.

Best for: arborist and tree service clean-ups, post-storm branch removal, large property clearances, and commercial landscaping contracts generating significant green waste volumes.

##The Hidden Dangers of Wood Chipper Operation

Wood chippers are powerful machines and are among the most hazardous pieces of equipment in the landscaping and arborist industry when operated without proper precautions. Understanding the key risks before you start is essential.

###1. Entanglement and Engulfment

The infeed chute draws material toward the cutting drum or blades at high speed. If loose clothing, long hair, gloves, or fingers come into contact with material being fed into the chute, the machine can pull the operator's hand or arm into the cutting mechanism within a fraction of a second. This is the most serious hazard associated with wood chipper operation.

Always maintain a firm grip on branches at the side rather than the end, stand to the side of the infeed chute rather than directly in front of it, and release the branch before your hands reach the infeed opening. Never attempt to push material in with your hands.

###2. Projectile Discharge

The discharge chute expels chipped material at high velocity. Bystanders within the discharge zone can be struck by chip pieces and debris, including small stones, dirt, or embedded fragments that enter the machine along with branch material. Always direct the discharge chute away from people, vehicles, and structures, and maintain a minimum exclusion zone of 10 metres around the machine during operation.

###3. Kickback from Jammed Material

If an oversized or incompatible material jams the cutting drum, the machine may stop suddenly or, in some cases, reverse-eject material back through the infeed chute. Never attempt to clear a jam manually while the machine is running. Switch the machine off, wait for the drum to stop completely, and follow the manufacturer's clearing procedure as outlined in Flexihire's Info Hub documentation.

##PPE Requirements for Wood Chipper Hire

The following personal protective equipment is required when operating a hired wood chipper. Flexihire's hire agreement and safe operating procedures specify these requirements as conditions of hire.

• Eye protection: safety glasses or a full face shield to protect against flying chip debris
• Hearing protection: diesel wood chippers operate at noise levels that can cause hearing damage with prolonged exposure - earmuffs or earplugs rated to the machine's noise output are required
• Gloves: cut-resistant gloves for handling branches - note that gloves must fit securely and not be loose or baggy, as loose gloves increase entanglement risk
• Steel-capped boots: protect feet from falling branches and debris
• Close-fitting clothing: loose clothing, scarves, and jewellery must not be worn during operation
• High-visibility vest: required on any active work site or roadside job

##How to Chip Branches Safely: Step-by-Step

Following a consistent process for each feed of material reduces the risk of incidents and keeps the machine running efficiently throughout the job.

###1. Inspect and Prepare the Material

Before feeding, check each branch for embedded wire, nails, or metal fittings. These will damage the cutting drum and may cause dangerous projectile ejection. Remove any foreign material before chipping. Sort branches by diameter and feed smaller material first to establish a rhythm and confirm the machine is running well before processing larger pieces.

###2. Start the Machine and Confirm Operation

Start the chipper according to the manufacturer's procedure and allow it to reach full operating RPM before feeding material. Check that the discharge chute is directed safely away from any people, vehicles, or structures and that the exclusion zone around the machine is clear.

###3. Feed Branches Butt-End First

Always feed branches into the infeed chute butt-end (cut end) first. Feeding tip-end first allows the branch to bounce and whip during the feed process, increasing the risk of kickback and loss of control. Hold the branch at the side, not the top, and guide it into the chute without pushing - the machine's feed rollers will draw the material in automatically.

###4. Never Overfeed

Feed material at a rate the machine can process without slowing significantly. If the engine begins to labour, stop feeding immediately and allow the drum to clear. Overfeeding is the most common cause of jams and can cause engine damage or dangerous material ejection.

###5. Clear the Area When Stopping

Before switching the machine off, allow all material in the infeed chute to process fully. Never leave material sitting in the infeed when the machine is stopped, as restart under load can cause jamming. Switch off, confirm the drum has stopped completely, and secure the machine before leaving it unattended.

##Making the Most of Your Wood Chip

The material produced by a hired wood chipper can be put to immediate practical use in the garden, reducing the need for purchased mulch and improving soil health over time.

• Apply wood chip mulch to garden beds at a depth of 75mm to 100mm to suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, and moderate soil temperature
• Keep mulch 100mm away from the base of trees and shrubs to prevent collar rot
• Allow freshly chipped material from diseased trees to dry for several weeks before applying it to garden beds, to reduce the risk of spreading disease
• Coarse chip from larger branches is ideal for garden paths and under play equipment as a soft, permeable ground cover
• If you produce more chip than your garden can use, many councils accept wood chip donations for public parks and verge planting programs

##Wood Chipper Hire in Brisbane, Across Queensland and Northern NSW

Flexihire offers wood chipper hire and wood chipper rental across 18 branches in Queensland and Northern- NSW, including Brisbane (Rocklea, Ipswich, and Caboolture), Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns. Daily and weekly hire options are available, and machines can be collected from your nearest branch or delivered to site.

For post-storm clean-up jobs or large property clearances, Flexihire can also advise on pairing a wood chipper with a cherry picker or mini excavator to make the removal of larger limbs and tree sections more efficient. Get an instant online quote or call 1300 353 944 to book your wood chipper hire today.

##Frequently Asked Questions

###What size branches can a hired wood chipper handle?

Flexihire's 150mm diesel wood chipper can process branches up to 150mm in diameter. For most residential and light commercial green waste jobs, this covers the majority of branches encountered during tree trimming, lopping, and storm cleanup. The 100mm model suits lighter residential pruning and garden maintenance.

###Do I need a licence to operate a wood chipper?

No formal licence is required to operate a wood chipper in Queensland. However, operators must be competent in the safe use of the machine and must follow the safe operating procedures outlined in Flexihire's hire agreement and Info Hub documentation.

###Can I use chipped material as garden mulch?

Yes. Wood chip produced by a chipper makes excellent garden mulch. Apply to a depth of 75mm to 100mm around garden beds and trees to suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, and gradually improve soil structure as the chips break down. Allow freshly chipped material from diseased trees to dry before applying to garden beds.

###What should I NOT put through a wood chipper?

Never feed the following into a wood chipper: branches above the machine's rated diameter capacity, material with embedded wire, nails, or metal fittings, palm fronds (fibrous material can jam the cutting drum), and vines or climbing plants that can tangle in the mechanism. Always inspect material before feeding.

###How long does it take to chip a standard yard's worth of green waste?

For a typical residential yard clean-up involving prunings and tree trimmings, a 150mm diesel chipper can process the equivalent of a standard ute load of branches in approximately 30 to 60 minutes, depending on branch size and density. Most residential jobs are completed comfortably within a single day hire.