After nearly two days of research, I pulled the trigger on purchasing the pictured wood chipper. What I learned is that size matters. A chipper rated at 3″ capacity is lucky to handle 2″ diameter branches. A unit specified at 4 inches is best used for 3″ and under. This knowledge was gained by watching at least 100 YouTube videos of chippers in action. I also discovered that designs featuring a combination chipper (fed through a narrow side-mounted tube) and shredder (fed through a large hopper on top) are sub-optimal at both tasks and limited to smaller size machines. I found one company that makes a battery-powered unit but its capacity and run time were both insufficient for the type of work I can anticipate. In the end, I settled on a Power King 5″ 14hp model with an electric starter. What impressed me about the company is that the founder demonstrated the machine successfully chipping a 6″ diameter log which is above its rated capacity. I liked the robust construction quality and ease of serviceability. I also contacted customer support in advance to make sure I could speak to a knowledgeable human, easily order replacement parts, and/or get help with a technical issue.

I am not happy to have purchased a machine that requires gasoline to run, especially after having purged my garage of all such tools and replacing them with battery-powered substitutes. As a consolation, rather than burning all of our downed trees and limbs, we will be converting them into wood chips to be used as mulch around the yard.

UPDATE: I decided to cancel this order before it shipped. I just could not get past owning a gas-powered tool again.