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Wood chippers for sale at Ritchie Bros. span capacity classes from 6 to 21 inches, in both PTO-driven and self-powered configurations, so the right machine comes down to matching capacity and power to the material you chip most often rather than buying the biggest unit on the lot.

What size wood chipper do I need?

Match the chipper's capacity to the largest material you chip regularly, then size up a class or two for a safety margin.

• 6–12 inch capacity: lighter machines with lower-horsepower engine options, suited to routine pruning, trimming, and brush where you're not regularly feeding large-diameter wood.
• 15 inch and larger: built for businesses that regularly chip large branches or whole trees.
• 18–19 inch and up: some of these units exceed 10,000 lbs — worth checking against your tow vehicle's rating and any CDL requirements before you bid.

The rule of thumb manufacturers use: take the average diameter you expect to chip and buy the next size class up, not the exact match. A business chipping 8-inch material regularly is better served by a 12- or 15-inch machine than an 8-inch one.

Disc or drum wood chipper — which is right for me?

Disc chippers need less horsepower and fuel for a given diameter; drum chippers handle higher volumes of brush and limb material more easily.

Disc chipper: knives mounted on a disc face, cutting across the grain at roughly a 45-degree angle to the feed wheels. Best suited for larger-diameter material at lower horsepower and fuel use — cupped fan blades throw chips farther, which helps when loading a chase truck.

Drum chipper: knives mounted on a horizontal drum, cutting at roughly 90 degrees to the feed wheels, positioned close to them with a larger throat opening. Best suited for high-volume brush and limb work, including palm fronds — the tighter feed geometry also reduces material lodging or jamming.

Many larger drum machines use an oversized four-knife drum that chips big wood more like a disc, at lower horsepower and fuel burn than a standard drum setup — worth a look if you want drum-style volume without stepping up a full horsepower class.

How much horsepower does a wood chipper need?

Horsepower requirements scale with capacity class, from roughly 15 HP on the smallest units up past 100 HP on the largest commercial machines.

• 4-inch capacity class: around 15–30 HP.
• 6-inch capacity class: around 20–50 HP.
• 8-inch and larger commercial capacity classes: 35 HP up to 100+ HP, depending on throughput and feed type.

A hydraulic, self-contained infeed roller (versus a gravity-fed chute) also pulls more power at a given capacity, since the roller is doing work the operator would otherwise do by hand.

PTO-driven or engine-powered — what's the difference?

A PTO chipper runs off your tractor's engine and has no separate engine to maintain; an engine-powered chipper is self-contained and doesn't need a tractor at all.

PTO units are typically the lower-cost way into a given capacity class if you already run a tractor with enough PTO horsepower to drive it — just confirm the tractor can also lift the chipper you're considering. Engine-powered, towable chippers trade that dependency for independence: tow it behind a truck or ATV and run it anywhere, which is why most higher-capacity commercial units on our listings are self-powered rather than PTO-driven.

Every wood chipper listed here includes usage hours, location, and equipment history, and many have IronClad Assurance inspection reports available so you can compare capacity, horsepower, and condition across listings before you bid.