One of the most misunderstood aspect of large scale chipping operations revolves around how fast you can feed the chipper.  Some  chipping entreprenuers try to solve this problem with high speed feeds on their chippers which are extremely dangerous and only capable of doing smaller sized branches. Intelligent professionals like Chipper Chuck realize the speed of feeding is not limited by how fast the feeder takes the material from the job crew's hands, but how fast the wood and brush gets to the mouth of the chipper. When you hire a chipper to come out to dispose of your wood and brush, one way or another you are going to be paying by the hour.  Even if you receive a "by the job" quotation, it will be based primarily on how long the chipping company believes the job will take. It is very difficult to estimate as each pile is different that is why we went to an hourly rate to be fair to the customer and to the chipper crew. It can be much more benificial to the customer because customers can have extra help and reduce the cost significantly. However, if you are fit, able, and willing, you can cut the time spent on the chipping job into a half or perhaps a third of the time, reducing the overall cost dramatically.  The tip here is to let the Chipping professional do the actual feeding of the chipping machine, while you and your helpers bring the material up to the chipping  machine.  You shouldn't actually "feed the machine" but you can really save time and money by "feeding" the Chipper professional.  Here are some detailed hints on how to make this choice work best for you. === HINTS === When you stack you wood or brush, try to make small side by side piles, this makes  it easier for you or the Chipping professional to pick the material up and carry it to the chipper. There can not be any metal, ie: nails, wire fencing cables or other metal in the brush or serious damage can occur to the chipper or operator. When stacking the pile, place larger end of branches, limbs, or tree trunks all at the same end of the pile -- also try to face them towards obvious roads or where you believe the Chipping  professional is likely to place the chipping machine. When handing brush or wood to the Chipping professional, actually pass off the material, don't just drop it at their feet, since that will mean they have to bend down and  pick it up, which adds a lot of unnecessary time to the chipping process.  It is bettter to stand and wait than dropping the material and going back for more.  If you need to move piles closer to the chipping site, do that on your own time, not that of the Chipping professional. Get lots of helpers.  For instance, four helpers will keep Chipper Chuck's professional crew very busy and can cut the job's execution time by as much as 75% If there is road or clear field access, lay your piles in a line along the road so the Chipping professional can simply move forward to process each set of one to three piles at a time, rather than having piles scattered all over your lot. If there is road or clear field access, making the surface passable is very important.  Even the best four wheel drive vehicle will get stuck in mud, especially in foul weather or on steep angles.  The best advice here is to lay down some dry material like gravel but avoid mowed grass or clay like dirt.  If you cannot lay down some dry or traction making surface, lay your wood or brush piles elsewhere.  This will save time lost in navigating in and out of positions as well as prevent loss of time while using winches and chains to pull the chipping equipment out of mire.  - Chipper Chuck