Jo beau 300 reviews

[carsmarco252]

Hello. Im looking to invest in a mini chipper this year. I only generally work on smaller and medium sized trees and hedge reductions. I have a van and twin axle trailer. I currently brash into my trailer and go to the green waste tip most days. I have access to a timberwolf 230 for bigger jobs from a local hire centre. I want a mini chipper to make my life easier and she time. I've looked into greenmech cs100, haecksler 4 (my friend has one and is very good) and the Jo beau 300. I'm leaning towards the Jo beau. My reasons are... Dealer only 30 minutes away, narrower than the other two, lower in height so I can get into my van without removing discharge and most importantly it is 50kg lighter than the other two so I should be able to pull onto my van. I tried getting the haecksler into my van and had to dismantle it to make it lighter and shorter to fit under the roof. 

My question is, are they good, reliable machines, do they pull the brash in well and are they worth the extra money? 

 

Many thanks. 

[Steve Bullman]

Have you read the wee chipper club thread?  It’s quite a read but covers everything you could possibly want to know 

[Vespasian]

I think you've answered your own question in a way...

 

You want something easy to get into your van without breaking the thing in parts..  does the Jo Beau do that?..   if it does, then its worth the extra money..

 

I'm sure its as good as the other chippers you mentioned as well... they all seem to be much as a much'ness to me..

[carsmarco252]

Hello. I've read through that too. There seems a lot odd people leaning towards the cs100 but it's just too heavy for what I want. I was after reviews from Jo beau owners and their thoughts. 

[nepia]

11 hours ago, carsmarco252 said:

 

My question is, are they good, reliable machines, do they pull the brash in well and are they worth the extra money? 

 

 

Extremely reliable:  I've had mine over 5 years and it's never let me down.  Remember the engine's a Honda GX so...

Pulling brash in well is done by sharp blades so I guess all the mini chippers will do this if the blades are thus.

Worth the extra money?  I have no idea as I've had no other mini chipper but would I expect a £2k machine to have  performed as reliably and effectively as mine has done?  Probs not.

 

I'm glad you've picked up on the weight issue:  that 50kg difference between the JB and the CS100 kills the idea of the 100 for me.  I'm not knocking it but I couldn't haul it up 8' folding ramps onto my pickup as I do the JB.

Which nicely addresses the loading issue too; ramps into a van will present no problem.

 

Have you put your mind to lashing the machine once in the van?  OK if there are good lashing points but they need to be strong; any machine with pneumatic tyres needs to be lashed tight to stop it bouncing about unless you can chock it.

 

Feel free to come back with any more q's.

 

Oh - if you need ramps go to www.theramppeople.co.uk

[Coletti]

I've no experience with the 300 but have had an m500 for several years and it is a cracking machine, very reliable and provided the knives are sharp and anvil gap set right it chips very well. Only replaced it as workload dictates I needed a larger machine

[carsmarco252]

Thankyou for the replies. My van has lots of decent lashing points so shouldn't be a problem. I'm contemplating the rotating discharge or not. When speaking to the Jo beau dealer yesterday's he told me the recent machines now come with quick release catches on  the bottom of the discharge so they can be unclipped for maintenance or actually turning it around 180 degrees and clipping it back on facing the other way!

[nepia]

8 hours ago, carsmarco252 said:

I'm contemplating the rotating discharge or not. 

Don't even contemplate a fixed chute if a rotating one's an option; you'll regret not going for a very useful attribute.

[Jonny69]

I have a very lightly used M400. Probably 3-4 years old, not many hours and its really good.

 

Apart from a couple of cracked welds and the little front tyres constantly going flat it is a great machine.

[voj maintenance]

A bit late on the post of know, but I bought a Haecksler 3 last year and I'm very happy with it, as long as I have the ramp right I can pull it into my van on my own as long as I turn the chute ( low top Citroen relay). It chips and pulls brash in brilliantly. Only 27 inches wide at the tires. Easy to maintain. The downside is the petrol cap in under the feed hopper and can be a bit awkward to fill, I'm still looking for a long flexi nozel which should sort it out. The other thing is for some reason, they are no longer haeksler 3 but skarper C90 but it is exactly the same machine. If you do some digging you might still get a Haecksler 3 at a good price.