Palax or Farmi

[Dobster]

Evening all

Im a new member and looking for your experiences with firewood processors.

I live in Campbeltown (Mull of Kintyre).  I have approximately 100 tons of larch/Sika no thicker than 12 inch, and looking for your opinions on the best processor. I’ve spoke to Rico about a Farmi 36 and Caledonian Forestry about a Palax Ks45. I’m open to chainsaw or blade, PTO or Honda engine driven(trailer) but not electric.

I’d be interested in any for sale on here and welcome your views?

 

[gdh]

If it's a one off load, especially tidy softwood it's probably better to hire one in and get it cut in a week.

 

I'm a fan of tajfun personally but palax are fine (no experience with farmi). Pto will be the cheapest option, some will require a plug for electrics on the tractor. 

 

 

[Dobster]

If it's a one off load, especially tidy softwood it's probably better to hire one in and get it cut in a week.
 
I'm a fan of tajfun personally but palax are fine (no experience with farmi). Pto will be the cheapest option, some will require a plug for electrics on the tractor. 
 
 

Thanks gdh
I’ve looked into hiring in but no one remotely near has one, the best quote for the 100 ton was 10 days and 2 operators at £240 per day. That’s a fair enough rate but my thinking is to maybe hire my own machine out as it’s a growing requirement here. I saw a Tajfun machine on Jas P Wilson’s site and will look into it further.
Thanks for the reply[emoji108][emoji106]

[Woodworks]

No experience with the Palax but the Farmi should munch through that easy enough 

[gdh]

No problem, 10 ton a day I would say is low for most machines with 2 people on softwood but they have to cover themselves - a few stubby branches on logs will slow you right down. It's a decent overall rate though. 

 

If you want to hire out I would go towards a chainsaw machine, you never know what's in other peoples wood and it's a lot quicker and cheaper to change a chain.

[Conor Wright]

As a palax ks35 owner I can comment on them, no experience with the farmi but I have a farmi chipper, built like a tank! The smaller palax is good but not fantastic, the sawchip blocks on the exit, the splitting ram is a little bit weak, overall the machine is built to a price. But it is simple to run, maintain and with decent sized timber, reasonably productive. Tajfun are better built machines, hakki pilke are worse but all of them are better than an axe when you're looking at that much wood .if you intend to hire it out, get the strongest machine you can, I sometimes have to come back to finish jobs with the log splitter and chainsaw if there is crooked or knotty hardwoods. It's ok for me, not ideal, but I'm not processing the whole time.. but if you're having to do it a lot it would be a pain

[SbTVF]

If it was just that 100ton job a japa 700 would be plenty man enough for it an could pick up a second hand one for a few grand no problem.

Tajfun is a great machine, I love mine. Needs 60hp+ tractor with weight on the front to move it but only 35hp to drive it.
It'll fly through that softwood in no time. If you had a chain deck you could expect 1-4t an hour at those sizes. Considerably slower if you're loading off a second machine with forks or similar though.

[ash_smith123]

I had the Farmi a few years ago and it is a great machine. It will fly through softwood. Get the towed honda engine one and you can take it anywhere.

[bilke_user]

Not sure if it was yourself who texted me asking to hire my machine for 50t of larch/sitka.
Certainly wasn't me that quoted you the £240 though.  For a machine and 2 men that's a steal.  In sitka on an ideal set up and with 2 men 10t/day is pretty much what the wp36 will do.  On larch it'll do a bit more but there's so many variables that it's always better to quote about 10t/day, especially if there's travelling and in the winter here days are short of daylight.
If you're looking for a processor to travel with then the WP36 is really the only viable mobile option.  Most processors in the sub £15k bracket will do around 10-15t/day and to get anything more than this you're looking at a significant investment of over £20k. Always remember that with the bigger machines you get a lot more waste product.  My Farmi cuts fairly cleanly with the 4way splitter, but when using the 6 way the extra production it does is offset with the amount of waste wood it creates.
You're more than welcome to come and see mine in action if it helps you make your mind up on what one to go for.  I'm not a dealer so what you will see is what the machine does in the real world.  I  might add that instead of a bigger/faster machine my next investment will be a bigger shed to cope with the wood being produced 

[Justme]

We charge that for one man & machine per day.

 

Snap their arm off.