New branch logger in action

[Billhook]

We have been using the loggings from our Remec RP150 mainly Ash and Sycamore.   Like Woodworks I found the plastic net bagging very unsatisfactory on my old SM70 Urban which was stolen.

I tried to flog the bags around the village but the main complaint was the mess they made and the fiddle of making the loggings come out of the bag.  They were also too heavy for women to lift.  And they were a faff to fill and tie and stack at my end.

The RP 150 was a lot cheaper being pto driven and works well with the little Grey Fergie which seems to have enough torque at just over idle will stall at that speed rather than break the shear pin.

 

We use the loggings from a bulk container hauled out with a tubular scuttle rather than a tapering scuttle.  They are brilliant for starting the stoves and running the one in the office.  But I would like to make people buy them off me and I was thinking of putting them in a small paper sack, like a potato sack weighing nearer 10 to 15 pounds which I could seal with a hand stitching machine.   The customer could just chuck the whole bag on the stove and light the paper and so have a firelighter and kindling all in one..  

 

There is no doubt in my mind that the loggings burn very well and are a great way to start and gee up a fire.  They also seem to last longer than you expect and produce a carpet of red hot coals.

 

The problem is that the wood would need to be dry before it was paper bagged but that should not be too much of a problem with a bit of planning.  

 

Anybody have any better ideas?  I think we need to sort this out together and create a market. 

Go and have a few beers and make that grey matter do some work!

Edited January 8, 2019 by Billhook
spelling

[Khriss]

Very impressed with this ( at first glance horrendously dangerous ) machine. I had abt 40 hect of birch I was charcoalin  fr Til hill and this machine would have halved the cutting for the kiln. The firewood output equally good. K

[Woodworks]

55 minutes ago, shavey said:

Thanks Beau for putting this branch logger video on the thread Iam pretty impressed with this set up the model you have what would you say the average length of log would be and 2-3” sounds the ideal size

10-12cm long at that diameter. You do get some smushed bits when the wood is twisty. 

[Woodworks]

20 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Very impressed with this ( at first glance horrendously dangerous ) machine. I had abt 40 hect of birch I was charcoalin  fr Til hill and this machine would have halved the cutting for the kiln. The firewood output equally good. K

They don't pull like a chipper. I did a test and holding the end you can stop it feeding. Quite handy when one end is too big to go through the machine. There is a safety bar that if you have a kill switch on the tractor you can wire it in. 

[Khriss]

14 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

They don't pull like a chipper. I did a test and holding the end you can stop it feeding. Quite handy when one end is too big to go through the machine. There is a safety bar that if you have a kill switch on the tractor you can wire it in. 

One in use on YouTube I saw was racing the pole thru  ! No tractor would stop for you in time. Thou the posted video on here looks more sane k

[PeteB]

I'd check the rating of the shear bolt rather than have a plate. Those clutches need a set torque setting and working that out would be a task! Yet a shear bolt could be down in size or material. Start with M8 at 8.8 and see how it fairs. As you say, it is a cheap weak link!

[Conor Wright]

51 minutes ago, Khriss said:

One in use on YouTube I saw was racing the pole thru  ! No tractor would stop for you in time. Thou the posted video on here looks more sane k

I've put acres of over grown biomass willow through my gr110 at ridiculous speed. One good pull and the tops are free.. we were putting 5 or 6 stems in at once, if the odd top went through so be it. But they are not at all like a chipper to pull material in.

[bankhouse builder]

3 hours ago, Billhook said:

We have been using the loggings from our Remec RP150 mainly Ash and Sycamore.   Like Woodworks I found the plastic net bagging very unsatisfactory on my old SM70 Urban which was stolen.

I tried to flog the bags around the village but the main complaint was the mess they made and the fiddle of making the loggings come out of the bag.  They were also too heavy for women to lift.  And they were a faff to fill and tie and stack at my end.

The RP 150 was a lot cheaper being pto driven and works well with the little Grey Fergie which seems to have enough torque at just over idle will stall at that speed rather than break the shear pin.

 

We use the loggings from a bulk container hauled out with a tubular scuttle rather than a tapering scuttle.  They are brilliant for starting the stoves and running the one in the office.  But I would like to make people buy them off me and I was thinking of putting them in a small paper sack, like a potato sack weighing nearer 10 to 15 pounds which I could seal with a hab]nd stitching machine.   The customer could just chuck the whole bag on the stove and light the paper and so have a firelighter and kindling all in one..  

 

There is no doubt in my mind that the loggings burn very well and are a great way to start and gee up a fire.  They also seem to last longer than you expect and produce a carpet of red hot coals.

 

The problem is that the wood would need to be dry before it was paper bagged but that should not be too much of a problem with a bit of planning.  

 

Anybody have any better ideas?  I think we need to sort this out together and create a market. 

Go and have a few beers and make that grey matter do some work!

Good idea I think Cpl did a  trial with something similar years ago like an instant fire theirs had kindling coal and fire lighters in a paper bag just put a match to it. I think a couple of fire lighters and a bagfull of loggings and light the bag then maybe be some plain bags with no lighters just throw on no mess?

[Billhook]

5 hours ago, bankhouse builder said:

Good idea I think Cpl did a  trial with something similar years ago like an instant fire theirs had kindling coal and fire lighters in a paper bag just put a match to it. I think a couple of fire lighters and a bagfull of loggings and light the bag then maybe be some plain bags with no lighters just throw on no mess?

Yes I think that the paper of the paper bag would act as a fire lighter as I do not like the idea and expense of dropping fire lighters into each bag.  I must do some experiments.

[Billhook]

8 hours ago, Khriss said:

One in use on YouTube I saw was racing the pole thru  ! No tractor would stop for you in time. Thou the posted video on here looks more sane k

They are too quick at 540 rpm, they need to be run at near idle speed so it stalls the tractor on a knotty branch.  (Very rare)