Looking for advise on a chipper

[MattyF]

5 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

A mate has had Schleisings for years, always buys new from Overland, won’t have anything else.

The last one he had was/is a total dog from new and Overland were pretty hopeless - I’d have been a lot less patient than my friend (it should have gone back for a full refund but they had him dragging it up and down the country several times for repairs with no compensation and no offer of a loan machine). 
I’d personally never deal with them after seeing how he was treated (and he still won’t speak badly of them!). 

Aye I’ve heard you say that before … personally my experience of them and the machines has never been a bad one, I think unfortunately you will always get one or two machines from anywhere that will be like that but I’ve never heard any one really say anything bad about them other than the paint work…. and the new ones are mostly galvanised anyway. 
I had a 220mx  with thousands of hours on and it was still on its original bearings but my TW needs a new set every 300 hrs ! 

[Mick Dempsey]

5 minutes ago, Peter-k said:

Why avoid the först I had one on hire and didn’t think it was too bad. 

Just personal experience.

I had an ST8, terrible machine, worst chipper I ever owned.

[Will C]

Our forst experiences match

micks. Great machine when it running well but the brake downs were regular. In fairness redwood did sort them but frustrated with the Agro it causes doesn’t come close 

[AJGard]

Request some demos👍 all the different manufacturers will let you try these machines for a day. Having owned TW, GM and Forst myself I wouldn't look back from the 3 Forsts we have now. Give them all a try, they all have their pros and cons 

[Brushcutter]

Get some demos. I really like the Greenmech Evo 165 but others I work with don't and prefer the 230 from timberwolf. I like the 230 but I think the forst and Greenmech feel more productive. 

 

Jensons I like the 540 with the tapered rollers great on bendy bits. What I don't like on the Jenson is you get an extra oil because the drive to the rollers is oil immersed. If you go down to the 530 with the old school stress control reset you will be sad. I personally hate the Jenson and forst buttons.

[Gordon S]

I like Timberwolf just because of ease of getting parts  but you do pay a premium.

I've hired ST6P and thought it was great.

But just from threads on here the Briggs and Stratton Efi Vangard VTwin is to be avoided.

[Excels1or]

Unpopular opinion perhaps, but I'd go with the new ST6P. Forst have always worked well for us 

[Mike Hill]

I am a Jenson fan.

Good solid reliable chippers made from real steel with over sized wear parts.

[Sviatoslav Tulin]

Forst ST6P there 400 hours no problems yet, seems ST8 have more problems than ST6 , maybe they use ST6platform for ST8 and that cause mechanical problems ? performance wise Forst IS VERY GOOD .Still good dealer nearby is a must and cancel all others small minuses in my opinion.I think build quality wise TP  is best  chipper I had experience with ,but parts and service support is very bad at least in Ireland.

[maybelateron]

I have a 2016 Forst TR6 diesel, with low hours, and a 2013 Jensen A540 turntable, again with low hours. The interlocking rollers on the Jensen have formidable pulling/crushing ability, but the Forst is still pretty good. Forst prone to getting bits of conifer build up and stopping the top roller from seating down fully - sometimes can clear it by putting a big log through, but often have to undo the springs to clean it out. I had a bearing fail on the top roller assembly on the Jensen at about 600 hours, surprised by that. Forst are excellent with parts back up and technical advice; Jensen parts take too long, and I have too often had to wait for them to arrive from Germany.