advice /input help firewood processors

[R5log]

8-10 inch most of the time, ideal size is 10 to 12 inch diameter split 6 ways 12 to 14 inch long

[farmer_ben]

i had a demo of a Tajfun 400 joy this week, we set it up and filled my 1.2cube truck and 1.8 cube trailer in under an hour. that inculded all sorts of timber, bent, straight, 4" and up to 16" (max) and also included old matey boy selling it showing me and dad how it works and controls. very impressive output. so impressive I put my order in the next day. once I have timber sorted into sizes and different piles I reckon I should be doing 4 or 5 cube an hour with use of the log lift I have also ordered.

[gensetsteve]

my processor is over 5 yrs old now its had 3 sets of alloy guides 2 sets of belts an infeed belt and a blade sharpen each year, never had anything fall off it the first failed part was 2 weeks ago when one of the hydraulic motors started leaking on the conveyor.

I would like to know what lengths your all cutting to

 

We had a hakki Pilki which was 10 years old when we sold it and it must of had 6000 tones through it . The Posch has to be the best quality machine out there.

And I am sure should give 20 years of service but you pay for quality up front.

[Alycidon]

I have a Japa 700 with a manual Japa pole rack.

 

The major downside of this machine is that the timber is moved to the blade, thats fine for 1.5m lengths but any longer and they foul on the rack so need lifting or cutting with a chainsaw.

 

I load the rack with a teleporter and log grab, it takes an hour or so to service the tractor, loader, machine etc and set it up and another hour or so to take down and clear up the sawdust. On my own on 3m lengths 50mm - 250mm (most it can take) cutting 240mm long from 9am - 5pm with a short stop for water every hour I do 8 cube a day, on shorter timber with help I have done 12-14 cube.

 

I now am getting a decent pile of big trunks, 240mm long logs means 12 cuts per length usually, that means on an 6 way 78 logs (or 104 on an 8 way), that means a cubic meter every 6 logs roughly given a bigger machine.

 

I have in mind persisting with the JAPA for one more season then trade up, it has been a good machine and a big step up but volumes are increasing rapidly and time spent processing is very limited due to other business constraints. Another option might be to call in a contract processor for a few days.

 

Starting for scratch today I would spend more and have a hydraulic in feed with an option of powering a hydraulic rack. Another option is that Tajfun 400 mentioned earlier and its loader, then when you can afford it trade the loader for a proper hyd rack. A means of handling the timber mechanically is vital. Even shoving the logs into my Japa on rollers knackers me, I could not do 2 full days on the trot with it but I am quite old.

 

A

[farmer_ben]

I have a Japa 700 with a manual Japa pole rack.

 

Starting for scratch today I would spend more and have a hydraulic in feed with an option of powering a hydraulic rack. Another option is that Tajfun 400 mentioned earlier and its loader, then when you can afford it trade the loader for a proper hyd rack. A means of handling the timber mechanically is vital. Even shoving the logs into my Japa on rollers knackers me, I could not do 2 full days on the trot with it but I am quite old.

 

A

 

The Tajfun's loader looked very well thought out. Plugs straight into processor, so doesnt require tractor hydrolics. It folds up and attaches to back of processor for transport. And most importantly worked well.

[gensetsteve]

The Tajfun's loader looked very well thought out. Plugs straight into processor, so doesnt require tractor hydrolics. It folds up and attaches to back of processor for transport. And most importantly worked well.

 

I have heard a lot of good things about the new processors around. I am sure they have improved over the years. If serious about processing logs the difference in price between entry level machines and a decent quality machine that will handle big stuff is marginal in the grand scheme of things. IMO the margins are small and if you are going into it you need to go small or large not in between. If you do not have a powered in feed you should think hard about trading up sooner rather than later.If you have a loader Get a log deck even if its just a frame with a hookeroon it will save your back big time and could double your output.

[farmer_ben]

I have heard a lot of good things about the new processors around. I am sure they have improved over the years. If serious about processing logs the difference in price between entry level machines and a decent quality machine that will handle big stuff is marginal in the grand scheme of things. IMO the margins are small and if you are going into it you need to go small or large not in between. If you do not have a powered in feed you should think hard about trading up sooner rather than later.If you have a loader Get a log deck even if its just a frame with a hookeroon it will save your back big time and could double your output.

 

The chap who was demo'oing the Tajfun said how important a deck is to output. His best suggestion was an old MF 3t tipping trailer. Load with lengths of timber. back it up to the log loader and roll lengths straight off, great idea I thought...watch this space!

[codlasher]

I have a lovely 25 year old Posch that will accept anything up to 300mm ie, 1' diameter.

I burn logs for both water and heating and do 'logging' on slack days....... I am on my own and find that x 8 cubic meter vented bags is enough for one day. This includes moving and stacking under cover. I'm not in the selling game so just plod on all day 'till about 3.30 then clear up. The saw dust is collected in a big bag tied underneath and the chain saw chips are swept up and added to this. The whole lot is then put into cow byres as bedding and the machine is then put away having been cleaned.

I stack the bags two high and will be doing four days soon to get the winter supply in and that will use up all the vented bags that I possess at present. If I have any more time I'll use my hoard of builders bags as I find these useful for the smaller logs simply so I can tell the log sizes apart:001_tongue:.

 

I keep seeing log decks in my dreams and now have all the right bits and pieces collected to make a very simple item, just finding the week to cut/grind/fabricate/weld is the difficult bit!

 

I have also noticed a vast range of 'processors' advertised for sale lately. There's some very desirable machinery out there up for grabs....If you can afford to invest quite a sum. I'm not sure if the market will guarantee much return on your outlay though, particularly if the sum has been negotiated as a loan.

codlasher

[Alycidon]

The chap who was demo'oing the Tajfun said how important a deck is to output. His best suggestion was an old MF 3t tipping trailer. Load with lengths of timber. back it up to the log loader and roll lengths straight off, great idea I thought...watch this space!

 

What a great idea that is, thanks for sharing.

 

A

[farmer_ben]

What a great idea that is, thanks for sharing.

 

A

 

No worries, this is what I will be doing I think. Will have some long hydrolic hoses made up as well so I can tip the trailer slightly using the tractor powering the processor!