Chipper hours, how many is too many..

[Eastern]

Bit of a silly question i know as many factors involved but wondered what you guys thought in regards to second hand chipper hours.

 

Same goes for cars or vans really, mileage/hours isnt really an issue if looked after and serviced well.

 

Been looking at a range of second hand chippers lately some with 500 odd hours and some upto 2000 hours.

 

Its an open question really, just some thoughts on the matter would be great

[Ds Tree services]

Mate as long as its been looked after 2000 hr should be nothing.

[treequip]

I wouldn't place too much store by the hours clock without some provenance, disabling the clock is as simple as can be.

[detritus21]

Mine is only 3 years old and done over 400hours. As long as it is looked after there should be no problems

[Python]

Our Jensen A530 is @2600 hours and the 540 is @ 2100 hours both are tight and and run with very little issues both had new feed rollers about 300 hours ago and the 540 needed a new chassis at 1800 but other than that they've had nothing else major

 

 

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[Eastern]

Confirming my thoughts thanks

 

Any stories from people buying high houred machines and running them with sucess for a couple of years?

 

Really torn between buying new and.. well.. cheaping out a little. Dont really see the point in buying a low houred machine when i could a new one for not a hell of a lot more.

 

If i was going second hand id be looking at £5-8000 for a machine. As i said ive seen a few now some with about 5-600 hours in poor condidtion and others with very high hours but stacks of paperwork for parts and upkeep, some really smart high hours machines out there.

 

As for new Id be looking at about 20k tops but I cant afford the full amount and didnt really want another monthly outgoing.... That said, it would be a warrantied machine so would have to factor in as much for monthly upkeep of replacing parts.

[Stephen Blair]

It's not the hour clock, it's what's worn at that stage of their life. Take someone who knows what to look for wear and tear wise.

Forget the word ' refurbished ' that can mean spray painted and new mud guards:sneaky2:

[Wolfie]

When i asked Timberwolf that same question a few years back I think that the response was that as long as the engine has been serviced regularly then it should be good for at least 3000 hours.

[GlobalNewark]

Some chippers are more tolerant of abuse than others but generally the comments above are correct, there is no substitute for regular maintenance. We have chippers with 17000hrs on.

[Paul Jenks]

When i asked Timberwolf that same question a few years back I think that the response was that as long as the engine has been serviced regularly then it should be good for at least 3000 hours.

 

You'd be a very lucky camper to have a timberwolf in good nick past 1500 hrs. Even with good maintenance they fall to bits.

Most machines fall to bits.

Eventually, the cost of servicing, tightening, checking and replacing is not worth the money. There is also a difficult to put your finger on figure that results in increased productivity with a new machine. (Well built and designed older machines aside.)

Machinery is written off the books for tax purposes over 4 years for good reason. There are also regulatory/PUWER changes that render machinery illegal and they have to be retro-fitted with safety features.