CS100 Question

[dan494]

After all labour and comsumables i'm making about 750 a week...is that cheap. I haven't spoken to many other tree surgeons so don't know. I've got more wood than i know what to do with.... I think finance is well affordable but it's just what if i have a quiet period

 

 

Guess that depends on if that's take home after everything? Insurances advertising etc? I think if going for a new machine then have a good few months payments put to one side. I felt the same so went used and payed a little under 6k with a small loan and cash so no stress if it's sitting for a bit when I'm quiet

[Mark Bolam]

I got going on an 18/100. Good machine.

The CS100 seems better to me though, in manoeuvrability and drum feed.

However, I quickly realised the chipper was the bottleneck, and took the big step of getting a TW125 on finance.

The first day I used it, on conny, we finished at 11.30. I had a days money on the job.

Do the maths.

 

A big Bandit wouldn't have been any quicker, because the bottleneck then became how quickly the groundie could drag limbs down a side alley.

 

The trick is to choose the chipper that best suits your business model.

 

In truth, if you're running at 3.5t, anything over a 150 or equivalent is probably taking the piss out of VOSA and the law.

Barn doors and beefy springs don't make you exempt.😇

[richy_B]

Bottlenecks rarely disappear, they just move up a step! Bigger chipper > 2nd groundie, 2nd groundie > 7.5tonner, even bigger chipper > 18tonner.

[wicklamulla]

richy_B, Mick Dempsey & Ty Korrigan have nailed it with their comments. I run a wee Greenmech and a larger 8 inch machine.

 

On thurs & fri of this week my Groundie and I did a long mixed species boundary hedge with poor access and a very very long drag out to the front of the property.

 

When pricing this job the customer said they wanted the cord wood but no chip left in the garden, I priced for 4 men, large chipper and transit, the Gentleman nearly fainted at the cost!

 

I then offered he the option of 2 men (me and my groundie), and the wee Greenmech. This could be manhandled thru the narrow access and all the way up the long garden and the deal would be he still kept all the cord and we would blow the chip into the base of the hedgeline.

 

The time frame of 2 days was identical for both options, but option 2 was £500 cheaper so everyones a winner baby.

 

I did consider selling this wee Greenmech recently but it has won me quite a bit of work and doesn't take up alot of room in the garage so it's a keeper and i still have the best of both worlds.

 

My advice is your gonna be needing a 6'' roller fed machine, 35HP diesel. It's a no brainer.

[GTS]

Wicklamull, ty,Mick are right.

put monies saved down as a deposit and then pay lower monthly amounts.

Have confidence in ability, you know what your doing don't you

[Johnleddo]

I've been running a cs100 for about 3years now. Its a good chipper and I've dffinately used it on some jobs where its been david v goliath. It has however got these jobs done but in the back of my mind the time is money argument has been sounding pretty loud.

 

I think the best advice about owning one is know its strengths. Mine has saved me some horrible brash drags and been in some really tight spots. Its been lowered into gardens and pulled out on 6:1's where anyone with 6" road tows would have been dragging brash 60m uphill.

 

As for customers keeping chip its a bit of an art selling the virtues of wood chip. But it supprising how many customers havent considered the uses for it until they are pointed out to them. That said i still end up carting quite a bit away I probably leave the chip on about 30%of jobs . As for the extra logs I've got a few people locally with trailers who I just give an address to and they come an collect the firewood so they more of that i leave the better.

 

All that said they're a great machine but I am currently on the look out for a 6" machine for those bigger jobs. I'll not part with the cs100 though mostly because of its versatility.

[njc110381]

I did another job with mine a couple of weeks back that would have been a 100+m uphill drag with loads of fairly small stuff. Client kept the chip to mulch the bed that I'd just cleared.

 

They're certainly good starter machines and spot on for smaller jobs or narrow access. If I do get a bigger chipper I won't be selling the little one! It's done too many jobs now that my old towable one wouldn't fit into.