arboriculturist

Thanks for all those posts, very informative

Can you send me some in a Jiffy bag ? - don't grow it round here

What sort of world do we live in, when a group of people wish to gather in a Wood for a couple of hours and all we can see is risk, hazzards, blame, liability etc. etc. What happened to live and let live !

I'm very happy with all the replies - thanks

So 25% Spruce / 25 % Douglas / 50% hardwood sounds spot on ?

Now that's interesting - rarely hear Sitka mentioned. Thanks.

I'm sold !

Have you inspected the rear of the main stem - the fungal fruiting bodies may well be girdling the base. If so you can be reasonably certain that the complete base plane of the main stem has been colonised. How closely have you inspected those vertical creases, and around those brackets - any sign of Kretzmaria? G + K = Remove and re-plant. If this is the case - A Tree Officer worth their salt will not on this occasion burden the tree owner with the unnecessary expence of a written Report. Have you given it a carefull probe? Have you spent a couple of minutes with a spade carefully excavating round the tree base. Do what you can yourself before advising the Client further; they are sure to appreciate it and you gain a lot of respect

I've been offered a load of Chip Spruce as Firewood 100mm - 400mm, roadside for 12 months. I've always avoided Spruce up to now, but would welcome any views on its use as Firewood.

Oooh - thanks for the great images and MD's fleet info. Keep in touch.

That load should have all come straight across to me !!! Well you did strongly suggest it. If you are getting nice bars out like that in N. Devon you wont have to ask twice.

Looking good here then. What M3 did you get on the drag softwood?

No, but will be shortly as he can haul from you in N. Devon later; spoke to him this am. When BT finished here KK coming down with a load - I think ! Can you get 30 - 40 m3 on a drag? What did MD manage to load at Aveton?

We have one who comes to us, but he can't do it all. Booking the drag tomorrow so fingers crossed.

I'll send then a couple of images and they can then decide. Thanks

We can only get an 8 wheeler in here, as there are bends and some steepish inclines, all hardcore - however both the Hauliers assure me they can get a 6 weeler and drag in whever an 8 wheeler can go - who am I to argue?

I'm trying to get a definitive answer as to the carrying capacity of a 6 wheeler and drag timber lorry, both in tonnes and M3. In M3 - I was told it can vary from 30 - 40 M3 for Softwood chip 100mm - 400mm diameter. Any replies welcome.

It is clear that you are the main authority on hydraulics on the Forum, so I am always pleased when you get time to post. The present splitter we use is too embarrassing to mention and is soon to be retired. Therefore I will focus on the replacement - which will be fabricated. Having used a Price Fallows 3 point linkage freestanding splitter, 11 tonne with 16" stroke - the splitter will be based on that design but uprated with a wider vertical I beam. A larger ram say 13 - 15 t may be beneficial at times. Auto return essential and to adjustable height off table as we grade rings for height before splitting. Cycle time from up to back up 3 -4 seconds, as we only split oversize roundwood that is always straight grain. The tank can be any size. Can use 1/2" piping / fittings/ spool to help with cooling. I still need to be able to run Tractor at 480 Rpm processor and splitter > fast tickover just with splitter. Any advice would be great.

That was a bit of wisdom However if I can pick up a IH for around 1K with a flow rate of 35 l/min i am happy .....on second thoughts I'll buy an 80l/min PTO pump and hope the internals are robust enough to stand up to running the Processor through it continually. Source an ' Adjustable flow rate Regulator' to reduce flow rate to splitter when PTO speed at 480 rpm for the Processor and re-adjust 'Regulator' when tractor just running splitter. Cooling is often recognised as an issue - so thinking 50 litre resevoir or less with oil cooler. Any thoughts greatly appreciated?

Totally agree - however short of time and a 2nd tractor ticks the boxes at the moment.

35x on processor all the time. Keen to have a heap of a tractor on processor and free up the 35. Nothing aginst PTO pumps but 2nd tractor far more practical right now.

PTO pumps are great, but the pump is just the start - Oil reservoir, breather, filter head and filter, pipework / fittings etc. and fabrication costs. Can be almost the same cost to buy an old IH tractor, which is what I am looking to do.

135 flow rate 20ltrs / min, way too slow. Modern tractors are great as many have massive flow rate which is also adjustable, but not practical to run just for a standalone splitter.

I am looking for the best old school Tractor to run a tractor splitter that has a decent flow rate. I've been told an IH 454 puts out 45 ltrs / min @ 540prm. Others opinions most welcome.