Ty Korrigan

Minefield? I just bought a £4000 trailer that fully conforms to E.U regs and YET cannot be registered in France... I am...livid, both with the bloody small minded French officials and the manufacturer for mis-representing their product. I will resolve this even if I have to use Sir Charles Simmons our family lawyer. Now he is a right B#?!ard...

Hey! then your really lucky. L.D.Vs are notoriously difficult to reregister in France especially as they have sadly gone down the tubes... For chippers, all trailers over 500kg need to be registered but I'm not splitting on you! Trailers The maximum laden weight (Poids Totale Autorisée en Charge - PTAC) and unladen weight (Poids Vide - PV) should be shown on all trailers, whatever the weight, on the nearside of the front of the trailer or on the draw bar. Trailers greater than 500 Kg (PTAC, laden weight) need: to be registered, hold a Carte Grise registration document and have registration plates (apply at the Préfecture) a certificate of insurance (certificat d'assurance) to be shown in the front nearside window of the towing vehicle, in a waterproof holder on the front nearside of the trailer or next to the insurance certificate (certificat d'assurance) of the towing vehicle. I'm hopeless at cut and paste... Ty

Yes, we call them 'Dave Dix Euros' or 'Ten euro Dave' I get expats telling me that my rates are outrageous. Yet, I'm about the same as a U.K based business. The French say we are good value though! Regards Ty

Hello, If any Arbs are intending to make the move then I would be happy to offer help and advice on the setting up and registration of an arb business here in France. One question for you guys, how have you managed registering your road tow chippers? I've delayed the purchase of one until 2012 when the new Europe wide regs come into force. Until then I've chosen to run a CS100 wee chipper and burn alot which is illegal in the summer here. Although I could get round it all with a tracked chipper on a French spec Ifor Williams but thats alot of investment. Cheers Ty http://www.lejardinieranglais.com

That boys funnier than a whole mess of turkey gizzards by god! I approve of a good dose of danger now and then to remind me that we are in fact MEN! Ty

Hey, all you Ex-pats over La Manche. How many of us are there? I know of 7 teams in Brittany alone (registered busineses) Breton Boy is one on this forum, hello friend! Lets do a search and rake in the others. I've read the 'Connexion' newspaper and cab see others out there down south and I know of at least one in Normandy. Get in touch guys! Ty

I'll add a pennyworth for what its worth. When I cut cypress specie hedges I generally find lots of ladybirds. These bugs eat aphids, no? Therefore, lots of aphids in these hedges. However, I have never observed an aphid yet!... Ty

I tried to talk about cleaning my helmet with my aged Gran. Gran said she'd never heard it being called a Petzel before, it was always called a 'thingy' in her day... Returning soldiers Petzels smelt the worst apparantly...

Oh! Its the helmet that smells... I though it was my groundy! Ty Come to think about it... It smells even when he's not around... Got to take off my Petzel when not at work I guess.

Can I join in here? I own a CS100 with 115hrs on the clock which I fitted myself. The few problems I have had have been down to ME user error. Belts that burned out, over greased bearings leading to wear (yet to be confirmed) The benefits of owning this type of chipper are legion. I encourage my client to keep the chips. (I take away the rakings or burn on site) I encourage the client to keep the wood or give it away. It has helped launch my business by doing alot for very little. Other arbs laugh at my pencil sharpener but drop their jaw as a 3m long 10wide poplar branch goes through without missing a beat and comes out as lovely square chip. YES you have to get used to correctly feeding it or all hell breaks loose. (it just stops actually) BUT it does such work that I really can see a place always in our business for this machine. Here in France 'paillage' or wood chips are the new garden fashion so I rarely take them away. Start your own fashion. Buy a CS100 18hp and never look back. Ty

Perhaps... Pinus contorta var contorta...?

I'm a Bandit owner and critic. For the novice its a big heavy b#@tard that requires alot of attention to level the ground as it becomes dangerous when working otherwise. Plus sides are many. I'm 63kg, the machine weighs 350kg. I can move it with little effort. The power is great, its fast and I can really feel the stump and tooth performance. Built solidly, starts easily. Earns me good money. I reckon it burns 4litres per hour, I use the round green teeth which can last up to 24hours if your lucky though 16 is more reasonable. I also am pleased to say that Global Engineering who are the importers to the U.K are most professional, customer orientated and just plain good people to deal with. Well done guys. Ty

Assuming thats an 8hr day, thats 1m 37seconds per stump! Nitro oxide in yer grinder tank or what! OR... You a dirty fibber and I'm telling on you... Ty

Now then... Back in June, I ground out 80 Picea abies with an average dbh of 30cm using the same set of green teeth. Unfortunatley my hour clock is not functioning but I only took 3 days or between 20-24 hours. Each one about 15-20min. Nice stone free soil too! Ty

Hello, old thread this but I just had to share this one. Client sends me images of a large 'xmas' tree dwarfing his holiday home. At 3hrs drive away it is rather too far to visit to quote. So, I give him a price of €1000 factoring our travel costs etc. I get the green light and 3 of us drive down to the far West of Bretagne. I climb it to install a rope, Seb fixes up the pulleys then our third man Auld Rab gets the 441 going. 4hours later, Its all gone. A friend living locally collected the 3m3 of wood. Client feeds us, pays us cash and shakes our hand. Happy days! Ty

How much do you think it costs to get sharpened though? I mean, time being precious enough and I have 2 that need tickling. Ty

Chap, I hail from Emsworth and found that putting an ad on Freecycle was effective. Lots of local groups out there. However, beware of those who just want a bag or two of chips! Make it clear its a load or nothing and that is going to block their driveway. Tell them to share a load with friends too. Sometimes I had local allotment groups interested in chips, lots of horsey types for exercise areas. Best of luck Ty

That new Defender resembles a beefed up BMW Mini on steroids...

I want to be one! Seeeeriously though. Who and where and what? Links please. Ty

Hello, So, I've got the basics from the 10 week course I did back in '08 at Merrist Wood. Now I'm in my second year of sole trading in France with 2 other associates. I feel I really need to get some better knowledge in the dismantling of trees using rigging techniques. One associate is a former sailor so has a real gift for ropes, pulleys and knots. The other has a lifetimes experience in felling larger specimens. We only have a limited budget for training and so I would like to address our weakest point which is ME. What say the venerable members of the forum? Regards Ty

I'm back! Put the kettle on lads I'm bushed. 81 stumps = 24h of grinding. My sidewinder chewed 'em all up 'an spat 'em out! Trick is to work on a level or the machine tends to become unbalanced. I have seen bigger 4 wheel machines in action at around the same hp and now observe that the Sidewinder HB20 is as quick as bigger machines of same hp but less stable requiring greater attention to filling in the hole as you go. I'm going to stick with this machine, its tough, does the job well but does have its quirks due to its swing action and lack of wheel locking and jerky controls which remain a moot point. Ty two sugars please.

Hello, Thanks for that, any others hire their machines? Ty

Hello, As some may be aware, I live the other side of La Manche in La Belle France. I want to ask if anyone hires their chipper and just how much for. Also how much just a weeks hire would be for a 'civilian' who wished to bring it across the channel? I charge myself and my CS100 chipper out at €60 per hour or £50 but our tax rate is 50%+ The local chipper hire wants €500 per day for a 35hp Saelin shredder. I'd never let my machine out of my sight knowing how numb Joe Public is. Regards Ty

I'm a digger me!

I have to admit that after a days worth of grinding with my sidewinder I tend to down a few litres of Breton Ale to dull my aching bones. Its the wrong machine for all day use but the right one for a small outfit and a good one for a mornings worth of private clients. I got days of plantation grinding ahead to look forward too 'n' all! What do the big grinders cost new? Ty