Ty Korrigan

In defense of Chinesium chippettes. Agrieuro, who supplied my GM CS80 Loncin engine clone, also have a comprehensive spares list available online with exploded diagrams. Stuart

Take a look on FB at Bucherons et elagueurs Stuart

From the man who holidayed in Greece and not Skegness... At least the French have made an effort to holiday within the hexagon this year. Stuart

The €34k limit is just for tva. If you pass it as has one of my lads in only 9months, you just need to declare the tva. The 'forfait' of 25% still applies up to around €70k. Forfait is easy to work with but if your business costs exceed 50% of your turnover and or you wish to invest, going réel accounting is the way forward. The accounting costs can be high depending on your own input and competance. Forfait is this. €100 turned over. €50 allowance for costs €25 for wage and €25 social charges. A climber working locally will easily keep his costs low but chuck in travel, investments like truck chipper grinder then your expenses can easily exceed that allowance. Personally, I advise starting as an E.I micro BIC and growing organically rather than jumping into more complicated regimes. I'm based near Rennes, Liffré 35340 On Facebook franglaiselagage Regards Stuart

Have a look at Agrieuro. They ship generic Chinesium chippers all over Europe. Their prices are really low in comparison to other resellers of similar machines rebranded. Regards Stuart

TBH PeteB, Whilst I am gratefull to GM for their support of my 150P I will point out that this chippette cost less than a grand in your post Brexit sterling currency type money and if it does go catastrophically wrong then I won't shed a tear because I knew what I was buying into and you must be mad if you think I'm carrying my business on the back of a Chinesium chippette bought for a few occasional hard to access jobs. It is virtually disposable, even a pair of blades are cheaper to buy than to sharpen. Besides, doesn't GM use Loncin engines on their CS80? Of course, there is the 150P which I thought was a high quality British product but turned out to be a litany of faults and a shonky liability requiring a serious factory overhaul. Even so, upon it's return it still blocked within 2 minutes of use (Jason knows about this) and the fuel tank leaks at the top so until I find time to re-seal it I only fill halfway. Seems price carrys no real guarrantee of quality. Stuart

Hello, Decent climbers are in hot demand generally. I use 2 guys regularly, each has different strengths so I pick the jobs which suit. One subs to 6 other firms as well as us. The other has his own client base but we also work for each other, he is my climber, I'm his groundy, truck 'n' chipper. Rates? well, you'll need to work that out for yourself taking into account your skill and productivity but anywhere from €200ht to €400ht Regional variations, demand and tax regimes all play a part. If you are worth your salt then you'll soon pass into the tva zone if you register as an entreprise individual on the micro BIC regime but don't worry, it is pretty simple accounting. If you are going to invest, truck, chipper, employee or use subbies then you'll need the réel regime which is proper accounting with an accountant involved. There is no requirement to prove your qualifications though the MSA 'mutual societie agricole' may demand this and even inspect you before letting into their organisation. The MSA as you must already know are who you pay your cotisations too. They take care of your pension, family benefits and health. You will be charged a flat rate of 25% of your turnover as an E.I micro BIC so it is in your interests to keep your costs down as you cannot offset any thing. You will be tva free unless/until you pass your earnings limit of around €34k. One of my lads did that in his first 9 months. The other does all he can to avoid going over that limit. Under the E.I regime réel you can offset costs and are subject to proper accounting and tva. A visit to a pro-active accountant would be worth while. Also there is a serious FB page 'Strictly Fiscal' for English speakers in France where you may find professional advice. Feel free to contact me though. Best of luck Stuart

Well... it was only a small walnut this arvo but feeding those springy right angled twigs into that narrow hopper have exhausted me unlike the long thin beech branches yesterday. It also mysteriously cuts out and won't start for ages. That I am sure is down to the hopper sensor which I think I'll remove. Stuart

It being a close copy of the GMCS100, I'm well used to feeding these and it is no more or less stable moving or transporting. However the towbar out front gives it an edge on stability when feeding and it can be tied down or weighted further. I'm not going to stress the machine by feeding it up to it's limit regularly. I did a trial at home on hazel and was pleased with it's performance but the blades where not torqued down enough and material got in under the one, lifting it so it came into contact with the anvil, lightly. I quickly settled that hash. The blades are far less meaty than a GMCS100. I'll fit a tacho to to measure blade wear and for servicing. It is lashing down now so I've bailed until this arvo. Quoting for a bio-mass job instead, a far cry from tiddling around with a wee chippette. Stuart

The Chinesium chippette's first job. Yesterdays job was a 5 beech prune. The branches cut were thin and long, easy for the machine to handle. There is more noise than a CS100, resonance from the chute and clutch. The narrow infeed, some 11cm narrower than the GM is noticable and will certainly take more work snedding. I had to adjust a bolt on the chute hinge sensor as the engine cut out a couple of times. Today is a half day for me as the kids have a half day on Wednesdays. So a small job, a walnut prune at the bottom of a garden. Thursday and Friday with Mrs Lee, 3 birches and a Thuya hedge to remove with all chip staying on site. Biggest challenge will be to drag the machine up the steps. Mrs Lee has a new Stihl battery saw for snedding which runs a 1/4 chain. I tried it myself yesterday. It is smooth fast and light, safer too. I'd have bought a self propelled Haecksler but ww have a truck to replace at some point and I don't need a wee chipper enough (for now) to warrant the expense. Besides, both climbers have a CS100 if I need a climber-chippette combo. Stuart

Hello, Does any-one happen to know the serial numbers of the belts and bearings for an FSI B20 stumpgrinder? Many thanks if you can tell me. Stuart

Having told people what a great saw the 241 is, I'm having oiler issues with that now. I dismantled it, cleaned it out, ran petrol through it all to no avail. I'll remove the gauze but as I have had the saw for 3 years I cannot see it being the oil causing the same issue as with the 2511. Do oil pumps actually wear out? Stuart

From new my 2511 blocked after just a few tanks. My oil choice Aspen bio left a fine wax on the gauze. It certainly was not sawdust which caused the blockage. Stuart

Mine too. Oiler is blocked. I removed the gauze after cleaning the system failed to improve matters long term now it oils perfectly. Stuart

Qu: When you measure this type of bolt, is it the entire length or just the thread? These are M8 and 25mm total length, I'm looking for a source online if anyone has any links. I can buy them from Agrieuro, just looking for a better price. Stuart

?....?....? FFS! I've not actually tightened the bolts on the foot either. Undecided whether to fit the towbar as yet. Stuart

The 241 is my No.1 ground saw. I can wave it around all day and often have a strop nearby to send it to the climber My 261 No.2 saw always on hand. I run a 45cm bar on one and my older saw just sold off I ran a 40cm bar due to a lack of compression. I generally jump from 241 to the 500i with the 63cm bar. Keep the 261 fueled up nearby. I'm having stalling and starting issues with the 241 (2 years old intense use) then it stopped oiling Friday so I stripped it down this morning and shame on me. Behind the clutch was a clagmire of McClag. I blew out and rinced the oil pump and pipes, cleaned the tank out. It runs better and oils now. If it keeps playing up I've a new fuel solenoid to try and fit. I run semi-chisel chains on all of them. Now school has started and Mrs Lee can return to work, I've treated her to a Stihl battery ground saw. No struggling to start, no cutting out, lighter and less bother. Easier to fuel for her too. That runs a micro-picco chain. I might borrow it for hedge reductions. Stuart

Thank you, I didn't see this before. I now realise that I have come across this system before when I owned a Bandit HB20 Sidewinder. Stuart

Well it arrived. Took 4 days from Italy. For €1372 inc. vat delivery included. That is under a grand Sterling without the vat. It is far better than I thought. Took a while to put together though. There are thick rubber gaskets between infeed and cassette as well as chute and cassette. The top of the infeed is 11cm narrower than on a CS100 which is a D'merit. Loncin engine has a centrifugal clutch top pulley so less stress on the starter motor and as a result a much smaller battery is required. The belts have no way of adjusting the tension. Whether this is a serious D'merit or not remains to be seen. The infeed opens on a hinge to allow for easy unblocking. A security device is present too but from habit I'd always remove the key anyway. Tyres are an overkill, soft and spongey. Greasable bearings, double sided blades, what is not to like? I bought this as 'insurance' a cheap back up and also because I've a run of jobs where chipping in the garden is the only sensible choice. Both of my regular climbers own a CS100. This cheap chippette is for little urban jobs I can do with my wife. I'll fit a tacho for servicing intervals. Let you know how it fairs. Stuart

This keeps popping up on my screen. Broyeur à branches thermique 15 CV, en Promo sur AgriEuro WWW.AGRIEURO.FR Broyeur de branches thermique GeoTech PCS 155LE moteur... A very familiar looking outline there powered by a 15hp Loncin too. At todays exchange rate and minus the vat it is under a grand! Ah, our canny Asian cousins... Stuart

I'm in! Trump is the Anti-Christ you are looking for by the way... Stuart

Anyone enjoy 'WorldOmeter'? Coronavirus Update (Live): 24,235,904 Cases and 827,091 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of... Yesterday, France and the UK lost 16 each to the virus. Having lost my Mother because beds where kept empty to be allocated to virus suffers who never arrived, I'm swinging closer to conspiracy with every news report. Stuart

All this difficulty in the U.K getting shot of chip. Here, I cannot make enough of it. Winter Lime chip I can sell for €30 per m3 or €8 per 100 litre sac. Even so, 2 local parks and gardens will take all I produce and the conifer goes to a farm. Good luck with your job, Mick Dempsey is right about the groundies. So many skinny whips to gather is far harder than pulling a large branch to a greedy chipper. Actually, I find a wee chipper faster than a hydraulic on lime. I think 12 of this size reasonable in a day but with 2 guys on the ground. I'd even use such a job to train a keen groundy in climbing. Stuart

If the oil is changed every 50hrs, how many hours might you reasonable expect from either a Honda or Chinesium alternative? I've read the Honda to be designed for 2000hrs plus. Stuart

This is how we all feel about you on Arbtalk. Reading your posts as you decline. You already post alot of rambling drivel on Facebook. Pete, PETE! DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL YOUR CARER? FFS, I think he's fallen asleep in his dinner again. Stuart