Ty Korrigan

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

I call my Dad (77) every other day since Mum passed prior to the lock down. He is still angry that her operation was delayed to the point of no return due to the hospital 'reserving' spaces for a pandemic that never arrived. Last year he came over and we spend a long week touring the Somme together in the middle of a heatwave. Visited Waterloo and all the museums and sites associated with the battle. This year I hoped he would come over and tour the landing beaches and Falaise pocket but that clearly isn't to be. His two Grandchildren were all over him, he really needed a break from nursing my Mother. I made the crossing just before the latest quarantine for a week, the first time since frontiers closed in March. I'm only 2 hours by road and 5 hours by ferry and can see clearly that I will be making the crossing far more regularly and perhaps with a child in tow. Stuart

Dragging oak branches up slope today was made difficult by the carpet of acorns under foot. A lone small oak which failed. There was extreme loading on some of the branches, a slight touch of a saw and BANG! Stuart

Single male climbers come and go I find. Boredom and loneliness outside of work being the main cause. I feed and water them when possible but cannot be their buddy outside of work, cruising bars and visiting meth dens. Having family in France and a social activity or sport will certainly help stabilise and integrate him. I hope it works out. Stuart

@Mick Dempsey Will your nephew join you in France for a work experience? Stuart

I'm also a product of the Jack Kenyon 10 week Merrist mill. I was pretty crap and insecure for a while though tip top in the science part being a Merrist horticulture student in the early '90s. I went out climbing at the weekends and evenings at my own pace to try and get my head around exposure and work positioning. It was a very mixed group of students. I was the oldest with many being around 19. Some sent there as last resorts by social services and exasperated parents, others by their employers, a few like me paying their own way as a change of career. One student even ended up on an environmental quango and addressed the House of Lords. I recall a lecturer shooting squirrels with an air rifle during lectures. He had a table set up in the woods with peanuts on it and a target. One unlucky tree rat ended up skewered down onto the rooftop aerial of a students car. Another student arrived for class complaining of a burning smell from his car. His boss had wedged a dead duck in the manifold. There was a student of colour on another course. He got ribbed by a lecturer for losing control of a tractor whilst winching. The tractor was pulled up and over onto it's side. The video may still be on Youtube today. The student made a complaint against the lecturer using the race card which resulted in the lecturer being suspended. We as a class wrote a letter of support for the lecturer. I left Merrist as a mediocre climber but understanding the basics. With practice I've understood more and remained a fairly mediocre climber but there are many trees well suited to a man of my skill level so earning a coin has never been a problem. For the ones beyond me, there are hungry subbies. I've been back since for courses, love it there. Stuart

Ty is Breton for house. Korrigan is a Breton sprite, elf type creature. It was the name of my old house near Corlay in Brittany. Stuart

You kept that quiet...lol!

Toxic or Sour Mulch - Wood Alcohol | University of Maryland Extension EXTENSION.UMD.EDU

Specifically 50% maple, field maple I think and hornbeam In full leaf, very warm conditions. Chipped into a pile on site. Overnight, the garden was heady with the unmistakable fumes of alcohol. The client, a teetotal was very amused. I was surprised, I've noticed this phenomenon before but nowhere near as strong I did a quick google and found an article from America which mentioned this and it's toxicity for plants if used as a mulch due to levels of acetic acid. Any-one more info on this? Stuart

That... is clearly a miniaturised mobile V2 launching platform... Stuart

Although I've never had any issues with woodchip combusting, I do get the occasional customer comment that their woodchip pile is smouldering. It never is though. We know that. However, it got me thinking after learning a local biomass company has suffered severe fires in their rather large chip piles which proved very difficult to extinguish, that there might be a 'critical mass' where pyrolysis occurs. I found this article which I'm saving for my 5 hour ferry crossing tomorrow: Low temperature ignition of biomass - ScienceDirect WWW.SCIENCEDIRECT.COM Biomass is an especially reactive fuel. There have been large... Any-one had any experience of fire in woodchip piles? Stuart

I'm sorry, I've no wish to derail an interesting discussion on trucks but... The homicide rate for Morocco is 1.42 per 100'000. This is on a par with most E.U countries. The U.K being 1.2. South Africa being 36, USA 5 and the US Virgin Islands a staggering 50 Stuart

I find the Vanguard Efi to be a user of oil. I've not measured the rate but it often catches me by surprise just how low the oil has dropped between blade changes. Might just be mine of course... Stuart

Honestly, Scotspine, your unworldly opinions are toxic and of no real value. I am comfortable with my real world on hands experience of life travelling the less trodden roads. I believe 99.99% of people mean me no serious harm. Stuart

The homicide rate as well as other crimes is lower than many E.U countries. One of the suspects was arrested in Smimou not far from our place near Essaouira. Yes, savage murders and wildly reported but Morocco is still safer than many UK cities. The social contract is tight in Morocco. I can knock on almost any door and expect help, water, food, a place to rest. I am greeted with smiles and open arms wherever I go. Maybe they are laughing at my uncut hair tight immodest lycra shorts. Stuart

I have cycled into the Sahara from our home on the coast and next year hope to travel deeper still. I'd like to ride down to Timbuctu if the situation ever calms. Whilst the interior of disputed Western Sahara, Mauritania and Mali remain 'difficult' much of Moroccan held territory is quite safe as is the coast. To add, I feel safer in Morocco than many cities in France or U.K. Stuart

Both have a rustic wooden push shovel which looks like it was hand made by a Sussex Weald Bodger which is a nice accessory on a €30k machine...

TP175 is a well built machine. I like the ease of maintenance and access to all areas. Like the TW it is less top heavy than my 150p and sways less. The fuel and hydro tanks being low down. A clutch in the form of a servo which tightens the 4 drive belts at the push of a button. It has 3 down sides for me though. Narrow infeed and a sensative, gangly, sticky out stop bar. Even the rep struggled with feeding and blamed my lack of branch prep. I replied, "this a test and much the same branches used for the Wolf" Sadly the 26hp diesel after the 35hp of the TW just didn't quite get my juices flowing. The TP does have a strong reputation for reliability... The TW230 was a shock to the system after using a GM150p It reminded me of our GM200 which was most excellent for the short time our company owned it. I'm in the UK next week and will be returning the 150p to GM for repairs so maybe I'll be able to sniff out an Evo demo. Stuart