Ty Korrigan

No, you need to turn the branch over before re-feeding it and it didn't do it from new either. It started after a few months use, I have many videos of branches needing encouragement Neither my old Quadchip or GM200 suffered this, nor the GM13-23, TW125 , GM130, Bandit XP65 or Forst ST6 that I have used. Stuart

received_243886866732716 (5).mp4

20200221_100257.mp4 20200514_155857.mp4

Re: Rail bending tool. I emailed on the 6th of May but the man who can was furloughed. Anyway, in the opinion of my local machine shop... If the roller rails can be bent through use. Then bent back manually. What is stopping the same thing happening again? Those rollers and blades are sharp, I assure you. Branches, particularly smaller ones needing encouragement to go through. The right fixed roller occasionally stops feeding, never the left. Lumps of wood getting through and jamming inside the flywheel. These can cause quite a dramatic vibration to set in popping rivets and cracking off a poorly welded nut. Sometimes these lumps leave the flywheel before I am aware and block the chute causing a general blockage, jamming the flywheel with the result I've had to change the belts a couple of times. I've videos of far larger lumps but I am unable to upload them due to the file size. Machine is on 255 hours and under 2 years old. 20200522_102907.mp4 20200522_102907.mp4 20200526_112038.mp4 20200526_112038.mp4 ? The upper rails are slightly inclined and there is a subtle bowing in the bodywork. Is this REALLY the cause of the rollers not feeding? 20200526_111535.mp4 20200323_164306.mp4

Ah...but it is very difficult to hire anything more than a ped grinder here and these are €200 per day plus vat plus time to collect/drop off and always with blunt teeth. Loxam and Kiloutou both show larger grinders for hire but never available and at such eyewatering prices. The prices shown are pro-rata per day if you hire for a week. Stuart

An exceptional sized stump rather than an every day one. Running costs are very low with a simple grinder and at 80hrs in 21 months a larger machine isn't easily justifiable for the number of larger stumps I win. Not to say I wouldn't like a Jo-Beau 37-110 which I know would fit in my garage alongside the chipper... Stuart

Combination of wealth and scarcity. Plus services cost more here with social charges plus income taxes on salaries meaning a self employed person doing well might pay plus or minus 60% to the state. Stuart

4 hours + prep. Root plate completely ground out. It was 270cm across the roots. I couldn't cut it any lower due to inclusions. What really had me worried was the tough roots which produced long fibres and took an age to break though to the stump which wasn't too bad. I turned the teeth and the wall of knarly roots fell beneath them. I'd put €720 inc vat on it. No clear up. I'd have charged much the same with a larger machine but The Boss does not wish to throw €20k+ at a larger more productive grinder and the B20 copes just fine with most stumps. This was not at all my average stump and if I was faced with monsters like this on a weekly basis I'd certainly be pressing the accountant to release the funds. Lucky the soil was dry so the wheel didn't suffer clagging. If I'd done this job in last Winters conditions I'd be on a loser. 79.8 hours on the clock. Stuart

I do. Profiting from the dry weather, I scratched around the roots and used the blower to remove the soil. The Douglas I am currently chewing my way through is proving to be a tough nut. It is 3x the length of my mattock. The roots are hard, producing long fibres. I'll turn the teeth again after lunch, gallette with clients homemade cidre. Stuart

Today, one of 5 mixed conifer stumps. A Picea stump after I'd cleared the soil with mattock and blower. 4.8hrs machine time today plus prep. 5 hours being my limit of endurance especially when the weather is in the high 20's. The Picea wood was reasonable soft and the B20 flew through it. I ground a cedar down to 40cm+ by digging a slope. A windblown picea was a fecking mess of tangled roots but succombed in the end. A couple of pines tested my patience with their dense fibrous cores. Tomorrow I tackle a large Douglas (130cm) I've already nibbled at some of the surface roots up to the stump. Different proposition, very tough and fibrous. Once I've chased the surface roots I'll turn the teeth. The QRMS teeth are less sharp than the Greenteeth which causes me to think of getting a stock for just such occasions. I used to change to Red Teeth for conifer on decent soils, much faster. Anyone know if these still exist? Stuart

On this council job I had a few comments and puzzled looks from the head of 'espaces verts' (parks and gardens) Jerome clearly expected something more... more machine in fact. He asked me if this was what I had used for all the other stumps? He was quite happy as they had been ground out to his expectations. I do feel 'pre-judged' at times, turning up looking under equipped and perhaps amateur. However, as soon as my clients see the machine set to the stump and my own mad energy as I battle away, they are reassured and can see just what they are paying for. Some even say "enough enough, we don't want to dig a well!" then offer me a coffee or "something colder perhaps?" This particular stump belonged to a oak whose roots got buried too deep when the area was developed. It took 20 years for the tree to become such a hazard to the local footpath that it required removal. My secrets for grinding using such a small machine are to change the teeth often and preparation, cutting the stump as low as possible. Almost 2 years old, it paid for itself in less than a year, grinding stumps up to 1.5m and on one job alone, 57 leylandii stumps taking 18hrs machine time and 8 preparation. I'll be on about 100hrs by the 2 year purchase aniversary. Running Greenteeth copies which are a little slower than the Original Stay Sharp originals but very much less expensive. I've only broken the pull cord so far. The Honda engine is easy to start and smooth running. The tacho I fitted is a great aid, for servicing and statistics, machine time/manual labour. My only regret is not buying the B22 which is self propelled. Being only 62kg I find advancing the 125kg over chip fatiguing. Looking to the future at other machines, Jo-Beau 37-110 because of it's compact design or one of the FSI and Bandit, that ZT1844... Stuart

You can retro fit an hour counter for around £20. No skill required. It winds around the spark plug and with thick double sided tape, mine is glued to a flat on the handle bars. Stuart #tinytach

So... todays client brought this out and asked my advice. As Spud knows, my advice is only his advice filtered down. Anyway, it wasn't oiling so I showed and told and whilst I went back to work the client took it apart and found the big white plastic sprocket had worn off the wee teeth which mesh with the axle. A sliver of aluminium foil as a shim and away it went. I'll give it wang myself as I'm on site all week. He's had it since new, bar is original. Stuart

Hello, Well I started the Solis this morning after giving the 2 jubilee clips a few more turns and the air seems to have vanished overnight from the pistons. A slight jerky movement remained but disappeared quickly during use. Thank you for your advice. The problem was a cause of great anxiety. Last thing I need is a tractor issue when I'm battling a shonky chipper daily. Stuart

I'll take some tomorrow. Cheers Stuart

It was running fine. I assumed air entered the system from that. I was unable to fill it before reconnecting. Filter is before the pump. Transmission and hydro are same fluid. Stuart

Could the air be entering via the suction filter? It is a bit primative looking and closed at each end by large circlips. It is the only thing I have dismantled, to clean it. Stuart

So... I left it overnight. Topped up the oil and tried again. Vibrations as the hydraulics work and a tank full of foaming oil. At a loss. Stuart

I've just removed for cleaning the suction filter on my Solis. Reconnected it, topped up the transmission/hydro oil, cavitation when using the loader and 3 point...merde alors! Peeped down the hydro filler, like a creme brulé down there. What can I do to cure this? Stuart

I run a small meth lab from an elderly neighbours garage. He is a retired chemist who says I've given him a new lease of life. Stuart

I didn't need to apply, lockdown didn't restrict us and €1500 per month is a risible amount compared to what may be turned over. Just continued as our normal busy self then got even busier during lockdown when others were refusing to work. I couldn't get groundies at first so got used to self motivated lone working on small to medium jobs then with a local paysagiste whose own staff refused to work and an excellent climber who didn't qualify for the aid, between us we cracked on with the commune contracts without the public walking through our barriers or protesting our felling of trees. I really enjoyed lockdown and positively profited from it and am slightly shellshocked by it being lifted and dealing with traffic and people again. I felt the same after returning to the UK after cycling across Australia in 2009. I do know that many self employed expats who could have worked safely were tempted by the governments largesse and the €1500 is actually more than they would net normally. Stuart

It is the same here. €1500 handed out to self employed Brits here is actually more than many would have actually taken as a net wage. Stuart

A good place to ask is the FB page Bucherons et Elagueurs. Use Google translate and tag my mate Vincent Cauco who runs one and is an Anglophile. Regards Stuart

Here in Frenchy France, Albezia sp. are the last to emerge but they flower for 4-6 weeks July-August. Stuart

Whew! France 1 has just done a report on the 'decalage heures des enfants' which is talking about childrens routines during lockdown and many not settling until 11pm. We are not alone and I am not a bad parent. Stuart