Ty Korrigan

I know it is in French but: Matériel forestier CMS : Fendeuse de bûche EVO 14 treuil + groupe hydraulique BOUTIQUE.CMS-CONSTRUCTEUR.FR CODE REDUC:- 5% de remise supplémentaire aujourd’hui avec... Any opinions? Also looking at Rabaud and Balfor. Stuart

Yesterday, mowing the grounds of an absent Parisian family I was struck by the rich colour of these Iris. Stuart

It was an online group for ex-pat Brits who hot a head of steam up over my suggestion that knowing one chestnut from an other was normally learn't in the playground not as an adult. However, it was a French client who got sniffy about being corrected over their conifer ident. Stuck up sticky beak snowflakes seen to be on the rise these dark days of Brexit, 5G, pandemic and looming recession. I dared correct my own wife who actually believed that the islands shown during the weather forecast on France 3 where actually just off the West coast of France. She had never noticed that France 1 put those same islands on the right of the map. I informed her they where on the other side of the world. (guadalupe, reunion etc) Tonight she is sulking. Stuart

Cheers, No, I wasn't about to change my Efi for a GXV...lol! Stuart

Specifically the Honda GX series with cast iron bore. If oil is changed every 50 hours (tacho) how many hours might such an engine be reasonably expected to last. I've no issues with the two I own, just curious. One is a GX160 in a Honda pro mower (no tacho) from year 2004 and the other a GX390 fitted to my FSI B20 currently on 65 very profitable hours. Regards Stuart

Hello, For a 26hp tractor. It isn't my main occupation but as a bolt on service it wins sales. Need to split up to 1m, seen some with a winch or lifting aids. I'd like a fast cycle. What do members of this parish suggest? Plenty of brands selling Chinesium but I'd prefer something better quality. Thanks Stuart

My kids are just 4 and 6. I think a few months of disturbed schooling won't write their futures off. However, in the home environment, my wife cannot seem to settle them into a learning routine. Without the energy burnt at school and after school club, our house rings with cried and shouts often until 11pm. I take them out when I can but I'm still working, busier than ever not having my usual team around me. What does amaze me is not what the kids do not know but what the adults do not know. I've recently quoted for taking down 'pines' I made the mistake of trying to educate the client in my cheerfull pedagogical manner, only to be curtly told that I was wrong, these were pines because they had needles, cones and clearly smelt of pine. We will see if I get the job but I'm not optimistic. Another recent discussion on a FB gardening page became weirdly heated when I suggested that knowing the difference between a horse and sweet chestnut was as important as knowing the difference between a daffodil bulb and an onion. Several posters had been claiming that they or others had always eaten horse chestnuts, others having no knowledge of the game of conkers and others accusing me of arrogance and bullying for correcting people who might never have been privileged enough to have seen a horse chestnut before. I'm surprised because I didn't grow up in the countryside but on the edge and could tell the difference between the two at 3 years old having walked with my father in the local woodlands for both, to eat and to play and plant. I'm not trained in school teaching methods but I can and do show my kids the flowers, fungi, leaves, animals and recently the stars and satellites, hoping to catch sight of the Starlink. I plant bulbs, capture insects and let my 6 year old think she is controlling the mower. I try to teach them the importance of re-cycling and the pleasure in dropping bottles down the recycling hatch to hear them break below and of course I read in English most nights I've the energy for it though I often fall asleep before they do. Stuart

Working alone removing oaks. At lunch it started to rain heavily and in town I stumbled on market day in Noyal-sur-Vilaine this Tuesday. No restaurants open, no warm cafes or bars to hide in, however... To my delight, a food van selling high end saucisse galettes with lot's of different options. Usually you get a cold saucisse in a damp flaccid buckwheat pancake but these were excellent so I had two sitting in my steamy truck washed down with half bottle of local cider, marvelous! Stuart

Well, if it adds £120 to the selling price then why not. Stuart

Can it not be bypassed? It seems a bit superfluous, after all, it is only there to ensure you don't run the machine with the belt cover off. Stuart

Here is a wee mod for your wheezy little Briggs: Bolt-On Turbo Kit BACKWATERPERFORMANCE.COM After close to 2 years in development, BPS is proud to... Stuart

I speculate the 6" roadtow Rabaud will be around €28k plus vat Certainly TP175 35hp diesel is around this in France whilst the same machine in the U.K is £17k (€20k) The Rabaud does have an interesting variety of blade/flail configerations mounted on a drum. I wonder if cutting along the grain is faster, and uses less energy as well as less stressfull than cutting across as with disc chippers. Certainly the CS100 is a greedy little bastard once it grabs a length of pop, outchipping a 6". Stuart

French, well made and 'très cher'. You'd be better asking on 'bucherons et elagueurs' on FB using the Google translate tool. Stuart

37hp Efi though... Stuart

Keep us posted please. Particularly interested in the durability of the infeed, the effectiveness of the rollers on all sizes of material and whether it blocks or material gets stuck in the flywheel. Cheers Stuart

I've owned 5, the best being the 200 but when my company folded it was auctioned with only 120 faultless hours on the clock. Our 2018 re-start up budget stretched to a new 150 which now has 230 hours and several serious issues requiring a factory visit once lock down lifts and the ferrys run again. We are considering moving it on once repaired, I've no confidence in it's longevity. A GM dealer in France told me not to chip 6" material or problems will be expected. In many ways it is perfect for us, lightweight, folding chute, productive on larger straighter wood, great chip, easy to maintain. Downsides, hates smaller forked material, weak crushing ability, flywheel gets lumps of wood jammed within which sets of a terrible vibration which if the engine isn't stopped can literally shake the machine to bits. The infeed has deformed and buckled upwards in front of the rollers. Combined with the weak rollers which are often unable to pull smaller or forked material in, this lip then prevents it from exiting. Above all, I'm tired of complaining. I'm just looking for reliability and longevity. It is not enough anymore that my issues get resolved, I no longer want to have issues that need resolving. Stuart

@Mick DempseyWhat are the obvious differences in construction over the 750kg class? Or the nuances which make a Schliesing worth the extra? I did briefly own a GM200 which I thought a machine for life. I might still dip into the GM pool again if their Evo proves solid but my wife is keen for me to look outside the box for our next chipper. Stuart

Any model then up to 45hp? Stuart

I've been asking around both in UK and France. No-one seems to say a bad word about them. Either because they are genuinely good or so rare that few are around to complain about. They come in petrol, diesel and battery with a natty folding chute. I've only seen them up close at the shows though. Certainly the larger models get sterling feedback. Blade changes look simple enough too. Stuart

Denial... I thought only French GM dealers suffered from this but like Covid-19 it seems to have spread. Petty fogging over banalities whilst offering a no quibble guarantee. I'd have apologised, sent a replacement by 24hr courier. Imagine then the engine suffers an issue and the owner gets accused of running it into the ground over a manky filter. Stuart

Quote "Our success depends on reliable and robust equipment" As does every arb outfit who invests in a chipper. The last thing we want is for it to sit at a dealers for weeks on end over banalities or to suffer serious design or mechanical faults that are not caused by the operator but poor design and manufacturing. I hope this model changes things for Greenmech. Stuart

State pension... I know it is not much but is this not important? Can't be pleasant to arrive at 67 to find out you are not elegible for one. I know it is regarded as important in France almost a national obsession the number of trimestres paid and points earned. I'm still paying £3 per week class 2 as an insurance against future political upheaval as well as the French contributions. Stuart

Cheers, I'll copy this info to the garçons... Stuart

Does anyone know if Bandit have improved or brought out an improved version yet? Stuart @DavidCropper Yeh, same twunting company ALM...

Hello, A French friend has issues with his belts, 4 in 130hrs at €300 per belt. Several others too as it turns out. The French supplier is in denial as usual. So, asking for these guys, is there a fix for this? Stuart