Ty Korrigan

I think we have recently established the value engine manufacturers place upon warranties. Let us not go there again, not for a while at least...lol! Stuart

This is my second Winter trading after the closure of our ltd. company. Fortunately I kept the phone number in my name. A good number of returning clients as a result. I've racheted up my rates, assembled a strong team and invested in publicity, kit, reduced the area I cover (French clients) and carry no debt. Although I'm not currently short of regular work, enough for 3-4 of us most days, our enquiries are in line with other French guys of my aquaintance, the market is slow. Even as I write this there is a report on t.v concerning the very subject of people tightening their belts. I've no worries though, as stated previously, ebb and flow, influenced by elections, E.U uncertainty, economic nuances far beyond our understanding. Of one thing I am sure of, there is no future quoting for expats. Brexit has strangled that market, at least for now. Stuart

Painting of a stolen chipper abandoned by travellers... Stuart

How does it feed compared to your 540? Stuart

They order every Thursday so it can be anything from 1-2 weeks before recieved. Maddening. Stuart

I collected the chipper Friday morning. It started without hesitation, deviation or repetation. Ran it up hot then turned it off, re-started right away. It sounds like new. The real test will begin Tuesday so I'm not going giddy until it's been used in anger. The mechanic wasn't happy, he told me he had got it in the neck over the delay in fixing it. "Tough" I said. I asked for a pressure test twice but he had ignored me and went by what his code reader said. Third time he finally did a test and found less pressure which he still thought was fine but he ordered the pump anyway" The fault also lies in the convoluted way Briggs manage their aftersales and parts distribution network in France. Imagine, launching a product and not being able to back it up with dealers trained in it. Imagine, a dealer not being able order parts direct but through a 'regional distributor' who gets around to it sometime then finally orders it from the warehouse in Holland who send the part to the distributor who sits on it for days on end again before sending it to the dealer. John Deere parts ordered through their network arrive from the states in under 48hrs. I think I may never buy a Briggs 'efi' engine again. Not because they are bad engines, far from it but because of Briggs level of aftersales. Every dealer I called around Rennes replied with a gallic shrug and a "non" I might have been talking about hydrogen fusion engines their reaction was such. I'm not going to hide my dissatisfaction over this. Greenmech may still have my business as they have supported me with technical advice and made calls to Briggs, I thank them all for that. Briggs France should look at other distribution business models if they want to enhance their brand reputation. Poor aftersales just make a joke of having warranties. It would have been far less trouble to buy a pressure test kit, order the parts myself and get a local car mechanic to fix it if I couldn't myself. Stuart

Never mind, read the sale of goods info on the .gov.uk site. Manufacturer cannot tie you to their own guarrantee. E.U 2 years and Scotland 5-7 years! I'd be overjoyed if they lasted 18months and remained dry. Stuart

I found the bra when I went back for the stumps. I hung it up in the shrubbery as a navigational marker, a sign of a popular dogging spot perhaps... Stuart

Rennes area, Brittany. Here we have a lane closure, traffic control and police presence as we remove roadside trees just off the Rennes to Laval autoroute. 3 Brits and a Moroccan aided by 2 local council parks dept. workers. I feel quite proud that though an 'etranger' I have become sufficiently integrated to be able to negociate work with several local councils at this level. At the last count, 95% of our work comes from French clients within 30km. Brexit and the fall of sterling having all but killed off the demand from Brits over the last couple of years. Stuart

Arbortech boots. 3 months warranty or 200 days if you register 'online' I cannae seem to find the link to this. Can any-one post me the link? Cheers much Stuart

I will add, I already f**ked up a simple oil change this year when the drain plug slipped out of my hand and blocked the hole in the oil catching device, spilling oil over the ground sheet and driveway. Looks proper council now it does... Stuart

I could always nip over to Super U and do my oil change in their carpark under a street light. Save me cleaning up my own driveway... Briggs oil suckering hand pump, are they effective enough to remove all the oil then? Stuart

Hello all. 50hrs reached today on the fsib20 grinder. Time to change the oil but... Effing drain plug is inconveniently placed. Not at poorly placed as a Quadchips, that really is a headache. What is required is one of these: https://www.amazon.com/RuggedMade-12mm-Changing-Drain-Engine/dp/B000PDN6R6 Does anyone have a source of similar in U.K or E.U? I found one on Ebay.co.uk but it's £70 with postage. Regards Stuart

Certainly when I have spoken to Briggs in Paris (speak excellent English) they have been most helpfull and apologetic over the previous component delay (lambda sensor) I find this situation maddening. Before I dropped my chipper off at the dealers it was a working machine, just problematic to start when hot. Since the dealers clumsy interventions, the machine no longer functions and my business partially crippled as a result. I am fortunate that I have no credit on my chipper or indeed any debt at all otherwise the situation would be very gloomy indeed. Stuart

Saturday 2nd Nov and the parts, crank shaft sensor and fuel pump, have still not arrived at the dealers despite being ordered on Monday 21st October. The parts order goes to B&S in Paris who contact their warehouse in Holland who send it to Paris then onto the dealer. Hardly Amazon level service... I recall that John Deere parts arrive from America within 48hrs. Next weeks planned work is not suitable for a CS100 wee chipper so I am moving clients around to ensure I can keep rolling and avoid laying off 3 subbies. I'll not buy another Briggs engine again after this debacle. Not worth the risk. EFI maybe great engines when they work but in the event of a problem the aftersales is glacial, non-reactive. Very costly to a small business especially at this time of year. Stuart

And... the chute folds down for storage. Less than a minute with a spanner to release 2 bolts. I was lucky and got hold of a rare bracket which attaches to the A-frame and supports the folded chute for travel. Stuart

I'll also report back on the engine problems once the dealer finally identifies them. Stuart

Feeding long shoots of pyracantha backwards into a CS100 todays cold drizzle is a fresh low for me... (Can't push it the other way round) Stuart

'My' engine, not 'every' engine. I'm still without a chipper since the dealer made matters worse and now having to use a CS100 for jobs I priced for a 6", though I'm hiring a new Bugnot roadtow for a council job. I'll report back on that one later. It would be the same story if I had bought a TW or Först efi chipper. The engines have a separate guarrantee to that of the chipper. My problems arise from efi not having sufficient dealer support in France. Dealers are yet to be motivated into getting the training or specific software. Stuart

I bought my CS100 in UK, took it to France, put 300 verifiable hours on it, sold it for almost what I paid for it 3 years later. I now have a second CS100 as backup to an unreliable efi engined 150. Just fitted a fresh battery and pull cord. Both let me down last week so we had to use starter cables from the truck to the wee chipper...merde alors! Stuart

Local tip to me takes it as greenwaste. Stuart

Dig it out if possible and replace the soil. Stuart

I think our work is nothing to be ashamed of and if our kids temporarily dip their toes into our world of knarly graft then it might well give them the motivation to indeed better themselves. Stuart

Due to an issue with my 6" roadtow, we broke out the CS100 for a few days. Day 2 of this and I'm shattered. My shoulders are burning from lifting branches high and feeding them into the hopper. I can't even yawn without bringing on a fresh ache. Wednesday, I've arranged a day long Bugnot demo as we've another council job with traffic control. I can't really ruck up to that with a CS100 and whack 7 pines through it in a morning. Stuart