monkeybusiness

It sounds like a brilliant idea and set up to me, and in reality probably altogether more useful than a roof mount for chipping (the only downside that I can think of is having to climb into the tractor to reposition, but the fact that you can quickly reposition your 'crane' would more than compensate). I would think that the 3pl mount should be fine legally especially if you go as far as building a proper light board with headlights etc to fit for road use - as you say it's no different to haulage on a trailer in terms of carrying the machine to site. I'm tempted to pinch your idea tbh...

I'd sort the anvil gap first and chuck a new set of blades at it - the gap should be 1-2 mm I think (hacksaw blade thickness is a good rule of thumb). I'm not sure if you can adjust the anvil on the 220 (you could on the older 202, but the gap is adjusted by moving the flywheel on the newer Greenmech models). PeteB is your man for info, or ring gm themselves and speak to Mac or Jason (but they might be closed for Xmas now). Is there a removable plate above the roller box (ie between the rollers and flywheel)? If so remove it and see if the rear flywheel bearing carrier is accessible. There should be a 19mm head bolt in the centre that needs to be present and tight as it locks the flywheel in position in relation to the anvil (if the 220 shares a similar setup to a 1928).

I carry a Greenmech 1928 safetrak on an gh94 with the 10 inch wheels to keep the floor (and subsequent loading) height as low as possible to allow easy chipping on the trailer. It also has the axles a bit further forward than other plant trailers, which reduces nose weight when towing choppers (as opposed to diggers with heavy counterweights at the back). It is almost as though the trailer is made to measure for the chipper , it is a perfect fit even where the chipper butts up against the trailer's bucket rest. However, the 10 inch tyres are rubbish, they wear out very quickly. Also the single leaves on the suspension are weak - our chipper is under 2 tonne so isn't pushing the trailer's maximum weight limit but we had a spate of broken springs only rectified by fitting the double springs fitted to 3.5 tonne ifors. If the GH 94 was available with 3.5 tonne capacity I think it would be the perfect tracked chipper trailer.

Not fast enough!

It's a cut leaf beech that has reverted back in parts of the canopy.

I've got a Berti swinging hammer on a 150hp deutz and it does well, and seems very strong. The hammers are dear for a set though...

Ha ha ha! - I don't know you but I feel your pain!!!

What are you mulching, how often, above/below ground level (ie stumps), budget? 140hp might struggle a bit on a fixed tooth machine running through stumps day-in day-out but would power a flail mulcher no probs upto 10-12" trees imo.

renewablejohn - thanks! Skyhuck - I think the info is below - Basically, it isn't obvious until you actually sign up as a supplier. As you go through the criterion the following paragraph comes up - Self Supplier Declaration help RHI participants will be able to register on the Biomass Suppliers List (BSL) as a ‘self-supplier’ if their installation is less than 1MWth capacity, and if they source fuel (which they have the legal right to source, through ownership, rental or other relevant arrangement) from the same estate as the boiler. Self-suppliers will also be able to source waste woodfuel from outside their estate for use in their installation. For the purposes of self-supply in the BSL, an estate comprises the buildings and supporting land and woods that is owned by, or has the legal rights to source woodfuel (for example through a rental agreement) by, one person, a family, an organisation, a single farm business or a commercial business. The land and buildings may or may not be contiguous but should be within reasonable distance of the boiler. A reasonable distance is defined as follows: the biomass source must be within 50 miles of the boiler. No more questions your honour...

Please do - this seems to be a pretty important (in our game) and currently unquantified position. It is ludicrous to consider that what we produce isn't sustainable and green - I've been hunting around to no avail to find a definitive answer but am not in the immediate position of commissioning an installation.

It's called parbuckling, and it is amazing what you can roll!!!

I'd definitely listen to Pete before me - he knows these machines better than anyone on here (unless Mac or Jason from GM are lurking somewhere!). Swap the motors as it is relatively easy and will give you a quick answer if you can replicate the fault - if it doesn't clearly show that the top motor has failed then get the pressure checked. Give me a shout if you can't find anyone local to do this for you. What does the hydraulic oil look like by the way - is there any evidence of emulsion (is it white)? Water in hydraulic oil is bad news, and it isn't always evident in the tank sight glass if the machine has been stood for a while (the water can settle out and sit at the bottom of the tank and the oil looks fine). Even when the machine is run up it can take a couple of hours for the site glass to show evidence on contamination due to the limited flow of oil through the glass. I bought a second hand ex-hire company machine cheap off eBay a few years ago that ran great when demo'd, the oil in the sight glass was clear and the right colour, the stress control kicked in and out with engine revs, the rollers turned etc etc - when we put it to work the feed rollers had no power at all. It transpired that the hydraulics were full of water and that had goosed the pump and both roller motors... With my 'Glass is half full' head on it eventually meant that I ended up with a not-as-cheap-as-I-thought-but-still-the-right-money machine with all new hydraulics and it has been fantastic ever since, but it was a bitter pill (and a lesson learned) at the time. That would have been really bad news if it had been a tracked machine, as there are many more components that could have been potentially knackered if that were the case. Buying second hand can be a minefield and it sounds like you have had a bit of bad luck - you will end up with a great machine that you know inside out however! Keep at it Aiden - it'll be worth it in the end!

We got a 4x4 40 tonne city crane properly stuck on what I considered to be a pretty solid field. I thought much the same as you Big J - it's got big grippy tyres and 4wd so should be OK! It really wasn't - I now know that wheeled cranes are hopeless on anything other than paved surfaces. That was a very expensive day for me and ended up involving a monster of a winch just to get the crane out! Use diggers or winches if you are venturing across fields would be my (now expert) advice!

The bungee won't give a problem with one roller and not the other - they both work from the same oil supply controlled by the spool block so there would be a problem with both rollers or neither rollers if that makes sense. Whilst the motor is removed is there smooth free rotation of the roller? Do the bearings feel ok? These bearings need greasing - have they been? What condition is the top roller pivot in? Again, does it move freely? Is there any wear here that might allow the top roller to twist and foul on the roller housing body? If you track the problem down to the motor itself (if everything above checks out ok then swap them over and give it a try) then try flow fit for a new replacement - they aren't as dear as you might think... I'm not personally familiar with the 180 but from your pics it looks similar in design to other GM machines - if you do take the lower motor off then pull the lower roller at the same time and be prepared to replace the bearing and bearing carrier - these go fairly frequently as they are often overlooked when greasing (I'm aware of some early gm machines where it isn't actually possible to grease them). Whilst the rollers are off stick them on the bench and give them some flap disk sharpy sharpy time - it's a bitch to do in situ and can make quite a difference to performance.

Pull the motor off and check the splines - they wear faster on the roller than the motor and gm supply a weld on replacement splined boss so the roller is salvageable (if it isn't otherwise knackered!) but you'll need a decent fabricator to sort it out. If the splines are good then it could be a tired motor - you could swap the motors and see if the problem migrates to the bottom which will answer the question.

I was talking about Forst's competitors, not yours. A quick mooch around the APF probably opened a few people's eyes to the fact that Forst aren't without serious competition from a number of directions. Not giving a manufacturer the chance to rectify a defect on a brand new to the market machine seems a bit short sighted unless there is more to the story IMO.

A leaking/faulty tank on a newly designed machine is unfortunate but teething issues like these are to be expected if you are an early adopter. I can't imagine there are enough machines out there for any real-life defects to raise their heads and subsequently give the manufacturers the chance to alter/improve the design. If you have had short shrift from the supplier then fair enough, but it sounds like a bit of an unfortunate situation to me. Just be careful you don't cut your nose off to spite your face here. However, reading between the lines I wouldn't be surprised if you have seen other competitor's machines and used the teething issues as a convenient get out....

Water in your fuel filter. Time for a new filter, or unscrew the sensor off the bottom and let the crud drip out for the time being.

I've had a complete axle off trailertek.com before now and it was really good value. They need a few measurements from the old axle and will make a bolt on replacement. I would think that you will be lucky to get the engine bar from anywhere other than GM - try them for a price, it might not be as bad as you are thinking. Otherwise go and see a local fabricators and price up having one made. Hydraulics - as said try flowfit or Greenmech themselves. Good luck, you've already had your fair share of bad!

My ranger has been very good.

Doesn't seem to - have a look around the exhaust manifold gasket area for evidence of soot. The gasket is around £40-50 and a bit awkward to fit, but does stop the squealing!

Check the inlet and exhaust manifolds - I've had the exhaust manifold go twice on mine near the back of the engine and it screeches just like slipping belts. The power issue might just be that you are towing a really heavy chipper!...

Ryeoil on here - pm him.

Also talk to Ryetec about a KTS crane - I've got one and am well happy with it.