monkeybusiness

Mac and Jason at Greenmech are possibly the 2 most helpful people you could ever wish to deal with - I have spoken to them on numerous occasions over the last few years and they have ALWAYS fixed my problem down the phone. I'm sure I am a major pain in the arse to them, but they always take the call (or phone back if they are unavailable) and let me know what I am doing wrong. I am of the opinion that Greenmech machines are class leading anyway, but the back-up available from these guys is totally invaluable - it is a major reason that I would always look to buy Greenmech machines above all else.

It looks like an orange 201t to me...

Is that the German subtitled version of Smokey and the Bandit?

Alright - a few of us are going to see G'N'R tonight in Liverpool and have ended up with a few spare tickets - if anyone fancies coming along then give me a shout on 07970188050. Otherwise I'll be touting them outside the gig. Cheers, Dan

Think of the profit - you can always get another mog if you decide it will make you money in the future. It is only a tool - if it isn't earning its keep then get it gone! I'd love a mog and have tried to justify one many times but I can't personally see how it would make me money over and above what my current set up does.

Sorry, that's what I'm getting at - take 2 vehicles with a chipper behind one and trailer behind the other when the job is going to produce a lot of arisings. You'll carry more away than most other set ups, but without the essential paperwork exercise required elsewhere.

I don't think you need a tacho if your maximum permissable mass is less than 7.5 tonnes, you only carry your own equipment relavant to your trade and you operate within 50km of base. Depending on how it's registered/how heavy it is you will probably need a tacho in your mog, but you don't in your Canter if you stay within 50km of base (even when towing your 3.5 tonne trailer). Everyone keeps banging on about 3.5 tonne vehicles being useless for tree work - if you run them as you are with a big trailer there isn't much you can't take on day to day whilst staying legal and avoiding all the red tape that goes with the running of bigger trucks (providing your work is within 50 km of your base).

Totally agree - the gm machines with letterbox feeds (1523, 1623, 1928 etc) are the ones to go for, they are leagues ahead of the older designed machines. Gm have made some duff chippers in the past and suffer because of it - their overall external design has changed very little and people who have used one of their older designed machines tend to talk down their whole range. I think if they had been a bit more radical with the visual design of the later machines they would have had more success in winning back early users that perhaps had negative experience with the earlier machines.

There is a no-stress bypass on the GMs I have used (I have no experience of 3pl versions but I'd imagine they are the same). I assume you or the Greenmech rep you refer to has run the machine without the no-stress to check there is not a problem with the hydraulics (ignoring the LED colour for now). If it is definitely a no-stress problem then the electrical feed does look like a culprit IMO.

Cider blunts my engineering terminology a little I'm afraid! I know what people mean about lego - I think the old GM bonnets look a bit like a wedding cake...

Was the new 6'' the quadchip, 'cos in real terms it will actually pull more through than your 190 does due to the letterbox feed, yet it weighs less than 750kg and has a turntable. I wouldn't worry about the plastic cover - it's the choppy choppy bits that matter (and a 1928 GM will choppy choppy 11'' wide pieces through unlike your 190).

We've just had 2 faulty 560xpgs - on top of one faulty xp. I personally run a 560xp that went back and is now fixed and it is super mega, but 3 out of 6 saws that I've been involved with have gone back (and take FOREVER to get sorted/replaced). Pretty poor performance really, and the aftercare is beyond terrible. If you get a good 'un it will blow you away, but do you fancy the odds?...

How much is it?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I think I already know....)

01925740995

I helped a firm assemble one of these about 10 years ago (I can't remember the make but I know it came from Scandinavia) and I have to say it didn't blow me away in terms of potential longevity. It was a very clever assembly process (a cross between Ikea and Lego) with all of the individual 'logs' CNCd to interlock with perpendicular walls, with nothing other than gravity holding the logs together. The mating faces were effectively triple tongue and grooved - all in all the finished building was structurally very strong. It was a fast build - 4 of us (2 experienced guys and 2 labourers) had a 2 storey house built with the ridge and purlins in place ready to take the roof in under 4 days - it would probably take at least 5 times as long if nobody on site had done one before as the kit is one of the most confusing puzzles I have ever seen (you also need a large area next to the site to lay everything out so you can recognise individual pieces). However, my concern centres around the fact that none of the wood was treated/tanalised, and it looked a MASSIVE nightmare to try and remove/replace any 'logs' at a later date if they became rotten/damaged. The whole building goes up 1 course at a time and locks together - trying to remove a log properly would entail dismantling the entire building from the top down until you reached the relevant course (or alternatively you could fire up the chainsaw and cut a big hole in the wall, but I'm not sure how you would go about letting new wood in effectively afterwards). I do love the idea of living in one though - the place felt cosy even without windows/doors etc.

I've never used one but my concern would be trying to pull away fully loaded up hill in the wet towing a chipper with just front wheel drive (but maybe it isn't a problem in the real world).

I dunno how much the Jensen you've looked at is but I'd also have a look at a greenmech quadchip if you can find one for similar money - they've got an even bigger opening and a turntable for the same weight.

A new customer has asked me to try and sort out her fruit trees (Apple, Damson, Malus) which are being decimated by Tortrix caterpillars for the 3rd year running (I haven't seen the trees previously - I am taking her word for it with regards the historical problem). She reckons that this year's infestation is the worst yet - all emerging blossom and leaves on the group of trees is being instantly destroyed by thousands of caterpillars, and she has had no fruit for the last 2 years. Aside from letting nature take its course through bird feeding etc, what other course of action is available. My thoughts run with spraying with a pesticide, but what is currently available that will be effective here? The physical pesticide application is not a problem, I just could do with some help/advice on what to use. Cheers!

Chainsaw carvers love big lumps of Sequoia - can you get a tractor with front loader to it? It will save you a massive amount of cutting/clearing up if you can get it away in big lumps!!! Post something on the carving forum and see if anyone is interested.

I agree - that would look spot on!!!

I totally agree with this - they make big money second hand and there are dealers selling new ones with decent discounts (ring Morris Bufton and Co in Ludlow and speak to John - he'll sort you out on a new one for not much more than they make second hand).

I'm amazed that you don't do everything you can to check the provenance of what you're buying - a quick phonecall to the manufacturers is all it takes. Please don't take this personally, but your relaxed attitude to what you buy helps drive the market for stolen plant and machinery. If people were more diligent at point of purchase it would limit the outlet for hot kit. If you do end up buying something that has been stolen then it will be taken off you if it is discovered by the police (unlikely I know, but not unheard of). I saw one of those police camera programs and they pulled a guy on the motorway and took his ifor off him as the laser cut chassis number had been plated over and a jockey wheel bolted on to hide the work - a very professional identity cover up. However (and I was amazed) the copper knew what he was looking for and confiscated the trailer. Plant manufacturers will be able to tell you what numbers should be where - if it isn't 100% then walk away (and ideally call the police - some poor sod maybe seriously out of pocket somewhere because of what you're being offered).

I've never been fond of Vermeers but that has to be the koolest looking chipper ever!!! The guy feeding it looks a bit scared/out of his depth in the video though (but he does offer a bit of scale!) I'd like to see it chip something big though, make it work a bit.

Supplying/using your own log splitter, or working for someone using theirs?

The Brian James looks the mutt's nuts - has anyone got one?