monkeybusiness

Apologies for the derail by the way!

Note to all - be aware that booking the CSCS health and safety touch-screen test is relatively cheap and is undertaken at the same places that do the driving theory tests. You can book direct - there seem to be many third party providers out there who will book the test and supply a CSCS card at massively inflated prices.

Thanks for the info Paul, much appreciated.

I doubt that's a bodged build and would imagine they are probably all like that. The bearing housings will be altered to fit in the factory. That's a draughtsman's error possibly, which may or may not be engineered out on the next generation of machines. If you need a new housing I'd imagine Forst will probably have them pre-cut ready to go from the factory. As already stated, these are limited-production machines. They are built where possible with off-the-shelf parts from external suppliers, and these parts may need modification to work as required. I doubt Forst are the only chipper manufacturers that do this.

Hi Steve Can you give me an idea of what is covered over and above the NPTC's various offerings? Will a candidate holding basic NPTC relevant proficiencies (ie CS30, 31, 38, 39 and woodchipper) come away learning anything they have not already been taught? I'm confused as to where this course/qualification sits, but I understand it is supposed to be a prerequisite for getting a CSCS card. Cheers Dan

Pretty good example I'd say. As a company there is only so much you can do to ensure things like this don't happen. A trained competent workforce with the correct kit and the ability to make decisions regarding safety for themselves without incurring the wrath of those above them is a bare minimum. Sending adequately capable teams to undertake whatever the relevant job is comes down to the management of a business, and may (or may not) have led to this incident. What is extremely difficult to 'Manage out' is sometimes silly decisions taken by operatives on the ground. Who knows why the guy with the saw decided to do what he did? Maybe he had a grudge against the company? Maybe he was drunk? Maybe he'd had an argument at home and his mind was on other things? These are arguably beyond the control of the business, but ultimately the business will suffer the consequences of this one individual's actions. Alternatively, maybe the whole team were inadequately trained, or under pressure to get that tree on the floor in a hurry etc. Then it is a company issue. We can assume whatever we like, but it is not right to jump instantly to the conclusion that the firm or the individual cutter are individually to blame.

If you are attempting to use pull-speed to 'steer' a falling tree then I suggest you are taking massive chances already, and possibly don't have a decent grasp on the principles of large tree felling. An assisted fell (winch, chipper, truck, tractor, pull rope etc) will get the tree moving in the required direction and can help counter a lean at the start of the fell. It should not be relied on to direct the tree once gravity takes over - that is down to the hinge (and occasionally a separate holding line to help prevent the hinge from failing). Pull speed had nothing to do with this balls up IMO - I would suggest the cutter has cocked the job up from the start. Pull direction was wrong, I would suggest the hinge has probably been severed (it certainly failed for one reason or another - the wind doesn't appear to have been accounted for at all) and there has been no attempt to maintain a 2 tree-length exclusion zone in any direction (never mind all the way around the tree!). Inexperience, bravado - probably a combination of the two could have had some very serious consequences here. IMO that was a reckless decision to go for the fell in those conditions in that location - I would think that the cutter's competencies will need to be looked at and at that point the company involved may have some questions to answer.

The forward/reverse spool is mechanical on these - you could theoretically wire up the no stress to allow the rollers to turn in whichever direction they are set to with the control bar but this could equally make the problem worse if the numpty that turned it off whilst set to feed subsequently cranks it back over whilst still set to feed...

Denso 8971128652 is the OE part fitted by Isuzu - I've only got a reconditioned original on the shelf here (hence knowing the part number!) so can't find you the aftermarket make/model. A decent auto electrician will be able to match this part number though.

I've had them from local autoelectricians before now (around £100 ish iirc) and always keep one (either new or reconditioned) on the shelf as they are prone to failure - you can't easily move a safetrac if the starter motor is toast! They burn out when people turn the key when there is material jamming the flywheel - usually as a result of shutting the machine down with the feed bar set to chip and material still in the feed hopper. Always select stop or reverse before shutting down the 1928s as the stress control solenoid opens as soon as you deenergise it when you turn the key off, and the rollers subsequently turn a bit. If it helps in your search, the Isuzu engine in these is a 4LE (it will be a 4LE1 or 4LE2 etc etc - they all have the same starters as far as I know) also fitted in some JCBs I believe.

I bought their last stock radiator 18 months ago...

Definitely make sure your belts aren't slipping then. I'm not up to speed on the TW machines any more but seem to recall the stress control measuring the speed of the actual flywheel shaft. If your belts are slipping (they might be tight but worn) the flywheel slows very easily under load, but the engine doesn't lose revs so sounds like it isn't actually working very hard.

Is it the correct stress control unit - they are just a speed sensor counting teeth on a passing cog. If it is set up for the wrong number of teeth it won't work correctly. Also, is the machine reaching full revs (throttle working correctly/fuel supply good)?

It's an Isuzu engine in those, and the radiator isn't made by/for Isuzu. If you want a new one I think you'll struggle to source one anywhere other than GM, as I'm pretty sure they are made specifically for them. As PeteB says, some costs are what they are. If the recore is similar money to a brand new rad I think I'd be going down the new route personally!

1928 radiators are massive - I'd imagine a recore would've dear. I've had one cleaned out professionally by a radiator company in Wrexham (I'd had many attempts myself and actually took it in to them for a re-core, but they took the decision to clean it out instead). It was (and still is) perfect afterwards, but they wouldn't tell me how they do it!!

Ha ha - too slow!

Try these guys - MWMAC on 01597810306. They seem to have tractor/ATV etc trainers and assessors nationwide, and they are the right money.

Cheers, knew I couldn't spell!

I agree on both counts. Every pair of Haix that I have bought over the past 8 years has done the same (for myself and employees). Very comfortable, but a flawed design unfortunately. We haven't had any similar problems with Arbortek or Meindle (both probably spelt wrong!)

I know of 3 within a mile of each other in South Cheshire too.

Search Dean Lofthouse on here's posts. He did a full thread on replacing bearings on a Timberwolf 150 (I think, or equivalent Entec). He knows his onions with mechanics and his thread is full of really helpful info. All the Timberwolfs and Entecs are pretty much the same and it will give you a brilliant reference point.

My two cents worth re the Engcon/tiltrotator debate. I've just ordered a Rototilt for my 6 tonner - make sure you speak directly to all of the main players (Tim at Rototilt, Pat at Steelwrist, John Craig if you are looking at Engcon (he's a dealer himself, not part of Engcon UK who weren't amazingly helpful IME) and Daniel at SMP. I got nowhere fast trying to get any sort of useful information from any machinery dealers, even one who are actually Engcon agents. If you are ordering a new machine start from scratch with a Scandinavian hitch and buckets - try ordering this from a UK machinery dealer as part of a package and you might as well be talking Swedish as they genuinely don't understand the tilt rotator market at all. I ordered my Quickhitch from SMP, got the buckets made by a firm called Scotts in Northern Ireland, and as stated have just settled on a Rototilt after a good look at all options at Hillhead. There can be wild differences in price for equivalent models and it would be very easy to be upsold extras that aren't required for your application. I didn't buy on price in the end, but I saved significantly over equivalent offerings from other manufacturers (and saved literally thousands over the package Engcon UK and one of their dealers would have sold me/insisted was what I needed). I can't wait for it to be delivered/installed now, so I can try and learn how to dig round holes!!! If you want a load of info have a good read through the ceforum - Eddie has a couple of fantastic threads on there that are a mine of useful info (including great contributions from other tiltrotator users).

Make sure everything is tight too - you don't want any movement at all on those bolts.

Balls - you'd make my life/decision much easier if you said it wasn't as good as you first thought! Cheers for the reply, glad you're happy with it!

Steve - I'm seriously toying with swapping my old shape D40 Navara for the new one like yours (a dealer has offered me a pretty good px offer). I am really happy with my current truck and am only considering swapping as they've offered me a decent lump for it, and it is only going to depreciate heavily from now on. Is the new one better all-round in your opinion? Are you glad you swapped? Is there anything that you aren't happy with now you've lived with it for a few months? Sorry for all the questions!