paddyvero

Canada is a very big country, where are you heading? 

Self employed climbers are not so common here, and its a much more involved process to be one. 

The trees and the type of work is also quite different. It takes awhile to become productive, even if you are the bollocks at home.

Once had an old dear make us a cup of Bisto with milk!

Are you on pole gaffs or those weird euro gaffs Distel make? Id say stick with the long tree gaffs, wont be long before you get used to them. I switched 9yrs ago and never went back to pole gaffs. Or file your long gaffs down until they are 'medium'. 

1 minute ago, Ty Korrigan said:

 

Not my theory Jase but one punted above by the dealer of paddyvero.

I could see through this lie but wanted a response.

Chipper dealers, more spin than a Conservative party dealing with a threesome sex scandal.

 

 

Ive no idea about your machine, but the video I posted showed the issue with mine, its now back and running as normal. 

Certainly similar, mine would rev all the way back up to full then die back to idle, might run at full pelt for5secs, 30secs, or a few minutes. Dealer mechanic said it was sparking at the engine mounts. 

Mine turned out to be a bad ground and loose engine mounts. Fixed in a jiffy and back to work. They even washed it for me.

Phew!

Dont know it that pulley is suitable for textiles either? 

Itemised quote? Then if its a decent amount of work I offer a discount, maybe 10% if we do it all. 

Thanks Mike. Dealer thought it was a spark issue from the video so we will see. 

The Briggs diagnostics doesnt read fuel pressure oddly, have to put a valve inline after the fuel module to get a reading. 

Dont think Ive ever had an old Merc, maybe someone else? 

Yeh, Im in BC, Canada. Briggs distributor is in AB. Machine is with the Timberwolf dealer though, apparently they do have the Briggs diagnostics stuff so fingers crossed. 

4 hours ago, Ty Korrigan said:

 

Thank you for posting.

It must be humiliating for dealers not to be able to easily diagnose issues with a twin cylinder engine.

Briggs are hiding something even from their own technicians.

 

Hasnt been to a dealer yet, they are a 2 hr drive away and the Briggs dealer is a 16hr drive away. 

Just trying my luck with the local knowledge here. 

To hijack the thread somewhat, rather than start another. Anyone care to offer an opinion on this? Same motor, Timberwolf machine. Starts fine everytime, runs at idle with no issues at all. Loses rpm when at full throttle intermittently then powers back up on its own. 

Fuel supply is clear, new filters all around, test of fuel lift pumps comes back normal. 

Sometimes itll run for 10-15mins chipping, sometimes continually dying every 30seconds. 

It started monday, very minor, tuesday was much worse.

Thanks.

Those are the DMM made Distels I think, they are offset. Look like mine anyway. Someone has swapped out the Velco bottom straps wisely!

The morning walk around to make a plan is critical! We often meet onsite. I have to stop and make myself wait for everyone to be ready, boots on etc! Patience is key! 

In the same vein, teach the lads to slow down and do it right the first time! 

Pet hate, wood coming down with bits of brash still attached?

9 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Do you have krabs both ends of you zip line strops?

No. Steel crab, ideally kept captive on a loop sling. I just biy long lengths of webbing and tie tape knots. You need a  bit of spare sling from the girth hitch to the crab, or the piece can act like a brake on the rigging line. 

Ive never found it to be an issue, give abit of space between the strop and the end of the piece being rigged. Cinch it up snug though. Might be an issue on smooth bark stuff like Euc. We zip line alot. 

Which motor is in it Mick? They arent much of a work truck, no capacity!

2 hours ago, pleasant said:

That's true......but the customer was expecting a full day of employment. If I wasn't getting what I paid for then most rational people wouldn't re-employ them next time needed....or at least they wouldn't be first choice. You only rip someone off once- the public have long memories. Short term gain. And I repeat what I said in my earlier post......if I charge for 8 hour labour to fix his saw, and I finish it by lunchtime he's happy to pay for the full 8 hours after googling the correct time for the job? I would only get his business the once.

You arent comparing apples to apples. If you had quoted to fix a saw, (for arguements sake you think it will take 4hrs) and the customer agreed to this, then thats the price. If you manage to sort it in 2hrs good for you, you win, but if you messed up and it took you 6hrs then its tough cookie for you. But of course, mechanics dont sell their services in this way, they charge hourly with an estimate of time needed.

In Arb contracting most work is undertaken on a quote basis.

Yes time may be a one of the things to be considered when quoting an arb job, but its not the be all end all.

Im happy with mine so far, only 150hrs in but no issues. I havent used any of the competition in recent years, but it goes well for a 6inch. Deff thirsty compared to the diesel.

9 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I always think my little 6” chipper reduces volume/compacts better than the bigger 10” one.

 

Smaller chips stack together better than the bigger ones.

Id agree. Seems the big drum chippers dont reduce it as small as disks either. Also, if its blunt the chips are moosive.

Never done the maths, but the volume reduction is massive, plus its throwing the branches on the truck for you. 

Also learnt a huge amount via the forum. Is it the single best resource for all things tree work? Id say so. 

Exposure to others and different ways to work probably gives those here an edge. 

I think he might be having a laugh? 

9 hours ago, josharb87 said:

I recently sold my 3yr old 50hp Jensen 540 to a gm 160 owner who is thrilled with the extra performance. 
 

but now it looks like Jensen are sticking pathetically small engines in. Dunno if they’d do a custom engined machine again? 

 

The safe if a little mundane bet would be timberwolf, but if I was in the market again I’d be demoing the GM205 first 

Why did you sell the Jensen? Interesting as I thought your machine had the perfect spec.

Good topic. 

Is it the education, or lack of that is the problem? 

I admit I dont know how the system works in the UK anymore, but I cant imagine its any better than it was when I was learning. 

Is it the lack of a good accreditation system? 

Is it that it is just too easy to get 'trained', set up as a sole trader and generally make a hash of things? 

We certainly have some of these issues here on the west coast of  Canada. The education is almost none existant and frankly pretty crap, but they are trying. No legitimate accreditation system. Not even basic competency requirements. However, I would say it is harder to set up on your own, and from my experience customers want a profesional experience, so that weeds out some of the competition.

But also, do the general population really care about trees? Seems to me lots care more about their lawn.

18 hours ago, Joe Newton said:

You're an idiot

Agreed