LGP Eddie

Fair spec of a used 4cx here. Sadly lacking the extra rotate circuit for a grab by the look of it, but certainly a two way auxiliary that’ll run a Shear and the extra long legs will get you up a fair bit higher. Plenty of options got ticked, would have been some money new. https://www.sandhillplant.com/inventory/?/listings/plant-equipment/for-sale/184466959/2013-jcb-4cx?dlr=1&pcid=3998399&sfc=0&ssc=0&ftr=1&ssf=0&lo=3&ftld=co.uk&sbc=0&snai=0&culture=en-gb Eddie.

Seen this on Instagram this morning, nice example of punched plate to compare against mesh. Eddie.

Go with some punched plate not mesh would be a much stronger solution. Eddie.

Yes this confirms that they’re almost certainly using Electric Joysticks and a Control System. He was obviously just pushing his dipper out on the Roller, but the trade off was he had to cut the Mulcher off. Someone smart enough would switch that to the other Roller on the left stick that does the Slew function as you’ll not require it as much in that application. Done that way you could continually Mulch and Track keeping all arm functions. Brilliant tech, but that counterweight really is a triumph of oh shit this thing needs more weight, hang on there’s this lump we can bolt on in the nettles! Absolute shite, someone should be shot for it! Eddie.

They’ll be Electric Joysticks as most are going that way with Control System a little like a Tiltrotator setup, so basically yes there would I’m certain be no issues in when Stick Steer is selected they can move the Dipper and Slew function to the right lever on rollers and then have forward/reverse left/right on the left hand stick for travel. No dedicated pump on the 306 as I’m aware. Eddie.

Interesting little video of some of the features the new CAT 309 Hi Flow has. On paper now the benchmark machine in the class for Arb/De-Veg type work and the just launched next generation 306 will I predict take the top spot for the forward thinkers in the 6 tonne class due to one specific version of it. Interesting bits are the solely dedicated Auxiliary pump on the 309 giving 140ltr/min and the ability to truly track/mulch simultaneously. There is the ability to have the Mulcher on continuous operation, which some uneducated refuse to setup on the machine. 10 hours holding a button on and your finger would be dead! The machine has stick steer, which means you can steer with the left hand joystick and cruise control to set a given speed. Combine this with the 2 piece boom version and the fact it has a long/wide undercarriage from a 310 under it and you’ve really got a fair setup from the factory. I’d certainly like a go in one and the next generation 306 when it lands.

Be interesting to see how this goes in terms of ‘Hire Only’ or ‘Contract Lift’ as discussed elsewhere? I would assume you’ll stay out of the Lifting Operation territory a little like Tree Shears do when cutting and lowering with the Felling Head, but as soon as you hold a limb and have someone in the Tree cutting it for you, there’s no way around the fact it’s a straightforward lift and doing the work of a Crane? Going to impact rates if it does turn into a full Contract Lift service as the whole operation will have to be planned and supervised correctly. I predict a few stand offs on site as the details of who covers what is sorted out. I’d suggest you look into going with the CPA for their terms/conditions/backup. I have the T shirt for having a specialist setup being torched, and 12 months is a long long time when your main earning machine is away being mended. Eddie.

Absolutely, but it’s right at the top end of big but not massive I’d say and probably represents where a lot of guys who take on more including some commercial work will be looking. Going the small Hookloader with low sided bin with removable boosters for roundwood/rings and moving Excavator/small loader etc about, plus a chip bin and a 1390xp would certainly be one of the most versatile setups out there for year round work. The 1390xp should we hope fit on this brilliant small hookloader, and with the addition of a chip box and a few boosters for the low sided skip would make a fantastic setup that can access many places. Eddie.

That’s really nicely done, do you remember if that one had two speed tracking? Eddie.

You’ll easily be worth your money and I’ll happily pass on any projects that require the extra reach/capacity and mobility that a Truck can bring. I know what these can do first hand and there’s no comparison to traditional methods. Best of luck with the new venture. Eddie.

Next level up, you’d be into a small hook loader to move this about, but you should be able to move/store it in a bin easily. I hired this 1390xp in for a specific job and was extremely impressed. I’ve loaded and worked with plenty of the bigger Bandits and the dna really had gone down the range to this brilliant 1390xp. The build was absolutely solid, easy to use/maintain and literally if you could get it in, it was gone. This was setup crane feed only, I assume you can have the stop bars on it, which I would for the ability for guys to use it on bits and pieces or final clear up, trade off is always you catch them a few times a shift and cut it off, but it’s a small price for the versatility. Matched to anything from 2.5 tonne tonne to around 6 for loading with a fixed grab and you’ve got a fantastic setup that’s going to last years and years. I was very impressed and wouldn’t hesitate to hire it again. Eddie. FullSizeRender.mov

Trust me there’s plenty of applications for these Trucks as Excavator based setups run out of height real quick, and even if you go for a hero cut and try to get the top out in one, there’s an awful lot of trees out there that’s simply not a option. I’m an Excavator man through and through, so wouldn’t look at the Truck route, but I have been looking at Excavator options to take me up to 28 metres which I think is around the optimum without requiring radio remote and getting up higher for vision. I look at so many projects where the 13/14 metre isn’t enough, I can do 18.5 with the Liebherr and Felling Head up or out, but 28 metres is where it needs to be. Trust me 28 metres is enough for a MK1 eyeball on this sort of work. I took the Mecanil and switched it over to Excavators use, where the ability to choose a range of carrier machines easily to suit the application and the speed from an Excavator make them a very productive combination. This is on a 22 metre Long Reach unit, the stuff is shite, there’s a river below in a vertical sided concrete channel, nothing to touch this sort of setup for safety and production. IMG_1978.MP4 Eddie.

Leave that to the 360 Telehandlers that’ll be everywhere with Mecanil and Westtech Heads. 40k on the road, basically run around an hour and a half radius from an operating base like JCB 3CX’s used to do everywhere and you’ll cover some ground. If you’ve no use for the Felling Head I’m certain the crane winch, or basket would come in useful to a company. Magni are currently at 46 metres reach on a 360 rotating machine, but something in the 26 metre range isn’t massively expensive and will be a game changer. That truck is capable of far bigger than 850kg closer in that’s for certain, and I know better than most how effective these Mecanil Felling Heads are. The main problem with Lorry Loader cranes is they’re so slow in operation, and certain ones will lock out when overloaded causing all kinds of headaches. Fair play to them for jumping first and trying to get ahead, I assume they’ll both be doing some demo’s and well worth a look at these things in action. Eddie.

I’d go with a box that stayed in rather than slid out, as you’ll just end up with a box on the floor to empty. Make your box obviously as large as possible to slide in and fix when required. Then Google Hippo bags and you’ll find they do what are basically builders bag skips. Select a suitable size to mount in the end of your box, held/propped open with 4 ropes down the box and out the back. Blow into your box through your new window/flap and to empty just tie the 4 ropes to something and drive off, the bag will flush the lot out and no hassle to retrieve it. It’ll not damage anything in its way out either. Just a way of holding the bag open, and perhaps a few open pipe clips inside to hold the top ropes up and out of the way as you fill. If it works for you all good, can’t see a huge cost in a ply box and a hippo bag to give it a shot before you get chopping the window about. Eddie.

Been talked about for many years, they’re on the right field but wrong tent. The solution is out there now, just nobody’s put it together yet. Eddie.

Contract Lift you are paying for the Crane Company to take all the risk. Cranes just ‘on hire’ will almost certainly come with the Construction Plant Association (CPA) terms and conditions. Do yourself a favour and find out your exact responsibilities especially if the Crane is coming with Operator under CPA, as you’ll find you’re responsible for an awful lot more than you think. Just like hiring in Plant, the CPA terms are basically gospel, they have been tested many times over the years, the industry is well aware of them and it’s up to Hirers to ensure they make suitable provisions. Likewise any reputable CPA company and their Operatives will have their own responsibilities to ensure checks are made and safe systems are adhered to at all times. Here’s a brief outline from the HSE to the CPA in the subject of Hire v Contract Lift. Don’t take a chance for a few hundred quid, these guys have their own legal teams that specialise in this stuff, I know because I’m fortunate to be in the CPA and they offer members great advice. Eddie.

Never really understood how riding the hook has ever been allowed as in Construction you’d need a low loader for the book they’d bring to throw at you! In this instance the guide gives a good explanation of why in certain circumstances it’s clearly the safest option if done correctly. It’s a little like Tree Shears, everyone always asks what you can lift, and you say no idea? That normally provokes a heart attack in the box tickers, but the reality is you don’t know how heavy something is or if you can hold it until you’ve cut it. The alternative is make someone climb it, use a saw in a tree and rig it down. The risks from sitting in a guarded cab of a machine with a properly specced cut capacity to machine base weight ratio are negligible by comparison. Eddie.

I'd look to pay you £700 for an 9hr day on site with that size machine, 1/2 hr breaks at 10.00am and 1.00pm. I'd give you £35hr Travel on top. A 300hp Tractor pulling a large twin axle Heizohack with it's own Palfinger Crane would be around £1250 per day plus Travel here. Obviously if you've enough material and want to go the other way around, the Chipper is provided in the service. Eddie.

The only situation I can see where I’d need the volume of grease to warrant it would be a track adjuster, if I’d had the track off. I don’t need to recharge, mess about with batteries, can leave them in the machine cabs and no panic if the van gets done at the Travelodge. If I’d a workshop then yes almost certainly I’d go with one as the two speed Milwaukee ones will blow through most stuck nipples with ease. Eddie.

Not knocking the Battery ones, in the right hands I’m certain they’re fine. Just I normally witness the 30 second dash around a machine that is completely black around all pivot points from over greasing by the so called operator, before they throw all the sandwich wrappers, crisp packets and pop bottles out of the cab onto the floor and slam the door shut, racing to get in the van for home! At least treat yourself to a G coupler for your battery version, they’re brilliant. Eddie.

Basically the Fuchs Reiner uses a larger grease cartridge that looks a little like a tube of Silicone. To fit you simply remove the cap and then insert and screw into the housing. The grease is actually sucked out of the tube with the bottom cap of the tube sliding up as emptying progresses. They literally completely empty the tube every time no issues or mess whatsoever. They run at higher pressure and deliver more each stroke than a standard gun. You can also change grades in seconds, with a couple of pumps allowing the different product through. I’ve three and the oldest is around 5 years now, all still working perfectly. The G Coupler replaces the standard Grease Gun end and allows you to simply clip onto the nipples without having to hold it with one hand. They are brilliant and combined with the Reiner mean you can grease machines effortlessly without mess. Eddie.

You’d be up the road for going anywhere near my kit with a cordless grease gun. Designed for seat fillers to get the job done as fast as possible, wasting grease and plastering the machine in the process. I use a Fuchs Reiner system and G coupler, absolutely no fuss or mess. Eddie.

I find it’s not instantaneous like a Milwaukee or the like, but with a charged battery and in the faster setting fetched all my Defender nuts straight off and they’ve not been touched in 12 months. It’s certainly not a professional bit of kit, it did it’s job and It’s just handy to have, I can loan it to lads on site etc no worries. Eddie.

I was in the situation where I needed to have a gun in the toolbox of a machine just to do the quick hitch and simply went with a Clarke brushless job from Machine Mart at about £100 plus vat on offer and it comes with two batteries and charger. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much, just trying to speed up a specific task and it wouldn’t warrant anything more expensive. It’s however turned out to be a handy bit of kit, now lives in the van with no worries if it gets stolen etc, and for example last week fetched all 4 wheels straight off my Defender without resorting to a breaker bar first. Best thing about it is it’s so small and light, it’s ideal just to have for spinning nuts off/on even if I need a breaker bar first. Eddie.

I should add the main reason for my initial purchase of the Tajfun was the availability of the particular model with two pto shaft inputs. Basically you could run it on the rear of any tractor with standard 540 pto, and then put it on the front linkage where it would accept 1000 speed reverse. I was always hiring Valtra’s at the time and it would have been a useful option, but it mainly got used on the Kubota Excavator. Eddie.