LGP Eddie

Due to a change in circumstances I'm needing to get a guy through his Pa1 and Pa6w fairly urgently (by August 1st at latest). If anyone knows of courses running or a provider who can undertake courses at short notice I'd be most grateful. He's in North Staffordshire but obviously willing to travel to gain the qualifications. Thanks.

All good with me thanks LB, Yes it was a pretty much all singing/dancing setup on the demonstration JS130 they had up there. It's used to show off the remarkable 'Oilquick' system that allows you to not only pick up attachments with the quick hitch, but actually connect the oil pipes instantly without leaving the cab or turning the machine off. It's very neat but very expensive and I fear it won't like very tough environments? Where trees are concerned it's got to be armour plated in my experience! I couldn't attend but actually loaned Engcon my latest 5 tonne unit for the stand and I don't think Rohan has actually seen that one yet? There was also another Low Ground Pressure 8 tonne machine there modelled on mine that I believe got sold off the show stand. I sincerely hope you had sunglasses, because if the sun actually shines there it's an absolute killer reflecting off that limestone. Eddie.

Lovely pics of some awesome Machinery there LB, that big CAT is something like 310 tonne I believe? Gutted not to be up there being the local show, and looks like the weather turned out for Buxton too! You didn't manage a snap of a couple of special kubota's on the Engcon stand did you? Eddie.

TDCi all the way as far as I'm concerned? I've run 300tdi, TD5 and now 2.4 TDCi in all types of conditions with plenty of heavy towing and quite simply the TDCi is the way forward? The TD5 is just too much like a two stroke for my liking? needs a good bootfull of throttle to get off and likes plenty of revs to keep things moving along. They do sound fantastic though! The TDCi has loads more useable torque and with the much lower first gear is far and away the better towing vehicle in everyday use. The sixth gear gives much better cruising and I have noticed that when towing the mpg doesn't nosedive as much as the other engine variants? However if they sold them with this six speed box and 300tdi, I'd swap tomorrow! I ran a GKN overdrive on my 300 tdi for 150,000 miles and what a difference it made to living with a pre TDCi Defender.

Just been informed that my regular supplier has moved his large Zago Shredder on to pastures new and this will leave a big hole for future projects. I'm really just seeing who's running what in shredder terms within range of North Staffordshire? We have utilised the Zago for large volumes of brash and also willow roots which it excelled at. Having tried a Hammel which had awesome power but just kept blocking with any soil, it really could be back to the drawing board if there's no Zago about? We really need good mobility and reasonable off road access capability which the Tractor towed Zago has provided and transport costs have always been reasonable. Considering all options for future projects, but looking back we've paid some good money out on hire and we always try to be spot on with anyone we sub in as it's how we'd expect to be treated. Eddie.

Hi Sean, I've been doing a bit of work on this especially for Rush cutting on larger area's. You are correct that the flail collectors that are currently available simply don't hold enough and for Rush application the idea of adding more weight to the carrying tractor will simply end up in the whole lot bogged! I am currently modifying a used (as new) direct cut flail forager for this type of work with a modified chute and LGP tyres. The idea is to be able to cover large area's and collect with minimal impact using fairly compact equipment that can traverse wet/rough terrain. Our initial testing of mowing the biggest crop of Rush imaginable on a pretty wet site was not without issues, but we learnt so much in a short space of time and hope to have the finished article shortly. Our system will revolve around being able to cut and collect directly into a tracked dumper which can obviously carry a decent volume over the worst of terrain. With a few basic mods a good direct cut flail harvester will do exactly as you require without huge cost and cutting heather is nothing compared to rush! We hired a 4 cylinder Ford County for our initial trial as it was fairly light weight and traversed the ground nicely. It's around 90hp and was more than up to the job. I have posted a link to our first efforts and if you check out the other video on my you tube channel you will see our first go at collecting cut material. We simply couldn't straight cut and collect as the crop was just too big and kept blocking, but by cutting first without chute and then collecting after we were able to clear all material from site to a remarkable standard. Hopefully the modified chute and a full body on the tracked dumper will result in a fast efficient system for all terrain. I have another immaculate one as a spare and could possibly help you locate one. Eddie.

It is usual to have a changeover from one way to two way operation as you say Sandy, but not on all I suspect and the larger return pipe points to possibly not? Some are much more obvious than others (CAT are actually on the boom) but as you say it'll almost certainly be a small block with tap (sometimes no handle, just square drive) that requires turning to divert the flow. I note you're west coast of Scotland and the person you need to call is John Craig at JCC Engcon Stirling. If it's possible with an excavator and hydraulics he can do it! In your own case if you have buttons on the lever it'll almost certainly be a two way auxiliary circuit, but probably no way of altering flow which could make operating a rotate quite jumpy. Many manufacturers have now really jumped onto the fact that excavators can carry such a vast range of attachments and are fitting fully proportional auxiliary circuits with adjustable flows to make for superb control of all functions. Kubota do them on their 5 and 8 tonners and Komatsu have just announced such a package from 3 tonne upwards. It's the way they'll all go eventually but well worth speccing on purchase as you can fit so many things to the end of them. Go for it with the 'Thumb' virtually every machine in North America has such a setup and really a complete no brainer? Why spend all day chasing stuff about when with the press of a pedal the thumb pops out and you've got a grapple. Bobcats are already rigged up for them and if you check out their website you'll get some ideas from there. Eddie.

Ok, if you want to pm me all the machine details year serial number model etc off the plate I'll make a call. The guy who sets my machines up is just about the best in the business and should provide a solution. Eddie.

Almost certainly single piped with a larger free return pipe. Is your offset boom on a pedal? or the type where you press the button on the lever to changeover and use the slew to operate the offset? If it's the latter then not good, but if you have the pedal then easy enough to pie from the offset into the existing pipes down the boom/dipper. It'll take a few minutes to change back to standard, but if you've got to fit the grab anyway it'll not be too bad. Eddie.

Could you add a little more info please about the make and model of machine? Most mini's have a two way auxiliary circuit which is obviously easily identified by the pedal operating both ways? This would obviously rotate the grab either way, and it's usual to tap into the crowd for open/close. If you're unlucky enough to have a breaker circuit fitted (flow and free return) then the grab will only rotate one way. In reality on a mini the next point of call is to simply tap into the two way offset boom circuit that will already exist (usually on a pedal) and piped to the base of the boom. You'd have to be in a mess to need offset boom to feed a chipper, so it wouldn't really matter having the function disabled whilst on grab duties. Post up the model and pics of pipework and pedal would help. Eddie.

Absolute nightmare, the jobs hard enough without someone coming along at the very last and walking away with your hard earn't efforts. If this is something that is happening regular on your sites and you're prepared to spend a little to get access to who's doing it I might have a solution? I have a contact who will basically build you a tracker into whatever you want within reason? He could do a 'working' Chainsaw to leave with your others or almost certainly do a length of Hardwood for you? I was working at his place and his electric fence battery kept dissapearing? I watched him build a battery up complete with tracker and within 3 hours of putting it into place it had gone! He tracked it to the exact house, drove off a safe distance and called the police. He then proceeded to instruct the stunned officer how the tracker worked and he promtly went straight to the property and bust the lot! Turned out the guy had literally hundreds of stolen batteries and was paying kids a few quid each for them. They run the lot through and even got the scrap dealer! The police came to this guy and he's helped them do about 50 trackers in all sorts or gear? If you're having a lot stolen it could be worth a try, but I'd just miss that calling the police bit out? Give me a call and we'll give them a ride on that infeed conveyor on the chipper!! Eddie.

I believe that machine was abandoned in an RSPB reserve after the Insurance had paid out and a recovery was likely to cause too much damage? Diggers and soft going is my game and not the sort of conditions to take lightly however much experience they can catch you out! Regarding the track marshall, surely a pretty big donk for tricky going and certainly wouldn't be on my list? However there is a beauty lurking on the P.V Dobson website that would be simply perfect? http://www.pvdobson.com/images/vehicles_farm/images/_08m7kqvu3q_1.jpg Eddie.

The tracked dumper is struggling a little to contain the flow! There is chip stuck in every corner and panel of the whole machine, it'll take a bit of cleaning out! The chipper has seen no rough stuff yet, but it's going on a large Rhodie clearance job and obviously the hope is the conveyor will aid getting the stuff through? The blades have been fantastic so far with good clean willow, but we'll decide as we go along what's best course of action with the Rhodie. It may just be a case of killing one set of blades if we can keep them reasonable and then send them away for a decent 'hollow' grind as per factory. Caledonian Bob are your blades 'hollow' ground and any idea of cost? Eddie

Just getting to real grips with the Farmi 260HFC Chipper, I'm really impressed so far with the build quality and simplicity. Hydraulic spout and Shaft are nice, and I'm currently using the manual feed control box but do have a nice set of pedals that would be ideal for a reversing seat Valmet. We have been putting a large volume of willow through running the machine behind a New Holland 7840 at 540 on the shaft, and despite being advised that the Farmi aren't great on brash the steel conveyor seems to really work. It obviously helps draw in material and any blockage is cleared straight away by reversing with material drawn back out by the conveyor. I had been advised that around 180-200hp would be needed for 1000 pto running, but we gave it a go on the 7840 as the anti stress had never kicked in. The video is our first attempt at running at 1000 pto and shows the anti stress just kick in on the first piece but we were pleasently surprised how it went? I've been looking for a Radio Remote setup (Hetronic) to operate the feed from the loading Excavator with little success (over 3k!), so may opt for the Lodar route. Hoping to offer the chipper as a package with a full spec 5 tonne Low Ground Pressure Excavator with Tiltrotator and selection of grabs with low loader to carry them both. Either tow them and power the chipper with your own tractor, or I can source you one. I've had all sorts of sharpening advice, with people telling me to send blades here and there to get this and that angle on them? I just want them same as factory and wonder where to try? First effort on 1000 pto but I estimate another 40hp should be perfect? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZWshqt9oB4&context=C310ba8dADOEgsToPDskKasH3_hsZheI_PAegpIGbD]Moorlands Specialist Excavations Farmi 260HFC Chipper. - YouTube[/ame] Eddie.

Ted, that is a modified artic trailer I believe? Guessing at the bed length it must be about 22x8 going off how a 5 metre bog mat sits on it. It's certainly well balanced and leaves little impact on decent sites, but it's main use is to fetch in large pieces from call out jobs etc.

Here's the one we hire from N.J Services Stoke. Really useful tool with plenty of reach and lift, and we find it invaluable to transport bog mats.

I never even gave that tyre a thought, but several people clocked it even as they lay flat on the trailer. It's floating well up to now and if it can live with the 8 tonner and Tracked dumper it should go most places. I'm still learning and really need the smaller machine and grab but we've certainly shifted some gear and made some lovely chip. Needing an outlet around Shrewsbury for the chip though? We need to catch up at Thorncliffe as I think you'll like the results?

With that oversize selector grab the first scratch wasn't long in coming! It is strictly grab fed only and matched to the excavators we run. That conveyor runs steady enough but the thought of even going near it makes me bad. I'm certain a few bad payers.will be looking for the cheque book after a bit of clog dancing on that! Eddie.

Finally managed to put all the jigsaw together and get the Farmi 260hfc mounted onto the New Holland 7840 complete with duals. It's first tackling a vast amount of willow stacked on a very wet SSSi we have been working on. First impressions are very good and the conveyor really does aid feeding. Another bonus is reversing the conveyor gives everything a good clear out of small brash that accumulates and I believe the Farmi is especially bad for this. It has hydraulic flap and rotate on the spout and is a pleasure to operate. Unfortunately my timber grab hasn't been converted yet so I'm struggling a little with a Selector grab on the 8 tonner, but more than happy so far. Any tips on the Farmi would be much appreciated, it looks a well built unit and matches nicely to the 7840 on 540 speed. The hope is to get some Rhodie through it with the assistance of the conveyor, but none to try on this site. I'll hopefully get some video shortly. Eddie.

Having worked flat out in some seriously cold conditions that helped keep the ground frozen for most of the day we were able to extract all timber and brash accross the valley and up onto the field. The weather was due to turn today and it certainly did! So we worked on very late the previous night to ensure all timber and bog mats were transported accross the field to the roadside access thus ensuring hardly a trace on the field. The New Holland and Trailer made short work of moving everything off site and the brash awaits a final site visit when conditions are favourable to take trailers accross to remove the chip. The final piece of access road will then be reinstated and hopefully job done. I'm very pleased with how things look accross the valley now and the scar from the access should heal very quickly as most of the turf was replaced. Eddie.

Not my problem!

Yes we're up there tomorrow to clear the last of the brash and the lads are taking the non technical appproach to remove the trees you felled on that bank side. It's looking like a long wire rope and drive off down the field with the tracked dumper! We have a big New Holland and Forwarding trailer coming Wednesday to move the timber down the road for us and take the bog mats from site. Nip up if you can as it's all coming together now. It'll be a close call as to the brash possibly going through the Zago shredder I think? The Chipper is being fired up this weekend down at Shrewsbury as the PTO shaft has now arrived. Desperately seeking a set of 16.9x38 Stocks duals with clamps and eye bolts to fit Neils 7840 to help float her a little better. Eddie.

I'm certain Charlieh won't mind me posting this here as it follows on from the Harvesting. We finally got the break in the weather and have taken full advantage of this frosty spell to remove all the material from the site up onto the neighbouring field. This will allow the access to be reinstated and any Chipping/Shredding can take place at our leisure. Charlieh had kindly looked after things for us whilst the Harvester was on site and felled the trees on the opposite slope which is basically stupid steep! The pics show the huge volume of brash to be removed and as the machine has to go off site each night for security I opted to take my new Low Ground Pressure 5 tonne Kubota as the 8 tonner is 3 metre wide and needs a bit of care to move. The 5 tonner has the Engcon tiltrotator and grab setup, which made light work of cleaning up. The Kubota tracked dumper followed the torturous route to cross the valley and and windrowed the brash. All is going well and the that's the last grab of timber going on in the dark! Hope to finish the brash tomorrow and start covering the access road back over. One things for certain I was pleased not to be on that dumper without a cab! Eddie.

Hi Woodworm I'm in the Staffordshire Moorlands, but unfortunately we are burdened with a Stoke-on-Trent Postcode:sad: Eddie

Hard to see, you may have to zoom a little to catch the range of holes in the two vertical plates between the rams. We have a short standard top link but will use rams for most of our applications It picked up the monster lump of a Farmi 260hfc Chipper with steel feeding conveyor up and travelled with it no problem. It's meant for a Bryce post knocker but will come in handy for many jobs I suspect and the additional hydraulics now fitted for a decent tailgate setup will help in our applications. Eddie.