doobin

Playing ‘fire jenga’. Getting some manky old poplar to burn. I don’t regret going with the 881 rather than a 661. When you are handling things mechanically there’s very little bending down to be done, so the extra weight is more than offset by raw power, even in smaller timber like this. There was a squirrel in the tree when weset the rope- I saw him bolting upwards. No sign of him on the deck, he either got impaled and buried or he scampered down before we set the gob cut!

Branch logger and sell the logs for fire pits on site. Win win.

Let’s see anything from 2023 still going in seventy years time!!!!

Good to see dealers getting hungry. The same goes for estate agents!

To be fair I’d expect a lot more than £200 a day for £100k worth of kit 👍🏻 However I’m under no illusion that I can earn more then £200 a day leaving the kit in the shed!!! What are you classing as £100k worth of kit? Cause to my mind that’s a 3t Arb digger, a loader, a chipper, stump grinder and small compact tractor too…. Are you trying to say a freelance climbers saws and rigging kit are 100k? 🤪

I'd imagine you just brake a wheel to steer.

So run your own jobs if you're that good at it! Or become a brickie.... FFS.

Pumps and motors will usually be from a pump and motor manufacturer. The rebuild or replacement cost is the big gamble. On my DitchWitch, a scored track motor cost me £1400 plus vat, which was right at the top end of what I'd budgeted when negotiating a sale.

Cheap sawdust extractor works a treat. Husky blower, 5” suction hose, ducting brackets and some sealant and self tappers.

They are shit. At least you’re staying close to the workshop!

Not neccesarily. That 'alison' online training looks utter junk. No visible oversight or regulatory body, offering links to 'earn on alison by becoming a course creator' in the same breath as promising a diploma. Any information they would give you on a an arborcultural course I'd say would be very suspect. Probably an AI harvested scrape of the internet, culminating in a 'test' whereby you have to specify which grade of concrete to use to fill pruning wounds...

Did someone say 'captive market'? 😂

If it’s the one on eBay then I’d have a very good look at it and satisfy yourself as to the track motor issues. I’ve never heard of a lazy track motor that could be fixed by tightening a few bolts 🙄 I’m not sure how a thomas 35 works but if it’s an independent track motor and pump system for each side like most tracked skids then I would be suspecting either a pump or motor rebuild or replacement. I’ve had a look at the manual online and it’s suggesting it’s a single pump and multiple motor system, much like a mini digger. Again, never known a lazy digger track motor that didn’t have major problems internally. I think there are better carriers for a small chain trencher- really you need Avant/Multione flow rates. 8.5 gallons per minute 38 litres a minute. reasonable but from experience a small Digga chain trencher is slow on an e19 at 30 lpm and a totally different animal on an e27 or Multione 8.4 at 55-65lpm. You can spec a Digga trencher with a smaller motor apparently, but that just means it will stall a lot more often. For all I know my secondhand unit has this smaller motor fitted, and if that’s the case then 38 lpm would be very limiting. What width and depth are you hoping to trench and and on what kind of ground?

You don't worry about planting, sizing and selling the timber as a woodland owner. Or if you do, you do it for a laugh, a business plan doesn't come into it unless you are managing thousands of acres. It's all contracted out on a per ton basis. Especially as you have zero experience. You need to buy at the right price. The UK is full of idiots trying to sell an acre they bought from woodlands.co.uk for £50k, where you have a million covenants and no vehicle access rights. Other idiots with 6 acres think it's worth £150k when the reality is it would take a thousand years to harvest that value from it. There is a price floor for commercial woodland at which point the rich buy in order to avoid inheritance tax. Commercial woodland is usually sold in large blocks and you will need to spend at least a million. And these folk couldn't give a flying **************** where it's located if the price is right. Otherwise Woodlands.co.uk will buy it and partition it. Basically you either pay a substantial premium for an unemcumbered block near you, or you spend an awful lot to purchase a large block as an inheritance tax dodge. If you are extremely lucky you may hear of a block coming up for sale locally at a reasonable price. Speak to land agents, farmers etc.

Depends entirely on the work you do. A large tractor would be no use to me- 40hp is ample. Agility and hydrostatic transmission compensate a lot for less hp when it comes to nature reserve type jobs. I prefer a to use a smaller tractor for a ‘surgical’ job rather than making a mess.

Interesting, how long ago was this? I remember the Honda 4-stroke strimmers, nice enough machines to use. Wasn't aware that they ever had an agreement with Stihl.

Not to piss on everything you said…. But… He’s in North London so I don’t think stock fencing will be very much in demand! And an auger is a major no-no in urban areas, especially London. Way too much risk of damaging services and half the time he will be wanting to put a hole in against a kerb or something anyway. Cheap concrete breakers- Titan Will give you RSI very quickly. Spend more and get the Erbauer. You also can’t use them very far down a hole, so then you’re into the realm of sds-max breakers and extended bits. I don’t rate nail guns. Impact drivers and screws are just as quick and easily removed if need be- and let’s be honest, he will be wanting to make adjustments as he learns!

It’s really pretty easy. If you want to come down to Sussex I can take you through the basics plus a few tips and tricks. but it will take a fair bit of practise to get good and speedy. I’d just price a couple and see how you get on. Wants to be around £170 plus vat per 1.8m panel/post bay, probably more in London with all the bollocks of getting rid of waste etc.

My optimistic calculations were: E27 weight transport-2549kg Counterweight- 147kg Hitch- 20kg Grab-90kg Rotator- 30kg 2836 Trailer weighs 660kg, so 2840kg payload but you’ve just burst my bubble. 🤬 and let’s not mention the steel tracks 🤦‍♂️

That one from Dom Harrison looks a good design. Thats how id do it for the multione. I’ve never bothered as I just use the one I made for the digger, and if the multione is on site then the forklift broom is brilliant for a final pass.

Nope, that was the 216. They are gutless. the 225 I don’t rate either. A bad compromise. Go big or go home. The TB230 was on my shortlist but at the time wasn’t available with twin rollers aux controls on the joystick.

I have a question. Are you the dealer? Because I seem to remember that was the case last time on here. The dead giveaway is that he Capitalised every Other Word too, and wrote his ‘review’ as a sales pitch- just like you!! What a joke. I’d sooner use an angry beaver than pay treble the Alibaba price for your Chinese chipper.

I did mention things to him but didn't get a very affirmitive response- could well be the language barrier though. Grant funding was the FETF grant- I heard about it on here, apparently a few have been sold into this scheme. It's currently closed but there will most likely be another round, although who knows if 'mini forwarder' will be an item on the next scheme.

So-so. Not that impressed with the build quality for the money. I only bought as it was two thirds grant funded. But backup seems good. It's just that after 80+ units being produced I'd have hoped for less of a 'man in a shed' build. From new both the steereing rams were hitting on the cutouts in the frame for them. I noticed just driving it across the yard from the trailer when I brought it back. How do you not notice that when you're building and testing the 84th model??? I had to die grind out well over 20mm both sides! See pics- both holes were round when I started! The crane is not nice to use- it has 3/8 bulkhead fittings but only 1/4" hoses. Not sure if it comes from the crane factory like that or if Pekka fits them himself, but they should be 3/8 hoses. I''ll need to change them. Opening and closing the grab is torturously slow. It doesn't flow share at all on the spool block so pretty pointless paying extra for the joysticks. I reckon i'd be faster with levers. I can probably improve it with some fettling but I shouldn't have to be doing it. It may improve with use, but it's a lot of 'deliberate' movement required to change to slewing from lifting up the dipper, which is really not what you want, and whilst one joystick is doing something there's nothing really on the other. You can work around it, but it would be easier to work around it with levers if you have to! The optional lights fitted are rubbish for the money. The switch gear is utterly hopeless- just a row of generic Chinese round switches, all black with no labelling. You've no idea if you're turning on (or off!) the lights, the torque convertor or the brakes. Should have been a rocker bank with different icons, they're all easily available. Ridiculous. I am impressed with it's offroad ability. It will get places you'd struggle to with a tractor and trailer, even with wheel drive on the trailer. The joystic control is nice and works well. The torque box is a clever idea for more power, less speed when you need control. But it still has still a few clunks as you drive it, and I know that it something fails it will be a part that was built in a shed rather than the crane, engine or hydraulic pump. I'd be very, very disappointed if I'd financed £35k on that rather than an Alpine tractor or Arb digger with cab for the same money. Basically the iooperating experience could be so much improved- but then I guess it would be £50k and that's utterly ridiculous. Digger manufacturers hve economy of scale, and it really shows in terms of what you get for the money. Essentially it's OK as it was partly grant funded and it's handy to have around for the works we do. I've got fifty hours on it now. But I'd hate to be trying to make a living from it, paying back finance, and having to go out and drive it daily. Sorry @IronMike, @slack ma girdle!

Both @monkeybusiness and I bought Bobcat E27's four years ago, mainly on account of the extra services that he mentioned. Just tick a box on the order form. £600 option from factory for extra pipes/divertor plus another £600 option to have rollers on both joystics rather than a pedal- this is essential for arb work. Actually, thinking back, I'm pretty sure I bought it for the above reasons and then happened to mention on here the five years free finance (which they offered at the time). And well, you know, monkey see monkey do! 🤷‍♂️ But seriously, it's been a great machine bar a few niggles. As an Arb digger, I don't reckon you'd get better in that weight class. I'm constantly amazed what it will lift and shift. It was easily my best purchase ever, and I say that as someone with a lot of mechanisation. Take note of the important distinction between the Bobcat E27, and the more common E27z. The z is zero turn, whereas the 27 is 'reduced tailswing'. It's brilliant. It looks like a zero but is just so planted. Minimal tailswing. UK standard spec when I bought was with an extra counterweight- check that this is still the case. The other big difference, and it's an important one, is that it runs a larger engine than the E27z. Interestingly, the E27z and much of the Bobcat mini range have switched to Yanmar engines from Kubota, but the E27 is still Kubota. This extra power is what you need to be looking for in an Arb digger- it drags whole trees about easily, pushes hard on the tracks and fills the rams quicker so you get stuff done quicker. Don't neglect this in favour of the cheaper E27z would be my advice. I'm pleased to see @Conor Wright's opinion on the lack of wear in a 3000 hour Bobcat he looked at. I've been very impressed how little mine has worn given it's life doing 90% Arb work (and the other 10% seemingly breaker and riddle bucket work...), although I'm very diligent with the grease. Black moly grease for pins and bushes, lithium for the slew ring. When I bought, the Kubota KX30-High Spec was exactly the same money, but the Bobcat had the five years free finance so that's why I went for Bobcat. Honestly, I'm glad I did. Yes, the paintwork could be better (although my 27 isn't nearly as bad as my E19). I often hear that the KX30 isn't nice to grade with, but to be honest the Bobcat isn't the greatest either even after a mod from the dealers. But 90% of my work is lifting and shifting, and I would think long and hard and get plenty of demo or hire time in a different machine before changing. As regards grabs- the only brand I would consider would be Intermecato. I'd usually recommend Approved Hydraulics, but having bought four Intermecato grabs and a couple of rotators from them and asking for 'best price;' for another £4k worth of clamshell and rotator, I was disappointed they just offered me RRP. It wasn't a cheeky request in light of what I' ve spent with them already and a looming recession. So I'd go to Attachment Soloutions Ltd- nice guy and a better price. Join the PlantTalk forum for digger advice and he gives a small forum discount. With the headstock for the grab, make sure you get one made that has the pins at an angle- around 35° IIRC. This is to allow you to reach out and grab things in front of you- standing saplings prior to cutting, etc. Very important. My final advice would be advice I wish I'd been given. Start off with a Scandinavian hitch standard- probably S40. Don't be swayed by the dealers 'free Whites brand buckets and quick hitch'. There's still a cost to them to provide to this set (maybe £1200), so pay a little extra for S40 standard. This will give you a much better quality hitch that won't wear, lower build height and just plug and play for a tiltrotator in the future. I'd also spec it to be hydraulic- all my diggers have hydraulic hitches and it's brilliant. But having just bought a secondhand tiltrotator, it's cost me another £2.5k per digger to change the existing buckets and hitches to S standard. So pay an extra £1k when buying your digger and futureproof yourself. I'd highly recommend Steelwrist for an S40 quick hitch- I was blown away by the quality of one I've just fitted to my E19. So light and neat, and expander pins as standard to allow for any wear in the hitch eyes.