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Matthew Storrs

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Everything posted by Matthew Storrs

  1. Matthew Storrs
    I was ditching with my digger last year and unknowingly scooped an added out of the ditch- fortunately it was unharmed and slithered away. but a few years ago I was doing a fencing job on the moors- adders literally everywhere. Had to keep the dog kept in the truck all day! It was a remote location on a hot summers day and the bracken had been mowed so lots of dry material for them to hide under...
  2. Matthew Storrs
    If you had to give up the CAT or the 3cx which would it be!?
  3. Matthew Storrs
    The digger that started a 335 page thread!
  4. Matthew Storrs
    Protech P18 for me with 180kg weight works well with my little chain modification on the post cap to do away with the awful leg. Robust and reasonably priced. the browns one does look very well made BUT at 450kg it’s going pretty heavy on a sub 3 ton machine. Protech is 350kg with same size hammer but no side tilt- which I’ve never really needed on a digger just use blade to level- a good operator will get them in pukka!
  5. Matthew Storrs
    Agree, and same when your digging out a banking and want to swing it round into a dumper etc- but I guess you just have to think r he job out differently. Plus having a 3 tonner already kind of gives you best of both worlds when coupled with Backhoe. 3 tonner for intricate space restricted stuff- fast and nimble, backhoe for brute force speed moving material accross sites etc.
  6. Matthew Storrs
    It’s a hard one for sure- I can see real advantages of the backhoe route for all the reasons you mention. I’ve just sold my tractor and it’s not really a route I want to go down again simply to move a machine from A to B. Tracked machine would be splendid for jobs longer than a week or two. But to add £300 or so in haulage for a few days work I can see will kill many of the smaller jobs off... and that is a fair proportion of my workload. Is it greedy to have both! The backhoe as well has hellish lift power on the front bucket Plus pallet forks etc which will come in handy a lot I reckon plus will save hiring small dumpers in on many jobs... If only my thought process wasn’t 360 I’d have made a decision by now! how many hrs is your JCB on Stephen? I have a budget of around £25-30k but most backhoes have done over 5000hrs at this price range if I want servo controls..
  7. Matthew Storrs
    Yeah- the TB216 does need quite high revs to get the best from it I’ve found. When I jump on it going from my TB125 I don’t like it but after an hour or so I get used to it’s idiosyncratic s! It’s mainly the slew I have issue with- very easy to overswing. But it lifts up the same post knocker as the TB016 did without any difference and it has better reach so cant be any lesser machine in that department.
  8. Matthew Storrs
    I’m in a real dilemma at the moment. Money is useless in the bank and I want to invest in another machine- my choices as it stands are between a Kubota KX080-3 very tidy on 600mm steels OR a Case 590 Super backhoe in servo controls. Obviously totally different machine but that’s half the trouble. I’d sooner the Kubota any day on the job- but no getting away that the logistics and expense of getting it moved to a job which may only be a few days work whereas backhoe just turns up under its own steam but limited when it’s gets there. main works is dry stone walking with big rocks, erosion/bridleways, ditching and usual rural groundwork’s like ponds, landscaping, scrub clearance etc... can’t make my mind up!
  9. Matthew Storrs
    I think that’s a bit harsh on the tb216. I agree in part in that the slew is a little erratic and not as nice to grade with as the previous tb016. But it has every bit as much power as the TB016 and in some ways is much improved- I tried a Kubota KX018 before I bought mine and I’d say the Tak edges it in almost every way... could it be the one you used was either very new or pump messed with?
  10. Matthew Storrs
    Personally I think the track motors would take it ok. I mean there’s little difference then say pushing dirt around with the blade... my digger has been tracking 8km on a job last week- doubt that does them much good either... it does look like a great idea- particularly if play is minimal in the coupling once it’s hitched back to the arm....
  11. Matthew Storrs
    Looks like it’s being out through its paces there! I know that feeling of ‘abusing’ a mini all too well unfortunately- always think this is the last harsh job I do this to my machine- until the next job comes along!!
  12. Matthew Storrs
    What’s the purpose of the poles? I love your Takeuchi!
  13. Matthew Storrs
    A 1.5t mini digger won’t be lifting 400kg at far reach- which is what it will require to get enough height. So really they’re not comparable machines at all for this job.
  14. Matthew Storrs
    Seeing all these pictures does make me wish I had a dog again. Rusty used to come everywhere with me whether I liked it or not! Totally neurotic but still miss him terribly.
  15. Matthew Storrs
    Are you self hiring it to him- or just what you want on top of your normal rate to have the machine there? dont go any lower then £70 either way. He’s hiring a tracked loader not the digger so that’s up to him to figure which machine is right for the job. dont try and compete too much with digger hire- it’s a race to the bottom as it is..
  16. Matthew Storrs
    Largely it depends on motor output- if your ringing up 8” plus logs then you’ll drain the batteries pretty quick- perhaps 10 mins... but yesterday I cleared enough rhodie 2-4 inch cuts for 50 meters of fence and that was one set of batteries. I’d imagine the top end Husqy/Stihl would be that much better. oh and I forgot my helmet.. it’s that much quieter it was just bearable to use without muffs- although it’s noisy enough that it’s best to.
  17. Matthew Storrs
    Yeah- I agree with this entirely, I’m sure all this battery stuff is ever going to be green whilst it relies on lithium. 6 of one half a dozen of another. But for the operator In my experience the battery stuff trumps petrol any day on a convenience and health basis.
  18. Matthew Storrs
    It’s all in the preparation and comes with experience of the battery stuff though. I bought a cheap £130 Makita battery saw 18 months ago as I had batteries already etc. I really didn’t think I’d use it anywhere near as much as I do. I don’t do tree work anymore but I do a fair bit of chainsaw work involved with fencing/landscaping timbers/cutting back brash for access fence line clearance etc. I honestly haven’t touched my husky 550xp or 357xp in 18 months, I have 2 sets of batteries and have just bought a 3rd set. I just can’t rate it high enough- I live 7 miles from the nearest petrol station, and not having to go and get petrol anymore is just pure bliss and the savings have easily paid for the saw itself..
  19. Matthew Storrs
    Just looking for an easy way to undertake my risk assessments and method statements. Currently do it on word but it’s a bit of a faff. Just want something I can do on my phone and email off to customers when they ask. thanks
  20. Matthew Storrs
    I was just going to say- I would be doing a lot of towing- usually max capacity- but only 10 miles at a time- sometimes less. Would a shorter but heavy burst of engine work such as towing have the same effect as say a motorway trip?
  21. Matthew Storrs
    Haven’t had a tyre perish in years!
  22. Matthew Storrs
    Used to use waxoyl religiously every year. But rather let things slide the last few years.
  23. Matthew Storrs
    Haha! Fortunately I prefer my wallet to be inflated rather than my pride- so pride took a hit! Nah- I’ll probably regret it but I would use a backhoe or 6 tonner far more so needs must.
  24. Matthew Storrs
    4 months ago in went into have brakes completely overhauled, it was there for some time as no need for it- it came home for a week and then clutch went. So it’s had that done too- whilst it was in dealers yard it got a fair bit of interest and they made me a fair offer on it- so figured that as I hadn’t needed it in 4 months I could probably do without it altogether. Will make a good tractor for someone.
  25. Matthew Storrs
    Do you mean Grand Cherokee? Not sure if the previous model could to 3.5t. but yeah. Mate has a grand Cherokee with the 3.0l merc engine in it- it towed my digger effortlessly but being a bit of an unknown quantity puts me off as with all these luxury type vehicles they have a lot of electric this’s and that’s that like to go wrong make vehicle go into limp mode- just can’t be doing with that kind of thing.

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