Matthew Storrs
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Everything posted by Matthew Storrs
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Oil syphoning pump to drain hydraulic oil...
Matthew Storrs replied to Matthew Storrs's topic in Maintenance help
I don’t know- didn’t know they existed- google here I come. Seen cheap £10 or so manual syphoners- not sure what they amount to- but would like something relatively efficient. -
It might work- but personally I would find the model utterly frustrating and stressful employing in this manner. You would end up with the sort of baffoons who you either have to watch like a hawk or accept that they will probably end up breaking more in kit and ‘accidents’ then the savings you’d make by not paying for decent employees- and then just when you’d think you were getting somewhere with them- they’d bugger of on to pastures new! Hopeless.
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So last time I changed the 75 litres of hydraulic oil in my digger it went something like this (despite better intentions) - Reach up underneath the bowels of the machine in to some void I could barely get my hand into, faff around for an hour trying to get the 8 retaining bolts undone, place bucket to catch oil- release oil and completely miss bucket but instead shower myself and the workshop floor in 75 liters of oil, then spend more time than I’d like trying to get the bolts and seals back into place without seeing what on earth I was doing. Result- id sooner shift the digger on than do another oil change! Anyone reccommend a decent syphoning pump instead- or any other ideas for that matter! thanks
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Yeah was listening to that with interest- let’s hope ash doesn’t follow in the footsteps of elm and larch.
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Are JCB diggers actually made in uk still- I get that it’s a British company but it be nice to think they were still brutish built too?
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I used to have a 400 and my dad had has the PTO version. i wouldn’t say they were a machine for the professional firewood merchant, the build quality is probably not up to regular heavy use. They are however a pretty good economical alternative and my dad has split plenty with his without issue over the last 8 years. If your tractor has the hydraulic omph look at the split fire splitters- different ballgame interms of engineering quality but also quick as you you alternate as can split each side of the splitting head- less waiting around for ram to retract.
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Definitely- jcb mini diggers seem to be up there with the best of them now- nice to hear.
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I think the point is if your managing to pay yourself £90k in your first year of trading then your probably wasted on tree work!
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Not as rough as your accounting is starting to sound but if your saying that’s turnover then I assumed you employ a groundie at a rate you’d be happy to earn yourself, taken in to account the £30k you’ve shelled out on kit and associated depreciation, payed for all that advertising. Yard, Fuel, Maintenance, PL & EL etc. Who knows everyone’s situation is different. But I bet there isn’t a soul on this forum (aside from youself) paying themselves £90k with the above outlay @ £550 a day.
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Fair play- but a rough calculation says you if you go out with a 2 man team, truck chipper and usual standard tree gear- you’d be needing to clear £700 a day, after paying your groundie a decent wage and covering buisness costs you could probably pay yourself £90k if you did £700 220 days a year, Who can honestly say they do that on a one man band operation?
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Is that really a reality though- how many employed climbers are on £30k plus and more to the point how many tree businesses on here (or any where) are able to pay themselves £90k- very few I’d guess.
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Tilt bucket or even better tilting hitch has ability to tilt both ways. I think the VDS system is a clever idea but I’d like to use it in the flesh- for example if your working in deeper mud- can soil or rocks get trapped in the undercarriage when the cab sits back down- id be like to see the design of the ram and associated hoses- can they get damaged easily etc.
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Isn’t it just sub 2 tonners that have ram on top? Can’t think of any heavier machines like this..
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Would that be Barony college?
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Yes, Tak was £16.5k, Volvo £18.6k and the wacker came in at £21.somethingK. It wasn’t specced with the VDS system. The Tak was definitely lacking in features- basic things like no proper foot pedals. But as far as I could see the Volvo and wacker were on a par in both feature and on paper specs. £21k on a 1.8t machine just seemed excessive... nothing against the machine though.
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I looked at Wacker when I was looking at 1.8t machines. The only thing that put me off was the price. Happy to pay for quality but our local dealer wanted an extra 3k+ over comparable Volvo and 6k over equvilant Takeuchi. Shame cos wacker looked like a top machine- but couldn’t see where the extra £6k was really going.
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In particular I’d be keen to know how you find the 75mm bucket. Would it not be jamming up all the time with small rocks and soil?
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Not all Kubotas are singing and dancing though- we had a kx080-4 on hire all last week and the operator very experienced who runs several Kubotas himself reckoned it was a dreadfull machine. It would cut out operation on occasion I think something to do with the DPF and the fit and finish was pretty crude- a lot of things were clearly an afterthought. I had a quick go in it and personally didn’t like the geometry when sat in the seat- the joysticks felt too low. Still each to their own- no doubt Kubota making quality kit but I just can’t get excited about the ones I have operated. Tak may well be lacking in operator features but you can’t deny they are beefed up appropriately in all the right areas and i feel less ‘snatchy’ for grading then other brands. well done on your decision- let us know how you get on with it when it arrives.
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Also depends what your towing with- Landy pickup for example you can tow the 3500kg whilst still putting a ton in the bed which means all the buckets sand other garb can go in there- some of these new fangled pickups claim to have a 3500kg towing capacity but in fact their lower gross train weight means you can’t put bugger all in the pickup bed- personally not how I roll- much safer with the weight in the towing vehicle.
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Unfortunately not- my dads case digger had a new track motor costing that kind of money. i haven’t the know how to rebuild myself so not much help to the OP
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As far as I know there is no easy way to tow a 4 ton digger short of lorry or tractor and trailer/mog The yanks tow their 4-5tonners behind dodge rams and the like, unfortunately we are not blessed with such setups in this country.
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Depends what you’re planning on running off it. Definitely a second auxiliary service is almost essential if your planning on running grabs and rotators- proportional control is almost a must otherwise it’s an all or nothing affair- giving you so much more control over opening and closing grabs/rotating etc. like you say depends on cost. Surely the kx040-4 is the replacement for the 4 ton kx121 isn’t it? The kx71 is under 3 ton....
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No this is a hire machine, love an 8 tonner though but I wouldn’t want to move it regularly with my tractor- too much strain on the transmission. yep tractor is a Same peasgood
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Dunno if this is overloaded- but pulling this 8+ tonner off-site made my tractor sweat a bit up the mile long drag up a steep hill. No brakes on the trailer either- not a public highway before anyone asks!
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I personally think HS2 is a complete waste of time- and would prefer to see the money spent else where rather than tearing through good countryside!
