Matthew Storrs

Definitely digger with rotating grab then- uv got 360 degree in the grab and 360 on the machine- means a lot less moving around- if your on more sensitive sights you can track in straight lines and let the rotating bits do all the work to save the ground a bit. The loaders will lift more undoubtedly for their size, but IMO they look pretty numb for feeding chippers etc. theyre also good at doing site work,levelling chip and pulling trees over, with the blade down they make a nice controlled ‘winch’, plucking smaller stumps out etc etc. 2.6ton is ideal if it’s more sites than gardens and can still tow behind truck.

Using for what? Spinning timber around from a to b, brash handling/bonfires etc, digging I’d say mini digger. If it’s moving larger timbers over distance and more subtle on lawns than a loader may be better option... All I will say is I pretty much run my buisness of the back of a 3 ton digger due to its versatility with various attachments for my countryside services buisness. I can use it to clear scrub load fires with its grab. I run augers and post knockers of it for fencing and get loads of ditch cleaning work, landscaping projects too. So for me it is the ultimate Swiss Army knife. I’d like a loader, but I don’t consider them heavy duty enough for a lot of the terrain and application I would require them for so find a traditional agri tractor better suited- perhaps better value too? but like I say depends what you want to do with it.

It’s like the stump planers that Augertorque do- to me they look quite impressive for a minimal outlay- spoke to them about it and the chap said 8 ton machine would be the minimum but surely if my auger has the power to grind a 12” hole though a 5 inch concrete pad it would have no problem shaving a stump down with the knives it has? I see that they say it will fit any machine 1-5 ton so perhaps the bloke on the phone got it wrong....

Hi Richy. No I have never seen one in action or video. Obviously there are plenty of dedicated cone splitters which seem to work well even on smaller machines- I can’t see why the augertorque ‘conversion’ would be any different as essentially they are all just hydraulic motors powering the cone which of course is exactly what an auger is- with gearing etc . I’m tempted too mainly as another service I could offer with my machine. I don’t think they are big money if you already have the auger drive.

Plenty of videos on you tube- should give you an idea of their capabilities. Admittedly most seem to be on 2.5t plus machines. Have you looked at Augertorque. They make auger drives where you can replace the auger flight for a cone splitter. Could be a way of getting 2 machines in one if you have any need for a hole auger too (planting fencing etc)

Agree- I hate doing anything by the hour myself- too easy for the customer to start quibbling over things- tea breaks, time doing something to a machine etc. what they don’t often realise is the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes before you even do the job.

Yes, when I was still doing tree work I think in 6 years I got asked as many times if I could deal with the stump! I do understand that they are machines with perhaps a limited life span compared with other kit and it’s not easy on the machine but just surprised how much people seem happy to pay to get rid of a stump. Im always thinking of machines where you could command a premium- but generelly if you can charge very good money then likely its either a scarcity job or an unpleasant one. If it’s scarcity then surely your going to have to be chasing around trying to find enough work. I don’t really agree with the idea that you’d have to charge more to cover machine cost simply because the machine is sat in the yard a lot of the time rather than out earning its keep- you either have the work for it or not.

I always says fair play if you can get it- and obviously people seem to, but even at £450 it works out at about £55 an hour for a full day which is more than I recently paid for a lorry and grab on a job carting granite for £52 per hour. It was a new 130k lorry with overheads to boot, the bloke was running several lorries and knew his buisness. I felt like i got good value for the work achieved. But the profit mark up on stump grinding must surely be huge?

I have next to no experience with stump grinders so I ask these questions out of genuine curiosity. From some of the prices quoted on this thread I’m wondering what it is that makes a stump grinding so expensive. £600/£800 for a days work with one bloke and a machine? How much do these machines cost in the first place and what is their useful service lifespan? Im guessing a scarcity value for the top of the range machine and I get that teeth need replacing but seems quite high compared to say a bloke with a 13 tonner costing £70k and generally between 3-400 a day or myself with a 3 ton machine a lot less again.. same with a tracked chipper- itd have to be some bit of kit- thinking crane fed job to be getting north of £600 a day with one bloke....

Hi Josh. Nothing to do with Brexit but Out of interest how did you go about learning Swedish, did you move there already knowing some or did you pick it up once you moved there? We are considering moving to Sweden, my wife is Swedish but I can speak very little, feel like every time I visit I pick it up quite quickly when I’m there..

Lastly Corn snake called ‘Snakey’

And Matilda the Boa.

12 years ago had this lovely jungle carpet python called Roxy.

That’s my wife gone then! Perhaps I can have control of the TV remote for once- ie turn it off. I haven’t a clue how brexit will materialise (does anyone?) but myself I will be interested to see how it affects agriculture in particular, I think a lot of farmers I know are quite worried, but surely if it’s gokng to cost more to import and export produce- then perhaps there will be more incentive to encourage British agriculture? Selfishly, I used to get a lot of work doing grant funded fencing so I expect that might dwindle further now. either way, what will be will be and people will just need to adapt to changing times.

Yes, i agree Josh. I don’t really encounter motorways that much myself and In all honestly wouldn’t want to tow at 40mph on one either. I also fully agree with the idea that running a 7.5t truck (for example) probably works out better and safer in the long run and the cost would be absorbed if your in it for the long run. unfortuntaly I never work on hard standing or even remotely near and find myself in situations where I need to acces sites that a 7.5t just couldn’t ever access, the advantage of towing 3.5t with a Landrover means I can get kit to site and once unloaded still have the off-road capabilities to get access, tools, lunch etc across fields etc. My only viable alternative is using a tractor and well, that’s a can of worms in itself running one of those as a business. So in answers to the OP, Id welcombe the idea that suitable 4x4s could tow more with everything updated and rated as a result.

I was thinking about this today whilst tugging my digger around. Firstly, I think towing 3.5t in a Landy is fine but there is a limit to the speed you can go whilst still feeling in control and safe. On normal roads I’d say this speed would be around the 40mph mark. After that it starts to feel too vulnerable to every day road occurrences. I’m a big believer in having as much weight as you can in the towing vehicle to aid traction and act as ballast. A light pickup bed is asking for trouble, and I’d put an unladen 90 into this category. My landy ran out of steam in 1st gear the other day on a very steep hill towing my digger- I had to stop and put it into low box, at no point was I then pulled back down the hill and I’m sure that is due to the extra weight in the towing vehicle. I think any vehicle is going to have its limits regardless of how big or good brakes but it comes down to driver awareness and experience to know how to react and adapt to a given situation.

This is a problem, but it lies with the trailer braking system not so much the towing vehicle. The overun system is as outdated, as you know my tractor weighing only 3.5 tons can tow 10 ton, stop on a hill and not move due to decent hydraulic brakes. If it was overun brakes the weight ratios would soon see the tractor dragged back down the hill. IMO Landys and the like are more than capable of towing 3.5t safely, but electro hydraulic brakes should probably be mandatory..

Rubbish, my Landrover 110 pulls a 3 ton digger with 500kg in the pickup bed too all over Dartmoor hills on a daily basis. I have been doing this with the same Landrover for over 7 years, never had an accident/incident despite meeting people on blind bends etc. the problem is not with the Landrovers it is with the drivers who have no experience of towing such weights and consequently go to fast/ badly loaded/ poorly maintained trailers etc. a fully loaded trailer should pull up fast with good brakes, if your snaking your badly loaded, and if your suffering breakdowns regularly as a result you are either pushing it too hard or don’t maintain it right.

Yeah loads of buzzards. There is also a known peregrine falcon breeding spot near us on an old quarry face- love watching them and hearing them too.

I agree with OP that Facebook and the like will probably see the end of websites as we know them. Unfortunately I despise Facebook so woul prefer not to use it, but when looking at other businesses I can see the appeal of FB because you can easily look at recent photos and updates. does it really cost much to keep a website running too? Think I pay £70 a year for domains etc plus cost of website design- hardly breaking the bank.

Nice one Beau, I noticed the last one you got the mast just out of the picture- would spoil the tranquil beauty somewhat!

I think the main thing is preventing contamination/dirt ingress. As it’s PTO powered and am you won’t be changing couplings over (?) which should minimize that. I would change oil every 1000hrs and clean/replace return filter every 500. My digger reccomends hydraulic oil replacement every 2000 hrs.

https://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/leaf-vacs-blowers/backpack-blowers/showitem-m2-ba650k.aspx looks identical to this one, Didn’t pay that much though.

I have a John Deere (actually a Kawasaki) back pack blower which is about a 100 years old and I bought off eBay for £75 about 10 years ago, it looked old even then. I just can’t kill the thing. Do Kawasaki still make back pack blowers? If so maybe a consideration...

Not that valuable prison space and tax payers money should be spent on them either.