Cannon Access

You won't go wrong if you jump on an IPAF course and stick to the general methods etc you are taught. I'm not the biggest IPAF fan but they do make it fairly black and white and it's a massively recognised course. Remember that using MEWPs is the sole focus of someone like IPAF, so principles will never be an afterthought or something that is "fitted in" to suit other work practises.

Hi Jack, you are more than welcome to pop over to our yard and demo a couple of machines to get a feel for the controls, we don't have any trees you can cut but it may be informative! We've got 3 brand new booms turning up around mid December too if you want to have a play. This goes for anyone else as well- always happy for people to try our machines out when available! Regards, Tom

Afternoon chaps, just a little post to announce we now have over 50 machines on our hire fleet, including three mini cranes. Other than truck and trailer mounted platforms we have almost every other type, so let me know if you need anything! To view the access range visit Boom lifts, cherry pickers, scissor lifts for hire from Cannon Access based in Essex For lifting please see Cannon lifting based in Essex can supply all types of lifting equipment, including cranes, forklifts

Make sure you can get good support both in technical advice and spare parts from any manufacturer before buying. I believe (but don't quote me) that Aerial are no longer around, so when something needs replacing you may struggle to find parts, this can even lead to scrapping the machine if you simply cannot obtain spare parts. In my opinion if you are looking for a small trailer mounted platform, stick to a well known current manufacturer like Nifty or Genie (there are others too with UK dealer support). We have past experience with both and neither are without their flaws, but parts are very easy to get when required and both are relatively simple.

Just a quick post to say that we now have a Hinowa 23.12 on our fleet! Great spec, identical controls to out 17m and 20m Hinowa's which makes life easy for operators using different sized spiders on various jobs. This rascal weighs under 3 tonnes and gives 23m of working height, or 12m outreach, and variable width outriggers, meaning it can even set up in a 2.5m wide alley and offer full forward reach. Here's a library pic from Hinowa:

It's Tom, and yes- spiders don't like water! New loom is good, when you get it go over every plug and connector you can find and just open and check there is no water sitting inside. I know of a Hinowa that has cooked 2 main boards at £2,500 each because of water inside one connector... Good luck!

For that price I would expect a very clean machine, your options are limited if you are after that sort of height and under 3t, I'm afraid I'm not overly familiar with Cela, I had a demo a few years ago and they have a good spec but they are not very common. Speak to Chris at Euraccess about typical problems, parts prices and lead times on parts etc. If you do buy one then try to keep it under cover, water ingress is the most common cause of electrical problems, and do NOT pressure wash too intensely for the same reason! Keep it clean and dry and you should have little trouble, never try to bodge repairs or get general plant fitters (no offence) in for repairs, access is a completely different game and you really need experienced access engineers for most repairs. I have seen many machines ruined by bodged repairs, everything is fitted for a reason but often people bypass switches, sensors, lights etc and it would put you in a very bad place if a fatal accident happened and the investigation dug up poor workmanship. If you like the machine and you can make it pay then just check what major service items could cost, and go from there! Just remember to take depreciation into account too

As said previously, the main thing to look for is good backup regarding parts and support. Some machines tend to be more reliable than others, although most will be reliable if looked after and not abused. Some of the older machines can be had for relatively little money but if it is a manufacturer you haven't heard of for a while you could face long waits on parts, I'd say parts could be expensive too but bits are expensive for all machines! Unfortunately the manufacturers can often charge what they like as there is no alternative, I've seen circuit boards for nearly £4,000 and 6ft long electric leads for £300 which is scandalous. Another thing to remember is machines with dual telescopic sections (common with spiders) usually have wire ropes internally, these need to be changed according with manufacturer service instructions, and can cost a fair whack.

Thanks Daniel, a pleasure to do business as usual!

Afternoon all, just a quick post to announce that we have another new spider on the fleet as of last week, a 17m Hinowa 17.75. Being super compact, lightweight at only 2200kg and very fast to operate (when you want it to be!) is has a great specification. Features including auto levelling, 230kg capacity throughout the entire range and remote assistance make this a very user friendly machine. Here's my first photo, putting it's 3rd hour on the clock, even if it doesn't demonstrate the great height and outreach available

Thanks James- I thought you were a tree surgeon but looks like you are a videographer as well! Thanks very much for the hire, your video puts the reach of the 2750RXJ into perspective and your good working practices for others to follow as well

It will be worth getting proper heavy duty roadway for this. It will be expensive, but we have had lorries push the plastic mats out from underneath which I use for our access equipment. They are so grippy but got pushed out as if they were oiled! The large aluminium roadway sections are very dear but by far the best option.

It's often hard to get an accurate measurement, I use a laser which works out height and reach for me (it has a built in angle measurer and does the trigonometry internally!), but it is useless in bright light and hard to use on trees with thin dead branches. Using a pole or something of known length along side is a good method, most of the time it just comes down to judgement, but as said above- always aim for a bigger machine than the height of the tree. This means you have spare outreach which means less manoeuvring on the ground, less setting up time, and most importantly there is less chance of dropping branches on the machine. The difference in cost is not usually massive, and if it saves an hour on site it could mean you and your lads get away earlier saving a bit of cash too. One of my regular customers swears by my new articulated Omme, although dearer than the straight telescopic version- he can set up much further away and sometimes get several trees from one spot.

Well done James- here is the chart showing the reach

With things being so busy- I'm happy to announce that I have another Omme joining us this week, it's a 2750 articulated which has a huge outreach of over 15m and a great spec including self levelling, extending tracks, non marking, remote control etc. Here's a library pic: Thanks, Tom.