GA Groundcare

We are a machinery dealership based in Wiltshire, just outside Devizes and can give great prices on both Iseki and Kubota. Personally I prefer the Iseki as there is some nice features over a Kubota. However a Kubota's are built very well, well priced and do a great job. Iseki has better discharge / collection system and comes apparent if wet cutting.

Your doing something wrong I'm afraid. If you blocked solid while running it your trying to do too much with it or not being a manual stress control for it. I've had stuff 4' and bigger in mass but need to be careful and bring it back out if the engine drops off the boil. If it's blocked solid after running then material hasn't cleared properly and when stopped it's dropped back inside the drum, very easy to do this as I've done it before. Once you have finished chipping drop the engine to idle and run for a minute, this will reduce the air that the drum produces and if you have a back pack blower handy use this down the indeed. With it blocked solid, pull the belt guard off, belts off and drop the drum out. It's only 4 bolts. Once on demo a customer wanted to see it block and be unblocked in case it happened in the field. We blocked it solid. 10 minutes later we were running again. About as simple as a chipper can be!

Break it down. £300 PM does sound like a fair amount but £75 per week, £15 per working day. Can you be £15 more productive a day, will you gain more business by looking more professional? What price do you put on spending time keeping an old chipper going. Answer is probably none because that's the way it goes. But if that wet morning you were faffing round with yours you could of been pricing a job it's possibly paid for itself that month. What do you do if your chipper breaks on site or before a job? Both embarrassing as it's judgemental on your business but also costly if you spot hire something to keep a customer happy/want future business.

You don't need to stick to 750kg due to legal reasons but if your working in a Manchester are you thinking of 750kg due to small tight areas, pushing it on your own comfortably etc. Do you find you un hitch to get a decent angle? If so then the turntable offering can save time and effort, safer roadside working etc. If you've never found this an issue then maybe stick to an inline due to simpler build and easier service access. Your obvious choices to consider... Jensen 750 Contractor A530 Timberwolf TW190 TW 230 GreenMech Arborist 150 34hp Arborist 190 Turn table options Jensen A530 DI & A540 DI Raptor 750kg GreenMech QC160 TimberWolf TW240 What's your budget? Most of the above are 14-20K

Nice!

Nope, Arbrep will be importing Jensen along with a larger UK strategy giving fantastic support across the country. Arbrep will still offer the Raptor 750kg turntable but obviously isn't the range of Jensen and possibly a slightly different market.

That'll be interesting! Will this be carried out through authorised ag engineering companies on site. Will slower machinery ie companies and foragers be exempt?

I appreciate the law is the law. The point I was making is in a vehicle that can sometimes come under tacho regulations and sometimes not it's very hard to try and comply with rules written around HGV. In my previous job I ran a tacho in a pickup for 5 years, it's a massive ballache to try and keep the right side of the law. Tacho downloads, driver card downloads, trailer can be on and off a few times in a day. It's surprisingly easy to forget to insert the card which cannot be done on the move. Yes it's all business but a haulage firm will plan journeys and there whole day is planned around tacho rules. The tacho is always in and always complying. If a journey is 7 hours then breaks are a factor or double driven. The tacho is always in. I was pulled by vosa last year, actually escorted off the motorway by an X5 and motorbike, they checked everything on my vehicle, wheel nuts, red diesel, straps, tacho, tyres, rang the manufacture of machine I had on the trailer to check if it was stolen etc. I had a good chat with them and they did appreciate how much easier it is if you are on tacho 100% like a HGV and that governs your working week. Do you run a tacho or have used one?

Bit different when the company runs it's business around tacho rules and regs

Made our own... GA Groundcare - GA Groundcare Ltd Still some things to finish though.

Before setting up my business I used to run a tacho in a Dmax and a tacho can be abused in just the same way. There's nothing stopping you not entering your card to get around running a tacho for a bit. Forgetting to remove it and only notice it while your going down the motorway and it's flashing up over speed! The amount of times I'd end up removing my card to enable being able to finish what needed doing. Naughty but what do you do! Try telling a customer that has just spend a large amount of money on tracked chippers and broken down on the rail line side and you can't attend due to no hours left!

Customers Carlton grinder in for new belts and a service

There's lots of pros and cons and what works for one business won't for another. I went limited straight away when setting up the business. Payroll, employees, business account, accountant etc but for selling and servicing the machinery with a depot it's really the only way. There's loads of good information on the Gov websites so maybe set aside an evening to browse, take notes etc. An appointment with a business advisor where you can just sit and tell them what you do and how your business works may be worth the £. You'll learn a lot.

Exactly the same, Good at pushing bearings though! Half of our kit doesn't get used, yet at the same time you'd be lost without it

Kubota's are well built, very reliable, priced well and the second hand values are excellent.

I've started one for the business but not convinced how much mileage there is in it for my business. - Selling and servicing mowers and chippers. But as you say it's free and no harm.

All designed for wood yeah?

Just taken this in part exchange.... All works as it should, 10hp Briggs engine. If your interested, it'll be serviced, new deck drive belt, blades sharpened etc. can cut and drop, cut and collect, tow a garden spec trailer etc. £400

Do you need a ride on? You may find something like a Scag/Ferris hydrostatic ZT walk behind on a 36' deck would work well. Fit in a vehicle and a used one will be within budget.

There's no beating the Iseki SXG cut and collect system. Far superior to the Kubota G series. But the Kubota will win on price.

Bit big for the bench but today's part exchange!

I've got a Hero 3 black edition. I've got the remote and app on my phone. I've also got the LCD touch screen which is great as can see what your doing and play back etc.

Mainly assembled there, most parts are sourced I believe. I used to drive past there place nearly daily until setting up my own business. With all things though, have a demo, draw your own conclusion and make sure it's right for you. Everyone's requirements are different, asking for advice is good at getting a feel of how a machine is perceived but the business model that you run will always be different to a fellow surgeon.

Indeed, not saying it's not. Some good feedback across the country on it.

As said you can run in 1000 with lower revs but be careful and that everyone who may ever step foot in the tractor knows the score. For example... A dealer came to service a MF tractor at my dad's work years ago. Said tractor was rigged up for autumn leaf blowing and to get the forward speed slow enough it was run in 1000 and lower revs. No problem atall till the engineer serviced the tractor, engaged PTO, didn't realise it was in 1000, full 540 revs... Bang. The leaf blower was blown apart. Ash