bilke_user

For that price just buy them and find out for yourself, if they're good then you're well to the good, if crap what have you lost?

The .325/1.5/72 chains I've bought for the processor all grab the log with more bite than the Oregon ones I've used previously. This is presumably because the rakers are set too low. Superb for the WP36 processor but would be reluctant to use them on a processor with a hydraulically controlled saw simply because you need to have a very light touch with them or else they take a fair bite and strain motors etc. For my processor though, I will be buying a lot more just incase they go out of business because folks with saws are not buying enough of them. Three chains for the price of one is great value as long as you can put up with the rakers being a little low, especially as they stay sharp for so long and even after processing 75 ton they are showing no sign of abnormal wear. I would not use them on a chainsaw though, kickback is a PITA and is not something I want a lot of John

A bit too far for me to travel Richard.....I'm based in Argyll in Scotland. We hire out the processor with either 1 or 2 operators. Either day rate or rate per bag for long term contracts. Cheers, John

Our WP36 + 2 Operators normally produces 25-30 builder bags per day. Cutting to 25cm, up to 14" diameter 3m long larch or spruce. A lot depends on the site and how the wood is stacked for the processor. John

Wellingtonia. Great to mill.

Bought four .325" Piranha chains for my processor last week. Thought I'd try one with an artic load of larch (22.9t) Stuff was pretty clean and varying in diameter from 6" to 14". First impressions were very good. Seemed to be very sharp out of the bag, didn't stretch as much as I expected for a cheap chain, in fact it didn't stretch any more or less than a new Oregon one would Most impressive thing about the chain, barring the price, was that it was not needing sharpened even after doing the artic load. First sharpening took place after halfway through the next lorry load (21.2t) of sitka spruce this time. Easy to sharpen and still sharp after finishing the lorry load. In all honesty for anyone using a firewood processor you'd be mad not to use the Piranha chains. I hire out the machine at £750 to process an artic load of 3m softwood. Why pay almost three times as much for a chain that doesn't perform three times as much? I suppose that firewood processors put far less demand on a chain than chainsaws do, simply because they are not being used at infinitely variable angles or being jammed as much.

^^^^^^ very impressive

^^^ Agree Best defence is awareness. No gloves keeps you very aware

Price?

Most good stove shops will offer good advice on choosing, fitting and using stoves. We are very lucky up here in north Argyll that we have a great source of information from Backwoodsman Stoves, Barcaldine, Oban, Argyll They not only sell very good stuff, but are happy to tell you where to get other brands they don't stock and give good advice on them too Local places like them are goldmines.

What excavator are you using? Our KX71-3 gives a flow rate of around 50l/min and a pressure of about 3000psi on the auxiliary circuit. Think most are about the same for hammers etc

With the Farmi WP36 the saw is spring assisted to return and it's lever operated when cutting John

I would imagine that it's stalling the digger because it's cutting to one side or the other. Sharpening issue?? Maybe an issue with the chain sprocket not being in line with the plane of the guide bar? I had the same problem with my WP36 where it would get sticky when cutting larger stuff (>10") and would stall with anything near maximum bar length. Turned out it was a sharpening issue First time I'd ever used an electric disc sharpener and one side was getting sharpened better than the other

Just wait until you have any problems with it...... I've dealt with various machine sellers for over 30 years now and have yet to find a better service than Stephen & co give at Riko. They don't flannel you with B.S and listen to every question you ask and then do their best to answer it straight away or go out to their yard and study a similar machine to get a handle on the problem you are facing first-hand I'm over 400 miles from them and they provide a better service over the phone and via email than I can get just 10 miles away.

And best of all, no mobile phone signal!:thumbup::thumbs:

My WP36 at work. I don't do firewood selling, just hire the machine and operator for others to do the firewood thing

Cherry (Prunus Avium) coppices well, but be aware that deer are attracted to them like magnets. FC did a good article on coppicing a few years ago http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Rin259.pdf/$FILE/Rin259.pdf

Reading this got me thinking a bit when using the processor I'm filling 1m3 bags with wood in around ten minutes. 2 logs at 4.8m x 20cm TED is 0.4m3 and a cube bag won't take more than two of them packed loose and certainly won't take 3 if stacked neatly Interesting to see the variation.

I'm not a fan of it myself, but I come from an age when H&S was an option left to the discretion of the experienced user. Some say dinosaur, but I've survived a lot of stuff that would kill a tyrannosaurus

WP36 now has 2 hydraulic pumps, whereas the older WP36 had only one. The second pump gives around 40% extra speed when using the splitting ram on high speed. High speed=lower power but you just cut back on the handle a little if there's not enough power this then gives you slower speed but much more power. Newest version has more guarding and safety features, but essentially it is a very simple and robust design It was this design that really caught my eye. I'm a huge fan of simple engineering that just works

Apples and pears, Jim. Was told that the new one was streets ahead of the older one and it looks like you are confirming the sales talk from Billy at Riko. If you're ever over in the Oban direction, give me a shout and I'll let you have a play with the new one, on condition that you give me an honest opinion on the difference between the old one and the new one

What machine is it you are using Jim? Can only speak as we find, and for me the new p36 is performing above expectations of both myself and our customers. Billy at Riko persuaded me against going for the older WP36 they had on special offer, saying it was much slower and a totally different machine to the newest version.......mostly down to the double pump on the new one.

Easy enough to extrapolate any difference between using PTO and Honda engine into headline figures I'm not sure what other folks bought this machine for, but for us we bought it to process wood for others and not ourselves. The advantage it has over just a PTO driven machine is that it is suitable to be taken to any site regardless of it having a tractor there or not. We get paid on a day to day basis and make clear to customers before the job starts the estimated time the job will take. If we wee wanting a machine to process firewood for ourselves to sell we would not have bought this one, instead we would have opted for a static machine with a big engine running a much bigger hydraulic pump to give us more power to split more wood in faster times. We didn't opt for this set up simply because we didn't see ourselves being able to sell enough firewood to justify the cost of even the mobile Riko WP36. We prefer to make our money by offering a processing service instead of a product and when we looked into the various options we decided that the mobile WP36 was the machine that would serve our needs best in terms of production rates and it would also give us a decent return on the initial investment

Had mine for about 3 months now and have put slightly less than 250 ton through it without any problems. Had several loads of old sitka at 3m and up to 30cm, fresh sitka at same dimensions and larch at 2.5m up to 35cm and not less than 16cm. Coped very well with all of it and took two good 8hr sessions to do an arctic load. Freshly cut birch at 20-35cm diameter has proved to be the toughest challenge for it yet. Oak lengths at up to 35cm has proved to be the quickest of all the hardwoods we've done so far, even the very knotty stuff goes through the processor quickly.....if it doesn't split the oak it cuts it easily. Not tried any older beech in it yet, but most of our time is spent with either sitka or larch and I've not been able to find fault with it dealing with them yet. Using both the Honda engine and tractor pto. Certainly the Honda used to stall sometimes, but that was me getting used to the machine's capabilities. When going from PTO to Honda engine I do see a difference in speed, but it's hardly likely to cause more than a cube difference at the end of a day Good wee machine that has really made a big difference to our firewood processing capability