Conor Wright

A toro workman would be similar to a gator but has a bigger tipping body, some have hydraulics and pto too. You don't see them too often, more of a golf course machine but I reckon for most estate work one would adapt well.

Everything I bring back gets used except the awkward sized hedge clippings, like 2 year growth laurel or berberis or very spread out leylandi tops. I have a pile of this stuff now that's big enough to justify getting in a green waste shredder/grinder but unfortunately there is no one local to me with one. Keeping an eye out for something like a heavy duty diet feeder that would do the same job on a budget. I reckon there's the chance of a decent return from ton bags of compost.

The chip goes for mulch or bedding depending on how "woody" it is and all logs get processed (eventually...)

Just read the headlines and not sure what to think.. some obtuse type of sabotage? Submarine or military accident?  Genuine fault, or what? 

I don't get why the Russians would attack the pipeline when they could just play with the taps instead. Hardly some fisherman dragging an anchor, hardware failure?

I don't know, its above my pay grade as they say. any of the oil and gas or diving guys on here hear anything more definite? 

I'm skeptical of the narrative of russian sabotage I'm reading. Just makes no sense to me. Why kill the goose that laid the golden egg?

Gonna be chilly in Berlin this winter...

Nice offcuts! I rarely get bits that good as waste, plenty of long slips of spruce and poplar here at the moment. All going for kindling to sell in bulk or logs for our own use. 

Kindling is slow, boring and badly paid work but there's always a few winter days where it beats being outside in the wind and rain.

2 hours ago, Craig. said:

Thanks, they dont ring a bell, I seem to recall it being three letters, like abc trailers type of thing.

I meant to go back, but forgot.

I give DJB a call when I get 5min

Mcm? 

3 hours ago, doobin said:

Surely if you have a reliable pickup that you like with a rotting tub, the obvious route is tub off, tipper on, airbag assister springs and any chassis repairs/waxoyl whilst you're at it!

It's a double cab so too small for a useful tipper, have the mog and a tipping trailer for those jobs that require it.

I do often think of getting an older hilux single cab, raising it an inch or three, sticking on oversize mudpluggers and dropping a tipper on but sadly I have more important things to spend money on.

Waxoyl?! There's enough oily things rattling around the tub dripping onto the chassis to preserve it for generations! 

A set of airbags would be a good idea. The springs do sometimes look sad!

3 hours ago, Gardenscape said:

I'm in the same predicament now. My Hilux 2004 has been bullet proof for the past 6 years, but it's suffering from rust across the whole underside of the tub and has big holes around the fixing supports to the chassis. I reckon it will fail it's MOT in December, so I'm looking for a new pickup for around 10k, but what is available doesn't fill me with much confidence. Pickups now look like pleasure vehicles. I don't want the transit or anything larger as I don't need it . Kind of stuck at the moment.

I'm still running a 02 hilux, those mounting brackets and tub rails are available from toyota. Had to fit them a couple of tests back. Awkward job but doable. The rear chassis legs can be plated handy enough too.

There's also northsouth4x4, they have the tub parts in a kit, bit pricey but it should be all you need to keep it going another good number of years if you do decide to go that route.

5 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

How dare you - nothing filthy about this hiviz!!

 

Yeah, i hate it when the saw runs outa juice with one cut left too.

1 hour ago, dan blocker said:

Have you ever used one, mate as one carrying 2.6 ton digger, grab, etc and finds it ideal. It’s very well made and when I’ve used it I’ve been well impressed, so much so I’ve got one ordered.

be interesting to find weight of a triple axle tilt bed with the extra axle, ram, hand pump and tank as I think payload would be down?

Not owned one but worked for a company that had a couple in the fleet. Bear in mind this was 15ish years ago. Only trailer I ever knew where a major crack came in the towing frame, you could dent the sides if you looked hard enough at them. bouncy and jerky to tow compared to others I've used. Regular bearing failures too. Not rattley to be fair but that was the rubber washers. I vividly remember towing the tipper with a navara on a roughish road and it literally making my teeth chatter. Was enough for me to discount the brand completely.

The dale kanes on the other hand, good god, they could shrug off actual abuse on a daily basis. They became the only brand in the yard in the end. Their weight goes against them but they are really well made. We regularly overloaded them with all sorts and other than the odd tyre or light plug they never had a single issue. 

Looking at comments here nugent obviously improved. Maybe they would be worth a look now

Does this count? American/Canadian perspective but the idea is universal.

So they fell, sned, transport, process, stack and deliver firewood for 40 quid a cube?

I'm missing something here.

Never mind the cost of replanting.

Unless there's some serious forestry subsidies being paid out somebody is simply not making money.

Not having a go, just curious as to how it can be so cheap.

1 hour ago, Big J said:

Apparently the expected hike in electricity prices in Sweden over winter is causing a boom in stoves being installed. Wood prices are still quite steady and firewood prices are incredibly low compared to the UK, so it's being seen as an economical option for emergency heating.

 

As an example, this local firewood seller is selling mixed timber (pine, spruce, mixed hardwood) at £36/stacked cube and pure birch is £44 (collected). It's not worth me cutting it myself at that price.

 

How much (or little) does a contractor get for felling and processing to length then? I can't buy spruce here (ireland) roadside at that money, never mind processed and dry.

17 minutes ago, spudulike said:

Oh no, this will go on to the old fish theme in a while!!

Jaysus, are they checking the moisture content in them now too?!

Last one I caught was soaking wet. 

Great excuse to go fishing for the whole weekend though...

"well, honey its this new law, i gots to land over two cubic meters of em or its back to buying fish fingers, it's OK, just gonna take me a while.... bye!"

Nrm labs do testing like this, they were taken over a while back, not sure if the name changed but a quick Google of natural resource management labs will bring them up. 

Used them a few times pre brexit (not so simple to send soil across the irish sea anymore, thanks guys.) for various soil tests for nutrition and toxicity. They were very detailed in their reports and quick turn around at a fraction of the price I've seen posted here, although it was a number of years ago.

4 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

No long before the Weegies have their water fluorinated it seems. 

 

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/fluoride-could-be-added-to-tap-water-used-by-more-than-a-million-scots

 

Pure poison. I read a very good book a few years back by a man named Barry groves (or graves) called "drinking ourselves to death" its about the buried science and outright lies told to the public regarding fluoride in water. Well worth a read if its still in print.

Sat out on the hammock for a couple of hours, saw a few but probably missed loads because herself woke me up not long after midnight to tell me it was time to go to sleep. Female logic.

Shower alone could be 7kw, immersion, heating, kitchen... adds up quick 12-16 to run all as normal but 6 or 7 would get you out of trouble for a few days I guess. We have a 6.5 petrol gennie for power cuts. It does the job but no way would it run a house at normal usage levels. (It's the startup that kills them) Have been looking at pto generators with an idea to wire it in at the meter but it's been put on the long finger for now.

3 hours ago, Stere said:

BLUETTI AC300 + B300 + PV350 Solar Generator Kit

BLUETTIPOWER.CO.UK

---

100% modular, accepts up to 4xB300. 2400W Unrivaled Solar Input. 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter. 5400W Blazing Input...

 

 

 

Expensive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She who must be obeyed picked up something similar from knives and tools not so long ago. It came with a 100w solar panel which, so far, has been sufficient to run her work laptop and phone all day as well as charge my phone in the evenings. 

We will probably add to the solar capacity for the shorter days ahead. 

Not sure what it cost but it wasn't 1000s because the wfh electricity allowance from her work covered it.

1 minute ago, devon TWiG said:

So eloquently put !!😂

By my standards. Very.

I wouldn't get far in the corporate world methinks.

What an utter knobjockey you come across as.

Get your things delivered to your home like everyone else, stop being the embodiment of an entitled prick,stop dragging down reputable companies, go back to work, do your job and stop wasting taxpayers money. Simple.

Ah,

so this is what's wrong with the NHS.

Just starting to get cherry toms now, peppers are massive but not turning red although I'm wondering has there been a  mixup with the seeds...

A lot of big, green Tom's and a lack of sunshine the last few days not helping. The rain has done wonders for the carrots and the beetroot though. Never had better.

First kapusta (polish version of sauerkraut) has been made tonight. Cauliflowers averaging over 1kg per head! Broadbeans and peas doing well, have a lot of podding to do this week.

Gonna be the first time we will have a useful amount of frozen peas for winter, I'm a bit surprised as the plants were looking weak for a long time and only came good in the last 3 weeks or so.

1 hour ago, Commando said:

I’d add to that do you have the skill set to work those machines? Hedge trimming with a tractor aint the easiest job. However, running about on a small tractor with a topper, harrow or roller can be a relatively simple and enjoyable task.

For home use I wouldn't be too worried about it, any machine I had to familiarise myself with was done around home. at least then the **************** ups are your own!

You are right though, hedge cutting isn't a handy days work, especially if you're looking over your shoulder for 10 or 12 hours.

Hmm, 20 acres is almost proper tractor territory. A compact in the 35 hp+ range with a front loader might be the most versatile for moving things,  mowing, topping, spraying, hedgecutting duties. A company called slanetrac make a hedge cutter to fit most front loaders, a good alternative to other expensive rear mount machines.

The biggest question is if you have the time to manage it yourself? The cost is secondary as there's no point having the kit and not being able use it, likewise its pointless paying someone to do a job if you have the time to watch them do it!

8 hours ago, peds said:

You've just got... like... zero positive attributes as a human being, have you? You're just... a big leaking sack of hatred. It must be exhausting. 

Did I just stumble across an excerpt from "conversations with my mother in law"?!