chain chokers vs. cable chokers

[donny hochstetler]

I bought a  skidder n it came with chain chokers which I have never used but always thought I might try so, are there any tricks how do you push a chain under a log  when it lays flat? I added the teardrop link so I 'm able to take the chain off the slide also how or where is the best place to carry these on the skidder should I make a box or can you hang them from a bar ?any ideas will be appreciated . by the way I ended up with another clark,  its a 665 f       7800 hrs.    in real nice shape, it has the john deere rearends with diff. lock, cummins engine,  a little underpowered,  but if I stay in flat country i"ll be ok, also need to do some work to the rims, as its to wide it has 18.4x34 tires 9ft.2in. wide I"d like to bring it down to 8ft. 2 in.

[JDeere]

hochstetler,  I used chain chokers for years when I was tractor logging and they worked fine. When I got my first skidder it also had chain chokers so that is what I used for a couple months. A cutter working for me strongly suggested I try cable chokers and I did. Now after using cable chokers I can't imagine going back to chain. If you are pulling 12-14 trees and time is money you can't afford to fool with chain chokers. Cable chokers like chains can break but you probably won't ever lose one. Every time you lose one you've lost your profit in your twitch.

[acl2]

We run both, 2 chain chokers and 3 cable chokers. It works good for pulling different sized trees, I like to put the chains on the larger trees and leave enough chain out that all the trees pull into the arch evenly. As for logs laying on the ground i usually like to push it until the butts in the air, if its to steep for that i hook it where ever i can get under it and then rehook when possible.

[Mark K]

I run chain chokers, only thing around here. Carry a snow hook on the skidder to pull chokers under logs. It's just a piece of round stock with a hook on one end and a handle on the other. Works good even when log is flat on the ground. I welded a length of 3/8 chain on both ends to the side of my arch, hook the chokers to that when not in use. If i run back tire chains I always hook my chokers there. Had them hook into the tire chains a couple times, not fun :(.

[northwoods1]

hochstetler,  I used chain chokers for years when I was tractor logging and they worked fine. When I got my first skidder it also had chain chokers so that is what I used for a couple months. A cutter working for me strongly suggested I try cable chokers and I did. Now after using cable chokers I can't imagine going back to chain. If you are pulling 12-14 trees and time is money you can't afford to fool with chain chokers. Cable chokers like chains can break but you probably won't ever lose one. Every time you lose one you've lost your profit in your twitch.

I can't imagine what the advantage of a chain choker might be the cable works so well and is lighter. And they are just as strong as your mainline, easier to push under the tree and you can hook multiples with one choker if it is long enough. I run seven 8's on a 9/16' line. And you can lose a cable choker :D or at least I have sure lost a lot of them over the years. A lot of time the end bell doesn't provide a pin to hold the choker in. I'll put a bolt through it sometimes so it won't come out but once in a while the bolt will get lost, and your choker too. Nice to find it again as long as it isn't with the chainsaw

[lumberjack48]

chain chokers are to slow to hook, i fell and hooked with the skidder, sometimes i would have all 6 chokers hooked before the operator got down to help, i liked to move-move-move

When i was in Mt. rigging behind a slide bar D8, every rigging man had a choker setter, i got rid of my choker setter, he was to slow, and just another thing to watch out for.
These were Union rules, cat skinner, rigging man, and choker setter, the rigging man was not supposed to set chokers or help. The cat skinner could not get off the cat to help pull line or do anything.
We broke all the rules, we helped each other and we moved the logs

There were 8 cats on each logging crew, i always had high log count at the end of the day, but you have to have a good cat skinner to work with you to.

[ga jones]

the advantage to chains are (they dont slice your hand open when they get fraied). And there more veristile for size .You can get closer to the arch.I use both myself. I try to wrap my chain choker around the tree before I fell It. cables for smaller stuff.

[treefarmer87]

i know what you mean about cut up hands, mine have a few, even with gloves

[lumberjack48]

I kept my rigging clean, anything frayed came off, of coarse you can not see all the little barbs that chokers or the main line get after use.
This is why you should ware a good pair of leather cloves when running riggen, when i was in Mt. working Union it was mandatory to ware leather, or you got a week off with out pay.
At the pace i wanted to work, choker chains would be to slow for hooken, i was always working on production, the fastest and easiest way to getter done 8)

[plasticweld]

I run one machine with cable and one with chain chokers they both have their advantage, the cable you are already familiar with so will spare you the whys. The chain chokers are a big advantage when hooking wood from the small end, and skidding down hill, you can  choke them tight and not loose them like you do the cable. You can also un hook a slide when you loose a tree or wish to get something out of order when your pulling a load. I can normally hook on my middel slid and then depending on what needs to pick up either pull the last slide free or pick up off the top. the load never sits on a cable preventing you from doing this.  also lets me change things around if they get twisted up.

The biggest draw back of chain chokers is loosing them. make sure how ever  you hook them to the machine it is twice as difficult to get them off as you think nessesary. at $43 plus tax it does not take long to make it worth a few extra seconds when you take them off. Most times I loose them when backing up in thick brush and have a small limb lift the chain off. I would also invest in a cheap radio shack metal detector best thing ever for finding lost chains in the snow and mud. I have use mine way more than I like...Bob

[lumberjack48]

The why i ran cable, i always hang the chokes up in order [6] so if your first hook is 3 trees , you can grab 3 more trees down the trail one at a time, your chokers are always free, never stuck in the drag.

[donny hochstetler]

back again thanks for all your input I think i"llprobably stick with cable chokers as I can see it being less hassel we dont run more than 3 chokers anyhow often times only two I thought about maybe keeping a teardrop on the end so I could use that for large singles or pulling trucks or culverts ect.

[Skiddah]

I've run both cable chokers and chain chokers, and am currently running cable chokers on my skidder.  In the winter time, they're tops, so much easier to get under a tree laying in the snow.  I pull a lot from a buncher and it makes in easy to hookup multiple pulp trees in the same snare.

When I was running chain on leased skidders, I invested in a metal detector.  I didn't want to lose my profit very often.  I did think that chains were easy however to hot yard.  If I wanted to get a few trees, advance them up the trail, they were easy to unhook from the tear drop and leave them hooked up on the ground to go back and get more.  It was also easy to rearrange the order of your trees if it became necessary.

Each has their advantages and disadvantages:

Cable - easy to get under wood, hard to lose, lighter,  easy to hook multiple trees up.  Disadvantages would be that they can fray, kink, or break easier than chain.

Chain - somewhat stronger, easy to arrange your wood, easy to hot yard, and a little benefit is you build muscle lugging them out every twitch.  :D  Disadvantages is that they're heavy, cumbersome at times, and expensive.  Cable snares are much more cost effective in my opinion.

[Emajsh]

I have mine set up just like your thinking, 5 cable chokers with one teardrop on the end for a chain choker. It works good for pulling trucks or anything else besides logs. Its nice to be able to have a way to hook a chain up to your cable if need be. It also is easier to pick up a log that you drop that way you arent fighting with a hung up cable choker or having to double back on your main cable

[madmari]

I use both by using six teardrop sliders on the mainline. My cable chokers are set up with a piece of 3/8" chain on the hook end, allowing to choke with either chain or cable chokers.
  The cable chokers are light and fast to unhook at the landing, but unless you have a high arch it's tough to get small diameter wood up off the ground, whereas a chain choker allows you to "choke up" for a higher ride.
  For some reason, I've never lost a cable but chains escape with frequency.

  I keep 2 chains ready to go if I need them, but use the cables most.

[tycoon139977]

can someone post a picture of a chain choker? i have never seen one, here on the west coast under the yarders all we use is cable, i wuld imagine cable chokers are lighter and easyer to pound in underneath a tight log. and easyier to drag around, but i wuld like to see a chain choker.

[Norm]

Here's the ones I use.



I get them through my farmi winch dealer.

[beenthere]

They also can be found at Bailey's (sponsor on the left).
The one Norm shows is what I use for the minimal logging I do.

[bill m]

Everyone I know uses chain chokers. It is easier to size them to the piece you are skidding so you get the logs higher off the ground. Pulls a lot easier that way.

[tycoon139977]

huh, for some reason i thought they wuld be different, just a chunk of chain with a almost closed hook on the end.i think i wuld like cable ones better under a tower, not so many littld pivot points so it cant swing around and sneak up on you.

[thecfarm]

tycoon,Skidder chains are more like what you said.The straight ends piece I have never seen around here on a skidder.That hook has just about enough room for the chain to slide through.What Norm has is a 3pt winch,like what I have behind a tractor.I myself do not like the straight part attached to the chain.I have a curve piece that I use to get under the log when needed.I really don't use it much.I can buy a 8 foot chain,5/16,grade 8 cheaper than one with a pin and a foot and a half longer too. I buy my logging stuff from Labonville beacuse they are 15 minutes form me and I can see what I want.This is what I made to help me under the logs when needed.





Most skidder chains are I think,3/8.
I have also heard that some guys like the cables better so when they get to the landing they can drop the twitch hard and drive quickly out of the twitch without having to get off the skidder to unhook.

[John Mc]

Most skidder chains are I think,3/8.

I use 5/16 choker chains. They are a whole lot lighter, and my tractor mounted winch isn't big enough to strain them anyway - nor am I skidding any monster trees. If I had a larger logging winch, I'd probably go with the 3/8" chain.

[captain_crunch]

Cable choker will not come loose on landing but likely to on way landing. : : I do not know of anybody in this part of Oregon with anything but cable chokers