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Cut to length harvesters

Started by Jenneville, November 21, 2013, 03:34:37 PM

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Jenneville

I am looking for info on what people are running for processing machines/heads - pros & cons

snowstorm


furltech

1070 timberjack/john deere  witha 754 waratah

Tree Killer

Komatsu 430FXL with a Rolly 2 Rotosaw,WEI .

1270d

Deere 1270 w/h480.

Some pros
Powerful, smooth, comfortable.

Biggest con is the cost of parts. 

ABTS

Fabtek 153 four roller fabtek head Good machine abit slow compared to a dangle head . but stout.

Corley5

Fabtek 133 with four roller Fabtek head.  It gets the job done  8)  Much better than running a chainsaw  :)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Jenneville

Quote from: 1270d on November 21, 2013, 07:00:10 PM
Deere 1270 w/h480.

Some pros
Powerful, smooth, comfortable.

Biggest con is the cost of parts. 

We have a lot of mixed wood here , whatbarebyou cutting primarily with your machine.

Duhnis

 My brother runs a J.D.753  with a Skidmore CF-20 four roller fixed head, unlimited rotation.

Jenneville

We have a mix of hardwoods and softwoods here , what size wood do your machines work well in?

Jenneville

Quote from: ABTS on November 21, 2013, 07:00:50 PM
Fabtek 153 four roller fabtek head Good machine abit slow compared to a dangle head . but stout.

How did you decide on this machine?

wannaergo

Just picked up a 2013 Cat 501HD. Absolute animal. Used to run a 99 Timbco with a keto head. The cat is smooth comfy and extremely powerful, but its not as fast as a dangle head.
2016 Ponsse ergo 8w
2014 Cat 564
Husky 385

BargeMonkey

 Ive been wondering about picking up a 120 deere / fabtek with a 4 roller, cut to length isnt real popular around here but it could have its purposes, anyone have one..?  Im only looking at it because ive got a 120C excavator, and a 501 is way more than I want for something that may get 500 hours a year. Just wondering if anyone else has alot of seat time in one.. ?

ABTS

That style of machine is very common in Wisconsin. Mostly because of the size of some of the hard wood here  . Pin is not as common . Oak is very common and what we call wolfy. Very bushy.I would love to try a dangle head the speed everything goes is nice . The newer fixed heads are trying to fix that namely the barko or the john deere both with Skidmore designed heads. I do not know how well the dangles heads would cut of limbs. It does a very good job. We do a lot of farm wood lots and hedgerows so the fixed head works well when you need to fell in a certain area as long as you can pick up the tree. this machine is basically a cat 501 hd just a older version. It does a good job in pine a good day you could lay down 50 to 60 Cord in a clear cut in hardwood depending on how wolfy it is 30 to 40 cord. I would think most dangles would kick my but in pine. But hardwood I would like to see. Also you have to decide on which form of movement you want wheels or tracks . You do not find to many wheeled fixed head harvesters. Not real popular.

BargeMonkey

 I have a Timbco that handles the larger wood and limbs pretty well already. The state and some foresters are playing weight games now, wanting equipment less than 35k on certain jobs, or we get alot of blow down work I dont wanna put a man into, thats really what im looking at this machine for. I saw a 490D with a fabtel package a few years ago on a spruce job and he looked like he had all he could do to slide up and down the hill,

1270d

We cut mostly hardwood.  Saw logs, veneer and pulp.  Probably 75/25 hardwood/softwood.

How bout some pics of the new kitty keV?  Any hours or does it have that new harvester smell still?

wannaergo

Mike, I'll have to get some pictures off my phone at a later date. The thing still smells brand new  ;D it has a whopping 15 hours on it 8)
2016 Ponsse ergo 8w
2014 Cat 564
Husky 385

Duhnis

Quote from: wannaergo on November 22, 2013, 06:28:27 AM
Just picked up a 2013 Cat 501HD. Absolute animal. Used to run a 99 Timbco with a keto head. The cat is smooth comfy and extremely powerful, but its not as fast as a dangle head.

I sure hope you have better luck than  my brother did with his new one , failed tank pressure regulators (several times), Hyd tank leaking into fuel tank due to a poorly welded seam, main hyd valve blowing out seals between the sections,  (lost count). Front engine oil seal oil seal leaking and was the day it left after multiple repairs, blown  hyd oil coolers , saw motor seals, broken drive  wheel chains ( 300 - 500 hrs).
Honest to god , this rig never ran continuously for 4 days straight in over a year.
Not bashing , but there was two 501 HDs in our county and they have gone away do to
  being unreliable.   Hopefully these two were just a couple of bad apples, But my brother seems pretty happy for the most part with the 753, Just still getting used to it.
Robin  ( Skidmore) and the Parker hyd people have bent over backwards to solve a few of the teething issues he has had going from Cat / Fabteck to  JD / Skimore.
I work on all brands of construction  / forestry equipment, they are all good as long as they run !

SPForesrty

1270E with H480C
Very smooth, good speed and power.  Don't want to be using these machines if you have a lot of pulling/pushing of trees but great off the stump.

deastman

I run a Samsung 130 LCM-3 with the Fabtek conversion and a Fabtek four-roller fixed head.  It's a very economical machine, great on fuel, 2 gallons or less an hour, simple to work on, and the head has been very reliable.
Samsung 130 LCM-3 with Fabtek 4-roller and Cat 554 forwarder, Cat EL 180 excavator, Cat D3C dozer, Cat D7E dozer, '92 Ford LTL 9000 dump, Easy-2-Load 25 Ton tag-a-long, current project under construction: '91 Peterbilt 379 with a Hood 8000 w/extenda-boom loader

deastman

Anyone seen or heard how the new Barko processor is workin out? I've seen the ad for it in the Northern Logger and it looks like a good rig. Also, can somone give me some info on the Skidmore processor heads? Havnt seen or heard about them yet.
Samsung 130 LCM-3 with Fabtek 4-roller and Cat 554 forwarder, Cat EL 180 excavator, Cat D3C dozer, Cat D7E dozer, '92 Ford LTL 9000 dump, Easy-2-Load 25 Ton tag-a-long, current project under construction: '91 Peterbilt 379 with a Hood 8000 w/extenda-boom loader

Jenneville

That Cat 501 seems like a good rig, who runs this with a dangle head ?

JLeBouton


snowstorm

nice looking machine. the deere may chase the cat up a tree

jdament

I run a Fabtek 153 with 4 roller head.  Like the machine hate the tracks.   Would like to have wheels I have worked on several 501 cats and the hydraulic cooler has been replaced on them and the high pressure fuel pumps are not reliable and are expensive to fix.  One engine blew up at 7500 hrs and cat said it was 3/4 used up.  I really do want to see and try the new Barking work.  The head looks awesome and the machine is about the same weight and width as the ft153 .  I just can't seem to find any videos or demos of the machine at work. I think Barko will give cat a run for there money with this machine.

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