Cut to length harvesters

Northern Timber Harvesting · November 24, 2013, 08:23:22 AM

Cat 521 with a quadco 5660. pros- low maintenance cutting, handles any size wood, lots of power. cons-oil consumption for disc lubrication, there are a few weak spots on the head, that quadco seems to be working on improving. As far as the 521 i have nothing bad to say yet, just hit 1000 hrs. I had a 501 with the 4 roller, way too small for what I was trying to do. Also I didn't like the exposed hoses on the head, and there was some reliability issues.

Ken · November 24, 2013, 08:50:17 AM

I run an old 1997 Timberjack 608 with a 762 Waratah head. Although the machine is far from new it does well when we can keep the mechanical/electrical gremlins at bay. Yesterday I averaged nearly 100 trees/hr over a 6 hour period. Small trees that average 15-20/cord were harvested from a road right of way. The block was previously harvested in 1980 and pre-commercially thinned in 1983.

We generally cut more softwood than hardwood. I do not use the harvester for large ugly trees. We cut them with a powersaw.

wannaergo · November 24, 2013, 10:41:42 AM

I don't think I've heard anything but good about the 501 until I started reading this thread. They have a really good reputation up where I am. They really amped up the roller speed and saw speed. I've talked to guys that cut 50-60 cords a day, no problem in a hardwood thinning.

Northern Timber Harvesting · November 24, 2013, 02:55:05 PM

Quote from: wannaergo on November 24, 2013, 10:41:42 AM
I don't think I've heard anything but good about the 501 until I started reading this thread. They have a really good reputation up where I am. They really amped up the roller speed and saw speed. I've talked to guys that cut 50-60 cords a day, no problem in a hardwood thinning.

Well hopefully your experiences are good ones. I think what it comes down to with harvesters and heads, is application. I could see a 501 doing very well on smaller (less than 16") hardwood and flat ground.

Duhnis · November 24, 2013, 05:16:57 PM

Isn't the new Barko harvester a Puma Machine.
Our CSA came from A company that sold Pumas and he thought they were .

Anyone know for sure?

Duhnis

snowstorm · November 24, 2013, 06:05:18 PM

Quote from: Duhnis on November 24, 2013, 05:16:57 PM
Isn't the new Barko harvester a Puma Machine.
Our CSA came from A company that sold Pumas and he thought they were .

Anyone know for sure?

Duhnis yes

ABTS · November 24, 2013, 07:20:58 PM

Puma was bought out by Barko and they redid the machine does not look alike at all .Hopefully will turn out better that the puma's

JLeBouton · November 24, 2013, 09:39:41 PM

Quote from: Duhnis on November 24, 2013, 05:16:57 PM
Isn't the new Barko harvester a Puma Machine.
Our CSA came from A company that sold Pumas and he thought they were .

Anyone know for sure?

Duhnis

I know for sure, and the answer is No. The new Barko is not a Puma.

Kemper · November 24, 2013, 09:41:10 PM

Glad you are happy with it, that's really all that matters. Down here you won't find much cat logging equipment. We don't trust their equipment or engines, don't like loaders or trucks with Cat engines. We do like the cats when it comes to dozers and heavy equipment.

Quote from: wannaergo on November 24, 2013, 10:41:42 AM
I don't think I've heard anything but good about the 501 until I started reading this thread. They have a really good reputation up where I am. They really amped up the roller speed and saw speed. I've talked to guys that cut 50-60 cords a day, no problem in a hardwood thinning.

deastman · November 25, 2013, 08:27:24 AM

Quote from: Northern Timber Harvesting on November 24, 2013, 08:23:22 AM
Cat 521 with a quadco 5660. pros- low maintenance cutting, handles any size wood, lots of power. cons-oil consumption for disc lubrication, there are a few weak spots on the head, that quadco seems to be working on improving. As far as the 521 i have nothing bad to say yet, just hit 1000 hrs. I had a 501 with the 4 roller, way too small for what I was trying to do. Also I didn't like the exposed hoses on the head, and there was some reliability issues.

My only con with my 130 with the Fabtek head is also what size wood it can handle. It does a great job for it's size but if I were to buy another one I would look for something a little heavier that had a Rolly II or the Quadco 5660. I've always had disk saw bunchers and a disk topping saw delimber so I would definitely go with a disk saw processor.

wannaergo · November 25, 2013, 07:26:12 PM

Today was the first full day cutting with the 501, and it went really well actually. With the learning curve, I still managed to get about 40 cords. We were lucky to get that with the old timco. One thing that did bother me though, was that I couldn't get the head around bigger trees. I think if they made it open a little wider, it'd be perfect. It also seems a little nose heavy too. That thing spits out wood though! 8)

Duhnis · November 28, 2013, 05:39:38 PM

Does anyone have any experience with the Waratah 624c head. I see that a few are fixed heads and with a 32" diameter processing size it should be quite a weapon.
How well does this head delimb when it reaches the top of the tree or on small wood 3-5", really curious.
Thanks,
Duhnis

Jamie_C · December 03, 2013, 06:04:37 PM

Starting on Dec. 9 i will be running a Tigercat 860 with a Target processing head. This combination is fairly popular up here and is considered almost bulletproof.

1270d · December 03, 2013, 06:43:08 PM

I hadn't heard of that head before so I had to look it up. Looks simple and functional. And huge.

Ken · December 03, 2013, 07:04:37 PM

Quote from: Jamie_C on December 03, 2013, 06:04:37 PM
Starting on Dec. 9 i will be running a Tigercat 860 with a Target processing head. This combination is fairly popular up here and is considered almost bulletproof.

That is one large combination. Brand new units or already broken in?

Jamie_C · December 04, 2013, 05:28:45 PM

My machine will be already broken in, supposed to be a new one coming in January but I doubt I will get it as I will be at the bottom of the seniority list.

Jamie_C · December 05, 2013, 03:45:17 PM

Turns out i won't be running the Tigercat 860/Target combination, was talking to my supervisor today and he said they have a newer Tigercat 855 with a Waratah head that i could run if i wanted to instead of the older 860/Target combo. Since i much prefer to sit inside a nice comfy cab running the machine instead of being outside turning wrenches he made my decision easy.

I will be sure to post some pics of my new office early next week

1270d · December 05, 2013, 05:38:14 PM

Are you picking out of cold decks or following a buncher Jamie? What kind of waratah and wood?

Jamie_C · December 05, 2013, 05:42:51 PM

Following a buncher, going to be mostly softwood. Not sure what size Waratah head it is, I will find out monday morning at 6:00am when I climb into the cab

JLeBouton · January 12, 2014, 04:01:21 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3niyYpWsCc&list=UUw9S4v_O3CXuYGlH19iMkTA&feature=share&index=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL-cWCBLe08&list=UUw9S4v_O3CXuYGlH19iMkTA&feature=share

1270d · January 12, 2014, 05:55:28 PM

Please show some vids of it cutting rough wood.
How come you went with the two roller design with this head vs your old 4 roller? Patent or no compete clause, or is there some other advantage?
Is the Pettibone facility going to produce some of these machines or be some sort of a sales outlet/dealership? Ithat would be a good area to have an dealership presence with fixed head equipment.
And finally will barko refine the puma forwarders, possibly produce an eight wheel model?

wannaergo · January 15, 2014, 07:39:54 PM

I'll second 1270d's comment. I'm curious how it does in nasty crooked crap. its definitely faster than my 501, so if barko does ok with reliability and parts availability, i think i know what my next harvester will be.. i'm also curious how it handles big wood.