If price wasn't a factor, what processor would you buy?

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If price wasn't a problem for me Id have all my wood delivered split and ready to go.And Id hire help to stack it for me.:hmm3grin2orange:
 
I would also go with Cord King, but lets face it, if price wasn't a factor i wouldn't be selling firewood for a living.

What price do you put on a healthy, wholesome living?
At the risk of sounding all cosmic and herbal, I gave up earning almost three times the amount I am now, to cut and chop trees, work in wide open spaces, be more connected to Mother Earth and dependant upon weather patterns. Call me nuts (plenty have) but the stresses of the job now seem somehow more natural and healthy. If I were rich, I'd still be doing this. In fact, I'm rich for doing it but not materially, if that makes sense. Well, that's my take on it. Your mileage may vary :)

In some ways, having the processing itself as the bottleneck might just be lesser of two evils. If I had a Cord King capable of pumping out 100 cubic metres per day then the bottleneck is going to be feeding it, and clearing it, and all the complications and costs that come with supporting those two sides of the operation. But that's a headache I'd be happy with, if I had the money :)

Come to think of it, if money wasn't an issue, I'd buy it even if just heating our own home. I'd roll out there one weekend per year, drag a few logs onto the deck, park the pick-up truck the other end and cut a few cords and have it all back in the shed before morning tea break. Or I'd have a shed built around it to keep it, the logs and the firewood dry.

We can but dream.
 
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If price wasn't a problem for me Id have all my wood delivered split and ready to go.And Id hire help to stack it for me.:hmm3grin2orange:
I bet you a cord you wouldn't.

Because heat pumps are way better than fires anyway.

**runs for cover***
 
At the risk of sounding like a Miss Universe contestant (and let's face it, I have a face best suited to radio), I'd buy the 18-way wedge, strap bundles of firewood, and deliver to the oldies until my stomach could not take any more bikkies and cups of tea. Sometimes I think we forget how much the old-timers have to offer and I've noticed if one is sincere, they are more than happy to have a good chin-wag and tender their sage advice.
Also I'd deliver bundles to those who need it. Heck, right now over here we have thousands of people displaced or in drafty homes because of earthquakes as Winter hits. I'm not sure if they'd be short of dry wood, given the massive amount of buildings that have come down, but if I could deliver bundles of wood to those that need them, then we'd both be warmed by it.

Oh, and harsher penalties for parole violators, Stan. (not sure of anyone can guess what movie that's from)
 
wood if you could

Cord King and multiteck seem the cat's meow. there are also a few Italian processors I quite like too. Probably, the Canadian Cord King CS27-40 (Model 60) « Cord King would be my choice, if money was no barrier. We can but dream.

1. Chomper super sixteen with 8 way head
road legal with fenders, lights and brakes and towed with the unimog



2. Chomper hydraulic conveyor

3. 10+ton road legal 3 axle dump trailer

4. portable platform scale to weigh/sell firewood by the ton

5. "Unimog" to pull the trailer to make deliveries and be able to hook the
front of the unimog to the trailer tongue and back it in to make deliveries.

6. Valmet forwarder with delimber boom

7. 1 30-foot flat bed transport trailer to transport the conveyor and the platform scale

8. 1 40-foot flat bed to transport the Valment forwarder with the Unimog


No sawing except to cut out a crooked log to make it a
straight piece to feed into the chomper.


No need for log deck or boom to handle logs as the
winch pulls the logs to the Chomper.
 
I've been all decided on a mutlitek for years...now, after seeing the cordking, I dunno?:msp_unsure:

What price do you put on a healthy, wholesome living?
At the risk of sounding all cosmic and herbal, I gave up earning almost three times the amount I am now, to cut and chop trees, work in wide open spaces, be more connected to Mother Earth and dependant upon weather patterns. Call me nuts (plenty have) but the stresses of the job now seem somehow more natural and healthy. If I were rich, I'd still be doing this. In fact, I'm rich for doing it but not materially, if that makes sense. Well, that's my take on it. Your mileage may vary :)

yep.

I'm headed out Monday to clear a pasture for a guy who was born in the old stone house that still stands there...he was real quiet as we walked around there...this is livin'
 
I've been all decided on a mutlitek for years...now, after seeing the cordking, I dunno?:msp_unsure:



yep.

I'm headed out Monday to clear a pasture for a guy who was born in the old stone house that still stands there...he was real quiet as we walked around there...this is livin'
:clap:

Yeah, you got it. I've had people pity me for working outdoors in terrible weather when in actual fact it's just the way I want it. Frankly, I think the same of them in their high-rise buildings with windows that never open, their 2 hr round trip commutes in the concrete jungles, 10-12 hr days staring at a computer, etc. Been there, done that, got out before I got the heart attack.

Regarding Multitek and Cord King, whilst there's more to processors than flat out production rates, this is interesting all the same:
[video=youtube;77BldCnx7DY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77BldCnx7DY[/video]
 
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16" max might be perfect for flat out production with plantation grown pecker poles, but it would be too limiting as the pecker poles are also the lowest value firewood we can produce here. There's also extra time grading the logs and less stock to feed it, the smaller the max capacity is.

From what I can gather, the real-use production rates of the cord king and multitek processors are so far in excess of the chomper they more than cover the additional loader/labour/capital costs. Provided of course there is enough to feed these machines and customers for the end products (I can see how people can get themselves in trouble forking out heaps of $ on these machines and just run out of wood).

Even at less than the capacity of 16" diameter, the chomper 8-way wedge will still produce firewood too wide for most if not all of our customers here without the box/honeycomb wedge available on these splitters. The production rates of these other processors would seem to me to more than justify the additional scrap the box wedges produce, which I gather could be as high as 20% by volume. It's not waste - pellet mills, garden supply places buy it. I'd take a more wasteful processor if it means happier customers any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But then I've never had to try to unblock a jammed box wedge yet.

Is your market more used to buying by weight? Ours is more used to volume, and the processor has the risk of buying in weight and selling in volume.

Sawdust, whilst considerably less than a harvester bar set-up, can still be captured and sold, although I'd much rather it was practically possible to have a huge shear blade that could handle the same 27" logs the cord king can handle. Especially dry ones, without crushing more than it shears.

Log decks on machines as high volume as these are essential, surely? They buy time, reduce a bottle neck, machine loading is potentially safer than manually hooking lines to logs at the bottom of a log stack and dragging that dirt into the final product.

i think though, it's easy to get carried away with the production rates of machines and not realise it takes an aweful amount of money and planning to build the log feed capacity and firewood sales volumes to the point these machines can really hit their straps financially. But it would be a great challenge I'd just love to take on.

1. Chomper super sixteen with 8 way head
road legal with fenders, lights and brakes and towed with the unimog



2. Chomper hydraulic conveyor

3. 10+ton road legal 3 axle dump trailer

4. portable platform scale to weigh/sell firewood by the ton

5. "Unimog" to pull the trailer to make deliveries and be able to hook the
front of the unimog to the trailer tongue and back it in to make deliveries.

6. Valmet forwarder with delimber boom

7. 1 30-foot flat bed transport trailer to transport the conveyor and the platform scale

8. 1 40-foot flat bed to transport the Valment forwarder with the Unimog


No sawing except to cut out a crooked log to make it a
straight piece to feed into the chomper.


No need for log deck or boom to handle logs as the
winch pulls the logs to the Chomper.
 
I wood if I could

16" max might be perfect for flat out production with plantation grown pecker poles, but it would be too limiting as the pecker poles are also the lowest value firewood we can produce here. There's also extra time grading the logs and less stock to feed it, the smaller the max capacity is.

From what I can gather, the real-use production rates of the cord king and multitek processors are so far in excess of the chomper they more than cover the additional loader/labour/capital costs. Provided of course there is enough to feed these machines and customers for the end products (I can see how people can get themselves in trouble forking out heaps of $ on these machines and just run out of wood).

Even at less than the capacity of 16" diameter, the chomper 8-way wedge will still produce firewood too wide for most if not all of our customers here without the box/honeycomb wedge available on these splitters. The production rates of these other processors would seem to me to more than justify the additional scrap the box wedges produce, which I gather could be as high as 20% by volume. It's not waste - pellet mills, garden supply places buy it. I'd take a more wasteful processor if it means happier customers any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But then I've never had to try to unblock a jammed box wedge yet.

Is your market more used to buying by weight? Ours is more used to volume, and the processor has the risk of buying in weight and selling in volume.

Sawdust, whilst considerably less than a harvester bar set-up, can still be captured and sold, although I'd much rather it was practically possible to have a huge shear blade that could handle the same 27" logs the cord king can handle. Especially dry ones, without crushing more than it shears.

Log decks on machines as high volume as these are essential, surely? They buy time, reduce a bottle neck, machine loading is potentially safer than manually hooking lines to logs at the bottom of a log stack and dragging that dirt into the final product.

Ii think though, it's easy to get carried away with the production rates of machines and not realise it takes an aweful amount of money and planning to build the log feed capacity and firewood sales volumes to the point these machines can really hit their straps financially. But it would be a great challenge I'd just love to take on.

===============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

On this side of the pacific pond it is legal to sell by wieght wherein
the green timber allows a greater income to the seller as there is
no seasoning period.


If you have bigger logs than the Chomper throat can handle there
is no reason you could not noodle a log using a buddy bar and
ripping chain which is my cutting chain of choice.

The noodled log can still be winched into the chomper and split up
after setting it on automatic and going after the next log with the
winch cable.

AS for dirt and the Chomper I view it no differently than if a
log skidder is used for clear cutting or selective cutting and
thinning, the dirt is still there. The only ones winning a beauty
contest for firewood over here are the firewood bundlers and
the firewood kiln users.

(ITS GOING TO BE BURNED ANYWAY)


Your selling a commodity that increases in value during the
heating season especially with extremely cold weather and
if someone wants and needs firewood they will buy it from you.
you cannot legitimately claim the chomper makes the wood look
butts ugley when you use a loader to pick logs off the ground
and dump them on a live deck to be sawn and split as your going
to carry that dirt onto the conveyor and onto the truck anyway
so that argument does not holds any water.


Shearing the firewood at 12 inch lengths allows it to dry faster
and it gives the customer four face cords of firewood.

The chomper has a grate to separate the dirt and debris as comes
out of the chute and there is no sawdust to worry about and clean up.

You could always pull out the larger pieces as they come out of the chute
if you wanted to do that but with the 12 second cycle time on automatic for
12 inch firewood I would simply pull the larger pieces out of the pile if your
8 way split is to large in size but this also comes back to a two or four way split
as you can always split them smaller with a dedicated wood splitter but noodling
a log with buddy bar makes the loag smaller and the half moon logf can be split
with the the eight way wedge position if it is to large in the operators opinion.


Even if the Chomper 14 PTO unit is picked with full automatic set up you will not be
stuck as it is small and slower but the issue of supply and customers will be less
worrysome than worrying about a multitek or cord king and a machine to load the
logs on the log deck to feed the cord king or multitek unit as you will not have this
expense.

If everyone is so worried about dirt, of which the Chomper has absolutely no issue with,
what would prevent you from simply carrying a supply of water to wash the logs before
they are pulled into the shearing chamber???????????????????????????????????????????

The water would make things a bit messier but if your worried about dirt on your firewood
why are you not washing the logs when you place them on the live deck??????????????

Again this argument is baseless as the logs are taken off the ground dirty and sawn and
split dirty and dumped dirty into piles or a truck and the customer gets the dirt anyway.


Edit: noodling logs, essential equipment.

Rather than noodling diameter larger logs than a super 16 could shear one could always
set the larger logs aside for another day saw them up and use a log splitter with a log lift and table grate
as an option.

The fewer pieces of equipment and the less complicated they are to maintain saves-

labor
down time with equipment failures from metal in logs, broken bed chains, broken or dull saw chains, broken or frozen conveyor chains in processor log bed
damaged circular saw requiring the saw to be hammered
working capital
interest expense
fuel
oil
spare circular saw blade expense
IP teeth expense
initial purchase expense of log loading machine
spares for log loader
oil and fuel for log loader
insurance for log loader
workmans compensation insurance for the loader operator
salary cost of paying a machine operator
2 extra Haz mat kits for the log loader and the large processor which are mandated by the DOT
depreciation expense for large processor
" " " " "


The fewer expenses you have the greater your net income

The smallest Chomper would allow the end user to take the "what ifs?" and reduce them to
a much more managable level as the investment/expense per month is not not holding you hostage affecting everything you do.
 
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The chomper has limits, is slow, and is way more work per cord..
True, the "conventional" setups require support equipment for loading and sawdust removal..
But having a skidsteer or 4x4 tractor is a good thing, and sawdust has value if collected and marketed right.

Gimme the Cord King I put the link to in my first post.

Also, the "rapido-Loco" is pretty nice for the money as well. Type "Rapido Loco" into a youtube search..
 
For me #1 would be the Hahn skidloader attachment that is what I run currently(I also own several skid loaders). #2 would be the Rapido Loco because of price and common parts. Then it becomes a tossup I have owned 3 different brand of processors Multitek's shuttle grapple is the best thing on their machine ( I owned one ) but when you spend 100k on a processor you expect it to really produce, and I can tell you that you load the log deck with the multitek and sit down you will never finish that deck without getting out of the seat to either beat a stuck piece out of the box wedge, or crawl up their conveyor and unstick a piece that has wedged under a flight, and just when you get back in and think Im really gonna bust some wood up the sawdust blower plugs up and your back out of the seat again and unplugging that thing, and then the cycle continues so at the end of the day you really start wondering why you spent all that money. But again I will say that their shuttle grapple is very good. I have not owned a cord king but have spent some time around them and all I have heard is that they are ok but when a problem comes up their service is horrible, I have heard this from 3 separate owners, so not sure about them. I can say that since I worked with Hahn on the skidloader type I can get in one of my skids and turn on the AC and radio and not get out for hours if I do encounter a problem I can just dump the culprit out and grab another log and continue. Just my two cents but what do I know.
 
A few other things i just thought of with one of the large stationary machines, on a cold winter day you have to get it running, warm up 50 gallons of hydraulic oil, just to start processing. My skidloader and Hahn is sitting in the corner of my in floor heated shop I simply get in hit the remote shed door opener and everything is ready to go if I need to sharpen a chain or add bar oil I just drive back into the warm shed do what I need and then go back out. Then when done processing for the day unhook and go do something else with skid steer. All in all processing wood has been easier and cleaner with this than anything I have tried.
 
you gotta be kidding me. Ripping 17+" logs just so they can fit in the chomper? Or ripping 12+ logs just so they can be split to acceptable widths?

Whilst I accept this thread is a dream thread and money is no option, I think watching paint dry would be more enjoyable than ripping little logs. Firewood production is labour intensive enough without that sort of millarcky.

===============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

On this side of the pacific pond it is legal to sell by wieght wherein
the green timber allows a greater income to the seller as there is
no seasoning period.


If you have bigger logs than the Chomper throat can handle there
is no reason you could not noodle a log using a buddy bar and
ripping chain which is my cutting chain of choice.

The noodled log can still be winched into the chomper and split up
after setting it on automatic and going after the next log with the
winch cable.

AS for dirt and the Chomper I view it no differently than if a
log skidder is used for clear cutting or selective cutting and
thinning, the dirt is still there. The only ones winning a beauty
contest for firewood over here are the firewood bundlers and
the firewood kiln users.

(ITS GOING TO BE BURNED ANYWAY)


Your selling a commodity that increases in value during the
heating season especially with extremely cold weather and
if someone wants and needs firewood they will buy it from you.
you cannot legitimately claim the chomper makes the wood look
butts ugley when you use a loader to pick logs off the ground
and dump them on a live deck to be sawn and split as your going
to carry that dirt onto the conveyor and onto the truck anyway
so that argument does not holds any water.


Shearing the firewood at 12 inch lengths allows it to dry faster
and it gives the customer four face cords of firewood.

The chomper has a grate to separate the dirt and debris as comes
out of the chute and there is no sawdust to worry about and clean up.

You could always pull out the larger pieces as they come out of the chute
if you wanted to do that but with the 12 second cycle time on automatic for
12 inch firewood I would simply pull the larger pieces out of the pile if your
8 way split is to large in size but this also comes back to a two or four way split
as you can always split them smaller with a dedicated wood splitterbut noodling
a log with buddy bar makes the loag smaller and the half moon logf can be split
with the the eight way wedge position if it is to large in the operators opinion.


Even if the Chomper 14 PTO unit is picked with full automatic set up you will not be
stuck as it is small and slower but the issue of supply and customers will be less
worrysome than worrying about a multitek or cord king and a machine to load the
logs on the log deck to feed the cord king or multitek unit as you will not have this
expense.

If everyone is so worried about dirt, of which the Chomper has absolutely no issue with,
what would prevent you from simply carrying a supply of water to wash the logs before
they are pulled into the shearing chamber???????????????????????????????????????????

The water would make things a bitr messier but if your worried about dirt on your firewood
why are you not washing the logs when you place them on the live deck??????????????

Again this argument is baseless as the logs are taken off the ground dirty and sawn and
split dirty and dumped dirty into piles or a truck and the customer gets the dirt anyway.
 
The chomper has limits, is slow, and is way more work per cord..
True, the "conventional" setups require support equipment for loading and sawdust removal..
But having a skidsteer or 4x4 tractor is a good thing, and sawdust has value if collected and marketed right.

Gimme the Cord King I put the link to in my first post.

Also, the "rapido-Loco" is pretty nice for the money as well. Type "Rapido Loco" into a youtube search..

Thanks. I just did a quick serach and will do some more looking too. I like the comments from the owners who aren't tainted with a PC/marketing bull#### brush like too many other companies and their reps. I found this level of biartching on a youtube page quite refreshing:

"@HighSerrias Although my sales manager did a decent job explaining our rapido loco's entrance into your narrow mind I would like to add my own comments.My sweet Colombian wife would think nothing of shoving one of our decals in your mouth and painting over your dumb gringo face.My advice to you is go and hide from her in Mexico."
 
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