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

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
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.

Thanks for your insight. We are on the other side of the world, so it makes buying a processor even more scary. The threat of being stranded for weeks with a machine that's not working, parts that are not commonly found here, and a supplier that couldn't care less, is not conducive to a happy and productive environment.
 
Woodman6666, the videos of that skid steer attachment show the operator having to throw the machine around quite a bit to deal with the splits that don't exit the wedge properly. have you found that is needed and does that bother you or the machine?

What sort of production can you do in real life per hour, including allowances for harvester chain swapping and sharpening, etc?

How do you process 16"+ logs or do you have enough smaller logs around to keep you busy?

What sort of log lengths can you get on one of these?

How long have you had your attachment, how many cords have you put through it, what sort of work have you had to do on it to maintain or enhance it?

Thanks.
 
Woodman6666, the videos of that skid steer attachment show the operator having to throw the machine around quite a bit to deal with the splits that don't exit the wedge properly. have you found that is needed and does that bother you or the machine?

What sort of production can you do in real life per hour, including allowances for harvester chain swapping and sharpening, etc?

How do you process 16"+ logs or do you have enough smaller logs around to keep you busy?

What sort of log lengths can you get on one of these?

How long have you had your attachment, how many cords have you put through it, what sort of work have you had to do on it to maintain or enhance it?
To be honest that was me in the video but with very little time to learn the machine, things are much smoother now, I will be posting a new video of me operating it again which will be much more pleasing to the eye. Production in good wood max 3 cords per hour, average over a full day 2-2.5 cords per hour, I welcome the challenge of any processor with one operator and the logs on the ground to start the race I think that would be interesting. I can run up to 18" logs but rarely do I have a very large splitter that splits up to 9ft logs into quarters then i just run the quarters through. Length of logs can be up to 20 ft but that is a little tricky getting them on but 12-14ft is no problem. I was the first one to really run one of these as we worked with Hahn for 1.5 years on the design so I have had either a prototype or the one I have now for nearly 4 years and we are over 1000 full cords thru it now. I havent had any major breakdowns have had a few cylinder seals one broken wedge but I had these on every other processor I have owned as well. You all need to remember the type of logs you give any processor is directly related to your production NONE of them like big ugly wood!
 
I just processed 3 cords quick for a customer with an outdoor wood boiler and I measured I was cutting logs up to 20" diameter.
 
Woodman6666, the videos of that skid steer attachment show the operator having to throw the machine around quite a bit to deal with the splits that don't exit the wedge properly. have you found that is needed and does that bother you or the machine?

What sort of production can you do in real life per hour, including allowances for harvester chain swapping and sharpening, etc?

How do you process 16"+ logs or do you have enough smaller logs around to keep you busy?

What sort of log lengths can you get on one of these?

How long have you had your attachment, how many cords have you put through it, what sort of work have you had to do on it to maintain or enhance it?
To be honest that was me in the video but with very little time to learn the machine, things are much smoother now, I will be posting a new video of me operating it again which will be much more pleasing to the eye. Production in good wood max 3 cords per hour, average over a full day 2-2.5 cords per hour, I welcome the challenge of any processor with one operator and the logs on the ground to start the race I think that would be interesting. I can run up to 18" logs but rarely do I have a very large splitter that splits up to 9ft logs into quarters then i just run the quarters through. Length of logs can be up to 20 ft but that is a little tricky getting them on but 12-14ft is no problem. I was the first one to really run one of these as we worked with Hahn for 1.5 years on the design so I have had either a prototype or the one I have now for nearly 4 years and we are over 1000 full cords thru it now. I havent had any major breakdowns have had a few cylinder seals one broken wedge but I had these on every other processor I have owned as well. You all need to remember the type of logs you give any processor is directly related to your production NONE of them like big ugly wood!

Love to see your new video. Please let me know when you post it. I like the idea of running only 1 machine and have recently bought a 80HP skid steer that could use some more work.
 
With the Hahn unit weighing 2000Lbs does that limit log length?

Am I right in thinking the attachment is about $30k? Ouch.

I really like the versatility of a skid steer processor as it does get the most out of the skid steer investment, but please tell me it aint $30k.

Why not vertical processing (using a grapple instead of the feed rollers)? Would that lessen the chance of misaligned wood?
 
With the Hahn unit weighing 2000Lbs does that limit log length?

Am I right in thinking the attachment is about $30k? Ouch.

I really like the versatility of a skid steer processor as it does get the most out of the skid steer investment, but please tell me it aint $30k.

Why not vertical processing (using a grapple instead of the feed rollers)? Would that lessen the chance of misaligned wood?

I thought those skidsteer processors were like 10K US dollars?? Which to my mind is PLENTY.
Bet you can afro-engineer one for a skidsteer with a little time and a couple cases of beer.

One thing I really like about those rigs is you can split and it falls right into the truck...or wherever you want it to season..
 
I thought those skidsteer processors were like 10K US dollars?? Which to my mind is PLENTY.
Bet you can afro-engineer one for a skidsteer with a little time and a couple cases of beer.

One thing I really like about those rigs is you can split and it falls right into the truck...or wherever you want it to season..
$10k sounds better. No conveyor to get in the way on tight jobs. I guess one could rig up a grill so waste/bark/small bits could be separated out. A way to capture the sawdust could be useful too. Regarding price, I was reading this thread here:
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/110965.htm
 
Last edited:
Love to see your new video. Please let me know when you post it.

+1

----------

detour: ever since seeing that processor, I've thought it would be nice if the straight arms (with tabs) on the front where replaced with curved arms...something with a nice arc.
 
Last edited:
+1

----------

detour: ever since seeing that processor, I've thought it would be nice if the straight arms (with tabs) on the front where replaced with curved arms...something with a nice arc.

Actually I have welded little tabs or stoppers on those arms so when in smaller logs I pick up 2 at a time and the tabs hold one log back while I work on another then a little quick curl of the skid arms and the other log rolls over into tray to be processed works well and saves me from going down every log.
 
$10k sounds better. No conveyor to get in the way on tight jobs. I guess one could rig up a grill so waste/bark/small bits could be separated out. A way to capture the sawdust could be useful too. Regarding price, I was reading this thread here:
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/110965.htm

If it's really anything over, say, $15K then I'd just fabricate my own. It's not exactly the space shuttle. And I'd LOVE to have one of them on 312 Caterpillar excavator! Swing to the piles instead of bounce around inside the skidsteer like a ping pong ball in a paint shaker.

I have this rough idea in my head about taking a mid-sized harvester head (CTL logging)
and modifying it to be a processor..no splitting ram, the feed wheels would shove the wood through the splitting head with the wood being moved ahead for the next cut....it would be very fast, and use a tree length stick instead of a pre-cut piece like the Hahn.
And it wouldn't need to be mounted on mobile machine..it could be stationary. But it would be better on an excavator.
 
If it's really anything over, say, $15K then I'd just fabricate my own. It's not exactly the space shuttle. And I'd LOVE to have one of them on 312 Caterpillar excavator! Swing to the piles instead of bounce around inside the skidsteer like a ping pong ball in a paint shaker.

that's a heck of an idearrr...

and it's possible today with one of these...

HOOK-UP-01-2T.jpg
 
Speak for yourself. My shed is cluttered with failed projects looking for someone with more skills and time, or to morph them into other projects ;-)
By the way, I received an email from Hahn today. Base model is $32,500. Add over $1k for the 4-way head.

Well, this is the dream thread after all, so I shouldn't be too disappointed I s'pose.
 
I have been attempted to get service from CRD Metalworks for about 9 weeks. I am not impressed.
Could you elaborate please?
They paint a pretty good picture. If the reality is something different, I'm sure many of us would like to know.
 
Back
Top