Proud owner of a 4012 44hp grinder and am looking for all the tips and tricks!

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Question to anyone 4012 owners in this thread... When I disengage the clutch my wheel will spin freely for a long time unless I lower it into the dirt.

I assume that is normal correct? My old rayco had the electric clutch which upon disengaging would slow the wheel down.

I ask because I find myself cleaning chips out a lot in front of the machine, and when I do that I like to have the wheel disengaged.
 
Should spin for a couple of minutes maybe four before stopping.Are you idling it down before you disengaging it? When at governed speed it's turning @ around 1300RPM,will take a while to stop.It's not turning when disengaged is it?If so you have to much tension on drive belt.
 
Apols, took a while to get back, comments are mostly a rehash of prev. quality posts of which there are many from experienced operators/owners. :)

As said previously, idle down, then disengage or it will throw that belt, yes will spin for a while, bury it in pile to stop it, safest thing to do, I never work close to the wheel when it's rotating.

Going back a bit, Topbuilder mentioned 4x2's to take off the outside wheels of the duals, he was saying to drive up on the 4x2's with the inner wheels of the duals and this lifts the outer wheels off the ground, I never needed jacks in any facit of stump grinding.

Being lazy I just use the cutter head to lift wheels for removal, it isn't something I would have to do very often, less than once a week. With the drive wheels off the ground and the the socket on the big bolt head I will often use the wheel drive power to undo and then tighten it by operating the forward/reverse button of the remote. (Not applicable for your 4wd though.)

Re blades, always wished for one, the removable cutter head unit would be the best, less problematic than turning machine 180 deg. and not that heavy I'd guess, doesn't need to be heavy duty construction for the purpose. Mind you, a hydraulic steering axle end blade would be handy to stop the machine rolling backwards off the chip heap if you aren't on pristine lawn where it would mark it to much. Pro's and cons on this blade question. I find the spear thingummy a waste of time, never had success with it as it just moved in the ground and made a bigger hole. I wasn't in favour of hammering it in deep for better grip.

My 4012 33hp diesel had 700 teeth factory original, now run 900's, recommend them as much stronger than the 700's and much better cutting life. I'd say 1100's might be to big.

Trailers, mine was custom made, chainsaw/parts box on A frame, fold down rear ramps with legs that sit on ground when they are lowered, this supports all the weight as the machine rolls off the back of the trailer, I'll find a pic. or take one and put it up later. On the trailer the machine will move, even with the cutter wheel supporting weight, I always put a strap around it to hold it up against the front of the trailer.

Good tip to extend the wheelbase tongue when loading on the occasional steeper ground, as said reduces angle.

Re engine oil feed angle, on the sides of hills I never work anyway but up or down it, not across the side, and always with the engine nearest the top of the hill, do it the other way round and the engine, when deep in the ground hole, will have a much greater downward angle and be more likely to starve for oil.

Re greasing/purging bearings, this is a true story, when I first got the new machine I read the sticker on it "Grease daily to purging" was the message, I did this religiously even if only short days of 1 or 2 hours grinding, even less ! The cutter wheel bearings were bgrd in about 170hrs (from memory), I was p'd off !!. Local importer seller of the machine said I over greased the bearings, that idea also gained support on AS when I mentioned it in a thread. Now - I use about 1/2 that much grease, but always put 5-10 pumps of the (hand) grease gun in it before use ea. day, rarely purge them. The bearings in the two shafts have lasted longer that 170hrs. On a big day, ie > 4 hrs I will always give them a couple or three pumps during the day.
Who'd have thought you could over grease a bearing, I'm still sceptical on the whole issue !

Good advice to clear radiator with the blower, the motor will boil on a hot day if working hard and clogged up with light airborne wood/bark/dust particles from the job.

Re the clevis on the wheel engagement, I have had the L/H thread side break once, got a length of threaded rod and repaired it, since then carry a spare new clevis, not real big $$ and handy to have.

Re "Counting the dollars", I found the first 12 months was the honeymoon period with the machine, incoming bucks good and not a lot of outgoing maintenance $$'s, enjoy that but keep some $$ put away, you WILL need them later on.

All the best and enjoy the job, if it's quiet I did a bit of small tree work/falling to pad out the days, a pole saw is handy to own when going that direction.
 
Re "Counting the dollars", I found the first 12 months was the honeymoon period with the machine, incoming bucks good and not a lot of outgoing maintenance $$'s, enjoy that but keep some $$ put away, you WILL need them later on.

All the best and enjoy the job, if it's quiet I did a bit of small tree work/falling to pad out the days, a pole saw is handy to own when going that direction.

What kind of stuff went wrong with your machine?
 
Creeker,How many HRS. did you have on your machine when you bought it,was it new?170hrs. on cutter wheel bearings and worn out is unexceptable. Being a diesel mechanic/construction mechanic/retired as a lead tech/mechanic for a trucking co in 2012 with 42yrs. under my belt have yet to see a Link Belt/Pillar Bearing go out because of over greasing.The common practice is to grease to you see the bearing purge.This bearing set up was used on a lot of construction equipment 30 plus years ago.It is a old dependable set up,but is High Maintenance. Their are different kinds of bearings out there some are sealed which require no maintenance,some have seals,which you grease with a low pressure gun so you don't blow the seals out.Don't know why Carlton uses this set-up,there are better systems out there,i think it's because of cost.I would check the quality /spec of the grease your using.I never really seen these bearings run hot,in fact the bearings running the jack shaft run hotter. Dontbthatguy,bought my machine with 420hrs. i pulled the polly chain cover like i mentioned to you, and flexed the belt, the bearings had a lot of wear, which was a bargining chip when i bought it,ran it to 500hrs. before replacing them.Expect to get at least 500hrs before replacing,Carlton dealer,George says some go 1000hrs.,depends on maintenance and how hard you are on machine.One more thing, i have a Sandvic wheel on mine seems to be a little easier on wheel/bearings than my older machine with green teeth.
 
Their are different kinds of bearings out there some are sealed which require no maintenance

Has anyone tried to switch to a sealed bearing on these machines? Surely there's a comparable sealed bearing available?

Don't know why Carlton uses this set-up,there are better systems out there,i think it's because of cost.

Do any of the other manufacturers use a different type of bearing?
 
Pic showing legs on ramps, they contact the ground on lowering, works well and takes weight off all the other things.


pcam14102013 009 resize.jpg

Bought the machine new, now has about 650hrs. The multi V belt from engine to jack shaft is the worst thing on the machine, must have replaced that every 100-150hrs on average, doesn't seem to matter how often I check it's running true it will, out of the blue, drop one V over the outside of the big pulley and cut it off. The belt from jack shaft to cutter wheel shaft is still original.

Engine air cleaners X 2, changed them every 50 hours, oil filter & engine oil same, fuel filter every couple of 100hrs, cutters & shoulders have a limited life and changing them out costs some $$'s here. Hydraulic oil and filter occasionally. Under body pivot point changed them round 500hrs as engine was feeling sloppy to push on, could have got quite a bit longer on inspection but like to keep the machine right up there.

Hydraulic drive motor on left sprung leak from seals, (not worth repairing the experts said), that was close to Au $1,000 by the time I got it from US.

Replaced some of the toggle switches on cordless remote, grit gets in rubber water/dust proof seal and they hole eventually.

Is it a good machine, yes; it works hard and does large hardwood stumps regularly.
 
There seems to be a lot of debate on the greasing of the bearings.

Currently I am doing a few pumps every 3 hours or so. Only purging once a week. I feel like the jack shaft bearing nearing the v belt is running hot. I retensoned the belt to the point that it was slipping but it still seemed to be running warm. The grease will splatter and is grey and smells burnt to me.

Any insight? I used the Lucas blue grease. Perhaps I should change to the red n tacky?
 
As far as most Carlton Grinders, Cutter wheel bearings should always be greased till they purge, this way you drive out all the water and dirt/debris that gets forced into them. Jackshaft bearings are grease till purge as well.
 
I purge those big bearings every time I grease, which can be as often as every 4 hours in heavy grinding. Grease is cheap, bearings are not.
I have always used a red, hi temp. grease for my grinders.
 
I have a wireless 4WD 4012 and am getting stuck on chip piles. If one side of the machine loses traction (or I put one side at a time in the air) the wheels on that side spin, but the wheels on the ground do nothing. And when driving in low speed, it is really jerky, especially on pavement or getting on/off the trailer. High speed travel in fine.

Huey at Carlton first had me check the 3 solenoids and they were fine, so he had me replace the flow diverter cartridge, but it didn't help. Then he had me remove each of the other 3 cartridges and they all activate fine. He was out of ideas. Does anyone know more than Huey at Carlton about their hydraulic drive system?
 
I don't know the capabilities of your machine. Based on the videos I have watched and comments from tree services, it seems most people who grind do not carry a rake. Most people just keep grinding and regrinding their chip pile. I back the machine up every now and then, smooth out the pile, keeping it level and drive on top of it, the machine is always level. This keeps the chips from being thrown out in front. Makes clean up easier.
 
I do the same as Topbuilder on the big stumps,on the smaller ones i keep going right to the end.Sandvic wheels don't throw many chips forward.On the jerkiness, try turning the ground speed [diverter valve] counter clockwise,that will slow your response time and take away your jerkiness.No more wheelies!!
 
So you have owned the 4012 a couple of weeks now, can you give us a update, what do you like and dislike about the grinder. Does it meet your expectations?
 
So you have owned the 4012 a couple of weeks now, can you give us a update, what do you like and dislike about the grinder. Does it meet your expectations?

Hey Scooter I would love to!

I absolutey love it so far. It has cut my grind time in half. When I bought it I figure it would save me time but what I didn't realize is just how much time it has saved me. This allows me to bid the majority of my jobs 100-200 bucks lower landing a lot more work that I would have bid much higher with my older machine.

The 44hp motor with greenteeth is plenty of power for the work I do. I have yet to stall the machine, every reasonable bite I take, the machine powers right through it.

Also the fuel economy impresses me. I used 3/8's of a tank in a full day of operation.

If I had to nit pick on what I don't like about the machine, the handling would be my number one gripe. I find that because the majority of the weight is over the front tires, the rear tires (the ones that actually turn) get very little grip. Because of this the machine doesn't maneuver very well or at least compared to my rayco 1625. Also the rayco 's hydraulics were more user friendly. The ground speed on the carlton is twice as fast as my rayco.

Also the swing of the 4012 is feels small for such a large machine, but I can't really complain because carlton fixed that with the next gen "5014."

All in all the carlton 4012 took my business to the next level. I plan on putting at least 1000 hours on the machine and then maybe upgrade again to a 7015. But I will be honest I can't see wanting more power than I already gave. 44hp seems like just enough to do the largest of stumps while being small enough to fit into most back yards.

One more thing, when I first used the machine, and also a dealer mentioned this to me, the "top heaviness" of the machine was a concern. The machine when you first start using it feels like she wants to tip. But after logging 30+ hours on it, I find it is very stable. I don't push it too much and would turn down jobs on steep hills or precarious areas, but for the average stump, the large 44hp on a small frame seems very stable. I did opt for accident coverage just incase I ever get a little overzealous and tip her over tho :surprised3:

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. I can talk about that grinder all day!
 
I have 3 service questions that I'm hoping someone could chime in on.

1 does anyone know the correct tension for the poly cog belt? Also mine belt always favors a side of the of the sprocket. I'm hoping that is normal.

2 just how many pumps does it usually take to purge the bearings? Mine seems to take a ton of grease.

3 lastly does anyone have an elegant solution to the wheel guard? It gets in the way of my grinding depth on taller stumps. My old machine I could flip it up out of the way but when I do that with this one it just falls back down.
 
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