We are interested in a LC-250.
https://www.tmarequipment.com/about/contact/
Well, that was a strikeout. They are not building their traction assist machines. They built one and decided that they were just going to focus on the yarders instead.
Ecoforst are up to 10.2 on the T-winch https://www.ecoforst.at/t-winch-2/technical-data/ 10.1 https://www.tilhill.com/environment...87y_sqoHhgfz1KUn5UdBgXCdwkKYyZZ9uxQWoSgcsR-38 Scotland Ecoforst T-winch 10.2 for TC LH845C (youtube) http://www.summitattachments.com/products http://emsnewzealand.co.nz/tractionline/ https://www.dcforestryequipment.com/en/falcon-winch-assist/ Falcon Winch Assist & Timberpro TL765 (video title - DC Equipment youtube channel) ROB https://remotebulldozer.com/ Euro powerball machine HAAS Traktionshilfsseilwinde Uni Winch TJ 1270D (on youtube)
T-winch is too light & not enough line. Other two are short on line also.
Did T-Mar provide a ball park figure of how much the build cost was for the LC-250? DC could probably put something together similar to the lc-250 but it would probably cost more than the falcon winch assist. The Climbmax type feller buncher might be the other way to go, winch on the machine to let the buncher down the long hill. Blade on the machine.
T-mar is not building anymore winch assist machines. They said they are focusing on the yarders only. I do not like the climbax for the simple reason I want the winch separate from the machine so when I get down to the bottom of the unit in the flats I can disconnect and run around cutting and bunching everything and then hook back up to the line to climb up out of the hole.
How much line do you need?
I would prefer 2000'
Interesting. Still shows up on their website.
Yes it does but direct from the horse's mouth at T-mar, they are not building them.
Our EMS looks like you might get 2 more tiers on the drums with 1300 feet (they had to chop 200 feet off when line got chewed up) on it not sure how much each tier would give you and EMS would probably tell you not to do that, might mess with the computer to.
They do not want you running a full drum for spooling reasons.
I’m sure you are right. Surprised they aren’t keeping the website up to date. I think this tethering business is going to put the squeeze on cable logging.
what little bit i know about the kind of logging you guys do has came from this site and i must say the yarder&cable method looks a hell of a lot safer than riding a 30.000 pound machine down a cliff hangin on by a guitar string
There is work to remote control the feller buncher and the guitar string tether machine from a rv type trailer. The operator will be on top of the hill while the FB heads off to the creek, bluff etc. The summit tether winch will be 2000 plus feet of cable for the PNW. tehter machine Linkbelts?, Cat 330DL, 336DL or larger replace the 13K lb and larger counterweights with the winch system More than 30 summits machines in the timber. Bruce Skurdahl olc Summit system recent Chilton vid with the climbmax and a lower road. (2 saw chain losses in one video? chain tensioning not good enough?, saw bars bent? could have left the felling head on the dock and used a tigercat, southstar etc felling head)
The remote control cutting really isn’t anything new, on the east coast they have some Cat 521’s on a military base that are remote control cutting.
Fort Bragg and the remote control logging equipment for areas of UXO? https://www.cat.com/en_US/articles/customer-stories/forestry/land-clearing-done-remotely.html Remote control over 70 years old. Reminder of the potential hazards of trying to automate systems; possibly before the technology is quite ready. 2 mining companies in Australia and their 'competition' to automate their mining activities. Runaway loaded ore train estimated to have reached speeds of over 100mph before HQ set up the de-railment. Train wreck Australia 200 wagon derailment
Funny that a train operation that large couldn't afford two operators of the engines. One might have gotten off while the other stayed in the cab on the brake and throttles.
A loss that large would of paid for a few extra men operating for an entire lifetime. Too many big bosses in an office.
Nothing like bean counters to ruin something.
i if fort bragg is where this is being done that country is basicly flat .nothing like the nw
I understand that, I get what NW Oregon and SW Washington is like. Europe has been doing remote control thinning on steeper ground for a while as well, but there’s still no replacement for a guy in the seat to make the call or rules that say this is the limit.
Harvest -TechX should cover some aspects of 'steep slope'. https://harvesttechx.events/#Updates
Well after running our tigercat hoechucker/shovel logger on 55% to 65% for the week hooked up to the EMS winches its like cheating, gets around like its flat ground. Haulback maybe try the guys at https://integralequipment.ca/ they are distributing the alpine shovel logger up in B.C their brochure says it can tether also.
Thanks Taco, I'll check it out. Post photos when you can!
see how they turn out first time posting from my phone
Turned out good, great pictures.
Very Nice! I have never seen a skidding grapple on an 855 before, I like it!!
Think it is the second one on a 855. Packs between 2/3 to 3/4 of a tigercat 630 grapple down the hill.
Pardon the ignorant question, but why not have an excaline up on the road to elevate the cables, hang the grapple from the cable and dispense with the machine on the hillside?
Road and landings are at the bottom and a conventional grapple yarder would have done a good job on this patch. We tried a harvestline with the Hawkeye and didn't have the power to get the grapple up in the air at the backend. Found it needs a ton of lift.
I like the setup you guys are running. And I agree with a harvest line you need to have a ton of power in those winches to get it up in the air in the tail end.
I ran a thunderbird tsy 50 with a different contractor for a couple of years and it would have done pretty good on this block.
We are just starting to get the hang of our TSY 155. Have you ever rigged up the mechanical grapples on one? I never have nor have I threaded new grub lines or drop lines through an MSP Carriage. Any tips and tricks will be greatly accepted
How does that running skyline do with a hydraulic Carriage like that? It seems that the carriage would be too heavy but I have to think that mechanical grapples are close to 3000 pounds.
For the grapple johnson industries has a pic http://www.jlogging.com/gpspec1.html showing how the cable is run thru the sheaves and the pic also shows what they call the 3way slider which your main, slackpuller and closing line are all attached to using knobs. We always kept spare closing lines on the machine. Changing the closing line cut the line about a foot from both knobs and throw them knob first at the grapple as hard as you can that will loosen the wedges.(they will bounce back and try and hit you in the shins) The MSP had spliced eyes for the main slackpuller and dropline with a flush shackle so it could go through the sheaves in the tower, that is how we ran ours. Also there should be a valve somewhere on the air system to change the pressures on the mains to open the grapple on the outhaul and with the MSP reverse the pressures so the dropline isn't dragging in the dirt on the outhaul. Johnson also has a mini MSP carriage that is has hooks for the chains on a grapple then you drop the the grapple throw a 40 foot dropline on and some chokers and choke out a spot that has crap deflection(ie lines in the dirt). Did that with the regular grapple carriage for a couple hours one day instead of hooking the choker onto the grapple. Regular grapples run 2500 to 3000 lbs for a 3/4" machine. The hawkeye carriage is 3000 lbs but the big downfall is the grapple closes when it drops down and opens by lifting up loosing valuable lift when you need it most. Regular grapples pull the grapple up to the carriage when you really pull on them and the harder you pull the more they tighten onto the wood. I would look into the camera for the grapple though that was a nice feature on the hawkeye. Really needed it on that thing though 52" opening is really tiny when you are out 800'.
Awesome info, thank you! I am just used to large towers, this little swing yarder stuff is all new to me!
A really good op and hooktender on a grapple yarder can make a huge difference. Murk100 would probably have some good tips to. Hope that 155 works good for you.
Eugene, Oregon Tigercat LS855E pair Eric Krume blurb