Conehead Chippers
- Thread starter Brush Hog
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rfwoodvt
ArboristSite Operative
Hi!
I bought an early model 400 (11 inch auto feed) back in 2003 and haven't regretted it at all. Since it was an early model there have been some bugs but overall it has performed as advertised.
Prior to buying it I had used a M&M Chuck'n duck for 5 years.
After my M&M crapped out on me I had full use of another major make 12" drum machine for 6 months. I hated it for many reasons and swore I'd never buy that particular brand. The other major brands I had used were also a lot of money with marginal performance.
Anyhow when I finally could afford to replace my M&M I called Dynamic to ask about thier retrofit kit for my m&M. I ended up checking out a demo 400.
I looked at a 500 (18 inch) used and the 400 demo and opted for the demo.
One thing that impressed me was that the local rep brought the machine to my job site, hooked it up to my chip truck and let us work the machine for the whole job.
Granted, we were used to our M&M which is slow and doesn't handle big stuff, but the Cone-head was fast. We couldn't feed it fast enough.
Dynamic also stands by thier machines, thier support is a class act.
I am a cheap bugger so I hate paying for anything, especially parts at list and every time I have needed a part I do comparison shopping and dynamics prices are always fair and within the "good" end of the price range.
All I can say is that when it is time to buy a new or additional machine it will be a cone-head...period...end of story.
If you want, PM me and I'll put you in touch with my ground people and they can give you thier thoughts too.
I bought an early model 400 (11 inch auto feed) back in 2003 and haven't regretted it at all. Since it was an early model there have been some bugs but overall it has performed as advertised.
Prior to buying it I had used a M&M Chuck'n duck for 5 years.
After my M&M crapped out on me I had full use of another major make 12" drum machine for 6 months. I hated it for many reasons and swore I'd never buy that particular brand. The other major brands I had used were also a lot of money with marginal performance.
Anyhow when I finally could afford to replace my M&M I called Dynamic to ask about thier retrofit kit for my m&M. I ended up checking out a demo 400.
I looked at a 500 (18 inch) used and the 400 demo and opted for the demo.
One thing that impressed me was that the local rep brought the machine to my job site, hooked it up to my chip truck and let us work the machine for the whole job.
Granted, we were used to our M&M which is slow and doesn't handle big stuff, but the Cone-head was fast. We couldn't feed it fast enough.
Dynamic also stands by thier machines, thier support is a class act.
I am a cheap bugger so I hate paying for anything, especially parts at list and every time I have needed a part I do comparison shopping and dynamics prices are always fair and within the "good" end of the price range.
All I can say is that when it is time to buy a new or additional machine it will be a cone-head...period...end of story.
If you want, PM me and I'll put you in touch with my ground people and they can give you thier thoughts too.
rfwoodvt
ArboristSite Operative
Our chips are very consistent and there definitely seems to be less vibration.
More importantly though is the fact that the drum and feed chute are twice as wide as they are tall.
Therefore even though it is an 11 (10.5 actual) inch capacity, you can actually put a 10.5 x 21 inch wide piec of wood. That means we can rip 4 foot bolts that are 20 inch diam and chip them. or cut 21 inch diam logs into 10 inch "biscuits" that feed like a dream.
If we had an 18 inch 500 there would be no need for a log truck in our fleet cause it could take an 18" x > 30" piece.
and the drum naturally pulls stuff to the center. I saw the writing describe it, but seeing it is just amazing. Greater torque due to a smaller diameter drum makes for less energy to slice through.
Only negative is that unless you can adjust the feed wheels to very very very slow, palm tree trunks tend to fly through and clog up the chute.
More importantly though is the fact that the drum and feed chute are twice as wide as they are tall.
Therefore even though it is an 11 (10.5 actual) inch capacity, you can actually put a 10.5 x 21 inch wide piec of wood. That means we can rip 4 foot bolts that are 20 inch diam and chip them. or cut 21 inch diam logs into 10 inch "biscuits" that feed like a dream.
If we had an 18 inch 500 there would be no need for a log truck in our fleet cause it could take an 18" x > 30" piece.
and the drum naturally pulls stuff to the center. I saw the writing describe it, but seeing it is just amazing. Greater torque due to a smaller diameter drum makes for less energy to slice through.
Only negative is that unless you can adjust the feed wheels to very very very slow, palm tree trunks tend to fly through and clog up the chute.
We have a DC-50 machine from Dynamic. It is not the Conehead design but rather the Discone design.
Anyways, we have had nothing but problems with the machine since we got it. A lot of the problems were covered under warranty but some we still had to remove the old parts and put the new ones on ourselves. The wiring on the machine is crap. I have redone every spec of wiring (including all the lights) from front to back with solder and shrink wrap. EVERYTHING was crimped together and kept coming apart.
The machine is pretty good (when it is running) but we are SOOOO glad we have our old chuck and duck as a backup machine. We have been using it for the last TWO WEEKS while we wait for Dynamic to send us a new clutch. TWO WEEKS!
Do a search in the Large Equipment forum for my username and you will see all the problems we have had with the machine in the past.
-Matt
Anyways, we have had nothing but problems with the machine since we got it. A lot of the problems were covered under warranty but some we still had to remove the old parts and put the new ones on ourselves. The wiring on the machine is crap. I have redone every spec of wiring (including all the lights) from front to back with solder and shrink wrap. EVERYTHING was crimped together and kept coming apart.
The machine is pretty good (when it is running) but we are SOOOO glad we have our old chuck and duck as a backup machine. We have been using it for the last TWO WEEKS while we wait for Dynamic to send us a new clutch. TWO WEEKS!
Do a search in the Large Equipment forum for my username and you will see all the problems we have had with the machine in the past.
-Matt
