Promark chipper parts

[harrybeaver]

I just bought a promark 310 chipper. As I understand it gravely bought out promark and continued to sell the same models rebadged, then gravely sold out to some other company and they no longer sell these wood chippers. Can any of you tell me where I might find a parts supplier for the promark chippers?
Thanks!

 

[STLfirewood]

What parts do you need? Mine is a Gravely 12" chipper. It has a perkins engine so parts are easy to come by.

Scott

 

[harrybeaver]

What parts do you need? Mine is a Gravely 12" chipper. It has a perkins engine so parts are easy to come by.

Scott

As of right now I don't need any parts I am just thinking ahead to when something does break. I have heard the clutch in particular is a trouble spot with the 310. The engine is a kohler so parts for it should be easy to find.

 

[John Piper]

Promark Model 310 parts question

I have a Promark chipper like the one in the video clip at this link (I've got a 25 hp Kohler -- looks like a Model 310):
http://www.youtube.com/user/sbigelow1

I bought it from a start-up arborist who was ready to get bigger equipment. Last year I replaced the Eton hydraulic motor (no more leaks!) and now I need to replace the feed roller (the knives are ground to nubs). Can't figure out how to get the roller out of the housing so if anyone has a parts manual to sell or share, please let me know. Also does anyone know of a source for replacing the feed roller, or should I go to a machine shop for a one-off job?

Thanks,
John Piper
Ocean Park WA

 

[emr]

Here is a copy of some PMs I sent out a while ago. I used to work at a company that had a Gravely ProChip 395. We never had any problems getting parts from MBco. The extension may not be any good.... I think the parts guy that I always dealt with left the MBco. just before I left the company that had the Gravely.


For parts call M&B Company at 1-888-558-5801 Ext. 236. This is the company that eventually bought the Gravely design and will be coming out with their own models based off of the Gravelys in about a year or two..... from what they told me.

For knives call Jorson and Carson at 920-739-5859. This is a company that deals mostly with the paper industry but they sharpen all of the local tree care companies knives. They are actually out of Chicago I think, and they are actually a pretty big company with regards to the paper industry

 

[BigE]

I have a Promark chipper like the one in the video clip at this link (I've got a 25 hp Kohler -- looks like a Model 310):
http://www.youtube.com/user/sbigelow1

Thanks,
John Piper
Ocean Park WA

Hey John, looks like you found the right place to ask questions on your chipper. That's mine above.

Regards,
-Steve

 

[John Piper]

Thanks, guys

Thanks, emr (and hey back, Steve!) -- I'm floored by the quick replies and great info. I'll call those numbers in a minute. Of possible interest, the ID plate on my chipper is mounted on the platform where the trailer tongue meets the frame and says ProMark Model 941003. There's a Hobbs meter nearby which reads 5,224 hrs. The untraceable pedigree, long hours of service, and brilliant performance are downright endearing; I'm determined to keep it working. And now I'm more hopeful than ever. Thanks again.

Cheers,
John

 

[harrybeaver]

For parts call M&B Company at 1-888-558-5801 Ext. 236. This is the company that eventually bought the Gravely design and will be coming out with their own models based off of the Gravelys in about a year or two..... from what they told me.

I called this number and they said they still sell parts but need to call extension 218 and get in touch with Grant Colby. I haven't got in touch with him yet but I am sure I will. Anyway thanks for the information.

 

[John Piper]

I just got a diagram of a feed roller from Grant Kolbe at extension 218 (you can substitute 800 for the area code) -- and a moment ago I emailed back what looks like a problem: I don't see a center shaft arrangement in the roller (it looks solid). When I sort all this out, I'll report back here. What I learned is that they make feed rollers ($720 for the one quoted to me) and have some other parts; possibly a manual, too. Woo-hoo! Thanks again, guys.

 

[emr]

Hope you get everything you need. MB co. has always been good to me. It doesnt hurt that the company is located about 15-20min away from me.

 

[4cornerstree]

310 parts

here is my 310 on a dump trailer.
the parts on it seem universal, I have been able to find everything local except a few thing.
Just replaced hydraulic lines.
The old Kohler motor is getting harder to find parts for, but if you have a good shop around you can still buy rebuild parts.
Zenith cutter co. has the blades and anvil for a good price I got 4 sets to rotate. I'm getting about 30-50 hrs use per edge.
I had to replace the bearings on the clutch last year, that was a b####, thought that may be the end of the chipper because I couldn't get it off the shaft. had to find an industrial machine shop to get it off.
If the bearings on the clutch have not been replaced for a while I would suggest doing it, then you can clean the crankshaft and inspect the belts.
keep the blades sharp, and the bearings greased and it should last a while.
If anyone figures out the feed roller disassembly post some pics, thanks
-Scott

 

[John Piper]

Grant Kolbe emailed a Gravely 310/350 Pro Chip Parts Manual which identifies my exact ProMark model number (941003). 310 owners need to get this manual. I'll ask Grant tomorrow if I'm free from any copyright restrictions on publishing a page here or sharing the PDF with anyone.

Not a center shaft but a solid roller sandwiched between heavy plates to which right-side (keyed) and left-side (smooth) shafts are welded. The roller mounts to these plates with 3 flat socket-head bolts per side (flush head). Closest fit I have is 8 mm allen -- and I couldn't unstick the bolt. The disassembly trick is to take off the two small access covers on each side of the roller housing, then lift the roller carrier (very heavy) until the bolt is visible through the access hole (see photo). I used a high-lift jack to raise the roller carrier then slid a paver brick and a wood shim in the gap created above the roller housing once the carrier was up (another photo attached). I'll confirm the socket dimension and whether the threads are conventional (counterclockwise to loosen) with Grant tomorrow by phone. I'll follow up here when I get the bolts out. Looking forward to being a test case on installing a brand new roller from M-B (sure wish I could just drive there in 20 min!)

Glad to get the heads-up on tackling clutch bearings sooner rather later, and the run-time on blade edges. Any photos of that clutch job would be handy. While I wait for the new roller I'll tackle blade removal (doesn't look all that easy) -- I think mine are ready to reverse.

 

[harrybeaver]

here is my 310 on a dump trailer.
the parts on it seem universal, I have been able to find everything local except a few thing.
Just replaced hydraulic lines.
The old Kohler motor is getting harder to find parts for, but if you have a good shop around you can still buy rebuild parts.
Zenith cutter co. has the blades and anvil for a good price I got 4 sets to rotate. I'm getting about 30-50 hrs use per edge.
I had to replace the bearings on the clutch last year, that was a b####, thought that may be the end of the chipper because I couldn't get it off the shaft. had to find an industrial machine shop to get it off.
If the bearings on the clutch have not been replaced for a while I would suggest doing it, then you can clean the crankshaft and inspect the belts.
keep the blades sharp, and the bearings greased and it should last a while.
If anyone figures out the feed roller disassembly post some pics, thanks
-Scott

Real nice machine you have there. Did you do the fabrication yourself? That seems like the ideal set up for someone trying to get into the business without having to buy too much equipment at once. It is similiar to the brush bandit unit; Nice!

 

[emr]

I would call Jorson and Carson for knives. When we got them for our Gravely, they were 1/3 cheaper than Zenith and the quality was good. Right now we have Zenith knives for our Vermeer that came with the unit. Once those are used up, I will be going back to JC for replacement knives. Not to mention they can get and "sharpen" the bed knives. They are a great company to work with.

 

[4cornerstree]

Real nice machine you have there. Did you do the fabrication yourself? That seems like the ideal set up for someone trying to get into the business without having to buy too much equipment at once. It is similiar to the brush bandit unit; Nice!

I didn't fabricate this set up, what I know is Promark made a limited quantity of these. I came across this one in ABQ. NM, kind of by accident, or right time right place kind of deal.
Its real nice for small driveways and with the rotating chipper you can chip from ether side and stay out of traffic. Pulls with a 1 ton truck.

also I will post pics of clutch and blade romoval, soon.

 

[4cornerstree]

310 blades and clutch

Removing the blade is fairly easy after doing it once.
open access ports,
start on the side with the 3/4" nuts, remove all 4, picture shows a 14" breaker bar with a 2" extention.
Go to other side and remove allen head bolts, be sure to clean the holes so your tool fits snug, they are easy to strip, these thread into the flywheel.
be careful remoing nuts,bolts and blades, because it sucks to fish them out
of the case.
Clean nuts and bolts, replace any stripped allen heads, rotate blades, reassemble. I used anti-sieze on the bolts. Set the Anvil gap to the blades, I use 1/8 inch, be sure to rotate the wheel and double check clearance on both sides.
For the clutch you have to remove the engine.
Loosen 4 bolts holding motor, release tension on belts, remove inspect/ replace belts.
Place motor on work bench, remove the 1/2" allen head bolt on clutch, it should come out fairly easy.
The whole assembly should slide off the crankshaft, may require a large gear puller,and some heat, if the bearing are frozen on.
If that goes well you will seperate the clutch, it is like a chainsaw clutch and drum, and you will need to use a bearing press to remove old bearings.
Find new bearings at a local shop, they are a common size, press them into there place and reassemble.
I made sure to clean every thing really good and I put anti-sieze on the shaft and allen bolt. Replace motor and set belt tension. the clutch should engage at 1800 rpms.

 

[BigE]

Ah, so that's what it looks like with the clutch removed!

I fought and fought and fought with that stupid clutch. Pullers, presses, liquids of all sorts (ATF, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, WD40, etc). Heated red hot with a torch, chilled with cooling spray, you name it. Took it in to the local shop and they couldn't get it off.

I was replacing the motor anyway, so I finally settled on buying a new clutch from a place up in Canada for around $300.

I still have the old clutch attached to the old 25HP Kohler if anyone is remotely interested.

I have no idea what is wrong with the old Kohler. It had been rebuilt once before at a cost of $1500 (per the guy I bought it from). I was using it, stuck a larger limb through it. Got a loud "bang", muffler fell off, oil spurted out of something and caught on fire. (Man, you should've seen me running for that fire extinguisher up at the house!).

I got the fire out with no damage caused by the fire, welded the muffler back on, and started it back up. It ran OK for a while. I decided just to sell the thing at that point, so I tore it all apart, fixed some of the welding issues, cleaned and painted it, had it all ready to sell. I ran it again just to check it out and was doing some brush and got another loud bang (no fire this time). Then my father-in-law started messing with the coil and busted something off there. Got that fixed, couldn't start. No gas. Opened up the fuel pump and busted something there.

That's where I left it. I had enough, so I just bought a new engine for it. Now it starts right up, is much quieter, and is much more reliable.

-Steve

 

[harrybeaver]

I was replacing the motor anyway, so I finally settled on buying a new clutch from a place up in Canada for around $300.

Steve, Could you provide the name of this supplier? I have heard the clutch is a weak point of these chippers and would like have a supplier lined up. Thanks

 

[BigE]

Here's an email from them:

To: Stephen

The clutch you require is our F54H-2746X1. Thank you,

Rob Wilson
BLM Automatic Clutch Limited

(p) 1-800-268-4295
(e) info at blm-cm.com (use the @ symbol, not at)
(f) 416-438-6208
(w) www.blm-cm.com



Caveat: The clutch I ordered has the wrong springs, so that might be the wrong part number. I didn't know what speed to have the clutch kick in, so I had it at 1600 RPM. So, now it kicks in at a fast idle, which means that the engine always strains when I kick the speed up. In retrospect, the clutch should probably be kicking in in the 2000 - 2400 RPM range.

 

[harrybeaver]

Removing the blade is fairly easy after doing it once.
open access ports,
start on the side with the 3/4" nuts, remove all 4, picture shows a 14" breaker bar with a 2" extention.
Go to other side and remove allen head bolts, be sure to clean the holes so your tool fits snug, they are easy to strip, these thread into the flywheel.
be careful remoing nuts,bolts and blades, because it sucks to fish them out
of the case.
Clean nuts and bolts, replace any stripped allen heads, rotate blades, reassemble. I used anti-sieze on the bolts. Set the Anvil gap to the blades, I use 1/8 inch, be sure to rotate the wheel and double check clearance on both sides.
For the clutch you have to remove the engine.
Loosen 4 bolts holding motor, release tension on belts, remove inspect/ replace belts.
Place motor on work bench, remove the 1/2" allen head bolt on clutch, it should come out fairly easy.
The whole assembly should slide off the crankshaft, may require a large gear puller,and some heat, if the bearing are frozen on.
If that goes well you will seperate the clutch, it is like a chainsaw clutch and drum, and you will need to use a bearing press to remove old bearings.
Find new bearings at a local shop, they are a common size, press them into there place and reassemble.
I made sure to clean every thing really good and I put anti-sieze on the shaft and allen bolt. Replace motor and set belt tension. the clutch should engage at 1800 rpms.

Hey all, I have the same engine as shown in these pictures and I need to order some parts for it. Can anyone tell me what model kohler it is? My engine would run but it was running so rich the exhaust would burn my eyes, the governor doesn't work it is frozen, the oil had lots of water in it, and the coil is cracked. It was running then I changed the oil, because of the water, now it doesn't start. I think the coil has water in it shorting it out.
With all the engines problems I am looking at a complete tear down which I don't mind, I would rather do it now and have a good reliable machine for the next couple years. Do you guys think it is worth it or just buy a new engine, are parts readily available for this engine? Thanks