SZ130 wood chipper
This wood chippers started to appear in EU. This is obviously a chinese copy of japanese Ohashi wood chippers. The ohashi chippers are VERY expensive, this is for my purpose unacceptable. Thus I decided to buy SZ130 from a local supplier Traktomix. I expected some construction issues. So here is my review of this chipper.
Byuing...
While traktomix has also czech pages and prices in CZK, they are from Poland. Paying to Poland in czech koruna (CZK) is not a good idea as this is very pricey - SEPA payments are possible only in EURs, but Poland still has their "zloty". Make sure when buying from foreing countries to check the bank price list.
Traktomix
Traktomix "support" and service is, at best, very brief. Raising any more sofisticted question or request is impossible. They only communicate in polish (not a big problem nowadays with AI).
Their delivery is however super fast - the 450kg machine has arrived second day from payment. It arrived in typical chinese packaging - a steel welded frame.
However the pictures on Traktomix pages for this "Rebak" are not matching the product that is delivered. They are more close to the one sold by Alibaba or wee.no just fitted with a GeoGrass and Traktomix logos. There is another modified version available as PowerUp, 2
The dimensions 129x69x180cm of the chipper that are on the Traktomix Allegro are absolute nonsense. The height of the chipper is matching original SZ130J that has a different hopper. For EU this is re-worked and the height is cca 150cm (at display top), width is 84cm (due to nuts on the tracks) and length with folded hopper is 171cm.
According to Traktomix the new machine should be without any oil fillings etc. But the machine arrived completely filled with all the oils and also with gas in the tank (othewise it would require to cut completely the steel frame because the gas tank is under the hopper and you can not reach it when chipper is in frame).
You have to cut the steel frame anyway to "free" the chipper.
Wood chipper
Documentation: I received three times the same manual for integrated engine Briggs&Stratton XR 2100, I received NO documentation for the chipper itself. Upon question to Traktomix I've got a user manual for SZ130J - bamboo chipper. This is obviously a machine translated chinese documentation (there are some Chinese letters remaining). It is not completely useless, but is hard to understand. The chipper itself is missing all essential labels, I created them myself:
As the chipper is tracked, it is interesting to know a slopes the machine can work on or at least drive trhu, also to consider the ramps to load and unload it. I've got a documentation from B&S stating that those engines are designed to operate in 15°, for a short time up to 30°.
How it works
There is main engine shaft on the right side where two main transmission belts are driven. One with 3 stripes is for cutting drum, then second with 1 stripe is for tracks. The belts are engaged via pulleys that put pressure on the belt, tensionig it, increasing a friction.
Right side:
Left side:
Tracks
Hoped never needed to touch the tracks, but I did de-railed the track on the gravel as the stone got into the track and derailed the idle wheel. This is very hard to fix in field. The tracks tension is done via large 24mm head screw that has a lock nut, which is very hard to losen as there is no space around it, it's possible to do only from the bottom and still the vrench has to be angled. I did manage to losen the screw by 3/4" gola, but the long bar would be really helpfull. You need to losen both sides at once as they are connected. After that I used hard-wood wedges fed into idle wheel and driving a bit - this made the track to slip into rail again, but it was a painful process.
The proper tension for the track should be set when the track is completely of the ground and the bottom track slack should be 15-20mm from the rolller. But it's not easy to lift the chipper on one side completely to get the track in the air.Others...
My estimated fuel consumption is ATM cca 1-2l/h. It's bit more than I expected. Make sure you always have some spare fuel left, because otherwise you can not move the chipper.
Problems
Expected, but unwanted anyway.
Dispatch: On my machine there is a definitely problem with chips dispatching. The low dispatch cover has so many air leaks that the air from the blower can not blow the chips out of the high dispatch. I reworked the cover holders so it is tight. Still the main issue is the machine is produced with a large inaccuracies, gaps etc. This is ATM most serious issue as a chipper that can not correctly dispatch chips to truck is useless for me (BTW: the original SZ130J does not have a high dispatch at all). It seems to me that sometimes if the air flow is not enought to blow out all the chips, it gets clogged and blower completely stops. Therefore I also increased the pressure of the pulley for the blower. What I saw, the Ohashi also was struggling with blower as they did change the bloower system between generations.
Paint: The paint is chipping everywhere, it's very bad and it is sprayed at bare (black) metal, at some places the paint is like orange peel.
Tracks: The gearbox and tracks seems to have a several problems - 1. the lever to turn is sometimes very hard to press, then it remains stuck for a short time, making it difficult to make a short corrections of direction, 2. shifting the gears is sometimes blocked, I did not found yet why, it usually helps to drive a bit more, then it is free again, 3. in a difficult situation, either the gear is not engaged correctly or the traction belt is slipping and the machine refuses to move with a very scary noise. It seems to me the tracks are not hydro motor driven, but only a belt driven from main engine.
Chips size: The chipper is making very fine chips even on highest feed speed. Lightweight chips are prone to wind and are not able to shoot far enough. From half range of tap for feed speed it is not doing anything.
Belts: On the right side one of the holders was too close to the belt causing the belt to be worn by the holder. It is visible on the right side picture.
Dispatch reflector: its construction is terrible, it "works" when in highest possition, or slightly lowered, but when you want to shoot chips down the chips bounce back because there is too big gap between the reflector and dispatch tube.
Fuel filling: The fuel cap is under the hopper, not a main problem, the main problem is, that when you have a full canister, there is almost no way how to get fuel to the tank, because everywhere there is some construction element preventing acces to tank. Best to have a can with quick fill...
Conclusion
TBD - it's too soon
Parameters: Engine: 25T2370036H5 B&S XR 13.5 - 10.1 Gross XR Equipped with 28,48 Nm Gross Torque and 420cc, the XR2100 engine is built for multiple tasks in the most demanding work environments. Engine Technology Single cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled, OHV (Overhead Valve) Model Number 25T2 Gross Torque* (Nm) @ 2'600 rpm 28,48 Displacement (cc) 420 Cylinder Cast Iron sleeve Bore (mm) 90,0 Stroke (mm) 66,0 Fuel Tank Capacity (l) 6,57 (my fuel consumption 1-2l/h) Oil Capacity (l) 1,1 (10W-30 SE) Dry Weight (kg) 32,5 Dimensions Length (mm) 458 Dimensions Width (mm) 375 Dimensions Height (mm) 444 Oil fillings and maintenance: Change the motor oil after the first 25 hours of work, change the oil every 50 hours of subsequent work. After removing the used oil, fill 1L of new SE grade or above oil. Change the gear oil after the first 50 hours of work, change the gear oil every subsequent 200 hours of work. After draining the old gear oil, fill 1.3L of new gear oil. (no specificaion any gear oil should be OK) Replace the hydraulic oil every 300 hours of work, fill 2.8L of new hydraulic oil after the old hydraulic oil is discharged. (no specification, HV46 should be good)