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 unaccetable. 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°.
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).
Paint: The paint is chipping everywhere, it's very bad and it sprayed at bare (black) metal.
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.