24 minute read
SHAW’S WIRE ROPES IRON TEST
by nzlogger
The John Deere 859MH is pulling its weight at G. White Logging.
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EST 1909EST 1909EST 1909 THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY
Tackling t Tough stuff Story and photos: Tim Benseman
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Above: Gareth White discusses harvesting techniques with Iron Tester, Shaun Field, while the skidder heads out for another drag of logs. Below: Marking up logs ready for the next truck.
“YOU WATCH,” SAYS IRON TESTER SHAUN FIELD. “GARETH
will probably come around the corner in a big black Dodge Ram.”
The RT crackles as we sit and wait as instructed on the side of Parapara road in central Kaingaroa Forest and then, sure enough, a huge black Ram appears.
We follow Gareth, owner of G. White Logging, further up the road and turn off into the standing trees. It seems like quite flat ground here. Not really hauler country. Typical deceptive Kaingaroa ground, as we are only about 300 metres away from rock bluff riddled faces, some that are too dangerous even for tethered harvesters and they need to be manually felled.
The wood in here is about 1.8-tonne piece size and once processed and loaded it is bound for either Red Stag Sawmill or the Murupara log rail yard about 15 minutes down the road.
We arrive at the G. White skid and it is ground-based. Gareth gets us signed in and briefs us on hazards as we will be walking through standing trees to where we can view the felling face.
Another skid on the opposite side of the gorge has the Madill grapple swing yarder on it. A huge Komatsu 350 with super high cab, live heel and 13-metre reach is clearing the chute for the Madill 122.
“That Komatsu is mean,” says Gareth. “You can stand behind the hauler and reach past it and clear the chute. Just awesome.”
The Dodge Ram is also impressively large and there are various other impressively large machines with us on the ground-based skid. A mint-looking Sumi SH240 with a live heel and high cab looks like it just arrived from the dealership and is fleeting off a Tigercat 880 processor.
Shaun points out an older but very handy looking Tigercat 630B grapple skidder complete with winch. Tucked in a corner is a large Terex bulldozer with twin winches, used for tethering but that can also be used for setting up the straw line on the hauler.
“That thing has mean pulling power,” says Gareth.
A super-wide Chevrolet dually tool truck and company mechanic is doing service work on several machines.
But taking top spot on this skid is the John Deere 859MH zero tail swing tethered levelling harvester that we are here to Iron Test. BANNER 4BANNER 1BANNER 1
SERIOUS POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS
ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK
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1: Iron Tester, Shaun Field, and operator, Clint Maxwell, discuss the 859’s finer points. 2: The 859’s new seat and harness. 3: The view from the 859’s seat. 4: Regular 859 operator, Clint Maxwell, is happy with his new machine.
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A monstrous beast
This thing is an absolutely monstrous beast. Obscenities are muttered quietly as we walk around it and start opening up the doors. The toolbox on/inside the track frame below the cab is surprising to see but fits in neatly. The levelling rams are huge. Because of the height of the cab above the tracks, several ladders are built in and slide out to make machine checks possible. Being zero tail swing it is very compact but still somehow gives the impression of being well laid out and spacious. This new model has significantly increased engine power on the previous model, up from 285HP to 300HP, with the option of getting a further 30HP from John Deere’s 6090H 9-litre diesel engine; but in the current configuration without that option it is producing 213kw with 1290nm of torque.
John Deere has taken steps to increase stability on its harvesters with a longer, wider undercarriage.
If you’re working in really big timber or on hills, an optional hightorque swing provides increased power, to boost productivity. Strong tractive effort of 373Kn generously increases capability for negotiating difficult or steep terrain, deep snow, swamps or, in this case, deep pumice.
The Smooth Boom Control (SBC) on this machine allows machine movements to be controlled more effectively, delivering a smoother experience for the operator and less wear and tear on the machine over time. BANNER 3BANNER 1BANNER 1 An additional option is the Intelligent Boom Control (IBC) which makes it easier to manoeuvre the harvester head. Operators no longer need to control each independent boom joint separately. Simply control the harvester head, and IBC automatically controls all boom movements based on the harvester head location, for faster cycle times and more precise operation.
The dual swing system also increases power and performance in demanding felling or harvesting conditions.
Another JD innovation is the Rapid Cycle System which provides faster, low-effort joystick control of all boom functions and helps operators be more productive. Rapid Cycle System (RCS) combines
The Unitronics screen for tether management.
SERIOUS POWER BIG TIME LOGGERS
Above, from left: Iron Tester, Shaun Field, fells another tree during his Iron Test of the 859; Iron Tester, Shaun Field, lays down a tree during his Iron Test; Iron Tester, Shaun Field, heads down the slope to fell another tree in the 859; Operator, Clint Maxwell, makes his way back up the slope in the 859. Below: Another 1.8 tonne tree falls to the 859.
automated felling-head arm cycling with simple boom control — dramatically reducing operator fatigue while increasing efficiency and productivity they say.
The spacious operator station was designed by loggers for loggers. John Deere says it places a lot of emphasis on listening to what loggers have to say both for fixing issues as they arise in current machines as well as incorporating that feedback into the design of new builds.
This cab is roomier and more comfortable, with new more ergonomically designed controls and an updated Bluetooth radio option with XM Satellite Radio ready from the factory. And the view has to be seen to be believed, with significantly more window area from the floor window to the overhead.
There’s also a new seat that’s more ergonomic than previous models and features a dual-density seat pan and contour as well as updated armrest and suspension to improve the overall comfort of operators of all sizes. The optional heated-ventilated seat (HVS) is pretty comfortable too.
The sealed touch pad keeps out dust, moisture, and debris, minimising wear. A marine-grade control centre eliminates rocker switches, numerous wires, and unsealed connections, and lasts up to 10 times longer than standard dash switches.
There is more boom inspired by John Deere’s larger 900M- and 900MH-Series models which are field proven, robust booms with thick plates and strong joints to help extend durability and wear life. Designed for use with smaller attachments, the extended stick option (only on these 800MH models) reaches 9.9 metres and features a narrow boom tip to reach past standing timber and cover wider swaths, minimising damage to harvested trees and easing travel in sensitive areas.
All 800M- and 800MH-Series machines feature extreme-duty track chain to tackle challenging jobsite conditions while extending wear life which is good to know in this highly abrasive volcanic rock/pumice/ scoria type soil that wears the hard facing off ground-engaging tools at an alarming rate, probably more than four times the speed of the soils further north and south of here.
A variable-speed hydraulic reversing fan runs only as fast as the system requires. This conserves power and fuel while blocking debris. To keep the system clean, the fan also reverses on a timed cycle to reverse airflow and eject debris from the cooling cores. If conditions demand more frequent cleaning, the fan can be reversed by a simple push of a button.
John Deere has also invested in smart debris management to keep the workspace free and clear of the inevitable foliage from trees falling in large numbers at close proximity. The debris-management system is integrated into the hood and left-side guarding to prevent materials and debris from entering the cooling package. This, combined with external screening, a sealed cooler compartment and the reversing fan make for lower downtime cleaning up each day.
Gareth notes that the zero tail swing is a real advantage, making operation a lot easier and less stressful, not having to worry about the tether chain catching or rubbing, or having to be aware of proximity to standing trees and catching them with the counterweight. It is hard to believe there is an 870-litre fuel tank on this machine with that zero swing tail and spacious cab, but there is.
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SERIOUS POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS
ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK
Above left: Operator, Clint Maxwell, fells trees with the 859 while the Madill 122 hauls wood in the background. Above centre: Operator, Clint Maxwell, lays down a tree with the 859 and Satco felling head. Above right: Operator, Clint Maxwell, fells and lays down a tree for the Madill. Left: Iron Tester, Shaun Field (left) and operator, Clint Maxwell, plan the next felling swath for the 859.
Regular operator, Clint Maxwell, is using a rattle gun to do some maintenance on the Satco felling head.
Just quietly Shaun says Clint is probably one of the best tethered felling machine operators in the country: “Part of that is that he is an absolutely top notch hauler op, so he knows exactly how the wood needs to be laid out for the grapple on the Madill to minimise breakage and maximise production. For example that slope he has been working below us there, I wouldn’t lay it out like that, in fact I would probably be shovelling quite a lot of this, but these guys know what they want, so for the test I will be laying it out how they want it laid out.”
Shaun jokes that with this 859 being the third machine of Gareth’s that NZ Logger has Iron Tested we may have to look at changing the name to G. White Iron Tests if he doesn’t stop buying new gear. The previous tests were with the Iveco Astra 8x8 forwarder and a John Deere 6x6 skidder.
A young skidder operator
When Gareth first started learning about logging gear it was as an eight-year-old, along with his sister, having a go on their father’s log skidder and other bits of gear on weekends while Dad was doing machine maintenance nearby. At other times he got on the Bell and a loader and figured out the basics of how they worked too.
“I even got into a bit of fleeting on the Bell. It was choice fun,” he says.
Before long Gareth was helping move gear between blocks as he had gained the basic functions of gear to be able to move equipment safely and know where to stop and wait or move along the quiet forestry roads.
The drive to succeed is strong and Gareth left school very early (“nearly 15 years old”) to get in on the ground floor as a QC for MJ & J Pelham Logging. He hopped on loaders a few times during smoko and then decided to learn a bit more about log loaders.
A stint loading log boats at the Port of Tauranga honed his machine and log handling skills before he returned to the forest, working for several crews doing early load outs, shovelling and fleeting.
Another loader job beckoned but when he arrived to start it he was asked if he knew how to drive a harvester. “Yeah, for sure,” he said, not elaborating that it was just a few smokos worth of experience on a harvester at a previous job.
He spent that first day harvesting and the boss thought he was alright at it so he was then a harvester operator. Starting to run machinery at an early age obviously pays off well.
A case in point is that Gareth now owns three Madill haulers and three pole haulers and manages 50 employees in the industry - and he still has his first Sumitomo 240 grapple loader after owning it for over 10 years. It is feeding bunches of logs to the Tigercat grapple skidder today just down the hill from us, while up above that on the opposite face his new 859MH is being
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Above left: Gareth White’s first loader feeds stems to the skidder while the new 859MH is made ready to go down the slope. Above right: The Dodge Ram Heavy Duty oversees various other heavy duty units in the G. White Logging stable.
shackled to the tether ready for the Iron Test. And anchoring the rope is one of the first Falcon winch outfits on a reliable older Cat 330c.
As soon as the 859 is ready to go down the rope the Sumi loader and skidder move to another location over two tree lengths away to continue ground-based extraction while regular harvester operator,
Clint, shaves off the first few lines of trees on a down and up swath on the tether.
It is quite alarming to observe the amount of travel in the levelling mechanism of these modern levellers – 26 degrees forward, 14 degrees side to side and 7 degrees rearward, but then I did think the rams for it were over-engineered when it was on the skid earlier for inspection.
Because of the two-tree-length rule we are having to zoom in from a distance to get decent photos of the felling action. Although
I have seen similar machines working while I was doing land prep and water controls in Kaingaroa years ago, it’s the first time I have sat and studied the actual workings.
About halfway down the slope Clint grabs a tree but instead of cutting it he rips it out of the ground, lays it down and trims off the root wad.
“What’s going on here?” I ask Gareth.
“That’s because the stump will be in his way.” Gareth replies.
“This pumice and scoria type ground is very soft; it is compressing a lot, and it only allows one pass with a heavy machine, that presses the ground down and the stump is then too high for a second pass.
It’s like at a man’s shoulder height in some cases even though he has cut it low and even for these oversized tracked machines it is just too high. So he has chosen a pathway down the slope to avoid doing that as much as possible, but now he’s over halfway down he’s found that that one needs to go in order to complete that run safely.”
We watch as Shaun takes over the controls from Clint and starts shaving another layer off the face. Gareth notes: “He’s quite a good operator is Shaun, good on skidders, harvesters, all sorts really.”
Kind of like Gareth himself actually, which is probably part of why these two characters get along so well. Shaun knocks a bunch of trees down in quick succession and you can read how he got on in BANNER 3BANNER 1BANNER 1 his Iron Test on page 30.
American equipment shopping trips
Gareth likes to visit the US and Canada several times per year to hunt down parts for his fleet of Madill haulers and to research harvesting methods from our American logging cousins. A lot of time is spent on Vancouver Island - home of Madill yarders – as well as in the Canadian Interior around Whistler and the US Pacific Northwest, observing logging operations, getting to know loggers and either buying haulers or selecting parts to ship back to his workshop in Tokoroa.
The Madill 122 swing yarder in this crew is running ¾ inch Power Swage so can hold more rope than a 124 running regular and was purchased from a logger out of Port Alberni, just north of Nanaimo, where Madill was first established in 1911, and north of Sidney, BC, where Madill is still manufacturing yarders today.
With four crews and a busy workshop, there are plenty of people to manage and a lot of gear, including two Iveco Astra 8x8 off-highway logging trucks, and a late model T659 Kenworth on-highway log truck contracted to Aztec.
“With skidders we really like the idea of putting band tracks on front and rear as we have some really harsh ground traction-wise in some blocks, especially in Kinleith Forest. We had a video conference recently with the John Deere designers in the US and we asked them if the warranty on their new skidders would cover their front diffs if we put band tracks on them. They said yes. Great, can you still use the diff locks? Yes again. So we said great, we will buy it. It’s really important that we have that capability while retaining the warranty, as we tend to get quite a number of tough blocks,” says Gareth.
“There is a fair amount of windthrow and slips in this block. Add that to the bluffs, short sharp gullies and soft pumice/scoria - that stuff is actually the biggest challenge to our operation as you are having to scramble the machines through it in the cutover, kind of like sand dunes. It makes for great wet weather logging though.”
We move from the felling face around onto Parapara road again and get to a new position below and to the side of the Madill where the spotter has his lunch heating up on a cooker. It’s good to see another angle of the operation to help comprehend how the harvester fits in to the crew.
The new 859 harvester joins Gareth’s JD 959, 768ll and 909 machines, and before we go to print he will put another 959MH and 948L skidder into the fleet, so it’s fair to say he is happy with how John Deere harvesters perform in his operations.
SERIOUS POWER BIG TIME LOGGERS
ZERO TAIL TEST
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE WITH THE
John Deere 859MH is the zero tail. It makes a huge difference to how it performs in the stand as far as manoeuvring through the trees goes. That’s important when you are slewing side to side laying down your wood, as well as in the descent where your tether interactions with your counterweight are greatly reduced.
It’s very compact but they’re smart about it with their service bays. Pretty well laid out. Getting in and out of this machine is straightforward like with John Deere’s other harvesters. Cab and seat comfort is good. It feels almost exactly the same as the 959 except for that zero tail swing.
I am usually running a fell and trim head too so I notice this straight felling head is easier for shifting the chain on the tether when you need to negotiate the terrain and use stumps or stands of trees for cornering. With the fell and trim you do need to minimise that tether handling or it’s a quick grinder repair to the trimming knives.
There is not a huge amount of difference between this machine and my regular ride except there is not as much reach and that’s not really a bad thing, it’s just the price you pay for having the zero tail – you can’t go as far out as you could if you had a big counterweight levering on the cab at the back. The boom and stick are the same as the other John Deere machines but in this one it is set further back so you are not using as much of it.
This machine definitely has its place here in the smaller wood as this crew is now moving out of the huge old growth harvesting that Gareth has been so effective in. He has basically mowed most of it down and now he needs to manoeuvre into a smaller, quicker and more efficient machine for harvesting this lighter wood.
The ground in here is unreal to work in. The closer you get to Mount Tarawera, the more abrasive the soil is. You can see it wearing on your idlers regardless of what machine you are on and it does soak up a lot of power on the steep slopes, but this machine coupled with the DC winch machine is still pushing through it without any problems.
The button layout on this specific machine has been altered quite a lot compared to what I’m used to so it is quite a challenge to get the hang of, but I take the machine down the hill, fell some trees, lay them out, get a feel for the machine and bring it back up the rope without any major issues.
When I am cutting for hauler settings I like to fell my way down to the bottom and then cut my way back up, it just fits with how we’re set up, whereas here they are leaving the lower reaches of the slope standing, presumably to come in from the bottom without the tether and lay it out differently for ground-based extraction.
Iron Tester, Shaun Field.
Below left: The compact but well laid out cooling, filtration, engine bay and exhaust of the 859MH. Below centre: The track frame tool box, fire extinguisher and Satco filtration on the 859MH. Below right: The 859’s cooling fan, engine bay and hydraulic pump bay.
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EST 1909EST 1909EST 1909 THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY THE SUPPLIER TO NEW ZEALAND HEAVY INDUSTRY
SPECSIFICATION
JOHN DEERE 859 ZERO SWING TETHERED HARVESTER – SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE 6-cylinder, 9-litre John Deere 6090 Tier 2 PowerTech™ diesel. Peak power 224 kW (300 hp) @ 1,900 rpm Max Torque 392 Nm (1,027 lb.-ft.) at 1500rpm
HYDRAULICS Main pump Attachment pump 494 L/min. (131 gpm) 209 L/min (55 gpm)
UNDERCARRIAGE Model Tractive effort Track shoe width BOOM / ARM Model Max reach U7L Extreme Duty (EXD) 373kN (83,854 lb/f) 711, single grouser.
John Deere 8.84M (6.13M sweep) Boom w/ RCS HARVESTER Model Rotation Weight Max cut REFILL CAPACITIES (LITRES) Fuel tank Hydraulic system (incl tank) DIMENSIONS (MM) Length Width Height Tail swing radius Ground clearance Operating weight Satco 630 HE felling head 360 continuous 2000kg 86cm 43inch bar, ¾ pitch chain
870 146
9,910 3,430 3,920 2,250 748 36,000kg (without processor, 38,000kg with Satco felling head.)
This is definitely a grunty little machine for how compact it is. It’s in difficult conditions here, the ground is so unforgiving. You go past a stump once and it’s just crap after that. You’re already in enough danger working on a slope without getting balancing on stump issues and then falling off suddenly in whatever direction it decides to take you, so they just have to come out.
The only let down I see with this machine is, where the tilt rams come through the chassis it is quite sharp and it catches on stumps if you are not dead centre on your approach, but here you would be ripping these stumps out no matter what machine you were on. No harvester is perfect everywhere but this one is pretty close in all the areas that count for high production tree felling. NZL
PACKAGE 1
PACKAGE 2 PACKAGE DEALS FOR LOGGERS
PACKAGE 1 without shoes
Award Winning TUFF Superseal® Chains
Price is excl. GST & freight
Superseal® Chains, Sprockets, Bottom Rollers, Idlers, Track Bolts and Nuts Sumitomo SH240TLFS, 300TLFS, 330TLFS, 350TLFS $26,000.00
Tigercat 855, 870, 875, 880
John Deere 853, 859, 909, 959 $31,000.00
$31,000.00
PACKAGE 2 with shoes
Superseal® Chains, Shoes 1 Bar or 2 Bar 660mm, Sprockets, Bottom Rollers, Idlers, Track Bolts and Nuts. Includes FREE bolt up. Sumitomo SH240TLFS, 300TLFS, 330TLFS, 350TLFS $39,000.00
Tigercat 855, 870, 875, 880
John Deere 853, 859, 909, 959 $44,000.00
$44,000.00
All prices exclude GST and freight and while stocks last. Be in quick to secure this price.
ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK
CONTACT JONNY EDWARDS FOR MORE DETAILS WOODCUTTER@SHAWS.CO.NZ | 021 944 894
