Harvester heads BRIEFS Waratah Air tanker shared THE Victorian and Queensland Governments have secured a deal to share a Large Air Tanker to support aerial firefighting capacity in both states during their respective bushfire seasons. The Bombardier Dash-8 Q400AT aircraft will operate in Queensland from September to December to cover their bushfire season and will operate in Victoria for the height of summer from December to February. Sharing aerial firefighting resources provides both states with better value for money while ensuring the aircraft is available to support firefighting efforts on the ground when and where it is needed most. The agreement covers the 2021 to 2024 bushfire seasons and the Large Air Tanker will remain in Victoria between bushfire seasons.
George goes harvesting GEORGE the Farmer has traded his tractor for a harvester in an effort to teach Australia’s next generation about the importance of plantation forestry. The highly acclaimed children’s character joined key industry leaders in the Green Triangle to film the new six-minute video illustrating everything from tree planting and harvesting to the milling process, showcasing the wealth of products created by our local fibre. The forestry video, which will air on the ABC, has been produced as part of the Federally-funded $5 million ‘Educating Kids About Agriculture’ project, in collaboration with Primary Producers SA and Australian Forest Products Association.
New radio system A NEW digital radio system is helping New Zealand’s City Forests to work more safely and efficiently while complying with COVID-19 work requirements. Initially deployed to replace an outdated analogue radio network, the system from Motorola Solutions and communications partner Central Radio Services delivers many additional benefits. Among them are contactfree communication and social distancing in the field, replacing the need for drivers to exchange paper job dockets with a digital docketing system. 38
Forestry Equipment unveils new harvester heads W aratah Forestry Equipment announced the new H425, H425HD and H425X – a trio of rugged harvester heads built for tough jobs. With a powerful control valve and four roller feed arm geometry, each high-performance head is productive on wheeled or tracked carriers. “These models are built for durability and performance,” said Brent Fisher, product marketing manager for Waratah. “Among other updates, new hose protection and servicing enhancements make these great heads even better.” The standard H425 (1360 kg or 2,998 lb.), H425HD (1390 kg or 3,064 lb.) and hefty H425X (1426 kg or 3,143 lb.) each offer increased reliability with new feed motor hosing routings and new covers. For quick and easy servicing, each head features a new hinged valve cover and improved access to greasing points.
feed motors and guarding to provide even more durability. With a powerful control valve and a top saw option, the high-performance head offers great productivity, especially for wheeled carrier applications. For ease of maintenance, the H425HD now has easy filling of saw chain oil. Likewise, daily maintenance can be performed without changing the position of the harvester head. The valve block and grease points are also easily accessible. The H425HD offers optional saw motor sizes,
standard (narrow stem) or buttress (wide stem) saw frames for challenging applications, and processing knives for picking stems from the ground or bunch piles. H425X
The H425X features an extreme duty main saw box with heavier steel plating, extra feed motor component guarding, heavy-duty tilt frame, hose protection and increased drive arm durability for demanding applications in mixed stand harvesting. Its four roller feed arm geometry ensures rollers grip solidly in all diameters, improving responsiveness with unprecedented tree-processing performance – especially in large timber.
Purpose-built for tracked harvesters, the H425X offers options for many applications with multi-tree handling, an integrated top saw and processing knives for picking from piles or hardwood applications, and many feed wheel options to suit numerous applications. “The H425, H425HD and H425X are reliable heads for heavy-duty applications,” Fisher said. “With each new head generation, we’re providing our customers the solutions they need to maximize productivity and uptime.” The Waratah H425, H425HD and H425X are currently available to customers in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Africa, Asia, Brazil and Latin America.
H425 Optimizing performance, productivity and delimbing, the H425 excels in large diameter regeneration harvesting. A powerful control valve and feed-roller arm geometry ensure a solid grip and agile harvester head control for all diameter classes. For increased uptime and lower daily operating costs, the H425 offers improved hose routing from boom to harvester head and from the valve to feed motors, keeping hoses well protected from limbs and understory interference. The H425 offers optional saw motor sizes, standard (narrow stem) or buttress (wide stem) saw frames for challenging applications, and processing knives for picking stems from the ground or bunch piles. H425HD Built to work on the toughest jobs, the H425HD features a heavy-duty tilt frame, Australian Forests & Timber News August 2021
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