Help all bc 2000 owners

soutz

Hi Guys

Just purchased a beautiful bc 2000.

one problem got a shake on.

The drum seems to be out of balance at full revs. any ideas on how to fix , what it may be etc would be appreciated.had the vermeer service agent come out but he has little experience with these machines as there only 2 in New Zealand.

So ideas........

TrevMcRev

I have a BC1800, similar...

It's pretty common to have a chunk of wood lodge in the knife recess.

This will throw the drum out of balance and the whole machine will bounce up n down.

Open the hatch on top, rotate the drum 360 & check all the knives.

It can be a PITA to free the chunk. You may need a chisel, hammer, wrecking bar, handsaw, ms200 to get it out.

If it isn't this, then you could have an actual problem with the drum.

soutz

Thanks for the info, have already eliminated the ole big chunk in the chipper senerio. So i may have an actual problem

Jeff Darby

It could be some thing as simple as Trev has stated, or it could be much more sinister, thinking aloud maybe a broken knife? big machines equals big bang when some thing is not right. Be real carefull..tag it untill you get sorted!

Check your pulleys,belts,bearings on the drum shaft loose bolts on same shaft, anything that rotates that could be loose and causing vibrations, does the vibration come from the drum? or engine? anything that rotates will give you vibrations if loose, get amongst it. use logic to sort it.

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soutz

Yep, engine ok we can run it up and no problems. once engaged we get a problem. bearings look and sound ok. knifes also look good. so little bit fazed.
im looking for something simple because the machine while big is a very simple machine.

Jeff Darby

could be in the clutch?.. hub could be loose?...get on the blower to Vermeer and pick their brains

__________________

Member: Australian Tree Association

Join the Australian Tree Association...Have your voice heard !

Arboriculture, A life long study for some, a passing phase for others

© Jeffrey J Darby 2011

soutz

Belive it or not the Vermeer guys round here dont have a good rep.
The service guy for vermeer really didnt seem to have much idea, so any vermeer reps out there......

TrevMcRev

Try them in Melbourne on (03) 9359 1822 or (03) 9357 3799.

They are OK to pick their brains over the phone to troubleshoot, but personally i would never let them touch my machine again.

TrevMcRev

Dont forget the International dialling code!

soutz

Yeah, i just dont get it, we as arborists have to gain knowledge ,skill , experience, etc but it all starts with a love of or for trees.
Why does this not cross trades where are those mechanics/engineers that love it????
Vermeer is a good product so why do the people that buy the franchise not get people that love the product to work on them.

dont get it.

however this aint solving the problem....... so any vermeer reps the challange has been laid down.

Drouin Tree Service

Must be in the pulleys clutch,if not id be very worried about the actual drum.

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

JohN Dee

Yeah, I'm guessing it has got something to do with your clutch if it happens as soon as you engage it.

We run a 110hp tow behind vermeer grinder and it hickups when we engage the clutch and even sometimes when the clutch doesn't engage properly will jump the machine up and down til it dies out.

We also run the Bandit equivalent (better IMHO) the 2090xp, so I'll ask our mechanic tomorrow if I get a chance.

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We are what we repeatedly do... Excellence then, is not an act, but HABIT...

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JohN Dee

Oh P.S the vermeer agent here are real wankers too, can usually fix the machines but are real dick wads to deal with.

__________________
We are what we repeatedly do... Excellence then, is not an act, but HABIT...

Red : Green : Blue

TrevMcRev

Ha! Must be their standard service fee, i got one of them too!

On a job that should've been about $500

soutz

Update

Vermeer asia pacfic got in touch, then nz ceo got in touch- so points to vermeer as they are addressing the problem. Will give you what happens next real soon.

slartibartfast

Chances are the knives are out of balance. Get them balanced at you local saw doctor or buy a set of new ones. It takes very little to throw the drum out causing all sorts of problems.

Drouin Tree Service

Thats true id try that for sure...

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

soutz

Update time

Blades all out, have run the drum up to speed and still have this rhytmical out of balance wobble. So engineers in on thurs to pull out the drum. We will then static balance and whack it back in and go from there. grapple arriving soon so really looking forward to that, have installed new tacho and had it calabrated to the engine.

Spent most of today waterblasting gunge out of the body.to make the engineers job that bit nicer. just plodding through it , to charge good money you have to have good reliable machinery.

Also vermeer nz seem to be distancing themselves from the machine saying its not really a vermeer at all as repairs have been done but not by them, bearings changed that kind of thing. However the guys that have worked on this machine in the past subsituted the bearings becuase the cost difference between vermer bearings and an off the shelf model is huge. it also means no waiting. ratings are exactly the same. Strange crew this lot. However vermeer in the states have been great with info.

soutz

yep. but a ray of hope. lance over at hamilton has fronted up and is keen to help and give service if he can. good for you ab equipment in hamilton.


nz new by the way.

Drouin Tree Service

Hope he gets it sorted,I think what makes vermeer disinterested in chippers etc is they make more thru sales of the directional boring equipment.

I knew a sales rep for them who would much rather get his commision on a 300k borer than a hard sell 100k chipper.

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

slartibartfast

Lance at Hamilton is S H. He has worked through a few problems with my 352 stumper and came up trumps every time.

treevet

Haven't had any probs yet w my used bc 2000 but the drum was replaced prior to my buying it, don't know why. My service techs have been great to deal with.
Maybe you could e mail some of the service depts over here. I could provide mine if you like.

soutz

Thanks treevet but think weve got the problem identified.

Yesterday we took off the tanks, belt. chute, and today we are lifting out the drum.
Interesting that the chute had a lot of internal damage, not thin steel from wear but punctures in the steel, almost as if something steel had gone through the machine. The previous owner said it kept blocking up. i think debris would stick in the holes and imped the flow of chip. So that is to be sorted.

Drum is out of balance, we did a static test yesterday while drum in machine knives out. same place on drum rotating to the top.

Thanks for all the help so far guys.

soutz

Update time.

Drum is now balanced, but we could nt get the bearing off one side of the shaft took 2 full days with a 50 ton press still wouldnt shift. So gas axe.
Ouch cause that bearing is worth about 2k.

So yeah pretty ouchy.

Putting knives in tomorrow and spin up on the lathe then once thats good.

Drum into the heart of the beast and fix her up. run her up. then make some money. will try to get a few photos up aswell.

soutz

small world aye

treevet

Is the seller helping out with the costs?

soutz

nah . i had a fair idea of what i was getting, i knew there was work to be done. We do this with any second hand equip. get it, strip it, fix it, then work it.
for a machine thats ten years old it will cut like brand new.at a fraction of the cost of a newy.

treevet

Mine's about 10 years old and they went thru it with a fine toothed comb but it is/was real rough cosmetically. Today I had it groomed by my blacksmith and he is just about done. Can't wait to slap some paint on it and see what it looks like. I love it. Did you get your winch or grapple yet?

treevet

Here's a real nice looking unit. Not mine. I think mine is going to turn orange.

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soutz

Sounds like the same situation. Mines goin black...heh heh