Cat 227 FB feller

[Ken 45lc]

I was wondering if anyone ever ran one, and what they thought of it. I found one sort of local, it looks like it was well taken care of, although it has the bar saw head on it instead of the hot saw head. But for it's age, it looks really good and straight. It doesn't have a leveling cab, but I've had excavators on some pretty steep inclines before, so that's not a big concern to me.

I've been using a Bell for awhile now on a selective cut, and am getting fairly good with it, but I thought having the ability to reach trees with the arm instead of having to drive up to the butt to fell a tree would be advantageous. I also find it hard to see/determine the height of the saw when sitting in the Bell.  And sometimes when backing up with a tree I sometimes hit or skin up a small tree that I didn't see (as you know the visibility backing up is limited). But then again the extra tail swing on the Cat could cause some problems too when doing a selective cut. So that's why I was asking for some advice.

Thanks,
Ken

[logloper]

  Ken, I have a 227FB and it has been a good machine. Mine has a roto-saw head on it. So nice not to be bounceing over stumps all day like you do on a wheeled machine. Have used it mostly on aspen clear cuts, so not much worry about tail swing. My machine has a tremendous amount of lifting power. Have cut 20" trees, 80'-100' tall and picked them up, moved them, and layed them down for the skidder no problem. My machine is heavy and slow. Dont even move it in unless the trees to be cut are close together. Its hard to get a lowboy that can move it, because of height issues. The way the boom is set up it wont lay down good at all for transport. The lowest mine will lay down is a bit over 15' . The good thing with CAT equipment is you can get parts almost always next day. Good machine, but I am going to sell mine and get something smaller and faster. If you get the one your looking at, I could get you copies of  my books if you needed them.

[Ken 45lc]

Thank you very much for the info. I believe the 15 foot clearance is probably going to be a deal breaker. Around here there is all kinds of overhead limitations like old railroad underpasses that are barely 14 foot in the center.

Does anyone know if Bell is still in business? The newest machine i've seen advertised is a 1998, and they didn't even list a feller on their website.

[rkultra]

  Hello Ken, Bell is still in business but they aren't making the 3 wheeled bunchers anymore. They entered into a partnership with John-deere  around 2002 who supplies them with forestry equipment in south africa and bell supplies deere with rock trucks for other markets. They may make the bunchers again, if the forestry market gets better . I have a 1990 super t and it has been a good machine for me, but I wonder if a back up camera would work, as long as it's protected. Do you get your parts from Zambesi equipment? I've been dealing with them for 15 years and they are great to deal with,any parts you need overnight.

[Ken 45lc]

rkultra,
            Is that the place in the Carolina's? I'm just borrowing the Bell for now and haven't had any major breakdowns yet, but I believe my friend that owns it does get some parts from them. Although the starter just went out of it, and a local shop was cheaper for a new one than them. Now I'm at home today waiting for that shop to get it in today.

            Thanks for the info on Bell. I kind of wondered why I hadn't seen any new advertising or newer models. I saw a couple other 3 wheeled fellers from other makers, but they looked big and bulky. And if i recall, they weren't all that new either.

[rkultra]

  Hello Ken,Zambesi equipment is in North Carolina. I usually don't buy engine parts from them,the deutz used to be quite common and local parts are fairly easy to source-my tree-farmer is deutz powered as well. Henry Lessing is the owner of Zambesi and I believe he was reponsible for introducing them to the North American market-he knows them inside and out. I think he sells rebuilt bells-might be worth your time to check them out. I was going to buy a Morbark Wolverine with a live saw but it needed a final drive-a fairly common problem I found out- that was many times more expensive than the one on my Bell would cost so I backed out of the deal.