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On the under side of the clipper head one can see the improved excentre
head and nylon brush (drive block.) The drive block has been redesigned
and is now far easier to slip into the cutter blade groove, which
was always rather a "fiddle" with the Hauptner 2000. The two upper
blade guides featured at the top end of the head should be regularly
lubricated as the upper blade (cutter) has a groove in which the cutter
blade is seated. With a "metal on metal" situation when under driven
pressure these can over heat if not adequately lubricated and this
will quickly cause heat build up to affect both blades and the clipper
head.
The internal view of the clipper head gives a clear vision of the
high quality finish of the German engineering as well as a clear picture
of the Excenter shaft with 31 teeth.
The electric drive of the machine is to all intents "maintenance
free" Carbon brushes do however need replacing after an operating
period of 3/400 hours. Since the housing cannot be opened without
special tool this job is best carried out by an authorised service
centre. Servicing is regulated to use, but it is our view all clipper
should be services at a minimum of every two year, annually if frequently
used. In the UK an electrical test is mandatory, especially for machines
used in a public domain.
Whilst at first sight the Premier 4000c may appear to look almost
an exact copy of the already popular Hauptner 2000, and with the only
apparent difference appearing to be in the colour of the body casing
(grey as opposed to the Hauptner purple) they do differ in a number
ways.
One is instantly impressed on handling the Premier 4000c with the
reduction in weight against the Hauptner 2000, (a reduction of 0.3kgs)
which was in itself considerably lighter that many clippers in the
same "heavy duty" clipper category. With a large proportion of ladies
clipping horse, this will come as a huge relief. Clipping for most
is generally an hour at least of anything but pleasure, and so any
added handling comfort will be welcomed.
Many heavy-duty clippers are noisy, often emitting a high pitch whine,
or loud clattering metallic noise, which can be disturbing to some
horses. Clearly with "metal on metal" it is unlikely that any appliance
which drives two pieces of metal clamped together at speed is every
likely to be silent! The Premier 4000 however is one, which is a good
deal quieter once it has been set up with blades correctly oiled and
tensionedAir filter and ID plateAir filters are easily located and
readily accessible for easy maintenance.
Air filters are a very important feature of any clipper as they cover
the source from which air is sucked in to cool and ventilated the
motor, thereby preventing hair and other foreign matter from entering
into the mechanism of the machine. By its very nature it attract hair,
and can become easily clogged. Therefore it is imperative that the
air filters are always kept clean on both sides, which means you are
required to unscrew the filters regularly and clean both faces. (The
inside and outer face) The air sucked into the Premier clipper exits
through the head instead of out of the bottom of the motor. Tests
indicate that this lowered head and blade temperatures by 10 degrees
C - an important benefit.Re-Set Button.
Should the machine become overloaded for any reason during operation
it will be automatically switched off by an integrated motor protective
switch. Should this occur during a clipping operation, having checked
to see there are no obvious reasons as to why the mechanism has been
trigged, a re-set button is provided at the rear of the clipper, which
usually restart the machine. This should not be pressed until the
machine has a few minutes to cool. If the fault persists you would
be best advised to consult an authorised service centre.
The on/off switch is centrally located and is automatically in easy
reach of your thumb for that "emergency" occasion when you need to
cut the power quickly! We always impose a penalty in our Peasridge
"Star ratings" on any clipper, which has the on/off switch, located
in any position other than that which allow for instant access. The
reason is simple – if an emergency should occur especially with a
large animal, it is in our view, essential that the operator can access
the "off switch" instantly!
In the case of the Premier clipper access is instant your thumb automatically
falls on the switch without the need for any deflection of eye movement
from the horse.
Premier offer two motor options. The 3000c with a slightly lower
speed motor is roughly the same speed as Hauptner’s purple unit. The
higher speed model the Premier 4000c, is recommended for those who
are engaged clipping horses or shearing sheep at a professional/contractor
level. The higher speed of the 4000c unit (about 15% more strokes/min.)
will produce a smoother cut and more work done per hour in the hands
of a professional shearer or groomer. As a trade-off, it also produces
slightly higher blade/comb/cutter temperatures and more blade wear
per hour of use unless the user keeps it lubricated and in the fibres.
The Premier's clipper head will drive either Premier blades, or those
from Lister Equally Premier blades are interchangeable with Lister
blades. Hauptner's purple clippers will only drive Hauptner blades
and will not drive either Premier or Lister UK blades.
The Premier clipper head can be attached to a Hauptner 2000 purple
motor-thus allowing a customer to save purchase. However the Hauptner
2000 motor exits the indrawn air downwards from motor and not forward
through the head. Users would not obtain the cooler blade temperature
with this combination but they would be able to operate with either
Premier or Lister blades. It is our view that both blade designs hold
an edge longer and enter animal fibres with slightly less effort.
A Hauptner clipper head or sheep shearing head can be attached to
a Premier grey motor, however this is not recommended and as such
should never be done -- since the Hauptner clipper and shear heads
do not have portholes to allow them to exit air forwards. Therefore
the motor would have no air exit at all-and would overheat in less
than 3 minutes.
A range of four Premier blades is available namely surgical, fine,
medium, and coarse. In addition as previously mentioned the clipper
will accept all the Lister blade range, which greatly strengthen the
choice, and offers a considerable cost saving. This should prove extremely
popular with the many thousand of Lister blade owner in the UK!
Packaging of the Premier blades highlights a refreshing new concept
in packaging and customer information. We were particularly impressed
with the thought and details put on the packaging concerning blade
care and instruction for getting the best out of your blades. An idea
other manufacturers might well consider!
Tensioning the blades of the Premier 4000c is simple and within the
grasp of all who clip. One of the occasional difficulties of the Hauptner
2000 was that the tensioning of the blade was "fine" You need to be
exact and there seemed little margin for any error.
The Premier simplifies tensioning, the instruction is clear "you
screw the tension nut as far down as it will go and you back wind
a complete two full circles." The model we tested allowed for ample
additional back turning and in fact even when turned back six full
turns we still experience a quality clip.
For our "clip field trial" we took a production model selected at
random from a fresh consignment just in from the Solingen factory
and selected a hairy animal with a good depth of coat, having been
out all summer. Taken straight from the field, totally unwashed and
without any pre brushing or grooming clipping was promptly undertaken.
The horse had not previously been clipped with an electrical machine
so the experience was a "first time" event. For a short initial period
the clipper was introduced running , frankly the animal seemed far
more preoccupied with hay net than the machine! A casual brush of
the hand over the coat revealed a good residual coating of natural
greases! The blades used were a "previously used" set of Lister A2/AC
medium blades, which had already clipped at least three horses.The
first impression was the feeling of power as the blades glided thro
the greasy coat. The clip was crisp, even without any sign of odd
hairs sticking up and definitely no trace of tramlines. The finish
surface took on a "velvety" effect.
Our clipping operator, (herself an owner of one of the more bulky
and noisy clippers,) remarked how enjoyable it was to clip with such
a slender slim machine, and expressed surprise and delight at the
very low noise level! Throughout the operation, the machine retained
cool running, even when the regulatory 3-minute oiling was over looked
and a full fifteen minutes passed before re-oiling commenced!
In conclusion we have to say this is one of the most impressive machine
we have seen in recent years and one, which we feel is destined to
attract a large proportion of the UK horse clipping fraternity as
well as that of the beef and dairy cattle markets. In today’s market
the choice of clippers is substantial, far better that it has ever
been, but despite the large choice few machines offer the things most
folk want: - power, lightness, low noise, a short handpiece, easy
and simple blade tensioning, good value, and lastly reliability. Normally
retailing at £289.99 and supplied with one set of blades it is currently
on a limited promotional offer at a UK retail price of £259.95 with
two sets pf Lister A2/AC medium blades, (incidentally the price includes
both vat, and UK mainland 24 hour courier service.) The Premier 4000c
seems to embrace all and a good deal more which one might reasonably
ask of any mains powered professional clippers and there for if it
lives up to its early promise it must be…
Outstandingly one of the best buys around!
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