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A good deal of thought and innovative design work, especially within the head of the clipper has resulted in the production of an extremely light and quiet clipper the body shape of which favours especially the smaller female hand. The Premier 3000c will automatically appeal to not only the single horse owner, the horse owning family, but also large stables and yards. Apart from horse owners this machine is highly attractive to many cattle owners - both beef and dairy, and especially those with Alpaca studs
With an American designed clipper head, and a German made motor it is an evolution from the best features of the Hauptner 2000 - compact, powerful motor - but now with the air exiting forward, instead of downward, through the head to reduce the temperature of the blades.
The Hauptner 2000 which first appeared on the UK market around the year 2000 was an instant success with many ladies, especially those who clip horses, due to its slim line features, light weight and low noise level. Over the ensuing years the appeal of the 2000 type clipper has steadily grown!
The clipper head of the Premier 3000c which varies in design as compared to that of the Hauptner 2000 is easily detached by the unscrewing of two screws and enables the fitting of a sheep head to give added flexibility for either sheep shearing or for the cleaning up of dirty over wintered cattle or cattle which these days are required to be cleaned up before slaughter.
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-years, or 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 3000c 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 3000c 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.
The other immediately noticeable factor was the dramatic fall in noise level. Again the Hauptner 2000 was recognised as a machine of exceptional low noise level when the blades were correctly oiled and tensioned and was a vast and refreshing improvement against some machines not least those from the Lister and Wolseley stables. The Premier 3000c takes one into a new level of low sound and will be a refreshing experience for many who clipper with machines more akin to the noise of a tractor than a clipper!
Air 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.
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 3000 lower speed motor is roughly the same speed as Hauptner's purple unit. The higher speed model, the Premier 4000c, is only recommended for those who are engaged clipping horses, and cattle or shearing sheep at a professional/contractor level, and by this the intention is large numbers.
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.
For the average single large animal owner or groups of say a dozen or more, the Premier 3000c is the right choice, - we are aware of two customer using this model who annually clip in excess of six hundred animals fully!
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. Attempt to use Hauptner blades are not recommended.
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 including 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 owners 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 3000c 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." It is important to screw the nut down all the way, and as a result you should see about 1mm to 1.5mm of the bolt shaft protruding up through the tension nut. Then you back wind a complete two full circles. This is of course a general guide and you may need to give the knob a further "tweak" but not a full or half turn - just a fraction. 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 all of our "clipping field trial" we used normal off the shelf production model selected at random from a fresh consignment just in from the Solingen factory. One such test we selected a Fell pony with a good depth of coat, having been out all summer. This pony was brought straight from the field totally unwashed nor was any pre brushing undertaken.
The pony had not previously been clipped with an electrical machine so the experience was a "first time" event. 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.
After an initial introduction to the machine running, - the pony showing less than a decent interest in the clipper, - far more concern about the net of hay! a start was made. 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!
CONCLUSION:
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 many clipping beef and dairy cattle or those seeking to clip Alpacas.
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.
The Premier 3000c seems to embrace all and a good deal more which one might reasonably ask of any mains powered professional clippers and with now three equine clipping seasons under its belt and a virtually trouble free history it has rightful started to dominate market sales
Outstandingly one of the best mains powered clipper purchases around!
© PEASRIDGE 2004
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