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The first point to make about the "Dominance" 4000c is that it is first and foremost a machine for the professional user, by which one means a person who is contracting to clip large numbers of animals on a regular basis. It is therefore ideal for all types of contractors and farmers with substantial herds.
It is not consider, either by us nor the manufacturer, to be suitable for the average horse owner with one or more horses and may be a few ponies, or most alpaca studs with less that a hundred head of animals. For those situations the Premier "Dominance" 3000c is the suitable machine.
The reason is that the "Dominance" 4000c has been increased in power especially for the professional user with large numbers and is not suitable for small numbers.
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. 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 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 tensioned. 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 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 needed 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.
Various field tests we have undertaken confirm the power of the machine and the high quality of the resulting clip. For those with large number to clip this is a machine, which will make light work of the load. Comfortable to hold and easy to manoeuvre it makes clipping much more of a pleasure!
CONCLUSION:
After using this machine we did have the feeling it is one of the most impressive really heavy-duty machine we have seen in recent years and one, which we feel is destined to attract the contractor or the farmer with large animal numbers.
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 4000c seems to embrace all these requirements and must be distained to become one - if not the top - mains powered clipper for the professional user.
© PEASRIDGE 2004
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