Challenge 305 MPC on Challenge Safety Notice. Still useable?

[AP90]

So I saw a challenge 305 go up for sale for pretty cheap. Got to looking it over and saw that the serial number falls within the years that challenge said has a valve or spring failure I believe and that they are potentially dangerous machines. Would anyone pick up the cutter and replace the valve, use as is, or just not even get the cutter? Wondering cause it would be nice to upgrade to that size of a cutter for the cost of it, but not if it is a potentially dangerous machine and unfixable.

 

[MailGuru]

I'd stay away from it. No one, not even the independent mechanics will work on it.

 

[Stickman42]

We had two of them. There was someone who actually would retrofit them, and it wasn't a small name either. We decided to part ways with the machines - off to the scrap yard they went.

 

[camasprinter]

We have one and retrofitted it with new valves made for it. Works great. But, yeah no one wants to work on it because of that issue. We're old school, learn to do the repairs ourselves. You know like craftsmen in the printing trade did years ago!

 

[Schnicklefritz]

Our Challenge 305, being an old cutter, isn't covered for parts and repair by Challenge approved service techs anymore. Our former tech wouldn't even change blades for us. But it's like that old, reliable car that has served us well over the years and still keeps running. Eventually we will replace it when it falls into dysfunction, but in the mean time it is still doing the job for us. And we had the shear luck of finding somebody who does blade changes for us and can do mechanical and electrical fixes. I didn't trust myself with blade changes, as I can be a klutz at times and value my appendages.

 

[Stickman42]

We did a lot of repair ourselves, including hydraulic cylinder changes. For us it wasn't a question of not being able to use them or keep them running. It was the liability we assumed once we received the notice from Challenge notifying us of the potential for the Parker valve to fail and potentially injure someone in the process. We have a dozen people using the cutters throughout the day. If one was to get hurt on it, and it came to light that we were told by the manufacturer of the issue, well, you know...