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which mulcher to purchase?

Started by marcin, July 07, 2013, 12:50:27 PM

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marcin

Hi all, I am looking for your opinion. I recently bought a Takeuchi TL12 high flow CTL. I would like to use it to clear brush and small, soft-wood trees off the wooded portion of my property. In total, there are probably 30-40 acres to clear. I am in no rush, I realize this will probably take a couple of years of intermittent work. I would like to ask you which attachment would be best for this? The ones I am considering are drum-type mulcher (Fecon, FAE, Denis-Cimaf), disc-type mulcher (Advanced Forestry Equipment) and high-flow extreme duty mower. Which one would be best? The mower would probably leave a lot of clean up work to do and I am not sure how long you could go cutting 5-6" trees before the machine was damaged? The drum-type mulchers seem pretty slow compared to the AFE disc mulcher. The AFE mulcher seems pretty new, however, does anyone have any experience with it? Can it do the type of work advertised on the website continously? Also, would you recommend I purchase an additional cooler for the CTL to run these attachements? Thank you for your advice.

northforker

I own a Davco mower and it works great on trees of your size and is built like a tank. However, it has a tough time mulching trees once they are lying flat on the ground. A friend rented a PT100 with a fecon mulcher head and the thing spent much of the time cooling down from overheating. It really cut into productivity. Having seen the AFE disc mulcher, I'm intrigued. Could it be the most productive mulcher out there? Any idea what it costs?

Check this comparison out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_05CGliwdR4

thecfarm

marcin,welcome to the forum. What's your interest in wood? Besides wanting to clear 30-40 acres. I take it this must be small stuff. Was it a field before?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

mwarfel

Marcin
My name is Matt and I work for Fecon as a regional manager, we have several options for you when it comes to clearing the 30-40 acres of land that you have.  We offer both drum mulchers and heavy duty rotary mowers.  If you have any questions about either of these methods of land clearing I would be happy to help you in any way that I can.  Please feel free to email me or call Fecon directly to get in touch with me.

redprospector

I'm glad that you just want our opinions, because asking what brand of mulcher is best is like asking what brand of chainsaw is best. They all have their fans.
I make my living with mulchers right now. I have a Fecon, and a Tushogg. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the old Gyrotrac I've got. The Fecon is my "go to" mulcher. It does a good job and is mounted on a Fecon FTX90 carrier. The Tushogg is a good head too, but seems to take a little more hydraulic power to run it, so it will build heat quicker. I use it for a back up to the Fecon. I use my Bobcat T320 as a carrier.
I wouldn't worry about what looks slow if you're not making your living with it. Look at what is going to give you the finished product you are looking for. That's what's going to make you happy in the long run.
Also, as far as slow goes...well, that's a relative term. They are all faster than doing it by hand. With the Bobcat, in pretty rough terrain I can average better than an acre a day, but there is a learning curve before you get there.
Which head is best will be determined most by the type of tree's and how rocky the soil is. If it's real rocky you'll need carbide, and that will seem to slow you down. But in the long run it's faster. If your ground has very little rock you can use a planer type cutter, which will chew up trees real quick, but generally have to be sharpened frequently.
Ultimately you will have to take all of the information you can get and make your decision on which is best. I hope what you choose pleases you.

Andy
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

RTSmith

I realize this is an old thread, But I was wondering if anyone had new insights. One point, I'm not necessarily sure OP was looking for brand recommendation, but differentiation on the disc & drum differences. At least that's what I'm looking for.  ;D

On another forum, a member there with several units has mentioned feeling that the disc unit may give better visibility, thus maybe being better in rocky ground.

Any new insights?

pine

A couple of years ago I was trying to make the same decision and went with the Fecon and not the disc style mulcher/mower.

I have a Fecon HDT rotor using HDT Double Carbide tools (teeth).

I could not be happier with my choice. 

The video in the thread above, as I see it, is not really representative, as there is a difference in both the vegetation and the outcome.

If you are truly "mowing" small debris then the disc style is faster.  If your are mulching large CWD my research showed the disc style does not keep up with the Fecon style.  I have at times wished that I had both as doing some Scotch Broom areas I could no doubt be faster with a disc style but for the majority of my work the Drum style results in a much better product and outcome.

Riwaka

Depends on where in the World you are.
The Berti is useful some places, the FAE in other places. etc, use what has best parts/ service.
https://youtu.be/wapHlzq-gkY

https://youtu.be/JosOhw2eGU4  (up to 6 inch mulcher)

VT_Forestry

I think it really depends on where you are, what you're cutting with it, and what you want left when you're done.  We have a Fecon head with planer style teeth mounted on a Cat 299D XHP - works great and leaves a really nice sized chip as a finished product.  When we demoed the disc style, it was quick but left bigger woody chunks behind.  The Fecon definitely seems to handle larger diameter stuff a little better too.  We also have a Fecon with double carbide teeth mounted on a Tigercat M726E - not a lot slows that thing down  :D

We've only ever run Fecon heads so I can't speak to the other manufacturers, but I can tell you that Fecon has some awesome customer service and truly stands behind their products.



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