Hydro Axe 221 Question

[Wes Lyon]

Hello everyone...

Have a chance to bid on and if successful cut a lot of small diameter ERC.  (1-12", mostly 3-9", short and bushy). Currently the people cutting this are using big skid steers and high rpm disc saws but it seems like a little too much for the equipment maybe.  How would a 221 with a fixed head and 18" Koehring disc work for something like this?  And would I be able to cut at near ground level if the saw head was tilted down just a bit. 

Many thanks
Wes

[Okrafarmer]

I would think you could do better than the skidsteers, probably a little faster, and you should be able to accumulate them, right? Does it have a tree accumulator? Why are you cutting ERC so small? Fence posts? I like it over 12" for lumber.

[Wes Lyon]

okra

yes it does have a  accumulator, the erc is invasive and they are cleaning up range land, they cut and mulch it

Wes

[Okrafarmer]

Well, I'm kind of glad you are doing that, because that helps to eliminate that many more of them from the national ERC lumber supply, making them rarer, meaning I have a better chance of selling ERC lumber.  ;D

I don't know much about the Hydro-Axes, especially about the ones with rotating blades. I watched one of their sheer feller-bunchers work before, about 21 years ago. Nice machine. It was not too old at the time. That one would cut a 16" stump, and pretty close to ground level, but maybe 3-6" off the ground. Great for pulpwood, not so great for saw logs. In your case, doesn't sound like you care about saw logs, so a sheer model would also do fine for you, I'm sure. Somebody else who knows more about it could tell you more, like for instance about the maintenance issues and so on.

[treefarmer87]

that 221 with a sawhead is really good for smaller wood. i would like to have a rig like that to cut pulpwood.