Absolute Most Productive Mulching Machine

[northillinois]

Which purpose-built forestry mulcher is the most productive? Is it a Prentice/Barko? Or one of the tracked machines? 

Can any of these heavy carriers also be used with a forestry tilling/stone crushing head?

[mike_belben]

@treemuncher 

[Riwaka]

Versatile might be the tc 726 with some very expensive hydraulics. The Tigercat 726G mulcher can swap the 4061 mulching head to a disc saw head to use as a feller buncher.

and Street Works convert the 726 to a street trencher model with a concrete/ asphalt grinding head. 48 inches wide.

https://streetworksus.com/

Most of the wood mulching/ stone crushing attachments are pto driven for ag tractors. (probably a mulch/ crush dual use could be hydraulically driven for a hydraulic rubber tire or hydraulic steel track machine, drive the rubber tire mulcher backwards etc use an accurate GPS to help keep a straight stone grinding path etc)
Multitasks - PTO Driven Heads | FAE Group
Stone Crushers & Soil Tillers - SEPPI crushers for PTO tractors

Claas xerion 5000 with fae sfh
Claas Xerion 5000 Rock crushing FAE SFH - YouTube

There are smaller stone crusher for skid steers for small jobs.
Short list of stone crushers valentini, kirby, mericrusher, fae, seppi etc

No cheap options if crushing stone or mulching wood with high horsepower machines.

[treemuncher]

Warning: I am going to be critical here. If you are a Millenial youth, tighten your belt, bite your lip and hold back your tears.

You've asked a loaded question that most every customer asks because they don't have a clue about forestry mulching services or anything that it entails. Size, species, density, terrain and finish quality - what are you trying to achieve? Do you think every tree is the same and every jobsite grows trees on flat firm terrain? Life ain't a pine tree farm in southern Georgia. What is the safety zone like on the job - how far can I safely cast chips/chunks without damage or death? Do you want a lumpy finish or a tabletop? Are we cutting swamps, fields, roads or traversing rock ledges? How do you plan to maintain the property after or will you? How large are the trees you want to mulch up? 2 inch, 6 inch, 20 inch, 40 inch or larger dbh? What species are predominant? How many trees per 100 ft square? How much money do you plan to spend? If we don't meet my minimum to pull out of the yard, you need to find someone else that does not have a clue.

Are you a customer, a wana-be or a troll?

Horsepower, flow rate and pressure are king. Tires roll faster than tracks. Tracks go more places than tires. Attachments can be changed as long as the pressures and flow rate correspond or can be modified to match up. Every time you break a line (change attachment), you risk contamination to your hydraulic fluid. A 120 GPM pump is close to $20k, motors are a bit cheaper, nothing is cheap or easy on big machines. 28L-26 tires are generally not a 1 man job but it can be done with perseverance. It's heavy equipment because it weighs a lot - this does NOT mean it is indestructible or can't be broken.

Can you learn faster than you will go broke? If you can't fix it yourself, you are out of this business before you even started.

There are plenty of machines out there. What works well on some jobs just plain sucks at other jobs. There is NO perfect machine that does it all.

[kiko]

What ever you do don't put your house up against a mulcher. However cat will put you in business with a 299 .

[Walnut Beast]

Looking forward to having a demo at my farm of FAE tracked mulchers

[Walnut Beast]

Getting ready to get some hands on action of a couple serious units getting trucked in from Denver

 

[Walnut Beast]

The units will be here late afternoon Monday. Looking forward to units and guy's being here several days early and to have some personal seat time but not to happy about the rainy weather going on now and forecasted for the week. Sounds like 40+ coming from multiple states and sounds like the President of FAE USA might be here and a top guy out of Italy. Might not have a tree left on the place!

[Mooseherder]

It'll keep the dust down.   ;)

[Southside]

I'll take the rain, just send it here. 

[Walnut Beast]

I was pretty eager and my friend from FAE wanted to get me in the PTs mulching but the two semi drivers are caught in the snowstorm out west where they had the interstate shut down so have to wait till morning when we get going with everything hopefully! Rain here hasn't stopped. My friend said a few guys were asking about flotation 😂. We will find out for sure

[Walnut Beast]

One thing I really like about the new PT 175 is the 8 way dozer blade that can be changed out fairly quick. My friend said it will outperform a D4 CAT machine. PT weight is a little less but PTs tracks are longer and 173hp vs 130. The 300 has the 8 way dozer blade as well as stump grinder and subsoiler that is amazing. Tills ground and grinds stumps all in one to 12" ready to plant 

[teakwood]

i know 6 way blades but what's a 8way blade?

[nativewolf]

We had a FAE subsoiler and it was neat but the carrier was not good, I had a case tractor- heavy 180HP loaded wheels and 200lbs of extra weight on nose but man...that subsoiler was brutal.  I had to send both down the road, just not the right machine for that head.  I'd almost be worried even with a tracked 300hp machine.  Did you try the subsoiler?  Run across a nice stone ledge?  

I'm very impressed with FAE heads, hope you are having fun with them, hope the rain stopped.

[Walnut Beast]

Well we unloaded them this morning. Ramps 😂. Everything went smooth. I pretty much got in the PT 175 and mowed some big trails down to the event in old CRP that's not in anymore along the creek. And any trees in the way and lots of them plus hit some old elm and mulberry that's where you find out that the 175 is absolutely amazing. Gone in minutes. The sonic head with the bite limiter has six shift points. When you are hammering it the engine and head are constantly adjusting and you don't get a bog down. When you eat in the wood with the knives it looks just like you planed it. Absolutely top of the line parts used everywhere and pretty sophisticated computer system. Took a few pictures more later

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
 

        

[Walnut Beast]

i know 6 way blades but what's a 8way blade?

That's what they call it 😂 and the 2022 model still has a ashtray! That's Italians

 

[Walnut Beast]

We had a FAE subsoiler and it was neat but the carrier was not good, I had a case tractor- heavy 180HP loaded wheels and 200lbs of extra weight on nose but man...that subsoiler was brutal.  I had to send both down the road, just not the right machine for that head.  I'd almost be worried even with a tracked 300hp machine.  Did you try the subsoiler?  Run across a nice stone ledge?  

I'm very impressed with FAE heads, hope you are having fun with them, hope the rain stopped.

The 200sc tiller goes down 12" and the SFM/PM is a stone crusher,  forestry tiller   and mulcher all in one.  Stone goes down 12" trees 16" and stumps 20" down 300hp on up machines. A friend had a New Holland same hp then went to there tracked 300 hp and said there was a night and day difference 

[nativewolf]

Did they bring a big subsoiling head to let you play with that?  

Wish I were close by.  Fun times.  

[Walnut Beast]

No. But several guys with FAE were there and we were talking about it. They are impressive. Tomorrow is the event and more rain. A couple guys actually kids   from out west and Kansas came today  that are the biggest mulchers around have all the big stuff except tracked carriers so they were comparing it to the big Prentice wheel units they have and were absolutely impressed. The one guy knows hard because he mulches Osage all the time so we got into some hard stuff and down by the creek on some steep stuff. Good time today. The gang left and this kid got back in for some more stick time

[Walnut Beast]

A absolute dream to service these bad boys. Had visions of putting the big elm on the mill but it didn't make it. I said take it and in no time the big one was down and finishing the branches. Opened this area up you couldn't walk or see through.

 

 

 

   

[Walnut Beast]

i know 6 way blades but what's a 8way blade?

It's 8 way because the blade also curls in and out

[Walnut Beast]

Great event! Great group of guys from from FAE out of Georgia and Oregon.  And one from Global Machinery out of Colorado that had a logging business along with a mulching business but the logging business with skidders and log trucks just couldn't bring in the 💰 so that side of the business went down the road. Getting the woods cleaned up in no time and big time

 

 

[Walnut Beast]

One guy with FAE told me to get him a couple pieces of walnut and he would make me a duck call when they were out doing recon on my place the first time he was out. Well he reminded me again and I knew he was serious about it. I give him some good pieces and he showed me some pictures of what he made and WOW! Absolutely incredible ones he made out of about every exotic wood, even Osage and acrylics. But amazingly no Walnut. Now that's about to change! It's amazing and pretty cool the people that you meet that are into woodworking and sawmill related. The other guy out of Colorado has a nice sawmill so some fun talk there

[Walnut Beast]

You can see the size difference between the 300hp and the 175hp machine. First time in the 300 today that has carbide teeth with about 320hrs on them and it is a eating beast. Later in the year they are going to come out with the sonic head in the 300 like the 175 that's basically like a six speed transmission shifting down in hard grinding pretty amazing.

 

[Walnut Beast]

Pictures of a bite-limiter head that uses knives , carbides or both. The oscillating undercarriage makes for a smooth ride and the flotation is amazing in wet ground