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Maizeing

Posted 4/22/2013 13:16 (#3054836)
Subject: Brush shredders

Ontario's middle east

You guys got any experience with excavator mounted drum style shredders? Been looking at a few, the Bauma Light Brushfire, Pro mac etc. Some of them drums are ok for stones, I'm thinking thats a must for us. Anybody got any good/bad experience with any make? Some are flails, some fixed teeth, they all look pretty horny but I want one that won't fly all to he(( the first time we hit a stone.

iseedit

Posted 4/22/2013 13:32 (#3054862 - in reply to #3054836)
Subject: RE: Brush shredders

central - east central Minnesota -

Maizeing - 4/22/2013 13:16 You guys got any experience with excavator mounted drum style shredders? Been looking at a few, the Bauma Light Brushfire, Pro mac etc. Some of them drums are ok for stones, I'm thinking thats a must for us. Anybody got any good/bad experience with any make? Some are flails, some fixed teeth, they all look pretty horny but I want one that won't fly all to he(( the first time we hit a stone.

If you are comparing a drum style to a rotary blade type cutter - I'd suggest trying (renting?) one of each, for your intended use.
I rented a carbide drum cutter for some heavy duty thick big trunk type brush and small trees. . . .
I was very disapointed and glad I rented before buying.
A buddy of mine bought a blade type cutter with exposed blade on front and it'll out cut the drum cutter almost 3 to one. It does a better job of shreading and multching then the drum style also.
Think of the drum style as a stump chipper . . . . . if the trunk is large enough and stuck in the ground, it works well.
When the trunk is cut off or broken off, then trying to get it to multch or chip is very time consuming and hard to do, as the brush/trunk move when the head hits it.
Look at these examples from Brush Wolf Mfg - http://www.brushwolf.com/showcaseproductlist.htm
I do a lot of skidsteer brush cleaning every yr - the rotary bush cutter is my tool of choice, for shreading and multching.

Edited by iseedit 4/22/2013 13:33

Maizeing

Posted 4/22/2013 14:09 (#3054897 - in reply to #3054836)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

Ontario's middle east

Thx Chris, I have seen 3pt tractor ones that supposedly can handle stones. So I got to thinking, if we can chew those small stumps off 3-4" below ground and not have any piles to deal with after maybe thats the way to go. Are you just shredding to ground level? what are you doing with the stumps?

iseedit

Posted 4/22/2013 17:35 (#3055175 - in reply to #3054897)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

central - east central Minnesota -

Maizeing - 4/22/2013 14:09 Thx Chris, I have seen 3pt tractor ones that supposedly can handle stones. So I got to thinking, if we can chew those small stumps off 3-4" below ground and not have any piles to deal with after maybe thats the way to go. Are you just shredding to ground level? what are you doing with the stumps?

The rotary mower type I discribed will not cut below ground. They'll shread upto 4 inch trunks on trees/brush above ground, but much bigger trunks and then the Fecon heads (chipper heads) are the way to go, along with their abality to grind below the surface on non-rocky soils. But, it takes alot for that head to chew into the ground 3-4 inchs deep. The commercial guys use a 10-12 inch wide stumper grinder thing when working below ground grinding.
I tend to agree with Duallymaxm below - rent one to try or if a single use, hire it. I rented a Cat 299C with Fecon head and I wasn't impressed with the final product, when finshed - but, I was in 4inch trunk and less sized brush and trees. It was slower then my rotary mower also, trying to grind up/shread the material.
When I brush out ground, the stumps are shreaded, but still can cause flat tires. It takes two season's for the stumpage to become soft enough to not cause flat's. That's the reason I run tracks on the skidsteer.

Edited by iseedit 4/22/2013 17:38

(Cat Brushcutter.jpg)

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Maizeing

Posted 4/22/2013 18:52 (#3055330 - in reply to #3055175)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

Ontario's middle east

I have no idea where I would rent one around here,but I'll keep looking. I probably have 40 ac in various spots I could clear, plus miles of fence lines that could benefit. If your weather doesn't improve soon you might be able to pickup a job here ;-) What do you do with it after you brush it? You mention 2 years. Do you wait that long to disc it, root rake it? I hate root rakes. I've seen guys do that and leave all kinds of big roots sticking out still attached. Then what the heck do you do with it? I've cleared lots of ground and my strategy is get a few inches of loose dirt to plant into on top and leave as many roots below that I can. Then disc the crap out of it. They push stuff down , cultivators pull stuff up.A JD 750 is my weapon of choice.

Edited by Maizeing 4/22/2013 19:05

iseedit

Posted 4/22/2013 19:22 (#3055421 - in reply to #3055330)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

central - east central Minnesota -

Maizeing - 4/22/2013 18:52 I have no idea where I would rent one around here,but I'll keep looking. I probably have 40 ac in various spots I could clear, plus miles of fence lines that could benefit. If your weather doesn't improve soon you might be able to pickup a job here ;-) What do you do with it after you brush it? You mention 2 years. Do you wait that long to disc it, root rake it? I hate root rakes. I've seen guys do that and leave all kinds of big roots sticking out still attached. Then what the heck do you do with it? I've cleared lots of ground and my strategy is get a few inches of loose dirt to plant into on top and leave as many roots below that I can. Then disc the crap out of it. They push stuff down , cultivators pull stuff up.A JD 750 is my weapon of choice.

I'm brushing / clearing buildable lots for homes . . . so, clearing the brush and getting the grass to take over is my goal.
As far as brushing for farmable land. I helped on one farm, clearing trees/brush. Mostly cedars and brush elm's.
Shreading and heavy disking then 2 yrs of corn. It requires more N, but when soil and N make contact with the wood, it really breaks it down quickly. Beans and bean heads would be problematic in such conditions.
Hope that helps . . . .
Good luck

durallymax

Posted 4/22/2013 16:59 (#3055131 - in reply to #3054836)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

If you are talking about a Fecon style head, I would rent one for the project you are doing. They are not cheap. Many times you need to rent a machine with it as well, not sure if excavators are the same. For the SSL mounted ones it takes a lot of hydro power and cooling. Sometimes its cheaper to have someone come in and do it. When I priced out the rental rate on a 299D with a Fecon versus hiring a guy with a 299D and a Fecon that knew what he was doing, it came out to $20 more per hour. I figure it made sense to pay him that extra $20 even though it looks like a lot of fun to run. Haven't done our cleanup yet that we wanted to do, but will soon.

iseedit

Posted 4/22/2013 17:36 (#3055178 - in reply to #3055131)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

central - east central Minnesota -

durallymax - 4/22/2013 16:59 If you are talking about a Fecon style head, I would rent one for the project you are doing. They are not cheap. Many times you need to rent a machine with it as well, not sure if excavators are the same. For the SSL mounted ones it takes a lot of hydro power and cooling. Sometimes its cheaper to have someone come in and do it. When I priced out the rental rate on a 299D with a Fecon versus hiring a guy with a 299D and a Fecon that knew what he was doing, it came out to $20 more per hour. I figure it made sense to pay him that extra $20 even though it looks like a lot of fun to run. Haven't done our cleanup yet that we wanted to do, but will soon.

I would agree durallymax . . . . . .

lexion5

Posted 4/22/2013 19:37 (#3055484 - in reply to #3054836)
Subject: Re: Brush shredders

North Central Montana (Conrad)

We put all sorts of heads on different excavators and the ones that seem to stand up the best were the Fecon. The ones we put on were used in the logging industry.

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