I have a ~40 acre property that burned badly in a forest fire 3 years ago. The fire adapted brush, especially yerba santa, ceanothus and what we call white thorn, has grown back aggressively. The brush is now 6-8' tall and 2-3" in diameter, usually with multiple stems per plant and probably 3-4' spacing between plants. It is thick. I want to tackle this stuff with a mulcher - it is too expensive and time consuming to remove by hand. So... Skid steer (CTL) vs mini-ex? Drum mulcher vs disk? I have a CAT 287B with standard aux hydraulics. Could buy a low end drum mulcher and use it with that machine. Could trade the 287B for a high flow CTL, maybe a CAT 299D2 XPS. There are a few for sale around here. That would let me buy a more serious drum mulcher. Could buy a 6-10 ton mini-ex, maybe an older Bobcat E80 with 30 GPM aux hydraulics, and buy a drum mulcher for that machine. This is tempting because my land is hilly and some places are hard to access with a CTL, and the mini-ex would give me reach. But I gather a CTL is faster than a mini-ex in this kind of application. So many questions. Any and all thoughts most welcome. Especially reco's for brands and models of excavators with high aux flow and mulchers (I know the CTL world pretty well). Things I don't need or care about: - Don't care about the output, stringy, bigger chips, etc. all fine - Don't need to deal with actual trees at all, just brush - Don't need to deal with grass, or any kind of mowing type action - Don't much care how low to the ground I cut things - ugly is fine Thanks much!
Hi Garrik, I am in a similar situation as you. I will share my experiences with this, take it for what it worth. I run a 2021 Kubota KX080-4 with a Denis Cimaf DAH-085B mulcher. I am in So. Maine and the terrain is hilly with a lot of rocks in it. I think the 10 ton excavator approach would likely work the best on hilly terrain. The excavator will allow you to position the machine and get it leveled with the blade so you are stable. You can then swing around and top the tree or brush and grind it down to near ground level. I typically get to 2"-4" above ground level. I have not run a CTL with a mulching head yet, but I would be concerned about stability of the machine with the head 6'-8' in the air on uneven terrain. I would agree that a CTL is likely faster if you are on somewhat even terrain. I really like my excavator because it allows me to clear around my pond down to the waterline, clear hillsides along trails through the woods, reach down over the bank, and trim overhanging branches. If you go the excavator route, make sure you can still use the thumb with the mulcher attached and running. Very handy to push rocks out of the way. Avoid machines with a diverter valve for the thumb/ Aux Hyd. circuit. I will try to post some before/After photos of a few of my projects.
Here is a Picture of my machine. One of the nice thing about the Cimaf mulchers is they send a factory technician out to you and actually tune the mulcher to your machine. You get optimal performance from the mulcher this way. ( Hyd. Flow, Pressures, RPM.) I know several Professional Loggers in my area that have run competitor brands and have all switched to Denis Cimaf products.
From my experience, you would be much better leasing/renting a machine for your project, then send it back. Any mulcher is a maintenance intensive machine, no matter how carefully you work it. If you buy one, buy lots of spare parts, a welder, and a well equipped service truck. Renting would allow you to try different machines until you find the proper one for your property. I cleared land for 15 years, but ALWAYS leased or rented the needed machinery. Rental company sometimes had to work on the machines 2 or 3 times/week.
Mulchers are definitely maintenance intensive. They recommend sharpening the knives every 4 hours on the unit I have. My problem was I could not find anyone that had one for rent. All of the equipment rental places in my area that I talked to did not have one or had one for less than a year and got rid of it. Said they are too expensive to maintain and people were constantly hitting rocks with them.