I am wantting to start my own land clearing buisness and was wondering your thoughts on these attachments/my ideas. I have been thinking about this for a while and these are my thoughts. I am debating betwen a tree sheer and a mulcher head a high flow skid steer. If I deside to go with the tree sheer the trees would be run through a horizontal grander and turned into mulch that could be sold for landscaping. The stumps would then be ground below the surface with a stump grinder. The mulcher head I think would be faster and easier but cant take down as big of trees, so a tree sheer and stump grinder would still be used. I know you guys have alot more experience with this than I do so please help me out.
Just a few points . Mulch is worth 0$ , nobody will pay you for it , you may if your lucky get what it cost you to load it and truck it but that's it . I have thought about what you are doing . I would use a 100hp 4X4 tractor with a swinging grapple on the front and a log grapple on the rear . I would have a quick change shear for the front of the tractor . I would first fall the trees with the shear and skid them to a whole tree chipper with the tractor , swap the shear for the swinging grapple at a certain point in the day and load the chipper with the swinging grapple . Then leave the pile of chip for the owners to use around their property . You could then give the area a mulch with a 3pl mulcher . You could also use a 100hp class skid steer loader but I find a tractor is a lot easier on the driver . Your machines must be versatile these days , one machine must be able to multi task otherwise you will need to employ extra people , transport extra machinery , fuel , register , maintain and pay for extra machinery . You may find you can also tow the chipper to the site with the tractor . You are not talking about huge trees are you ?
Iron Horse is right forget about selling mulch. I use a mulcher and shears in my co. With a mulcher you won't need that horz. grinder or a stump grinder. If you have a mulcher that means you have a high flow so you can go to a 20" shear.
The way I understand it a horisontal grinder makes landscape quality mulch. They sell a coloring kit to make it that way. I was on Vermeer website and that is what I gathered.
Txbrushbuster will your mulching head grind stumps that your 20in sheers leave?
Take with a grain of Salt what the manufacturer say's , there only concern is to lever your wallet out of your pocket . If you want to do an easy experiment , put a $10 ad in the local paper for mulch for sale at a proffitable price for you and see how many calls you get .
If it makes as nice of mulch as I think it does then I got a landscaper and a ag buisness that I could probaly sell them the mulch that they use, and a few others in ther area that I am not friends with.
You shouldn't be leaving stumps with tree shears. But yes the mulchers will grind stumps. Faster than a stump grinder just not as far sub-soil. Maybe mulch is worth a lot more in Mo. but here in Texas its not worth the diesle to haul it. Wish I knew how to make $ on it. I could fill the Astro Dome with it.:beatsme
If the customer wants the stump below the ground surface is what I was worried about. I know that alot of people around here us it for landscaping and I know it is not cheap in my book. I know there is one place about 45 mins from my that makes alot of mulch and supplies one of the landscape companies here, maybe more. I could be wrong about the ability to sell mulch though. I would have to talk to them before I bite the bullet on the grinder. I still need more info no the topic. I would even consider a big chipper also if you guys think it would be better suited.
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0heUjWykxdQ In normal conditions you should be able to shear 2-3 in below ground. Usualy the dirt falls in over and you cannot find the stump. My Mighty Axe shears shear much lower and cleaner than my Dymax. The Mighty Axe are smooth on the bottom and the blades have tips. The vidio is a Dymax 20" http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0heUjWykxdQ
This is the fastest thing I have ever seen at getting rid of stumps . YouTube - Levaceppi Rotor S Stump cutter New Holland NH
Iron Horse that was COOL. And I think wins the prize for " SUB-SOIL "
Thats some tool!!!:cool2
And what an operator . Dead center every time , a little slow , or a little early with the brake , or a even a slightly wrong steering input and you could miss all together . He would have to be a seasoned forestry contractor .
We get paid $200 for filling a trailer with chips. I also have a mulch company that will bring their horizontal grinder out, grind our brush and PAY us $12 a ton. We have biomass plants that will purchase chip/mulch too. I don't think the first product out of the grinder is suitable for resale as landscape mulch, it would need to be ground a second time for that and then colored if desired. Around here mulch is big buisness.
At least I am not off my rocker on the topic, I was beging to wonder. Thanks for the info qwikDraw.
Are you around San Antonio? A lot of the wood chips and mulch is used for fuel at the Mills here in S.E.TX.Still would not pay to truck it far.Last I heard it was around $23 a TonChipping and hauling together.
Mulch Yes just west of S.A. in the hill country. You can't sling a dead cat without hitting a mulch pile around here. The only places I know that take mulch charge you to dump it, and yes I have paid to get rid of it. I once hauled a load to Leaky where they extract the cedar oil for perfume. It cost me $100 in fuel plus a 4 hr drive. They payed me $40.
Some of that Mulch would be good for the soil. You know I think I talked to you at Holt Cat back in 2006 or 2007.I was picking up a Machine their.Got your card if I find it I'll see.
Yea we normaly leave the mulch spread out on the ground to decompose. Sometimes we have to rake it off if it is too thick or on a building site. In those cases I like to pile it in compost piles. If the piles can set and compost for a year or two they can be respred out as good soil, or respred over rocky areas.