Ss Eco vs drum style mulcher

[Fragarboy]

Hi everyone ,
I'm in the process of buying a Terex pt100g to do forestry mulching . Just been looking at the ss Eco on you tube and they look very efficient on straight trees up to maybe 6" . I'm just wondering if they are as good on messier type trees and shrubs or am I better off with a drum style mulcher for that ?
Any feedback on this comparison would be great ! Thanks

 

[NatureRancher]

Hi everyone ,
I'm in the process of buying a Terex pt100g to do forestry mulching . Just been looking at the ss Eco on you tube and they look very efficient on straight trees up to maybe 6" . I'm just wondering if they are as good on messier type trees and shrubs or am I better off with a drum style mulcher for that ?
Any feedback on this comparison would be great ! Thanks

Did you ever get an answer to this question? I am interested as well.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I think they will do a good job on 6" and under trees. The end product looks a lot messier than a drum style with a trap door but initial speed of cutting small, straight trees in the videos looked impressive however who's to say they operator of the drum mulcher was doing his best?
I'd like to try one side by side to see and factor in quality of the job as well.

 

[kiwi mulcher]

I am running the 100 g with a fecon at the moment.Chip and debris containment worried me a bit as some of our stuff is near the roads and houses .The finished product looks a lot better from a drum style.I have seen the Eco on a excavator here but have not seen anyone in this country with one on a skidsteer.

 

[ALittleDirtWontHurt]

I took one out for a demo last week. They are awesome to watch suck in a tree and spit it out in an instant, but if you get a small group of them at once or some stringy hardwood it will clog if you're not careful. Keeping the disc speed up is crucial. I guess really it comes down to the intended use of it and if it's going to replace a drum style mulcher. Personally I think the eco shines on a something like a right of way job where the mulch quality isn't quite as important and you're not working too close to houses and personal property. They are pretty fast and efficient on the smaller to medium sized material, but lag behind a drum mulcher with planar teeth on the larger stuff. I was surprised at how well they did at topping off a tree raising the boom and then grinding down the rest with the bottom of the disc. If working in a pretty wet area, the weight of the unit does tend to put more weight towards the front of the tracks and can become problematic for flotation. Bottom line is I would love to have one as an addition to the toolbox, but wouldn't use as a replacement to a drum.

 

[mulching consultant]

Alittledirtwonthurt said it very well. On single small to medium stems the eco knocks it down well. However the mulch is large and stringy versus the drum/Fecon style. Additionally the drum/Fecon will handle bigger material and shred it finer. And if you're in a rocky environment, much better to stick with the Fecon HDT design for durability and tool choice.

 

[Fragarboy]

I ended up with an Eco and it's great on smaller stuff , I can't imagine a drum Mulcher coming close on what I'm doing . The problem is after only 150 hrs I haven't been able to keep the disc tight on the shaft , I persisted for a few weeks but ended up having to get it looked at by the " professionals".... It ended up being stopped for about 6weeks and costing about 50k in down time just to get it back and find it's still not right ! The guy who imports them here has tried as hard as he could but AFE has told him he is on his own (great back up AFE !) I have a new hub and shaft on the way so hopefully that will get me going , it needs to , I need some income !

 

[GreensForestryMulching]

I ended up with an Eco and it's great on smaller stuff , I can't imagine a drum Mulcher coming close on what I'm doing . The problem is after only 150 hrs I haven't been able to keep the disc tight on the shaft , I persisted for a few weeks but ended up having to get it looked at by the " professionals".... It ended up being stopped for about 6weeks and costing about 50k in down time just to get it back and find it's still not right ! The guy who imports them here has tried as hard as he could but AFE has told him he is on his own (great back up AFE !) I have a new hub and shaft on the way so hopefully that will get me going , it needs to , I need some income !

Sadly enough this seems to be all too common with the AFE. Heard the same situation on more than one occasion now. Defiantly keeping me from buying one.

 

[cat 297c]

I ended up with an Eco and it's great on smaller stuff , I can't imagine a drum Mulcher coming close on what I'm doing . The problem is after only 150 hrs I haven't been able to keep the disc tight on the shaft , I persisted for a few weeks but ended up having to get it looked at by the " professionals".... It ended up being stopped for about 6weeks and costing about 50k in down time just to get it back and find it's still not right ! The guy who imports them here has tried as hard as he could but AFE has told him he is on his own (great back up AFE !) I have a new hub and shaft on the way so hopefully that will get me going , it needs to , I need some income !

Did the new hub an shaft fix your problem?

 

[oldbarn]

although AFE ss eco mulcher looks like a good mulcher. I would not buy from company because the sale representative-'Jon' do not really care about their customer. NO service, no reply. He think he has the best mulcher on the market, he does not need to provide service or care to his customer to sell his product! I would not image myself to buy this product and have to wait forever to get service from this company. I know if the mulcher ever run into problem, the company will not be there to service it. my advice, do not buy from this company, you will regret it!