Bandit Mulchers

[PerkCon]

Has anyone used or demo a bandit mulcher, looks like a good machine with a good hydro system.
Bandit Industries, Inc.

 

[mulching consultant]

You have the best Mulcher manufactuer just one state south of you. Nothing beats a Fecon mulcher. I don't believe bandit has been building them for very long and I know they were putting Fecon heads on them but its not the same as a Fecon machine.
What hp are you looking at?
www.fecon.com

 

[Bison]

Hey mulching consultant,
i bought a used black bullhog last fall(haven't used it yet)
Its got new carbide hammers on it(one big bolt)
I got some brushing to do,mostly small stuff up to 3" but there are some small rocks up to a 6-8" in dia.
How do these teeth handle that?
How many hrs can a guy get out of them and can the carbide tips in the hammers be replaced when worn?

New teeth are kinda pricy and i can't pass on the cost cause i use it on my own land.

 

[fishfactor]

A rep stopped by and talked to me about them a few days ago. He said he will call me when the demo unit gets to his location and bring it out for me to try. If it comes to be I'll post my thoughts.

 

[PerkCon]

Thats sounds great, if they run like the chippers they build look out. Keep us posted. Thanks

 

[mulching consultant]

Bison,
The Carbide teeth on your Fecon should give you a good 300-500 hours of solid performance. Many people claim much longer. Although they are not meant to grind rock they hold up very well in rock. Of course avoid as much rock as possible but the unavoidable stuff usually does not hurt the Fecon teeth at all.
The carbides are not really replaceble, although I have heard of people trying to do so. However, if you do loose a carbide, you can continue to grind with the tool as long as you are not wearing into the tool holder behind it without hurting anything.
The black head you mention makes me think it is a Fecon built ASV branded head. If this is the case you should have 45 tools. If so and you get 300-500 hours out of the tools then the tools are costing you about $6.75-11.25/hour to run. For the production you get out of that head that seems pretty reasonable.
Please let us know your experience once you put it into the brush and hit those 8" rocks. I'm pretty sure you'll be impressed.

 

[deereman75]

Everything I know about the bandit mulchers comes from their videos but I have to say they look very, very good.

 

[fishfactor]

I stopped by the Bandit dealer last week to have them do some welding for me. I was right around the corner from them and it was easier than driving back to the shop. The salesman came to the service shop and said he was still waiting on the mulcher to get to NC but he hadn't forgotten about me.... so a demo is still possible. If it ever happens I will write a review.

 

[cat 297c]

I stopped a few months ago an looked at a Bandit 3500 well built machine. Anyone know who makes the carrier looked to me like they used the same cab as a Rayco t275 an loader arms off of an fecon 148l, An took a fecon head housing stuck there rotor in it an put a heavy duty push bar on it.

 

[PerkCon]

I toured their factory recently, and I was impressive. The machines are made entirely in house, with the exception of the CAT engines and undercarriages. They let me run the 5000 out behind their shop, impressive cut and hyd. power. Being new to the game i will see how they hold up to the competition just south of them one state...

 

[Bison]

Bison,
The Carbide teeth on your Fecon should give you a good 300-500 hours of solid performance. Many people claim much longer. Although they are not meant to grind rock they hold up very well in rock. Of course avoid as much rock as possible but the unavoidable stuff usually does not hurt the Fecon teeth at all.
The carbides are not really replaceble, although I have heard of people trying to do so. However, if you do loose a carbide, you can continue to grind with the tool as long as you are not wearing into the tool holder behind it without hurting anything.
The black head you mention makes me think it is a Fecon built ASV branded head. If this is the case you should have 45 tools. If so and you get 300-500 hours out of the tools then the tools are costing you about $6.75-11.25/hour to run. For the production you get out of that head that seems pretty reasonable.
Please let us know your experience once you put it into the brush and hit those 8" rocks. I'm pretty sure you'll be impressed.

Mulching consultant,thank you for the info.I was a little woried to run in a couple rocks first time around and busting a grand worth of teeth in a hurry.

Now on the carbide inserts,If a factory can initially weld them on the hammers, then there's got to be a way for one to replace them!
I sure would like to try if i only could find out where to get the carbide tips.
I mean,at $125 a tooth the wallet takes a brutal beating! espessially when i can't recover that cost.

 

[cat 297c]

Bison,
When u say one big bolt per tooth, is the Rotor the ol Paddle style? If so I know where u need to buy your teeth. Try EAGLE CLAW TOOTH they make a new holder to go on the fecon rotor for $35.00 a piece. Then u can buy carbide Tipped teeth to go on the holder for $38.00 a piece or Planer teeth for $19.00.:thumbsup:

 

[Bison]

Bison,
When u say one big bolt per tooth, is the Rotor the ol Paddle style? If so I know where u need to buy your teeth. Try EAGLE CLAW TOOTH they make a new holder to go on the fecon rotor for $35.00 a piece. Then u can buy carbide Tipped teeth to go on the holder for $38.00 a piece or Planer teeth for $19.00.:thumbsup:

I'm not familiar with the terms paddle or rotor style.
Mine look like a clevis straddling the holder with an inch or better bolt and nut sideways trough it,there's 2 carbide points side by side on each hammer.
I couldn't find the same tooth or replacement on Eagle claw's web site.

 

[Bison]

I just went back to their site,i found these fecon replacements this time