Anyone running a mulching head that cuts wider than the rubber tracks?

[Gamma]

Is anyone running a mulching head that actually cuts a path that is greather than the width of their rubber tracked machine?

It makes sense to me that you'd want to cut a path wide enough that the rubber tracks are traveling within the cut path and not running over uncut material. Am I wrong about this?

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

If you would like to see your tracks make it past 500 hrs that is how it will happen. My head cuts a path 73" wide with 4" of skid on either side. I try my best to cut as close to the ground as possible on the first pass to avoid just such situations.

 

[Gamma]

Robbie,

Thanks for your reply.

It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would run a mulcher head that cuts narrower than there machine width. Take for example the ASV RC-100 forestry package & Fecon cutter head that you can purchase from ASV as a combined package. The width of the RC-100 is 69 inches, the Fecon head that comes with it only cuts 60 inches. I wonder if ASV is trying to sell more replacement rubber tracks???

Is the additional 300 pounds of weight for the 72 inch cutter a factor in people choosing a smaller cutter maybe?

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

I think most carbide toothed heads are smaller due to the hp requirments, a wider head with more teeth contacting would take more hp. Even the new large skids are at there limit to run mulching heads. If you add the heads skid plates into the width its close the track width but I still like wider. But I do run into trouble getting into some areas sometimes. But worth it.

 

[QwikDraw]

I'm not sure this is an issue. For what I can tell I am rarely in trees so tight that I am running uncut trees over. I don't just go forward and cut a straight path. Forward 20, 30, or 50 feet than back and take another 4 foot cut. At least that's how it works best for me. Maybe our conditions are different.

Ted