Deep Snow

northern21 · Feb 9, 2011

Hi everybody. I was wondering if any of you have done any mulching in the snow? I will be running a RC-100 with a Fecon head. Snow is pretty deep around here in Minnesota but I would like to complete a large job before the Spring thaw. Any tips or advice is appreciated.

fishfactor · Feb 9, 2011

Well, probably not deep by Northern standards, but I have mulched in 8" of snow in NC. Didn't cause any problems other than hiding the terrain so be careful.

If it's really deep, you may not be able to get all the way to the ground.

slowzuki · Feb 9, 2011

Don't work in an area with rocks. They pretty much stop here in the winter I assume due to costs from all the rocks.

northern21 · Feb 9, 2011

Not worried about rocks. the site is a wetland overgrown with willows and brush. Terrain is flat. I don't need to get it all the way to the ground. I will be following up with spraying and burning in subsequent years.

QwikDraw · Feb 9, 2011

I've worked in 18-20 inches of snow with the skid steer. Hills are tough and progress is slow going. the head will bog down when you stick it in the snow, slow enough that the sumps will be taller then the top of the snow...of course bigger material would be easier to get a good stump. The place looked aweful in the spring but we got the job done and we didn't have any stump height requirements on that job. I would say plan oin 60-70% of normal production on a good day.

The excavator did better in deep snow on another job but we still needed to come back in the spring to lower some stumps.

McCaskey · Feb 9, 2011

It's a great time to get those swampy areas when frozen. I'm bustin my butt right now in areas normally too wet to walk in, let alone get mulcher in there. There are advantages; machine runs cool, no dust, and snow lubricates the mulcher drum & nothing jams. I'm thinking of adding a windshield wiper to the forestry door. Snow sticks and obscures my vision. Fortunately I don't have a rocky area to avoid. In some areas, I've been working in 20" of snow without problem. Hydraulic & diesel leaks are easier to detect in the snow and I'm not complaining about the ASV AC system.

treman · Feb 9, 2011

As everybody else has said its going to be slow going, and beware of rocks but it seems that you wont have that problem. if your not worried about the height left when finished and you can get through the snow then i say go for it.