Differences between Hyrdo axe mulching and bulldoze and burn to clear ~6 acres

[androcles]

Hello,

This is Jezbel, how is everyone doing? We have about 11 acres of land, including our home in the Conroe/Huntsville area in the greater Houston, TX area. About 6-7 acres of the land have mid to heavy underbrush, such as yaupon, tallow, and other native shrubs and weeds etc. that need to be cleared.

We would like to eventually use 4-5acres of the cleared land to plant grass for our future livestock, Horses and Cows, and use the rest to plant fruit and vegetable trees and plants.

We have received a few quotes from vendors, each of whom says that their technique and equipment is the best.

We are unsure whether we should

a) Get a contractor with a hydro axe to Mulch the underbrush. Our concern is that it would leave a lot of debris, which will take time to decompose. Could the debris attract insects, wildlife etc.?

We are also concerned that this process would not remove the roots of the brush, and the shrubs, weeds etc. would grow back again

b) Get a contractor to bulldoze and burn or haul off the debris - this may be a bit more expensive than the hydro axe options.

We do not have any restriction on burning, but it will take time

What is a fair price, per acre, for each of these

There must be other options out there which you all know of?

If any of you are interested in the job, let us know!!

How would you all recommend we go about this project?

Much appreciated,
XX

Jezbel

 

[roadhunter]

Might look into an air curtain burner from someone like McPherson. They can dispose of a lot of material quickly with minimal mess and smoke. Easiest way is to rent a trench burner and just dig a long pit to burn in. Much cheaper than chipping or hauling. They have rental units available close to you as well.

 

[Rustyiron]

Hi Jezbel, welcome to TBN.
I'm pretty sure that Hydro-Ax is a brand of machine (JD-Cat- Kubota) etc. and that "mulching" is a super mower with a spinning drum attachment that can be fitted to many different types/brands of machines. Mulching is a very popular clearing - restoring method for what you want to do. IMO it does less damage to the ground and actually can be beneficial to your soil than traditional grubbing & burning with a dozer. I am not familiar with your local brush but a machine with a mulcher can cut a few inches below the grade if it's not rocky, working on the roots. Some of the roots of pest plants will be left behind with either method and will need some herbicide usually the next season.
Here is a link to a discussion on mulching on another forum.
Clearing 20+ac. grub or mulch?

 

[rustyshakelford]

If you would like I can get you the name of a guy that I work with. He's one of the best Dozer guys I know. Only time I recommend mulching is if your trying to find property lines or wanting to open up an area during a burn ban. I cleared 10 acres by myself with a jd450j and trackhoe. It's slow going and lots of work but I have a back ground clearing land and did it on my days off. My buddy will use a Dozer to underbrush and when he's done it looks great. Hiring a Dozer man is a roll of dice, we have had to clean up a bunch of messes from low bid and now they are the best reference and repeat customer.

He's based out of madisonville

Brett

 

[androcles]

Hello and thank you,

Mr/Ms Roadhunter, do you know where I can rent this air curtain or trench burner? I presume the air curtain burner just burns, it does not clear the brush, that needs to be done by some other machine? Thank you

Mr/Ms Rustyiron, thank you as well. Do you know what the debris of this mulching process looks like? We were told it looks very messy and can attracts rodents etc. How long would it take to compost?

Does anyone have recommendations for vendors in this area?

Much appreciated
Jezbel

 

[androcles]

If you would like I can get you the name of a guy that I work with. He's one of the best Dozer guys I know. Only time I recommend mulching is if your trying to find property lines or wanting to open up an area during a burn ban. I cleared 10 acres by myself with a jd450j and trackhoe. It's slow going and lots of work but I have a back ground clearing land and did it on my days off. My buddy will use a Dozer to underbrush and when he's done it looks great. Hiring a Dozer man is a roll of dice, we have had to clean up a bunch of messes from low bid and now they are the best reference and repeat customer.

He's based out of madisonville

Brett

Hi Mr. Brett,

Did you get my PM? Can you please share the name of the person?

Much appreciated
Jezbel

 

[crackerjack222]

I had an outfit from Huntsville clear about 20 acres for me a couple of years ago. They had their machine on my ranch is S. TX doing work for an oil co. They charged me $250 per hour and they did the 20 acres of mesquite regrowth in 8 hours. The largest chips they leave behind were about 4-6". You could plow them under very easily. It does leave the roots. I have been using my rotary shredder and herbicide to deal with the regrowth. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the outfit. A google search found several in your area.

 

[roadhunter]

McPherson Systems, Inc., Air Curtains, Pit Burners and Trench Burners They have rental units available.

For this method you dig a trench about 8 ft wide, 8 ft deep, and 20-40 ft long depending on the blower used. Then you start a fire and turn on the fan. At that point it gets really hot and burns material very quickly as you load it in the trench. These are very popular in your part of the world as it is less expensive than many other methods and it does not make nearly as much smoke as open burning.

 

[rustyshakelford]

McPherson Systems, Inc., Air Curtains, Pit Burners and Trench Burners They have rental units available.

For this method you dig a trench about 8 ft wide, 8 ft deep, and 20-40 ft long depending on the blower used. Then you start a fire and turn on the fan. At that point it gets really hot and burns material very quickly as you load it in the trench. These are very popular in your part of the world as it is less expensive than many other methods and it does not make nearly as much smoke as open burning.

Generally only used by large commercial operations. Can be used during a burn ban if correctly done and permitted. Generally hard to justify for a smaller operation as you have to just about dedicate a trackhoe to feeding the fire and have another machine bringing it material.

Good clean piles burn fast and nearly complete leaving a good finished product

Brett