Flail vs Rotary cutter vs Mulcher

[hayden]

I thought I'd share my experience with these three different attachments after owning and using all three. I use(d) them on a mini/mid excavator, but I think this largely applies to use on a tractor or skid steer as well.

I've watched a number of Youtube videos where people work their way through buying these attachments, just as I did, until they find the right one. My hope here is to save people some time and money by picking the right attachment in the first place.

I started with a rotary mower on a 4 ton mini excavator. It's just a brushhog with swing blades that mounts in place of the bucket and is hydraulically driven. It worked well, but it's important to understand the limitations. A rotary mower works well on grass and similar vegetation, light brush, and woody material up to around 1", maybe 2" if the wood is soft. The advertisements for these mowers will tell you they can cut up to 4" or something similar, and they can, but they don't do it well. Not at all. Material that's too big just gets hammered and pounded, not cut. Or it just gets flattened to the ground and not even cut off at the stump. So for anything beyond light brush, it's really not the right tool. I've seen people buy these, as I did, with the expectation of clearing saplings and other bigger material, and it just doesn't work well.

Next I got a bigger excavator (8 ton) and this time got a flail mower. I had never owned one before, and I have to say it was the biggest disappointment. Like the rotary mower, it's really only good for grass, vegetation, and light brush. The advantage over a rotary mower is that it chops up the material better, and leaves a more finished cut. So if you are mowing road sides, or stream or pond banks, and want a finished cut, it's probably the best choice. But it's even worse at woody material than the rotary mower, so make sure you only need to cut light stuff. Also, the flail mower was very heavy - frankly too heavy for the excavator. It was a very heavy duty attachment, and the attachment/excavator weight relationship will vary widely from case to case, but this is something to keep in mind with any of these attachments.

The majority of my clearing work involves some amount of woody material. Brush, saplings up to 4-6", and a lot of lighter vegetation, but being able to cut the heavier stuff is essential. For that, nothing beats a fixed tooth mulcher. I'd say it does better with everything except for grass, and for grass it's about the same as a rotary mower. Not quite as good, but pretty close. If you have anything other than grass and light brush, or need to do finish cutting, don't waste your time on any of the other attachments - go straight to a mulcher. They are more expensive, but it's where you will end up sooner or later.

 

[airbiscuit]

I didn't realize they made 3pt Mulchers. Cool but spendy.

 

[diesel85]

I wasn't intending to watch it, but it popped up in my video playlist on Youtube yesterday afternoon and I see this post.

I watched all 46 minutes of it and I thought it worked well for what they were doing with it. Especially with such small excavators. Both were underrated for the attachment by the sounds of it.

Although, I can't imagine what they were using it for was good for the bearings. Especially the one scene cleaning up around the pond. They were submerging it.

But hey, I was pretty impressed with it.

 

[jaxs]

Psssst,sometimes it makes sense to own more than one type because none of the three are advertised as being suitable for all applications.

 

[leonz]

I wasn't intending to watch it, but it popped up in my video playlist on Youtube yesterday afternoon and I see this post.

I watched all 46 minutes of it and I thought it worked well for what they were doing with it. Especially with such small excavators. Both were underrated for the attachment by the sounds of it.

Although, I can't imagine what they were using it for was good for the bearings. Especially the one scene cleaning up around the pond. They were submerging it.

But hey, I was pretty impressed with it.

That hydraulic drive flail mower was never ment for hacking up trees and limb brush,
heavy long term growth brush yes but not the trash trees and limbs he was using it for.

 

[hayden]

I wasn't intending to watch it, but it popped up in my video playlist on Youtube yesterday afternoon and I see this post.

I watched all 46 minutes of it and I thought it worked well for what they were doing with it. Especially with such small excavators. Both were underrated for the attachment by the sounds of it.

Although, I can't imagine what they were using it for was good for the bearings. Especially the one scene cleaning up around the pond. They were submerging it.

But hey, I was pretty impressed with it.

This is one of the examples I was alluding to. A mulcher would work much better for the work he was doing. Even the brush he was cutting at his friend's house would have worked much better with a mulcher. If all he wanted was a nice finished cut of grass around a pond or along a roadside, the flail would be great.

He has a rotary mower, and now tried the flail mower, and I predict will get a mulcher next.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I thought I'd share my experience with these three different attachments after owning and using all three. I use(d) them on a mini/mid excavator, but I think this largely applies to use on a tractor or skid steer as well.

I've watched a number of Youtube videos where people work their way through buying these attachments, just as I did, until they find the right one. My hope here is to save people some time and money by picking the right attachment in the first place.

I started with a rotary mower on a 4 ton mini excavator. It's just a brushhog with swing blades that mounts in place of the bucket and is hydraulically driven. It worked well, but it's important to understand the limitations. A rotary mower works well on grass and similar vegetation, light brush, and woody material up to around 1", maybe 2" if the wood is soft. The advertisements for these mowers will tell you they can cut up to 4" or something similar, and they can, but they don't do it well. Not at all. Material that's too big just gets hammered and pounded, not cut. Or it just gets flattened to the ground and not even cut off at the stump. So for anything beyond light brush, it's really not the right tool. I've seen people buy these, as I did, with the expectation of clearing saplings and other bigger material, and it just doesn't work well.

Next I got a bigger excavator (8 ton) and this time got a flail mower. I had never owned one before, and I have to say it was the biggest disappointment. Like the rotary mower, it's really only good for grass, vegetation, and light brush. The advantage over a rotary mower is that it chops up the material better, and leaves a more finished cut. So if you are mowing road sides, or stream or pond banks, and want a finished cut, it's probably the best choice. But it's even worse at woody material than the rotary mower, so make sure you only need to cut light stuff. Also, the flail mower was very heavy - frankly too heavy for the excavator. It was a very heavy duty attachment, and the attachment/excavator weight relationship will vary widely from case to case, but this is something to keep in mind with any of these attachments.

The majority of my clearing work involves some amount of woody material. Brush, saplings up to 4-6", and a lot of lighter vegetation, but being able to cut the heavier stuff is essential. For that, nothing beats a fixed tooth mulcher. I'd say it does better with everything except for grass, and for grass it's about the same as a rotary mower. Not quite as good, but pretty close. If you have anything other than grass and light brush, or need to do finish cutting, don't waste your time on any of the other attachments - go straight to a mulcher. They are more expensive, but it's where you will end up sooner or later.

You are very correct, the typical over-use on flail mower is that people use it to mow too much real brush. For the heavy duty flail mower, it can mow a little brush sometimes even diameter up to 4", but it's not good idea let the flail mower always mow such size brush, only mulcher can work it out.
I m curious what mulcher will you purchase. We are developing a tractor PTO mulcher for two years, still not finalize it, an entry-level mulcher, the mulcher is really big machine, such small machine its weight can be more than one ton easily.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I wasn't intending to watch it, but it popped up in my video playlist on Youtube yesterday afternoon and I see this post.

I watched all 46 minutes of it and I thought it worked well for what they were doing with it. Especially with such small excavators. Both were underrated for the attachment by the sounds of it.

Although, I can't imagine what they were using it for was good for the bearings. Especially the one scene cleaning up around the pond. They were submerging it.

But hey, I was pretty impressed with it.

in the end of this video, he is using flail mower to cut those trees, well he is over-using his flail mower, the worst thing is this flail mower won't cut the tree clean enough, there is always several inches stump leave on the ground. Obviously he need a mulcher.

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

some I REALLY enjoyed your thread hayden!

I am considering a mulcher for my Kubota KX-040 mini excavator. It seems to definitely be a bit smalls terms of flow and weight for a mulcher, but there are some Youtube videos that show folks successful doing it.

FAE makes a really (expensive) nice unit with a variable transmission and a drum designed to limit how fast material can be feed to the chipper teeth. Is this hype or worthwhile?

Any thoughts on mulchers to consider/avoid? Other than being really careful, any ideas on limiting the impact (pun intended) of using a mulcher in rocky areas?

FYI: I'm a retired old geezer that prefers using my mini excavator than my chainsaw/weed whacker/handheld pole saw...

 

[hayden]

some I REALLY enjoyed your thread hayden!

I am considering a mulcher for my Kubota KX-040 mini excavator. It seems to definitely be a bit smalls terms of flow and weight for a mulcher, but there are some Youtube videos that show folks successful doing it.

FAE makes a really (expensive) nice unit with a variable transmission and a drum designed to limit how fast material can be feed to the chipper teeth. Is this hype or worthwhile?

Any thoughts on mulchers to consider/avoid? Other than being really careful, any ideas on limiting the impact (pun intended) of using a mulcher in rocky areas?

FYI: I'm a retired old geezer that prefers using my mini excavator than my chainsaw/weed whacker/handheld pole saw...

Mine is an FAE, but it doesn't have the bite limiters. It's been fine without them, but I haven't used a mulcher with limiters, nor have I used anything other than the FAE. So I don't know what I don't know. I run mine on a KX080 which is a good bit bigger than an 040. I could see the value in the bite limiters on a 040, but I don't have first hand experience with it.

 

[4570Man]

some I REALLY enjoyed your thread hayden!

I am considering a mulcher for my Kubota KX-040 mini excavator. It seems to definitely be a bit smalls terms of flow and weight for a mulcher, but there are some Youtube videos that show folks successful doing it.

FAE makes a really (expensive) nice unit with a variable transmission and a drum designed to limit how fast material can be feed to the chipper teeth. Is this hype or worthwhile?

Any thoughts on mulchers to consider/avoid? Other than being really careful, any ideas on limiting the impact (pun intended) of using a mulcher in rocky areas?

FYI: I'm a retired old geezer that prefers using my mini excavator than my chainsaw/weed whacker/handheld pole saw...

I looked into a mulcher for my KX-040. I’m sure it would beat the heck out of a string trimmer but based on the videos I’ve seen it’s pretty lacking in the hydraulic recovery abilities. I decided to buy a mower for my skid steer instead.

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

4570Man you just hit on my biggest concern...the KX-040 hydraulics may not provide acceptable mulcher performance. I've seen several videos where it looks acceptable, and a few where the time to spool back up to speed looked painfully slow. One thing for sure is the mulcher and KX-040 hydraulics would need to be matched up by someone who really knows the application.

I really don't have the option to use a tractor or skid steer...my terrain is very uneven and rocky.

 

[hayden]

4570Man you just hit on my biggest concern...the KX-040 hydraulics may not provide acceptable mulcher performance. I've seen several videos where it looks acceptable, and a few where the time to spool back up to speed looked painfully slow. One thing for sure is the mulcher and KX-040 hydraulics would need to be matched up by someone who really knows the application.

I really don't have the option to use a tractor or skid steer...my terrain is very uneven and rocky.

These are the key tradeoffs. The Skid Steer will likely have more power overall, and more of it available via aux hydraulics, especially if it's a high flow model. But you are limited in what you can reach, and the terrain you can work with.

I still have a rotary mower for my KX 121 which is just the earlier version of the KX040. It's hydraulically powered just like a mulcher, and works fine. It obviously has less power than the 080, but I have used it for a number of projects either because it was more suited to the job (grass mowing), or because I needed the smaller machine for other reasons and didn't want to haul both the 121 and the 080 to the site. I say "haul" the 080, but for me that means tracking it there. I don't have a way to trailer it without hiring someone.

But back to the 040 with a mulcher - I think it could be made to work just fine. I can't see any reason it would be worse than a rotary mower cutting the same material. I'd just be really careful to match the 040 and mulcher hydraulic requirements. A variable displacement motor in the mulcher would be idea because you can dial it in exactly to the flow on the 040. But I expect they are more expensive, and they will require that you install a case drain which is a bit of a project, but once done it's done. Also, be sure your hydraulic hoses are big enough so they don't restrict flow. My rotary mower originally came with 1/2" hoses which was right at the edge for flow capacity, so I switched them to 3/4". It definitely made a difference.

 

[mikester]

You are very correct, the typical over-use on flail mower is that people use it to mow too much real brush. For the heavy duty flail mower, it can mow a little brush sometimes even diameter up to 4", but it's not good idea let the flail mower always mow such size brush, only mulcher can work it out.
I m curious what mulcher will you purchase. We are developing a tractor PTO mulcher for two years, still not finalize it, an entry-level mulcher, the mulcher is really big machine, such small machine its weight can be more than one ton easily.

A tractor based mulcher is a great way to destroy a tractor. At least skidsteers and CTL's have steel plates underneath that gives you some protection from flying debris. Tractors have nothing.

 

[LD1]

A tractor based mulcher is a great way to destroy a tractor. At least skidsteers and CTL's have steel plates underneath that gives you some protection from flying debris. Tractors have nothing.

I put a skid plate under my tractor cause I use it in the woods frequently. But still dont think I'd want a mulcher on my tractor.

And looking at that....overall a mulcher does a pretty good job, but cant help but think there are shards left that "could" wreak havoc on tires. And smaller tractors arent offered with tracks.

 

[mikester]

I put a skid plate under my tractor cause I use it in the woods frequently. But still dont think I'd want a mulcher on my tractor.

And looking at that....overall a mulcher does a pretty good job, but cant help but think there are shards left that "could" wreak havoc on tires. And smaller tractors arent offered with tracks.

I've been renting these mulchers and CTL's - I don't think I'd want to run a mulcher on my personal machine considering the way these things can fire a log like it was shot from a cannon. I'd love to own one, but I don't think it's worth the wear and tear and cost of repairs. I don't think an AG tractor will take the abuse a 10-12K lb CTL can.

 

[Rustyiron]

I really don't have the option to use a tractor or skid steer...my terrain is very uneven and rocky.

Joey I'm in the same situation with my land (very rocky) and I've come to the conclusion that even the largest "mini ex" simply doesn't have the juice or HP to mulch much more than heavy saplings under 3-4". Here and there you can catch a manufacture (mini ex) that shows the specs for the available hydraulic HP available for the auxiliary circuit. It's surprisingly low, might be good enough for grass and weeds to light brush, but if 3-4" saplings are a large part of your "target" I wouldn't bother.
Then with a drum style fixed tooth mulcher, ultimately you'll be mulching against the ground.... where the rocks are.
The ground is the "anvil" against what a drum mulcher grinds.
I have seen (YouTube) the "disc" style mulchers on 18 -20 ton excavators and with careful operation does not need to contact the ground but leaves a much coarser debris than a drum style.
I really hate rocks!

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

Rocks sure are tough on equipment. I dug a trench for primary power to be bought into my property. (The power company would only do arial.) In about a thousand feet I wore down and/or broke at least a half dozen teeth on my backhoe bucket, and spent 10's of hours on a rental mini-ex with a breaker.

I know a contractor who flat will not do serious rock with his equipment. "Hello...Rental Company?"