Is the Gyro-Trac 500HF mulching head better than the Fecon Bull Hog?

[Gamma]

I was talking to the salesman for the ASV, Fecon & Gyro-Trac products at my local Vermeer dealer this past week and he went on & on about how the Gyro-Trac 500HF cutter head is so superior to the Fecon Bull Hog carbide mulching head.

Said the Gyro-Trac head would cut much faster, that I'd get at least three times the work done in the same amount of time as the Fecon Bull Hog cutter.

He talked about how much better the 500HF left the mulch. That it was much smaller, like wood chips or shavings, as compared to the Bull Hog which left larger pieces and strips of wood behind.

He mentioned that the Gyro-Trac head had a quicker recover time due to a special type of hydraulic motor that the Fecon head doesn't use.

And that all of these positives justified the extra cost of the Gyro-Trac head, which is close to $30K I believe, where as the Bull Hog heads can be found for less than $20K.

So what do you guys with first hand experience running mulching heads think about all this?

I'm not at all saying that the salesman is giving me bad information, I'm just wanting additional opinions. This same salesman used to brag about the Fecon Bull Hog heads until he started carrying the Gyro-Trac products.

Rory

 

[QwikDraw]

Hey Rory,

He is correct the Gyro trac head will leave much smaller chips and cut faster, I heard 2 times as fast as the fecon BUT the teeth only last 80-120 hours and they need to be sharpened in that time. The unit has a price of 34k and then add a complete set of teeth every month...dang, that adds up real quick. Fecon - cheaper, bullet proof and it'll take hitting rock every now and then, although I have chipper two teeth since I got mine. I do wish the finished product was a finer mulch but in my area I could never run a Gyro trac or a Timber Ax....

And for the record the Fecon has a Rexroth motor.

BTW - never trust a salesman...but you probably already knew that.

Ted

 

[Gamma]

Ted,

The salesman said 'Yes the Gyro-Trac head does cost a lot more, but you make up for that by cutting 3 times faster than the Fecon Bull Hog head and you don't spend as much time waiting for it to recover'.

So I don't know, it sounds like it might be an advantage if you were mulching brush 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. But for someone like me who wants to start a brush mulcing business and probably won't initially be operating even eight hours a day 5 days a week, I don't think it would be worth it to me.

I'm still leaning towards the Fecon Bull Hog.

Rory

 

[rutwad]

Time is money. If you cut 3 times faster, then a 9 hr. fecon job just took you 3 hours to complete. How could you ever recover the higher cost of the head?

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Hey guys. I ran a HF 500 on my tractor. I didn't see the super recovery time. Actually the recovery time was slower than my timberax. Also that head turns 2500+ rpm. It would cut a 12" pine down but I still wouldn't try to process the whole tree. As mentioned in an earlier thread it has a very short push bar that was absolutely useless. I would have a hard time believing twice as productive. Also the saleman I had said it's more like 50-70 hours on the teeth with sharpening dialy.

Now, that same mulching head on say a 250 H.P. tractor like the GT-25 was a true beast. Same tooth life but worth it. The salesman cut 5 60' pines and mulched in 15 min. I would never take on a 60' tree but it was impressive to see. He also mulched a aluminum wheel with tire just because he could and the biggest piece i could find was palm size. It also cuts up a barbed wire fence. Pretty cool, right up to the point where he cut the tree that hit me in the head.

Later Robbie

 

[iStumpgrinder]

Yeah time is money act like a business bid the work by the job not by the hour! Do 3 jobs a day instead of one! It pays for itself 10fold and you get more exposure and more customers the above poster is awful short sighted!

 

[tonyoz]

Just don't forget that you have been listening to a sales rep. If he put his money where his mouth is he would be a contractor :2cents:

 

[gtguy]

Fecon and gt both have their advantages. Yes the fecon costs less and many people buy them because of the low start up ccost. It will work great for someone just starting out however the 500 head does produce a much better finished product and it's not because of the motor they both have rexroth motors but the 500 head has a controlled bite which is why it doesn't bog down as easy. The 500 head also will have a greater resale value when/if you ever decided to sell it. The biggest thing when going with the 500hf head is making sure that it's going on the proper carrier. It needs high flow and also does better with a closed loop hydraulic system. Hopes this helps.

 

[Fact Finder]

Fecon introduced a controlled bite option for most of their heads this summer. It uses their reversible Samurai knife. Video of a 290HP tractor at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EspqCnG2FnA

 

[yellowdogsvc]

Wow this is an old thread..

Off the subject but after watching that video.. I'm amazed they don't ram that head into an old engine block or big stump.