Low Flow Cutter Head

[Compact1]

Does anybody have any experience with low flow cutter heads?

Gyro-Trac has a Toma-Ax low flow head which can be seen at Gyro-Trac - Toma-Ax Low Flow

I have access to an ASV SR-70 and recently demo'ed the low flow head. It cuts 3" material with ease as long as the planar teeth are sharp. It cuts 5" material as long as you are patient. The machine stalled-out alot; not sure if that was due to the nature of a low flow machine or my learning curve as a new operator (probably both). Did a great job making trails through scrub brush.

My question for those of you in "the business"...do you think there is a market for such a head (with limited application)? The cost of the head is $17,500 new and the teeth are $40 each (20 teeth). When I received the demo unit the teeth were dull. I removed all 20 teeth, sharpened them, and replaced them in 1 hour.

I would like to ease into the market with a small investment (like the low flow head) rather than a $95,000 purchase of new high-flow equipment.

I would like to hear as many opinions as possible. Thanks,

 

[Compact1]

Here's a picture of the teeth on the low flow head I demo'ed.

 

[Compact1]

Here's a picture of the machine working.

 

[Compact1]

This picture shows, what I consider, worn-out teeth.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Compact I all depends on what "market" you are trying to ease into. General landscaping with the ocasional mulching? Mulching for real estate brokers/investers? After harvest timber land reclamation? I have what I believe to be the lowest powered production machine and always find myself needing more HHP. The ASV is OK for a part-time/hobby. You may want to try a rotary style cutter ie Aambusher, Brush cat or even brush monster. If all you are doing is 2-3 in material. From the looks of the underbrush in your picture I could do 4-5 acres in a day with my bushhog and you or the customer would be hard pressed to justify the cost of my mowing at $250-350 per acre vs your mulching at $125 per hour. Your production would be so low that you or your customer would suffer. Neither is good for long term business.
With so many people not being able to make the big bucks mulching, there are a lot of slightly used highflow machines available for a good deal. Some with and some without heads. A good head useed will only run you 10-15K.There are complete setups going for +-$60K.$35K is a big hit of depreciation to absorb in a year. And trust me, there is alot more to it than just owning or making the payment on a machine.
Sorry for the long response and none of this is by any means ment to discourage you from following your ambitions.Keep us posted!

 

[Landwise]

I ran a new head from Bauma-lite the other day on a Tak TL140. Not quite a GT Head, but for $8000.00 it did a pretty good job. 3" and smaller with an ocasionall larger tree would be ok. It has 109 single carbide stump grinder teeth on it.