Mulchers

[sailonner]

Hi all, I have been using my brush hog type flat rotary mower for the last 10/12 years to take down the grass weeds on the flatter parts around my veggie field. Occasionally get into the blackberries near he creek, and sometimes up the hill, into light brush. It doesn’t do so well with the heavier stuff. Or on uneven ground.

My tractor is fifteen years old. Pretty reliable Chinese diesel 4WD 25HP. So the attachments I use are kinda small. (4 foot brush hog) it handles that OK. My question is for anyone who operates a flail or Forest type mulcher. I need to get up the hill (pretty steep) to clear brush for fire safety. Most of brush I need to get rid if is 1 inch or less diameter. Been looking at the heavier duty Forest Mulchers but most are out of my budget and designed for Bobcat type drivers. The smallest ones might fly if I could afford it. Hope to get going with this project next spring before everything starts growing back.

Anyone have experience with flail type Mulchers to do this kind of work? I’ve seen one or two that are under $2,000. Suggestions would be welcome!

 

[ptsg]

I know exactly what would work great but I don't think it's available in the US, so it's probably irrelevant but I share it anyway.

The brush cutters we have here in Portugal use either two or 4 high strength grade 80 chains, instead of blades. Along with a gearbox with at least 1:1.92 ratio. These cutters work great on the type of brush you're dealing with (thicker stuff). These do eat a fair amount of HP and can put lot of stress on the drive train, hence why it's bought either as wide as the tractor or slightly narrower, keeping in the mind the HP as well.

This is mine. Light duty version, 4 ft wide and cost me $650 back in 2017. Has seen all types of brush, some higher than the ROPS on the tractor and as thick as 3". And the best part is that it tends to shred the material, leaving soft edges on the brush that won't hurt the tires. While with blades, it can leave sharp points that can easily puncture tires.

It won't leave as nice of finish in grass but on everything else it does very well.

 

[leonz]

For the money spent you would be better off renting a small FECON tracked mulcher
for a day or two as it would be a one and done affair as you would be able to shred
all the way to the roots of the weed trees.

 

[oldnslo]

There a few chain type brush cutters here in the USA that I have seen used along train tracks for brush control. These where on big articulating loaders though

Wonder if person could replace blades with chains on an existing rotary cutter.

In the USA Diamond Mower and Alamo - Tiger build heavy duty flail mowers for commercial use but doubt anything small enough for 25 HP tractor

 

[diesel85]

x2 on the FECON or similar grinder.

I really don't recommend a flail mower for trying to chop up trees. It's meant for small saplings and mostly grass/weeds.

 

[nch77]

Any good bush hog could take care of it, I run a JD HX10 behind a Ford 5610 MFWD and it will shred saplings up to 3" or so into mulch without any problem. A mulcher isn't worth it for material that small.

 

[mikester]

Rent a forestry mulcher on a CTL. You can clear brush and trees down to ground level - fast.

FYI These machines can throw rocks and logs 300 feet like being shot from a cannon. The CTL's have steel plate protecting the underbody and 1 inch thick bullet proof windshields. I would not want to use one on my tractor, not enough protection.

 

[sailonner]

Thanks for the feedback…

I have a brush hog mower that a tree fell on. If the gearbox and blade mount flange is still useable, I may try to replace the blades with chains. The biggest problem with using something that wide is on uneven ground it can hit some brush higher than I’d like. I have blackberries and Scotch Broom that just grows right back if you don’t grind up the roots. I’m too old to pull the roots with a rootjack by hand!

Other than that idea, I may just buy a 3pt stump grinder attachment and drag it all over the place, let it rip the brush to shreds!!!