New mulcher head

[Texas jerry]

I am new to this site and thought I could use some opinions on new mulcher heads. I had been running an older cat 248 with a 4800 tush Hogg head. I have recently gotten into a new cat 272 c. I have kept my tush Hogg head for a back up. It does well in rocky conditions, but the mulch is left fairly rough. I am looking at a bradco magnum mulcher, fecon bh 74, and a fecon 7460( which was OEM made for terex). Does a mulching door make that mulch difference? I see that as one more function get broken. Any input would be helpful.

 

[cat 297c]

I am new to this site and thought I could use some opinions on new mulcher heads. I had been running an older cat 248 with a 4800 tush Hogg head. I have recently gotten into a new cat 272 c. I have kept my tush Hogg head for a back up. It does well in rocky conditions, but the mulch is left fairly rough. I am looking at a bradco magnum mulcher, fecon bh 74, and a fecon 7460( which was OEM made for terex). Does a mulching door make that mulch difference? I see that as one more function get broken. Any input would be helpful.

Between the mulchers u have listed I would go with the fecon 7460. It has a spiral drum, much more productive vs the bradco an the older fecon with the paddle rotor.
An yes the door/hood makes a huge difference a must if u want to produce finer mulch with less passes. My second opinion would be the bradco, an last the older paddle rotor fecon.

 

[Texas jerry]

Thanks for the reply. The 7460 I have found is @ $5500 cheaper then the other brands. I am leaning towards the 7460. The only draw back is that it doesn't have a mulching door. The other down side is it has only one style cutter tooth that is comparable to run on the head. The problem is the fecon 7460 was made oem for terex. Terex only has one style tooth (carbide) which is fine for the majority of mulching I do but wouldn't mind having other options.

 

[cat 297c]

Thanks for the reply. The 7460 I have found is @ $5500 cheaper then the other brands. I am leaning towards the 7460. The only draw back is that it doesn't have a mulching door. The other down side is it has only one style cutter tooth that is comparable to run on the head. The problem is the fecon 7460 was made oem for terex. Terex only has one style tooth (carbide) which is fine for the majority of mulching I do but wouldn't mind having other options.

well if u want a head with more tooth options go with the bradco. U can get different tool options at eagle claw tools.

 

[fishfactor]

Be sure to check on replacement teeth in your area before making the decision. Our Bobcat head is made by fecon, but the teeth are different and you can only get them from Bobcat. Fecon will not sell them direct. It's the same with the Terex head. The Bobcat and Terex teeth look the same but the bolt pattern is 1/4" different. Teeth from Bobcat cost about double what a standard fecon tooth costs.

The spiral pattern on the terex head will be more productive on a CTL, and it may even have the 2 speed motor (the one I demoed did) which helps a lot. But, the fecon head will have the option of using hammers or knives.

 

[Texas jerry]

Yeah I was concerned. When I first asked the terex dealer how much the replacement teeth where for the 7460 he replied he did not know. After @ 30 min on the phone he stated the replacment through terex was $ 180/ tooth. I stated that was way out of price range. He stated he contacted fecon and insured he could get teeth/ hammer replacement $76/ tooth. I see the benefit of the mulching door but in this business equipment takes abuse. I know it has a lot to do with the operator. Those of you who run a mulcher with the door/ hood does it get damaged often. Is that the only type of head you would run?

 

[fishfactor]

Yeah I was concerned. When I first asked the terex dealer how much the replacement teeth where for the 7460 he replied he did not know. After @ 30 min on the phone he stated the replacment through terex was $ 180/ tooth. I stated that was way out of price range. He stated he contacted fecon and insured he could get teeth/ hammer replacement $76/ tooth. I see the benefit of the mulching door but in this business equipment takes abuse. I know it has a lot to do with the operator. Those of you who run a mulcher with the door/ hood does it get damaged often. Is that the only type of head you would run?

I would make sure. That sounds like the standard fecon tooth price to me.

We have a door and use it mostly when we need to reduce the debris field. Such as near a house or road. I know a lot of users say that it improves the look by reducing the mulch, but it also slows you down because it takes HP. Another problem is if you get a jam in the head, the door won't open which makes it harder to clear the jamb (this may not be the same for all heads).

In short, we have it, but right now it's sitting beside the shop. We put it on when we are going to need it. We don't leave it on all the time because it impairs your view if you leave it on and open.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

have you tried the CAT mulcher? It's an FAE. Works great. Trap door is a must if you want to set your work apart from others. The trap door is a safety feature, too, when you are working near roads or the occasional person who wanders into your work zone.

Their are a few threads on here where we just discussed some of the pros and cons.
Can't speak on the fecon other than from what I have seen/heard. All good reports.

 

[Texas jerry]

Thanks for the info Colby. That has put a new insight on it.

 

[Johnnybee]

I have the Terex style head and it has performed well for me so far but like everyone else, I am looking for ways to increase production. I just talked to a Fecon salesman today regarding different teeth options for my head; particularly chipper style teeth. He did say Fecon is developing or currently making chipper/ planer teeth for the Terex head. :thumbsup: He's going to call me next week with more details.

Also, I pay around $90 for one carbide hammer and 2 allen bolts shipped directly to me.

 

[Texas jerry]

Yellow dog I have looked at fae and the cat I believe it is the hm312. I have only read literature and seen them at a dealer. I have not actually demoed one. From the previous post you have put a lot of hrs on one and have had good experience. That head has the variable 2 speed motor?

Johnnybee how many hrs have you put on the terex head. What kind of machine do you run it on. Do you buy direct from fecon for teeth replacement? Sorry for so many questions but this is the feed back I was looking for. People that actually run these machines, not a salesman .

 

[QwikDraw]

I've been very happy with my Fecon head. It has lasted through two carriers and is still looking good at 3200-3300 hours. I have run all types of teeth and presently run the stone teeth. Rougher finished product but the teeth are lasting much longer on my very rocky jobs. Also mulch size is not an issue on my wildlife projects which 95% of my work is.

I did demo a FAE and liked that head and it produced a great finished mulch. I felt it clogged up a bit more than the fecon and I could get a little more production out of the Fecon.

I also rented a Bradco and it was good but was quite beat up for the hours on it and I questioned the long term durability but have never seen a high hour unit so I don't know for sure.

I do not like the bolt system on the Fecon tooth, it's slow to change a whole set of teeth and if a tooth loosens up it has a chance of breaking off the tooth holder on the next hard impact. I have broken many .

For my next head I would like to try a FAE again but would probably lean toward the Fecon.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

i don't think the Hm312 has the 2 speed motor. Mine is a 2005 and I don't think FAE had that out yet.

I have replaced the seals and bearings once. The bearings and belts were fine but I had a leaking seal so decided to replace everything while the head was opened up.

 

[Johnnybee]

Johnnybee how many hrs have you put on the terex head. What kind of machine do you run it on. Do you buy direct from fecon for teeth replacement? Sorry for so many questions but this is the feed back I was looking for. People that actually run these machines, not a salesman .

I bought my machine, a Terex PT 100F, used from a dealer in TN over the summer. I was told the head had about 200 hrs on it when I bought it and I have since put ~50 hrs on it.

I purchase the teeth from my local Terex dealer and they are shipped directly to me from Fecon. I recommend calling around for the best price. One dealer in my area quoted me $180 for one tooth. :confused2:

Lastly, I will say Fecon takes very good care of their customers, even if you own a Terex head. I needed a relief valve for my mulching door (I highly recommend one) and they had it to me the next morning.

 

[Texas jerry]

Thanks for all the response. Yall have helped me with some valuable information. I think I am gonna go with the fecon 7460. I should get it at the end of the week. I will keep y'all updated.

 

[AGGIE00]

I was a little disappointed with the Bradco head until we switched to chipper teeth at $50/tooth. The production is really good now and the finished product is much better. I would not run without the gate, but we work around roads and houses quite often.

Are you planning on running on tires or adding tracks to your machine?

 

[Texas jerry]

Aggie I am running loge ring metal track over lays. The 272 is a heck of a lot more productive then my old 248. The majority of my work is in rocky areas. I don't know if the planer style tooth would hold up. I read in an old thread you put an after market A/C on your 272 . How is it working? I have only ran @ 30 hrs on mine but it is cool outside. Is there anything other flaws or downsides that you have experienced in your machine ?

 

[cat 297c]

Had a cat 297c for couple years which is the same machine as the 272 but with factory tracks. Man I had problem after problem with mine a/c, over heating, fires an electrical problems. I made a custom door for the engine bay made of perfuraded metal for better cooling to try to stop the over heating problem. It helped but didn't completely fix the problem so I just built a bracket to mount my blower to the roof of the machine an I would blow the radiator out ever so often in the spring an summer an also used it to keep engine bay clean from all the debris that the forestry package couldn't keep out. The a/c filter was put in a stupid place right at the top of the tracks, where dust was thrown right into the filter. After fighting this issue for months I bought a red dot power preclean best money I ever spent that solved that problem. Next the condenser on the a/c clogged up all the time an cleaning it took a act of congress, so getting feed up with cleaning it I move it to the top of the cab, build a heavy duty cage and placed a 2 electric fans, 1 on top and 1 under neath so I could run one then turn it off an kick the other one on to blow it out. O an before I got rid of it, she got where if u let it sit longer than a day it would dran the battery completely, took it to cat had it a week couldn't find the short had to put a kill switch on it to fix. There is alot of other issues I had also but fingers are hurting so I think I will stop here. Have a buddy who has had the same problems with his an has lost one to a fire.

 

[AGGIE00]

I know everybody has different experiences, but I have been happy with our cat. The ac condenser is poorly engineered and impossible to keep clean in dusty conditions. We relocated it to just behind the cab and put two electric fans under it. Have never needed to clean it out and the ac blows plenty cold in August. The fan blowers are weak, but if the air is cold enough coming out it is ok. The only failure so far is the hydraulic motor that drives the condenser/intercooler blower. Cost about $250.00 and 2 hours to fix.

 

[cat 297c]

I know everybody has different experiences, but I have been happy with our cat. The ac condenser is poorly engineered and impossible to keep clean in dusty conditions. We relocated it to just behind the cab and put two electric fans under it. Have never needed to clean it out and the ac blows plenty cold in August. The fan blowers are weak, but if the air is cold enough coming out it is ok. The only failure so far is the hydraulic motor that drives the condenser/intercooler blower. Cost about $250.00 and 2 hours to fix.

Be thankfull!!!