PURCHASING SKIDSTEER AND MULCHING HEAD

[Powderdreams]

Considering the purchase of a used (low hour) Kubota SVL 97-2 for personal property clearance with a mulching head. I have used local contractors a couple of times and due to the volume of mulching to be done and the current rates I can acquire a used unit at significantly less $$ than hiring out the mulching and own the equipment at the end. My concern is evaluating the used unit before agreeing to purchase. Track wear, leaks, maintenance log records (questionable as I know maintenance logs may or may not be accurate). Suggestions / input as to what should and can be checked - tested is appreciated.

 

[leonz]

Do not go any further than asking them to deliver it to the local
dealer, this is to have them to go through it entirely by doing the following;

1. flow rating the axial piston pump
2. flow rating the track drive motors
a. flow rate the mulcher heads hydraulic drive motor
3. compression test each of the engine cylinders for blow by
a. test the fuel pump delivery pressure
b. test each glow plug for heating ability if it is equipped with glow plugs
c. pressure test each radiator for leaks
d. pressure test the air conditioning system for leaks if it is equipped with air conditioning
4. have an engine coolant sample tested for metals by the EXXON Mobil oil testing laboratory
5. have an engine oil sample tested for metals by the EXXON Mobil oil testing laboratory
a. have an hydraulic oil sample tested for metals by the EXXON Mobil oil testing laboratory
6. measuring and checking for the percentage of track life left on the existing
tracks-if the track breaks your just plain screwed and you will need a flat bed
ramp truck with a winch to recover it-if it can access the site
7. checking for the drive sprockets for the percentage of wear gone from the sprocket teeth-
if you break even one tooth or have one broken sprocket tooth you will damage the old track
due to dirt entering the space occupied by the broken tooth.
a. measure the track tensioners for distance as this will tell you how much wear has occured

8. If the final drives are oil bath roller chain drives the roller chains and drive sprockets are in an
oil bath they need to be examined for the percentage of wear
a. have a gear oil sample should be taken and sent to the EXXON Mobil oil testing laboratory to determine
how much metal is in the gear oil at the same time the other samples are taken long before you even
consider buying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiring out or renting a FECON self propelled mulcher will do more to benefit you because you can hire/rent a
large mulcher that will let you operate for longer than 8 hours per day.

Eliminate every stump and the below ground roots by starting at the exact center
of the property and mulch all the brush and roots below the surface of the ground as
you will see everything and every root that needs to be ripped up below the surface
as you will be higher above the ground.

In order to clear everything you need to begin at the center of the property and start in a circle widening
the circle as you tear out the brush and scrub. A land clearing contractor will mulch a trail to the center of the
property and begin clearing/mulching from that point as it will take less time and fuel as they can overlap their
mulching path spiral to assure they have ripped out everything.

This can be done faster with a large tracked mulcher quickly as long as the operator mulches the roots and stumps slowly.

1. increase the value of the property from day one
2. eliminate the invasives
3. quickly lay down weed barrier fabric to kill any invasives that may sprout
4. examine the ability of the soil to drain off excess moisture/run off.
5. use a toro dingo to dig trenches for drainage tile quickly as the ground
will be free of shallow roots.

My basic advice it to just hire the largest track drive mulcher you can as it is a single one time
expense that will pay you dividends as you will not have a machine that could blow a
radial piston pump that will require the machine to be winched out with a flat-bed wrecker
and have the entire cab removed to replace the pump as the entire engine will have to be
removed to change the axial piston pump and the hydraulic oil suction and pressure hoses
and case drain hoses as they would be changed as a matter of preventative maintenance
as they will have become cracked from heat and age and begin to weep oil.

Hiring it done by a larger land clearing firm will cost you less in the long run as you are
not paying for the upkeep of a machine that you will use only occasionally over a long
period of time.

 

[wcampbell47]

Considering the purchase of a used (low hour) Kubota SVL 97-2 for personal property clearance with a mulching head. I have used local contractors a couple of times and due to the volume of mulching to be done and the current rates I can acquire a used unit at significantly less $$ than hiring out the mulching and own the equipment at the end. My concern is evaluating the used unit before agreeing to purchase. Track wear, leaks, maintenance log records (questionable as I know maintenance logs may or may not be accurate). Suggestions / input as to what should and can be checked - tested is appreciated.

I have had two mechanics advise me against Kubota to operated a mulching head due to overheating issues with the Kubota. I own 2 ASV compact track loaders. No overheating issues observed with mulching head or brush mower.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I have had two mechanics advise me against Kubota to operated a mulching head due to overheating issues with the Kubota. I own 2 ASV compact track loaders. No overheating issues observed with mulching head or brush mower.

I bought a Kubota SVL-75-2 brand new in 2022 and it runs a brushcutter and a mulching head down here in Florida and have never had a problem with mine overheating, but I am always blowing it out and trying to keep it as clean as I can. They all get hot to the touch when ran hard 4 or 5 hours without a break, the hydraulic couplers and manifold that is.

 

[WM75Guy]

I also chose to buy rather than rent to do some clearing. I recently bought a JCB 270T 75 hp CTL. It has an auto reverse feature on the fan. Every 10 minutes you can hear it go into reverse and blow out the radiator. So far, I haven't had any issues with overheating while grinding stumps with my Land Pride stump grinder. It also has an easily removable cover over the radiator to help keep large debris out of it. Neither hydraulic oil temp nor radiator temp reached the halfway point at full RPMs for several hours of grinding at a time. I am looking at a CID 72" cutter with grinding teeth instead of a mulching head that is available locally for $6,500.

 

[Powderdreams]

Thank you all, especially Leonz, for the input. With approximately half of the property (80 ac) needing going through due to trash (Privet, Locust, various other thorny invasives and remnants of a past logging off marketable timber) and the quoted rates I have received I will continue with my aim of acquiring our own equipment.

 

[oldnslo]

I would advise checking to see what size case drain line is on Kubota SVL 97. Reason for this is that I was involved in testing disc and drum mulchers a few years ago and some skid steers had 3/8 tube for case drain which typically resulted in shaft seal concerns for mulcher head. We tested Bobcat, Tecuchi (spelling), Kubota, Deere, Terex ASV. Terex ASV was only machine at that time designed for running hydraulic motors with case drain. Others all had case drain with marginal performance. Undeniably things could have changed since then.

Other thing is check rated flow and pressure specs since frequently you cannot achieve published rated flow at published rated pressure do to HP limitations.

Simple formulae: (GPM times PSI)divided by 1500 will give you diesel input power required.