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ctl mulcher questions

farmin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
65
Location
Wisconsin
kicking around the idea of getting one for farm and hired work. have 299 high flow not xhp. Does anyone on here have experience with Denis Cimaf and or Fecon heads. looking at cleaning up buckthorn and underbrush 6" and less usually. to ground level at least. It'd be nice to run knives vs carbide but im afraid any rock contact will never make knives worth it. Depth control head vs the normal open tooth design? not looking to take down huge trees as i know its not very efficient. Also width wise my machine is 78 inches i think so is the 60 cutting width heads just to narrow to use efficiently ? thanks
 

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
16,535
Location
WWW.
Does that CTL have a emission system? If so I know for a fact the JD CTL's have a tendency to catch
fire because of the fine dust and particles created by the mulcher.

One thing about a mulcher--it makes a great re-seeder.
 

Tones

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
3,059
Location
Ubique
Occupation
Ex land clearing contractor, part-time retired
It's absolutely imperative to have a polycarbonate screen fitted on the cab door before using any mulcher. A metal screen won't cut the mustard.


Any ground disturbance in clearing work is good for seeds.
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,316
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
If that is what your looking to take down, I would consider a disc mulcher. AFE, Diamond mowers and so forth make them. Considering what your wanting to knock down, i think that would maybe work better. As far as having a mulcher with the limiting bands I think is a good idea if you went with a drum, especially with a machine like you have. Everyone seems to be making a mulcher with that capability now. For sure get a Lexan Door, I would be dead right now if I didn't have one.
 

mowingman

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
1,228
Location
SE Ohio
Occupation
Retired
Do you have an enclosed cab with A/C ? If you do not, forget the mulcher. Even with a good door, you will not be able to stay in the machine very long. Personally, I would never own a mulcher. I would rent the attachment when you need it. Working the mulcher part time is not going to pay for all the repairs you will be forced to do as routine maint.
Jeff
 

NepeanGC

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Joined
Mar 18, 2017
Messages
203
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
Occupation
#dirtherder
I've got a Bobcat T870 and run a Bobcat (Fecon) 72" head with carbides. I get good life out of them, though admittedly I have not bothered to try knives as we've got the Canadian Shield to contend with. As others have said - make sure you've got the machine set up properly for it. Bobcat has boot kits for their machines to keep debris out. Very easy to burn a machine down if you don't clean it religiously - Just check out the forestry mulching facebook group if you want to see carnage.

6 inch minus material is where this machine shines.

Forestry doors are not optional. Glass will get you dead.
 

NepeanGC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2017
Messages
203
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
Occupation
#dirtherder
Oh and pro tip - get a good gas leaf blower to clean the machine out. I typically stop to let the machine cool down and blow out the debris every couple of hours of mulching. I've got a reversing fan on my 870, but it's amazing how much fine dust still manages to get everywhere. Blower takes care of that.
 

92U 3406

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Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
3,098
Location
Western Canuckistan
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Wrench Bender
I've repaired a few Denis-Cimaf units. Pretty reliable for the most part, can't speak to how they perform as I've never ran one. Shearex is another manufacturer of mulchers, apparently formed by a few Denis-Cimaf employees who left the company once it moved to the US. Haven't had a chance to work on one yet but they look pretty well built.

The machines that did run the mulchers were fully armored 299D Cats. Steel track chains/shoes, full metal screens all around the ROPS with poly windows. Makes the hydraulic oil very hot too so you want to make sure you keep the cooling package clear.
 

farmin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
65
Location
Wisconsin
ok so i have a full cab, poly door. I know they need to be cleaned often i have an industrial air compressor. The disc munchers are cool but the finish product is probably going to be more chunky than desired in some cases and as far as running it into the ground at all not sure it would hold up very well. thanks everyone for the replys so far
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,316
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
When your handling primarily brush, the rotary drives the material down and into mulcher, its going to be in dirt. A rotary spins it through the cutters in a clockwise/counterclockwise manner. Still skimming the top of soil at times but not to the extent that a rotary will. As far as quality of mulch, I wouldn't argue it may not be as fine through a disc, but the smaller material your wanting to mulch will shred well. A rotary with the fine teeth give a great finish, but in rock they are not usually cost effective. Add carbide to the teeth and they handle rock better but don't shred as fine, so your mulch quality will go down. All choices to be made. Most everything I do is in rock, typically lava, which is hard as it gets. I use a Tushhogg mulcher with asphalt teeth. The quality of mulch is poor and it takes a boat load of power to run it because its not as efficient of a cutting system, however it is nearly impervious to rock. Here anyway, the quality of the mulch is not a concern, so this system works for me.
 

Tones

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
3,059
Location
Ubique
Occupation
Ex land clearing contractor, part-time retired
One other tip. On undulating ground and hillsides don't make the mulch to fine and leave it above ground. By doing this takes the erosion factor out and leaves a moisture barrier so grass seeds will germinate quicker. Depending on the rain fall in your area and time of year doing a ruff cut first then seeding and then doing the final cut helps germination.
In 15 years of mulching and driving a service vehicle over ruff cut mulch I never had a puncture so using a tractor with a spreader for sowing shouldn't be a problem.
 

rbrown225

Active Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2017
Messages
33
Location
Athol, ID
I have a Bobcat T770 with a grey Cimaf 150 head. I run in a lot of 2-6" pine and it does a good job but you need to watch for larger rocks as they will chip your knives. The DCR really helps to prevent you from stalling the head when you are taking down stuff. If you are working in high density areas the 60" cutting width head is still almost the same track width when you figure the bearing and drive belt area. Be careful subsoiling as it takes a big time toll on the knives. I get about 200 - 250 hrs on a set of knives sharpening daily. But it is only me operating not any employees.
 

Canuck Digger

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2012
Messages
263
Location
Mission, BC, Canada
Occupation
Business Owner, Equipment Operator, Fishing Guide
I run a 3 blade high flow rotary unit made by Davco. (not a mulcher with carbide teeth) Been running it for about 2 years now. Certainly different from a mulching head, also quite a bit more cost effective. It's great for cutting down underbrush, black berries, sage etc. to ground. It'll do anything upto 5 or 6 " incl. sapplings, trees, branches. If your trees aren't too dense, and you don't need to take down stumps below ground this type of unit is something to consider. Excellent reduction/mulching capability. As someone already mentioned, a leaf blower is a life saver.
 
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