YABE mulchers?

[freedomlives]

I found someone in the Czech republic selling a an Italian rotary mulcher, 70cm / 28inch wide, brand name YABE-- which I can't find any reference to, though they sent me the user's manual. It looks good to me, although I'll have to get some adapter made for my machine to attach it, but I have the 900-something RPM PTO, and its a better price than trying to get anything from Italy ($300).
Anyone know if this company got taken in to one of the more well known Italian companies? (e.g. if it breaks, will I be up the creek :-/ )

 

[NibbanaFarm]

I think I saw the old BCS bush hogs were designed like that. Not really the right design for a bush hog IMO. The blades should be attached to a disk. Although that's better than a straight blade, it's not really a bush hog design. BCS America

 

[freedomlives]

How far off from the right way is it though?

The other option I see on the used market here is this glorified lawn mower: F-6B mulcher Claims that it can take care of 3/4" saplings and such, or the slightly weaker version, both with the Oregon mulching mower blade. But basically lawnmower.

It is kind of a toss-up to me. But I think the design with the swinging blades-- even if it doesn't have a disc in the center-- is better than the glorified lawnmower blade.

There are areas overgrown with blackberries and other brush where its hard going with the cutter bar mower, and where goats (which I have a ton of)-- well, one area I don't have fenced in, and the other areas, they keep down the growth of the blackberries and brush, but obviously don't remove it.

So I imagine I'm just going to need this capability for a couple of years of cleaning up, and then if I'm rotating the animals around right, I'm not going to be needing it much at all. But right now because we are playing the "EU subsidies game" we get paid for our land to be kept clear of woody growth (I kid you not, Brussels pays people who mulch their hay meadows), and I'm a bit anxious about one acre that was professionally cleared early in the spring, and part of it in the summer I mowed with the cutter bar-- tough going, but everywhere has about a foot of woody growth.

 

[NibbanaFarm]

"I think the design with the swinging blades-- even if it doesn't have a disc in the center-- is better than the glorified lawnmower blade. " Absolutely. Just not as good as a disk. But especially if you have already gone through the area, you have an idea of what's in there so you should be fine. Just thought I'd point that out because BCS changed that design.

I have a similar situation with wild rose bushes. These things get huge, about 10 feet diameter, and are dangerous. They will tear you up. I have come out bleeding many times trying to deal with these things. I bought an expensive, long handle, gas hedge trimmer to get them cut back enough where I could get in and cut them at the base with the sickle bar. But then the whole bush is still standing. The bush hog chops them up to where they're not going to hurt you and you can walk over them with boots and heavy pants.

 

[freedomlives]

I know all about wild roses-- we have lots of them. You know, the red fruits are edible, best well after frost when they soften. I have been dealing with them slowly-- usually I've got the goats in one field rigged up with polywire and when they run low on grass and have eaten all the leaves on brush they can reach, then I can get under the roses with a chainsaw and cut at least part of it so they can eat the tops. This year we got a chipper-- that was a real challenge afterward to get the roses into the chipper. I'm thinking cold weather will be better for doing that actually-- get a thick jacket and thick pants from the second hand store, wear thick gloves and one of those eastern bloc military hats with the ear flaps for protection while working! I actually am fine with some roses around though, as long as they don't form an impenetrable thicket.

I'm going to tell my wife to call and buy that YABE mower then. I hope I can get together the adapter I'll need for the Goldoni quickly enough to go through there before the snow comes.