Which cutter head rotation ?

   / Which cutter head rotation ? #1  

Eagleview

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Orstraya , Ex convict stock , G'day .
Im planing on building a tracked mulcher using a 10 ton excavator base . It will have a shaft driven cutter head via a twin disc clutch on a 265hp Nissan Diesel . In my mind the drum should rotate bottom forward like my flail mowers so it will shred going forward and should not need to go over the area in reverse . But they are mainly made to rotate top forward , why ? My machine will look a little like a PT400 Gator only smaller . With my flail mowers when you strike a piece of steel or a hard rock it just throws them forward and gives me time to stop . Rotating top forward in the same situation the cutters would grab the object instantly and probably break something . My mowers are useless in reverse but cut like a lawn tractor going forward , does this not apply to mulchers ?
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #2  
Why not set it up to go both ways? That way, if you have double sided cutting tips, you can run it till one side gets dull, then reverse direction, to give you more time between service intervals. I made a small 4' cutter for my ASV RC30, and used double sided bush hog blades, as they were available, and you don't need a vacuum wing on the back side of the blade, anyway!:D
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #3  
Iron Horse said:
Im planing on building a tracked mulcher using a 10 ton excavator base . It will have a shaft driven cutter head via a twin disc clutch on a 265hp Nissan Diesel . In my mind the drum should rotate bottom forward like my flail mowers so it will shred going forward and should not need to go over the area in reverse . But they are mainly made to rotate top forward , why ? My machine will look a little like a PT400 Gator only smaller . With my flail mowers when you strike a piece of steel or a hard rock it just throws them forward and gives me time to stop . Rotating top forward in the same situation the cutters would grab the object instantly and probably break something . My mowers are useless in reverse but cut like a lawn tractor going forward , does this not apply to mulchers ?

For the skidsteer mulchers, forward is backward and backward is forward.:)
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #4  
The timberax is the only head that runs "backwards". I personally liked it's direction of rotation for is didn't throw debri at the tractor and controlled debri out the front.
The reason they cannot run both ways is the motors on the heads. It will run backwards but has no torque.
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
diyDave said:
Why not set it up to go both ways? That way, if you have double sided cutting tips, you can run it till one side gets dull, then reverse direction, to give you more time between service intervals. I made a small 4' cutter for my ASV RC30, and used double sided bush hog blades, as they were available, and you don't need a vacuum wing on the back side of the blade, anyway!:D
You think like me . I was thinking of doing that and having the best of both worlds . As it is shaft driven through a gearbox and not hydraulic driven i could do that . But would you not need another set of tooth holders mounted in reverse ? Because the motor and box came from a truck with cruise control im going to use the truck speedo as well . First i'll have to find out what speed on the gauge 540 and 1000 PTO RPM'S is and set the cruise control at that speed . When the head starts to load up the cruise will stomp on the loud pedal a bit harder and stop it from bogging down .
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #6  
Please post pictures while you build this. A lot of would be very interested in seeing the machine under construction.
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #7  
Iron Horse said:
You think like me . I was thinking of doing that and having the best of both worlds . As it is shaft driven through a gearbox and not hydraulic driven i could do that . But would you not need another set of tooth holders mounted in reverse ? Because the motor and box came from a truck with cruise control im going to use the truck speedo as well . First i'll have to find out what speed on the gauge 540 and 1000 PTO RPM'S is and set the cruise control at that speed . When the head starts to load up the cruise will stomp on the loud pedal a bit harder and stop it from bogging down .

Why not set the RPM's to the maximum torque? Most cruise controls will disengage after a certain speed reduction, and it won't have time to react to the sudden "bog".
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
It would be set at the engines max torque which is 1800rpm . I would have to select the appropriate gear which would give me a shaft speed of 540 or 1000rpm @ 1800revs then mark the speedo at both points for future reference . If the speedo was reading say , 40 kilometres per hour @ 1800revs in fourth gear thats what ide set the cruise at . In easy going i may be able to use sixth gear @ 1400revs to save fuel . I just got the price on a new Gator PT400 $690,000 . So this machine is a go . Im having trouble sourcing a new excavator track frame though .
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ? #9  
If your going to buy an excavator frame to construct the mulcher why not purchase a tractor that meets your needs without modification.
New holland makes a 165 hp bi-directional tractor that can run mulchers with a pto. I ran a 145 hp version that was very nice and decently strong. The package was 180k. I would think the 165 should be under 200k
The price for the PT seems a little high. Geography class, where is Orstraya?
 
   / Which cutter head rotation ?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Slang for Australia . I was thinking of what you said but i want steel tracks and a low profile cab . I use a New Holland tractor now and find that i have to drive though branches to reach the tree trunk . I'm also wanting to fit remote control so i can work the machine in dangerous places without me in it , ive given one other machine an oil change the hard way and im not going to go with another one .
 
 
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