bradco ground shark

[lumberjack1986]

Or the 299D XHP has 94.6hp with a 106hp engine. Even if it could produce that at the couplers, the air conditioner would stall the engine.

 

[lumberjack1986]

Some mowing before and afters from today... I'll go back tomorrow to wrap it up.

 

[RDrancher]

Looks good! How are you liking the 90?

 

[lumberjack1986]

I'm liking it. I always want more, but it has done well on a myriad of tasks.

It does like the fuel when mowing, yesterday I burned just over 25 gallons in right at 5 hours of mowing. My salesman was surprised, but pushing fill last year I burned 4-4.5gph in the Tak TL250.

 

[PhillipAL]

Can I get the name of the machine shop with the replacement blades?

 

[powerstroke01]

Read my post on page one of this thread. I have the contact info for the blades and the stump grinder teeth listed with prices. If you have any other questions just ask.

 

[PhillipAL]

How does the ground shark handle rocks? I'm in the hills of CT. and we have a lot of Quartz and Granite rock (very hard). The replacement blades are very expensive @ $1200. Did you get the 3/4" blades made at the shop in Alabama?

 

[lumberjack1986]

Hey, Phillip; I'm Rutherford Contracting LLC on YouTube. I'm running aftermarket blades on my mower without issue, and half the price.

 

[grind down]

Im looking to add a heavy duty "mower" to my line up. How many hours do you get from the carbide teeth? That is the main reason I keep coming back to the bradco. I have also been looking at the 72 MAX by brush wolf. Any comments? Pros and cons?

 

[lumberjack1986]

They last the longest if you keep them off tramp concrete, steel, and other non wood/dirt junk that tends to hide where I mow. If not for that , you can get quite a while out of the teeth, even longer if you hit less dirt (more even ground for example). The mower certainly performs better for me with teeth than without for producing a less coarse finished product.


I've got a couple more jobs to do with my Bradco then I'll be listing it for sale. Mowing/Mulching has never been a focus of my company, and the CTL doesn't get many hours put on it (265 since April of 2014). I am going to be building a grapple truck in a few months which is for the focus of my company (Tree Service, specifically removals) so the CTL and attachments are going to be sold.


The reason why I picked (and will pick again if I need one) the Ground Shark is because the carrier for the blades is massive and it captures the bolt on both sides of the knife putting the bolt in double shear vs single shear (good thing for strength!). I bought mine last year and have no major complaints. About the only thing I can think of right now is making the mounting plate solid so less debris comes back on my power attach cylinder... but that's a minor thing overall. It flat out cuts!

 

[KrayzKajun]

I might be interested in your groundshark when you sell it. you aren't too far from me.

 

[grind down]

Thanks. For the info. I end up running my current in heavy brush. But would like to have something that can do both. Thanks again.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

http://youtu.be/B8iAuyYUomo

I asked this question on YouTube as well, but if you know, what is the cost to purchase and operate compared to a forest mulcher?

 

[Furu]

I asked this question on YouTube as well, but if you know, what is the cost to purchase and operate compared to a forest mulcher?

Depending upon make and model of mulcher, FAE, Fecon, Denis Cimaf, the Bradco Extreme Groundshark is about 40% the cost. Of course it has a different purpose. Not an apples to apples but an apples to oranges kind of thing.
I take nothing away from the Bradco Extreme because I almost got one before I got my fecon and may still get one in the future as it has advantages over the fecon for some stuff (not a lot but some). But it is a lot less money. Bradco Ground Shark Extreme Duty for Land Clearing and Stump Grinding

 

[lumberjack1986]

Yessir, I saw your comment. I'm going to respond here and delete it there so I can be a bit more informative to a different audience.

Like Furu said, the Ground Shark is cheaper at around $11.5k usually vs upper twenties give or take $5k roughly. Operating costs depends on the environment they operate in, and as Furu said, a direct comparison isn't really applicable. The Ground Shark was and is an easy and affordable way for me to offer "industrial mowing/mulching" which was a market I very much wanted to want.


With the way and directions my two companies are growing, industrial mowing/mulching doesn't really interest me as much. I still have made money with the mower ($175/hr with the SVL90-2), but having an $80k fast depreciating investment that requires my time (I don't have an employee to run it) and only grosses $175/hr doesn't really make sense with the higher operating costs. I'm not complaining about any of it, as I've said, it just doesn't fit the current direction my companies are headed. That mower will have done well over $20k in work for a radio company alone to buy air time next year for advertising.

 

[CLPJR]

I've been thinking of getting one of these mowers. i was wondering if those of you who have bought one, what your thoughts were and would you buy one again? I don't think I could make enough here with a mulcher. i would plan on running it on a Bobcat T750. I have a small construction company and I already do mowing with a tractor and a bush hog, an excavator with a Rockhound flail mower. i am just looking for help to be sure that I am buying the right mower.
I like that it has stump grinding teeth and the hinged front.
Thanks for you thoughts and information.P.S. I tired to upload some pictures, but I guess I need to work on resizing them.

 

[lumberjack1986]

I just did another job great money job with mine yesterday for the radio company.... I bought it for the same reason, couldn't justify a horizontal mulcher. If/when I sell this one, if/when I need another I'll get another Ground Shark. Mine has been great, I just don't use the CTL enough to justify keeping it much longer... got a grapple truck build to pay for!

 

[masalser]

Did Bradco buy Davco? That ground shark looks almost exactly like the Davco deck I bought with my ASV rc100

 

[lumberjack1986]

Checking Davco's website... the main similarity I see is the Davco blade carrier sandwiches the blades, but no carbide teeth. The rest appears different to me aside from the general function.

 

[Bill Stecik]

Everyone copies the Davco. It is the best “mini rotary” out there . I have a Davco and run it on a 312b track hoe . Unbeatable in smaller brush and willow .