Forestry mulchers: drum or disk?

[RancherGuy]

I have been contemplating mulching underbrush and small trees with a high flow skid steer. I have been considering using this for hire and during "unhired days", cleaning out the same from 200 wooded acres that I own.

With interest, I have watched all sorts of Youtube videos on the topic, which leads me to a question that I cannot find an answer for. There are many brands of drum-type forestry mulchers, and a few brands of disk-type forestry mulchers. I know I don't want a "mower" - I want something that shreds. It seems that these mulchers run in the neighborhood of $25k. If I start with just one of these, which one should I get?

 

[CincyFlyer]

I've only seen a drum-type in action, on my property, clearing 1,000 feet of honeysuckle from a gas pipeline right-of-way in 20°F weather. It was spectacular, didn't toss stuff very far, and left relatively small pieces (small enough to mow over, in any case.) I really wanted one! The operator says that it will destroy small rocks, and remove small dirt mounds, as well (not done intentionally.) One trick that a disk-type may have difficulty with is removing stumps to ground level (in terms of the honeysuckle, it tended to rip them completely out of the ground when it got down close.) I've seen videos of disk-type, they look to be a little bit frightening.

 

[nybirdman]

I hired two contractors this year for land clearing.The first one used a 65 H.P SS and a rotary cutter ,the second a 85 H.P.Skid Steer with a forestry head.Forestry head cost more per hour,to purchase and maintain but do a much better job.IMHO.
I had a lot less clean up after the forestry head.The forestry head also takes out the root system where the rotary just cuts above ground.

 

[Rustyiron]

It seem's both types have there strong points. I'd go with what you see the "local guy's" using.
FWIW there's a bunch of used equipment showing up, coming out of PA's pipeline/fracking boom. I know, a long way from TX
//www.rkenergyservicesinc.com/inventory/?/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/list/category/1055?etid=1&pcid=3340265&dlr=1&sfc=0
http://www.aaenterprisesllc.com/inv...id=3493311&dlr=1&ftr=1&keywords=mulcher&sfc=0

 

[Oldoak]

I believe the drum type Forestry mulchers do the best job. Leave small chips, shreds small stumps down to the roots, leaving a smoother forest floor behind them.

I live in the middle of that fracking boom here in PA and have seen them in action. I refer to those Forestry mulchers as Tasmanian Devil machines. These were big commercial machines similar to the BANDIT 3000T listed for sale.

 

[Texasmark]

Never had a "flail" type mowing device but in looking at performance and all for tough jobs, they may have some merit for you. I have a drum mower but I don't see it being applicable for clearing wooded areas. A rotating bushhog type machine I think would be more to the liking as they are rated for saplings up to several inches in diameter and do chew through most everything.

Knowing what I know, and that's just my cutter and my usage, I don't think a drum is your right choice.

 

[Silvic]

I have a drum mower but I don't see it being applicable for clearing wooded areas. A rotating bushhog type machine I think would be more to the liking as they are rated for saplings up to several inches in diameter and do chew through most everything.

I am not certain if Texasmark understands what a drum mulcher is. They are not a drum mower. They are not a flail.

They are specifically designed for forested/wooded areas and are applicable for clearing wooded areas and do a fantastic job.

The decision between a Fecon/FAE/Denis cimaf type mulcher or a rotary mulcher is a tradeoff. The drum type is a lot more expensive than the rotary (more than double). The drum will mulch to a finer consistency. The drum tools (teeth) will last much longer than the rotary blades and teeth but are much more costly to replace.
A rotary cutter is not a rotary mulcher. The rotary cutter is basically a big heavy duty brushhog. The rotary mulcher has significantly more inertia enhancements to the disk and blade but also has teeth attached to the inertial disk that shred and chews not just cut. An example is the Bradco Extreme Land Shark. I would not consider the Bradco Land Shark there is a big difference.

If you have a lot of finer woody debris and brush then the rotary might be the best for you. If you have much that is larger in diameter (6-8 inches and larger) I would not even look at the rotary. You, the OP, state you have high flow but there is a large range of what some manufacturer's classify as high flow. Make certain what you have will match what you want to get. The rotaries in general can be run successfully with less flow than the drum.

I have looked at and evaluated both and I much prefer the drum type but there are limited times where the rotary would be better. If I could only have one then it would be the drum. I have a Fecon. The dual stage hydraulic motor is well worth the price difference over the single stage motors.

I like the HDT rotor with dual carbide tools

 

[Todd727]

The disc mulcher can do a nice job, however, depending on where you are planning on working, it can cause issues as it will throw material much further. If you are working near roads or buildings, keep that in mind.

The drum style are also shorter and reduce the total length of the machine. That can aid maneuverability. Some manufacturers offer movable doors on the front which can further reduce the size of the resulting mulch. Generally, the Denis Cimaf and Gyrotrac are said to leave the smallest debris. Fecon and FAE are the other main players and make many of the OEM heads. I believe Fecon builds the Bobcat head and FAE builds the CAT head. The trend is for the drums to include depth limiting bars to reduce the bite you take out of a tree or log at any one time. This helps reduce stalling the head with to much material and also helps make the chips smaller.

Silvic did a great job explaining the rest.

Examples for those that aren't sure what is being discussed:

AFE disc style mulcher

Denis Cimaf drum style mulcher

 

[Texasmark]

I am not certain if Texasmark understands what a drum mulcher is. They are not a drum mower. They are not a flail.

They are specifically designed for forested/wooded areas and are applicable for clearing wooded areas and do a fantastic job.

The decision between a Fecon/FAE/Denis cimaf type mulcher or a rotary mulcher is a tradeoff. The drum type is a lot more expensive than the rotary (more than double). The drum will mulch to a finer consistency. The drum tools (teeth) will last much longer than the rotary blades and teeth but are much more costly to replace.
A rotary cutter is not a rotary mulcher. The rotary cutter is basically a big heavy duty brushhog. The rotary mulcher has significantly more inertia enhancements to the disk and blade but also has teeth attached to the inertial disk that shred and chews not just cut. An example is the Bradco Extreme Land Shark. I would not consider the Bradco Land Shark there is a big difference.

If you have a lot of finer woody debris and brush then the rotary might be the best for you. If you have much that is larger in diameter (6-8 inches and larger) I would not even look at the rotary. You, the OP, state you have high flow but there is a large range of what some manufacturer's classify as high flow. Make certain what you have will match what you want to get. The rotaries in general can be run successfully with less flow than the drum.

I have looked at and evaluated both and I much prefer the drum type but there are limited times where the rotary would be better. If I could only have one then it would be the drum. I have a Fecon. The dual stage hydraulic motor is well worth the price difference over the single stage motors.

I like the HDT rotor with dual carbide tools

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Yes sir I didn't. I am 76 and don't catch things like I used to. I missed the word mulcher and mentally plugged in mower since I was familiar with the term drum mower. Sorry for the distraction from your posting.

 

[pls1911]

You need to decide what's important to you near, interim, and long term.
As much as I really like mulchers, I needed to look at my overall needs.

I looked at muntiple configurations (drum mulcher, rotary mulcher, rotary extreme brush cutter), watched a drum mulcher clear thick brush and cedar on 20 acres adjacent to me, then a Bradco brush shark ( a premium rotary HD cutter, nearly as expensive as a drum design) shred the same type of brush on his property in the area.
Additionally, I spent several days with a Blue Diamond Extreme Rotary Brush Cutter (STANDARD FLOW) on a rocky ranch in the central Texas Hill Country shredding old dry piles of cedar trees...TOUGH STUFF. The rental Blue Diamond was already beat to h&ll and had blades in rounded sad shape from use, abuse, and rock impacts.

My observations:
1. Drum mulchers cost much more to buy, rent, and maintain. LOT more moving parts as well as wear parts. However, they do leave a finer mulched end product, which appears "finer" immediately after the cut.

2. Rotary mulchers share the benefits of rotary cutter design and handle true timber a bit better, but lack the versatility of the Extreme Duty Brush Cutters.

3. Extreme Duty Rotary Brush Cutters cost less to buy, have fewer moving parts, and the premium brand extreme duty units (Bradco, SkidPro, Diamond, and Blue Diamond) are about bullet proof with reasonable use. The slash is more course, but can be reduced somewhat with technique. However, I can still mow over the slash with my zero-turn at about 4" without worry. With decent blade edges on the blades the rotary cutters make fine brush hog mowers as well.

Bottom line? My objective is a long term least cost/maintenance/hassle equipment for recovery of neglected or overgrown land for ag or conservation use...not a putting green.
I bought an an open front STANDARD FLOW 72" Skid Pro, with nearly 500 pounds rotating inertia, four blades, reversible capability, and is profoundly heavy from any perspective. Any extreme duty products of the brands mentioned would perform as well. I've mowed pastures, cleared food plots and made habitat improvements in heavy cover, downed and shredded 4-6" trees, selectively cleared understory and creek bottoms. The slash is very acceptable size and provides erosion control until spring growth takes over, and probably well into a couple of years forward. A high flow rotary unit does no better, no faster. A high flow unit in my case simply not necessary.
I'm running a Cat 242D, and Bobcat S630, both standard flow. At about 75 h.p., I have plenty of power. However, the 72" Extreme Duty SkidPro is about as much weight as I can handle...I don't think I can break it either.