Help us design on our Mulcher Attachment

[BigEddy]

Okay - if the blower / suction solution isn't what you are looking for, how about modelling it after a slinger truck?

Conveyor belt extending out 10' say, from a V Shaped hopper that mounts in place of the bucket. Using a pivot mechanism, you can get some sideways travel, or with the PT articulation you can also "turn" the belt to another spot.

Assuming you have hyro flow to the front, I'd use a hydraulic motor to drive the belt. Drive forward until the end of the conveyor is over the flower bed, engage the conveyor and "sling" some mulch onto the bed. Pivot the PT or move forward and back to distribute.

Or for better control, mount a remote valve at the end of a pivoting conveyor, then get off the seat (ugh) and stand at the conveyor, and control the position and flow from there.

 

[bubenberg]

Fantastic Some great thinking is going on this here Monday. Thank you very much for your contributions /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

What do you mean leave the perfectly good environment of the Rops environment of the Power Trac? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Do you think one could reverse the process and have the mulch move backwards (toward the driver) for better visibility and the control similar to the portable dumper controller?

 

[bubenberg]

This is too chaep and too small but i like it allot /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mulch Mule

watch the viedeo, please! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[bubenberg]

What could something like that cost

here are some concerns and observations from another forum:

" love the blower but it is out of reach for some biz
if there is a smaller option i am all for it
jobs that took 3 days with 4 men and wheel barows i got done in 4 hrs with 3 men with the blower so more money for me less time spent and off to the next job so it made us more money and with less men
so if a machine could be made to do mulch that cost less it would give the smaller guy a chance to make more money "
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[BigEddy]

Gee -I thought I was being creative - that's the same principle!

But when I think of mulch, I do 2-3 yards a year at one location, so rather than something that size, I was thinking more like a "big" V-Shaped bucket for the PT, with a built in slinger belt. Drive to the pile and scoop up a big load, tilt back so the point of the V is down, then drive to the location you want, pull out / fold down the belt, and engage the drive to sling it. If it "clogs" then wiggle the bucket to start it flowing again.

I guess it depends on the scale you are thinking about -
If you are talking about more than 1 or 2 yards per job or jobs at multiple sites, then I'd go with a trailer solution as well. A simple grain hopper shape with a shaker could flow the mulch well enough to the conveyor. I can envision building a 2 yard trailer that is reasonably affordable, even for a homeowner, yet small and light enough to tow right up to the flower beds, eliminating the wheelbarrows.

 

[bubenberg]

Great contribution, we knew by coming to this forum we eventually would get BIG IDEAS for small equipment to be powered or pulled/pushed by smaller tractors

Thanks very much for your input! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

I took the bottom chains out of an old silage wagon once it was pto powered with a pair of chains that ran around the pbottom of the waogin used to discharge silage into pits with. I narrowed this one down to pull behinda customers tractor in his stables to spead sawdusst shavings and wood chips for bedding. he'd set his tractors gear and groundspeed and turn on his remotes. It made a nice cover on the ground evenly spread and also made for dumping it in piles without having to raise the bed. You could make a trailer like that or a light materials bucket like that to.

 

[bubenberg]

You got it! Very nice suggestions! We needed that input, thanks very much. As we go along and you have other ideas please let us know, I have been watching your inputs for years

buenberg /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BigEddy]

Thought about it some more.

How about a 3pt hopper instead of a bucket / trailer? Drive to the pile and drop the hopper, load it with your loader, then re-attach the hopper and use it to distribute the mulch. A little more work than a standalone trailer, but also a bit more manueverable. Can use either PTO, remotes or 12V to power the belt. Angling the conveyor to the side, you could distribute as you drive beside a bed - stopping to deposit a pile. Could also use the same device for salt/ sand or fertilizer / seed / top dressing by removing the conveyor and mounting a spinner. Multi-Season. Same for the trailer I suppose.

 

[bubenberg]

You now have to come to SE Pennsylvania and help us build the prototype! Thanks very much for so many good ideas, keep it up please! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif