Tree / Post Puller Type & Manufacturer?

[Bigshooter81]

You don't think you can use the same technique on stronger equipment? 12" oaks are no match for a this thing on a CTL. I can take them out inside of 10 minutes. I've successfully downed a couple trees exceeding 24" but that's exceeding the limit of the equipment.

That's actually not at all what I said, or what I was trying to illustrate.

My point is, that like most tools if you use a little technique, you can accomplish quite a bit even with the limited capacity of a CUT.

 

[mark02tj]

THANKS gwtx and BigShooter81 for your replies.

I actually ordered one a few weeks ago. It's supposed to ship this week. I'm excited to hear that it's working well on your tractor BigShooter. Mine is just a bit bigger than yours (35 hp) and quite a bit smaller than gwtx's tractor.

Once I put mine through it's paces I'll post up here as well.

 

[coolnature]

Dadnatron and 4570Man, the Danuser Intimidator arms are 12" longer than the Notch (according to the specs.) and have interlocking, replaceable excavator teeth. The saw teeth on the Danuser are smaller but more numerous than the Notch. My question is this: based upon your experience with the Danuser, are the 12" longer arms / tip design and smaller saw tooth design of the Danuser a worthwhile advantage over the shorter arms and large tooth design of the Notch?

 

[Dadnatron]

I use every inch of the blades in some form or another. So my knee jerk reaction would be to say 'Yes'.

However, on a SCUT or CUT, they might actually be a hindrance. I have a 100hp tractor, so I've been able to take advantage of the size of the blades. I can't really believe you would ever 'replace' a blade as they are huge, thick, and buttressed. I think the weak point in the chain will be the FEL every time, hence the 'however'.

Having never seen the Notch, other than on this thread, I cannot discuss its merits. But if you have a larger tractor or especially if you have a CTL, I would certainly look carefully at the Intimidator/Notch size variance. I dig with it when the trees can't be pushed over initially. I have only ran into 1 tree that I couldn't get out of the ground, and it was an 18" Oak. I pushed it over, but couldn't get the roots out of the ground. As you can see in my pics, the size of what you can remove can use the entire size of the blades. So, for my purposes, I needed and had the ability, to use the large size.

However, if you have a smaller tractor, the FEL might not have the breakout power to lift something that would require those larger blades, so they would go unused and all you would have is a heavier puller trying to level your back wheels off the ground.

I don't know how 'tooth size' would relate to utility. I know that I like the short sharp teeth, in that they dig in and grab rather than cut smaller trees. (you can cut them, but if you are gentle, you get the feel and can 'grasp' them and pull out 1/2" stuff if you go slowly.) The ONLY issue I have with the Intimidator is at the very end, there is a large tab on one blade which inserts into a slot on the other blade, to keep the blades from torquing and twisting when digging. This is a VERY good thing, however, the design flaw is that the slot becomes compacted with dirt and debris and keeps the blades from closing completely. It is a non-issue on anything larger than 1", however, sometimes I will 'slip' off small things, and have to check, and sure enough, the blades are not touching when fully closed. This is because the tab has compacted the slot and halts the closure. I have a small prytool with which I clean out the slot, and we are back in business. Its not much of an issue, but it is easily fixed with a design change. I contacted Danuser, and they said they had a new design they were testing. If you purchase one, I would insist on the new design. Its not in a 'strength critical' location, and just needs a clear spot to eject the debris as the tab enters the slot.

Regardless of what you choose, I would HIGHLY recommend something heavy on the 3-point. Initially, I didn't have anything and always felt unstable. I added a 1200lb box blade, and things were MUCH smoother and controlled.

 

[Dadnatron]

Looking at the design of the Notch, one issue I don't like is that it puts the center of pull towards the right of the FEL. If you have a 6" tree, you will be stressing the right arm along with torquing the arms, to a much greater degree than with the Intimidator. For me, given the stresses I place on the FEL as it is, I would not purchase the Notch unless I had things which were either not very large or not very 'tough' to pull.

I'm not knocking it... but I know how hard I've used mine, and I am glad that it is always centered and not torquing my FEL.

This might not turn out to be much, if you have light duty, but if you are 'getting busy', IMO this would be a deal breaker. That extra $1K up front is going to look pretty good compared to replacing a bent FEL arm.

 

[Bigshooter81]

Looking at the design of the Notch, one issue I don't like is that it puts the center of pull towards the right of the FEL. If you have a 6" tree, you will be stressing the right arm along with torquing the arms, to a much greater degree than with the Intimidator. For me, given the stresses I place on the FEL as it is, I would not purchase the Notch unless I had things which were either not very large or not very 'tough' to pull.

I'm not knocking it... but I know how hard I've used mine, and I am glad that it is always centered and not torquing my FEL.

This might not turn out to be much, if you have light duty, but if you are 'getting busy', IMO this would be a deal breaker. That extra $1K up front is going to look pretty good compared to replacing a bent FEL arm.

It's difficult to tell, but the non operating pincer is offset slightly to the left so as to evenly center most diameters of tree trunk.

The people at Notch did a nice job engineering their puller.

 

[Dadnatron]

Ahhh, OK. It doesn't appear thus from the pics. That's good.

 

[coolnature]

I don't know how 'tooth size' would relate to utility. I know that I like the short sharp teeth, in that they dig in and grab rather than cut smaller trees. (you can cut them, but if you are gentle, you get the feel and can 'grasp' them and pull out 1/2" stuff if you go slowly.)

Thanks for the feedback on your Danuser. The saw tooth size I was referring to are the vertical ones on top of the arms in lieu of the horizontal "gripping teeth" that I believe you are referring to. When grubbing, I was wondering if more smaller teeth would be better for cutting roots than the fewer larger teeth on the Notch. I contacted a dealer this afternoon and he is checking to see if Danuser has changed the design of the interlocking slot so that it does not get clogged with dirt. I agree with you on this issue since I prefer not to exit the cab just to clear a little dirt, just getting old and lazy I suppose.

I do have a heavy blade I keep on the back of my tractor when doing FEL work.

 

[Dadnatron]

I don't know whether the teeth on top make a difference. I suspect they aid in cutting, but I only dig with it less than 5% of the time, if that. Being that this is the only one I've had, I don't know whether they help, hurt, are better or worse than different size teeth. I do know I can jam it deep and put some leverage on it. But mainly, I jam it in a few times, and that causes enough cutting to then get whatever I am after out, relatively easy.

 

[4570Man]

I'd hate to have jaws 12" shorter but I also have this on a stout loader. I've had the same problem with the locking bar at the end filling up with dirt ( actually mostly bark ). The teeth on the top definitely aid in cutting. I've never seen a Notch puller so I can't really compare them. Just looking at the online picture I like the Dansuer a lot better. I like the backhoe teeth on the end, and the jaws look a lot heavier duty.