Cat 309 vs Takeuchi TB290- Mulching and Light Forestry

I'm looking for a little excavator to do mulching and light forestry work with. I've been looking at both of these machines. Spec-ed them out as close to apples to apples and I can. Both with segmented rubber, guarding, similar mulching heads, etc. The Tak is 20k cheaper. The Cat does have a 5yr Premier Warr. while the Tak has 2yr. and the Cat has Level II guarding on front window and top of cab. Tak is Level I.

Looking to put a TMK 300 shear on it. Can't find exactly what I want, but this is fairly close. I cut a lot of cedar to sell as posts. They are thick and I need a grapple on the head to keep them from being pushed back by the other trees onto the machine. I wanted a saw instead of a shear to keep form damaging the logs but just can't find anything that can delimb, collect, etc... I cut a lot of small tree length post oak too for firewood and I'm not so sure the shear is going to get it done for me there. I guess this is another thread... but would really like to find a head that can delimb them standing, then cut them off clean, and that has a grapple that can hold them. Looked at strokers, but even small post oak limbs are a no-go.

Any thoughts would sure be appreciated. Thanks! LG

I can't speak to the cat or tak, but I can to the TMK. I've got a TMK 300 on a Bobcat E85 with a steelwrist tiltrotator. I've had no issues cutting softwoods up 12". Hardwoods I find are species dependant, but it's quite productive in the 6-8" range. I don't have the delimber.

If you're on Instagram, check out LGPeddie. Extremely experienced mechanized arb guy. He rates the Cat 310 as the best large mini ex for tree work currently. Lots of pressure and flow. Both are important if you want to run a shear or mulcher.

I figured the 309 with the separate pump for the mulcher would be number one. I'm surprised. I'll check it out and thank you for the info on the TMK. There's not much out there. That tilt rotator has to be nice on shearing limbs...

I don't think eddie ever runs a mulcher. That said, if the 309 has a separate pump, might be better?

Tilty is definitely very nice, but comes at a pretty significant weight penalty, means you've got to plan your cuts at full reach/over the side. If I'm doing straight clearing work, I remove the tiltrotator and run the shear by itself.

The 310 has a little bit bigger pump and is a little beefier. I guess it would come down to if you needed the swing boom or not. I think the less moving parts the better, but I can see a swing boom being nice for the mulcher or the TMK.

Availability is causing me some difficulty... I'm throwing a 310 into the mix as well.

My question is, how important is having a swing boom for a mulching set up? Or using a TMK shear? The 310 looks a little simpler in the build. With the extra weight for the segmented rubber steel tracks and a counterweight, could I run a TMK400?

NepeanGC said:

If you're on Instagram, check out LGPeddie. Extremely experienced mechanized arb guy. He rates the Cat 310 as the best large mini ex for tree work currently. Lots of pressure and flow. Both are important if you want to run a shear or mulcher.

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He used to post here years ago. https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/sneak-preview.14442/page-2#post-185349

On either machine are you having to add additional plumbing/valves / pumps etc to run a mulching head?

No. Both are ready to roll straight from Cat. 309 was made for mulching with a dedicated pump to run the head only. 310 has a bigger pump and can run the head too. I'm just not sure if a swing boom is all that important. Just more to go wrong in my opinion and the 310 is a little larger which is good because I handle a lot of trees too. It really just comes down to swing boom and dedicated mulcher hydraulics vs beefier machine that is a little simpler in design.

Make sure whichever one you get keeps aux speed spooled up when booming down. I put a mulcher head on a 308E2 a few years ago and as it boomed down it would reduce power to the aux circuit and the mulcher head would slow down dramatically. The salesman was up my butt about it and sent it to the customer before I had a chance to figure out what caused that despite my protests and I never got an answer as to what caused it and to this day I’m kind of irritated that I don’t know why.

I think that is what is cool about the 309. The machine can be moving or moving boom and it is supposed to stay spooled up. The 310 has a big pump for a little machine. I'm thinking it would be okay, but there just isn't much out there about the two. I did the big stuff at Cat and don't really even know who to call to get some real life feedback.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/excavator-for-forestry-mulching.90632/

I would take a very hard look at this thread right here, tree muncher has pretty much posted maybe the most informative thread on using an excavator to clear with. It may be worth sending him a private message to talk more in depth about it and what your needs are…

I think I am going 310. It seems the best option for mulching and taking down trees. I like the bigger pump. I live in the hills.

I'm just gonna ask it for the sake of asking - Did you rule out 135/145 class excavators for any particular reason? Seems to me like you get a lot more machine and capability in a not much bigger package. Only downside is hauling requires bigger truck and heavier trailer.

I have bigger equipment. The thing is, pulling into a snooty, gated community with a lowboy is going to go over like a lead balloon. Ya know?

I thrive on pulling into those communities, actually, most of the time you need to back all the way in from the main road. Those are the neighborhoods that everyone has done a big project at their house at some point and they get upset when it's time for the neighbor to start their own project...."How long are all these trucks and machines going to be making all this noise??"

Sorry to swerve off course, a 135/140 size machine can be moved on a 20 ton trailer behind a dump truck....

Tags said:

I thrive on pulling into those communities, actually, most of the time you need to back all the way in from the main road. Those are the neighborhoods that everyone has done a big project at their house at some point and they get upset when it's time for the neighbor to start their own project...."How long are all these trucks and machines going to be making all this noise??"

Sorry to swerve off course, a 135/140 size machine can be moved on a 20 ton trailer behind a dump truck....

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Story of my life. Most of our work is infill development in existing rural subdivisions. People get so annoyed by noise and traffic yet conveniently forget that is how their home was built.

But yea, logistically, we move everything 20 ton and under on a tag behind our dump truck. So logistically it's the same, hence my questions. Roadliner pads are also pretty common on that size machine. Acquisition cost is higher, and a slightly bigger machine, but access for maintenance and cooling generally tend to be better.

That said, if you've already got bigger machines, I can understand wanting a decent gap between machine sizes.

"That said, if you've already got bigger machines, I can understand wanting a decent gap between machine sizes."

Exactly.

For what I'm doing, I don't really have a use for a dump truck. I either roll in driving a 550 and pulling a deck over dual tandem with some piece of little yellow iron on it, or I come in with a big truck and a lowboy. I have to admit, when I am rolling through some of those "I'm so freaking rich" neighborhoods, I love finding any excuse I can to hit the jake. But when I get to where I'm going, I do my best to be nice.

I need something smaller that's a little easier to move around in the woods with. I'm sick of blue haired old ladies yelling at me because I knocked down some dinky little red bud tree while I was taking out 100 year old dead ash trees...

Last year I took out the power for a whole high rent subdivision (rundown houses were 4-5 million) in July when it was 101 degrees. So many grape vines in the canopy that when I dropped an old dead tree, the tangle of vines pulled the wire 150' away. I had a committee of those old birds chewing on my butt that day (while I sat, smiled, looked stupid and nodded in my a/c cab with Hank and Lefty on the radio drowning out the squawking.

I’m not sure if it matters to you, but the one 310 I saw was made in China. Also I’m not sure what size pump the 310 has but it seems to me if your doing very much mulching the separate pump of the 309 would be better. I may be biased though, I ordered a 309. Also what mulchers did you get quotes on? The same for both machines?

Hell yes it matters to me.
I do not support fracking Chy-na.

Bad news all 310s are now made in China.

freaking caterpillar