CAT mulcher and grader blade attachments - worth the price?

[PWE NW]

Hey guys,

I'm currently looking at picking up a CAT 289D3 CTL in the next few months. Trying to figure out what attachments are worthwhile - especially the mulchers and grader blades. Each attachment is between $20 - $40k which is a pretty steep price tag if you can't keep them busy. So, I'm curious who owns these and how much work you're getting out of them? Thanks!

 

[KSSS]

If your going to mulch, I think you will find the 289 lacking in HP. You would want to go with a 299 or the equivalent.

 

[ianjoub]

If your going to mulch, I think you will find the 289 lacking in HP. You would want to go with a 299 or the equivalent.

My 287 high flow worked very well with a mulcher.

There are equal or better quality attachments from other vendors besides CAT, often for far less money.

 

[PWE NW]

If your going to mulch, I think you will find the 289 lacking in HP. You would want to go with a 299 or the equivalent.

Yeah I still need to look over the pros and cons of those two or possibly the 279. The majority of work would just be digging and grading. I'm liking the size and weight of the 289 for moving geo-blocks but haven't put much thought into the hydraulic capabilities

 

[PWE NW]

My 287 high flow worked very well with a mulcher.

There are equal or better quality attachments from other vendors besides CAT, often for far less money.

How often are you using a mulcher? I'd probably need to use it once a week to justify the price.

 

[ianjoub]

How often are you using a mulcher? I'd probably need to use it once a week to justify the price.

I bought it/ had it for a while just as a toy. I am not in the business.

I bought a 48" high flow model from Skid Pro. I think it was only $15k brand new.

 

[ianjoub]

I was trying to avoid this, but here goes:

I was not mulching for a business. The 48" was fine. Most of the mulching happens with only 12"-18" at a time, except for back dragging. Also, the 48" drum spins up faster than a heavier 60" or 72".

Is your machine a high flow? You must match the mulcher motor to the machine flow. Also, you have to decide on knife teeth or carbide. Knife cut much easier, but dull much faster. Knife teeth will make the machine feel more powerful.

 

[Tones]

If you are intending to only be part time mulching then look for used rather than new. Some blokes in the eastern states are noticing a downturn in work and are wanting out off the game.

 

[KSSS]

I know there are mulchers that work for a 75 hp machine and even low flow. My assumption is that he is wanting to do it productively. That is hard to do with an underpowered machine. If the idea is to mulch your property then that is a different issue then trying to make a living off of it.

 

[PWE NW]

I know there are mulchers that work for a 75 hp machine and even low flow. My assumption is that he is wanting to do it productively. That is hard to do with an underpowered machine. If the idea is to mulch your property then that is a different issue then trying to make a living off of it.

Yes this is for business. I'm curious how much other guys who own them are using them. I'm thinking a lot of the potential work would be knocking down blackberry bushes in my area

 

[KSSS]

Yes, those things are everywhere out there. It wouldn't take much to mulch those. You could also use a Diamond type mower, they are less money and could handle that type of material easy. How much someone else uses them may not help you where you live. If there is no one around you that offers that service, you may be able to make it worth the investment.

 

[gwhammy]

I've got a terminator high flow brush hog with the carbide teeth on the bottom. It does a real decent job small trees and under brush are no problem.
As for a grading blade, I would think you have to do thousands of square feet to justify one. Once you get good with a bucket it doesn't take long to grade out big areas.
I have lots of attachments, some bought some homemade but the best one I've got lately is the harrow attachment I made. Just did a pond we built that was roughed out with a dozer. Took 2.5 hours to have ready to seed with no hand work. I also use it on driveways to rough the rock up and fill in potholes. It's the best simple attachment I've seen.

 

[Jimbo]

Pics of the harrow, please

 

[gwhammy]

It's like the the rake-n-ator design. The only thing I would do different is use hard steel for the teeth. I did hard surface the mild steel ones but have worn threw it doing driveways. They have some good videos on u-tube working them.

 

[Chrisso]

Bobcat make a nice grader attachment for a fraction of Cat's price but it's messy... it doesn't integrate with the machine buttons/functions so you need a controller usually zip tied onto the arms inside the cab.

 

[PWE NW]

Yeah the new CAT smart attachments look pretty cool but they aren't cheap. I'm thinking of going with the smart dozer blade that's quite a bit cheaper than the grader blade but still able to work with a laser grading attachment.

 

[KSSS]

The Bobcat grader can made to utilize the buttons on the control handle. I use one on a CASE CTL and I am still able to use the buttons on the handles. Took a little wiring but no big deal.

 

[1466IH]

Do any of you guys have any first hand experience with one of these?

 

[gwhammy]

I'd like to see them doing the video in some good hard clay instead of black loose dirt. I wonder what the cost of one of those is?

 

[Tags]

Looks great for areas without rock and ledge…wouldn’t work so great here in the northeast. Not knocking it either, seems like a great attachment if used in the environment it’s designed for.