minimum excavator size for rotary mower

[jsw development]

Hello all. This is my first post so please bear with me.

I own a storm water company that services retention ponds. We have been servicing these accounts with a mini skid steer with a hydraulic tiller and a hydraulic brush cutter. This machine has been great to us but has gotten to be inefficient and we need to improve to keep up with work load. I want to look at the possibility of running a mini excavator with a brush cutter to maintain slopes and to remove sediment. A skid steer is not a good solution as the slopes we have to mow are too steep.

The brush cutter i want to run is designed for a dingo type machine, weighs 420 lbs and requires 8-20 gpm to run. This cutter is a rotary cutter and not a flail type. I can change the hydraulic pump to accommodate more flow if necessary. I also can weld a mount for an excavator as I have the equipment necessary to fab.

So long story short, what class of excavator is required to lift and run a 420lb cutter?

 

[jsw development]

An example of a muddy pond

 

[jsw development]

Sorry for so many posts I can't figure out how to edit.

I'm specifically looking at a Takeuchi TB135 and a Bobcat 331g

 

[Anthonycecil]

I have an e50 bobcat, with a bush hog type mower....It is a bit of a dangerous setup, without an enclosed cab...With the boom extended all the way, it barely does not tip, so you can easily tip it if you drop the dipper arm too quickly....a rotary mower would be safer, I would think, but still rather heavy.....Reach is important , so be careful to get one that is rather heavy for stability Tony

 

[jsw development]

Thanks Anthony. How does the e50 do when it gets a little muddy? The mower we will be running is similar to a brush hog also. Both excavators have a cab on them though

 

[lumberjack]

A 420b cutter could be ran on 7klb machine. My mower weighs almost 800lbs on my 13.2klb machine.


Muddy would depend on how you're sitting. If you're on a cross slope, across the tracks, and the downhill track is in the mud, you'll be more tippy. Also working in the mud (wiggling around and such) can bring water up/make it sloppier.

 

[jsw development]

ill be in the muddy area, using a purpose built rake to remove vegetation from the sand filter area (flat part). I'll need to move around the pond to access different areas, but the boom makes a big difference as I can sit in one spot and rake a large area around me. After completing the work, I would have to get back up the slope, which is a major problem for tracked skid steers since the lugs are full of mud and I can't get any traction. I was hoping to be able to use the bucket to push or pull the machine back out.

 

[Anthonycecil]

If you have genuine mud, with no bottom, you will get stuck, and it isn`t an easy thing to get un stuck...If you can reach from firm land, and are careful with the angle of the cutter, you can probably reach out ten to twelve feet, with a boom that is twenty feet long , but all in all you would have to get the flail sort of cuttter--not the bush hog type, as the bush type would send debris all over you...reaching down....the other type would be much better....the bobcat does`t like steep grades, but it will do them in dry conditions I would suggest to use the seat belt ....Tony

 

[jsw development]

Thanks yall! I'm hoping its going to work out. These ponds have a gravel base thats 18" down. I just need to find a reliable used machine now that doesnt have a ton of hours.