Mulching - "The Daily Grind"

[treemuncher]

Not sure whether to post this in "Showtime" or "Forestry". I guess a lot of others post there work here in "Showtime". I'll try to add some decent footage or photos every so often if you guys like what you see or if there is any interest in it.

Mulching is like a magic show - make it disappear. As I tell customers, "I can take it down but don't expect me to put it back up if you change your mind!" I started into the forestry mulching business way back in early 1997. So, I'm starting on my 27th year of this activity and not ready to quit unless my health forces me to.

I wanted something different than dirt and WITHOUT the need for employees, something I could work at alone so that I could more easily coast on the bank account in lean times. This also provided me with a lot more freedom with my time management. It has been ideal for my needs and given me a reduced stress level in life. Best of all, I still enjoy it every single day, especially on jobs far away from people and civilization. Crank up Megadeath's "Symphony of Destruction" to nearly max volume, push the throttle to max and let's get some work DONE! When you take all the risks/liability of hurting someone or something out of the scenario, it's a stress free job for me. NOT so much for the trees.

Here are a couple of before/after photos of a recent job that I've been working on with the Barko. 30k lbs of tractor and 10k lbs of cutterhead moving at 6 mph gets a lot done fast. This is not neat work, not in my book, but "just get it down flat enough to bush hog next fall" is what the customer wants. I try not to leave anything big enough to hurt a rotary mower and slam on just as fast as I can, dependent on conditions. It looks pretty good from a distance and all the stumps are cut to grade.

 

[mowingman]

Very nice. I got into land clearing mostly for the same reasons as you did. I was not as smart as you though, and it was later in life when I got started. So, I only got in about 14 years before I retired.

 

[Tyler d4c]

It appears you started up when I was being born!

 

[cfherrman]

That's quite the machine there

 

[CM1995]

Not sure whether to post this in "Showtime" or "Forestry". I guess a lot of others post there work here in "Showtime". I'll try to add some decent footage or photos every so often if you guys like what you see or if there is any interest in it.

Well I'm guilty of posting dirt moving in pictures in Showtime too.

It appears you started up when I was being born!

Damn you're a young'n! I was 2 years out of college in '97.

 

[Tyler d4c]

Well I'm guilty of posting dirt moving in pictures in Showtime too.



Damn you're a young'n! I was 2 years out of college in '97.

The sad part is most people think I'm 40 my lady freind was born this century and her dad calls me gramps.....

 

[treemuncher]

That Barko is a beast of a machine. It's not for every job but when it's suitable, it's the most productive machine I've run. It's maintainence intensive and it sucks 20 gph of fuel in many applications. More $/hr and cheaper per acre. I'm often asked, "how big can you mulch?" This red oak was the largest to date that I've measured. 5'4" at the saw cut and right on the roadside. It was a shame that I could not save that one.

It's the one over the top of the machine's radiator

 

[Acoals]

Do you do everything with that Barko, or do you have other machines as well?

 

[skyking1]

wow.
That thing is
"Pardon me" and total destruction.

 

[Bumpsteer]

We have 3 large (24") nat gas lines less than 1/4 mile behind my house.
Many moons ago I came home from work, heard this "noise".....wtf?
Grabbed a beer, back in the truck.
DTE deciced to clear their pipeline that hadn't been touched since the early 60's when it was put in.
Drove back and wtf is that? Weapon of mass destruction, nothing was spared.
My first time seeing a Hydro-ax in operation...a come to Jesus moment for sure.

Ed

 

[treemuncher]

Do you do everything with that Barko, or do you have other machines as well?

I own several different machines.

For me, heavy equipment is like an addiction. I should really join a therapy group so that I own a lot less than what I have...or hire help and then need different kinds of therapy(s). There is not too much ground that I can not cover with what I have to choose from. As I go along, I will post pics of different machines that I own. I'll start here with the big hoe. It's the machine that I originally got into mulching with. It's what was the main machine for my dirt/clearing work that I originally started contracting with back in '94 or there abouts.

PC200LC-6 excavator with 300hp cummins powerpack just to run the mulching head. I also have bucket, shear, rake, hydraulic thumb, ripper and two different mulch heads that fit this machine. I started with 170hp power unit and smaller pumps but wanted more power so I did a retrofit some years ago. If there is a lot of big wood or tornado damage, this is the fastest solution. I can also neatly limb with it. You can initiate a crack or multiple cracks in a stem 25+ ft above the base and chase it/them to the stump thereby destroying the tree several times faster than on-the-ground mulching. Having the dexterity and power to move debris about where needed is another added bonus. High finish quality is more time consuming with this machine but it will slam out big wood fast and reach the work that the other machines can't.


Taking out a big hackberry next to a creek for a road right-of-way.


Reclearing a levee and ditch


Clearing for a new sewer line right-of-way

 

[digger doug]

You missed a spot back there......

 

[skyking1]

Dang that is a "Tim Taylor" moment if there ever was one.
It had a 170 HP power pack < bows down in awe>
But it was not enough. Now it has more engine hanging off the back than a
450 excavator has UNDER THE HOOD!
<swooon>

 

[skyking1]

There is no lack of a good warm spot to heat up a can of ravioli on that rig.
How is the balance? What does it weigh all tooled up like that? I see you swapped out the entire counterweight.

 

[mowingman]

How do the rubber tires hold up when mulching thick, thorny brush? My experience was always with steel track or rubber track equipment. I was always afraid to try rubber tired mulchers. Just curious.

 

[IceHole]

The sad part is most people think I'm 40 my lady freind was born this century and her dad calls me gramps.....

I interviewed for a job and they tried calling me out that I had 20 years experience.
"What, did you start in grade school?!... harrharrharrrrr"

Uh, no, around 20.

Had to show them my license to prove I wasn't ~25.
Needless to say, didn't get that job.

 

[treemuncher]

There is no lack of a good warm spot to heat up a can of ravioli on that rig.
How is the balance? What does it weigh all tooled up like that? I see you swapped out the entire counterweight.

It weighs in about 53k lbs but that was with the old head that was significantly heavier. Full stick out with the old head was almost guaranteed to lift a track. The machine is balanced just fine. Even with the old head on, I used to have to do an annual job where I would sidehill a 30-35 degree slope and cut as I went. I did have to keep the stick in from midway (90 degrees) and closer or end up lifting the back track. The only time it was really a hassle with that much weight was working a steep uphill grade. Too much stick out or too far off to the side and it would relieve the swing valve.

It's all just a balancing act. Think of working with a full bucket of dirt at the end of the stick all day long and that's sort of what it is like. The only drawback of the rear engine counterweight assembly is that my center of gravity if further away from the center so swing acceleration is not as quick as a standard machine. Getting used to the amount of overhang is no big deal on most jobs.

One of my favorite jobs with the hoe.


Legally speaking, in my state, you may not live relocate these dam critters. They must be euthanized. It's fast to "suck & shuck" if they make themselves available. Sometimes I've seen the results of other critters that crawl out of a hole with bad timing. Fwwhumppp! Just mix it in with the dirt & chips and no one is the wiser but the vultures. No telling how many scaly or furry things I eat in a day that are never seen nor felt.

The worst thing I ever did was to eat through a cow carcass that was not completely dessicated. After that, I did not enjoy the smell of cooked beef for well over 6 months. A rancid stench lingered about that machine for at least on month!

 

[IceHole]

That a Komatsu 200? We have a 220lc3 stroke delimber.

Most fecon heads I've seen ran off excavator power.

 

[MG84]

I’d be interest to hear how your industry has changed from ‘97 to now? It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry with a CTL has a mulching business now, some do good work, but a lot of them don’t. Or they are pushing their services where conventional clearing clearing would be better (Horse pastures, hay ground, tillable farm ground, etc.) Has this had an impact on your business or are you in a different market altogether?

 

[cuttin edge]

We bought a mulching head for mulching along roads, as apposed to using a tractor with a bush hog. Now everyone with a hoe has one.

I think they are made here in the province. It does get a lot of use though. We are doing site work for Bird construction, and you can't have a chain saw on site unless you complete their 4 day safety course, so they just mulched the entire site