Gorse Clearance

[arbwork]

have a word with Paul at ahwi he is looking to demo a flail machine that blows the arisings through a spout and could be into a trailer job done

[Andy Collins]

have a word with Paul at ahwi he is looking to demo a flail machine that blows the arisings through a spout and could be into a trailer job done

 

Sounds the best bet, you could say you'll review it on Arbtalk too:thumbup:

[garth mc garth]

Haha fair comment - it will probably be me on the digger tbh.

 

Best get a few more 8 wheelers on order then mate!!! u can get a variety of buckets to sift / sort material.

 

how big is the site? what are the ground conditions like?

[Yve_Clark]

Have a look at the Slagkraft chain swipe. This is a mega chain swipe mounted on an excavator, basically a strimmer for a digger, costs little to run in parts etc only a chain, will cut through a 100mm dia. tree and can be mounted on an excavator powered by the hydraulic hammer circuit. It would make quick work of your gorse. It can be easily fitted to any excavator with a hammer line.

Have a look on the Cranab cranes web site to see the Slagkraft machine. Link here: Slagkraft Swipe

[Stephen Blair]

whats the budget?that will give you the answer to how the job gets done

[Buzz]

Lawrence, this was my bread and butter for years.

 

The only thing that will be acceptable for the management plan will be chainsaw cut and burn or chip. It is a real ball ache but tbh once you have cut into the gorse face you can usually get to the stems of multiple bushes fairly easily. Best option then is to use a tractor with pallet forks and a beak to grab the gorse and take it to a central burn site.

 

You know what a fan I am of big kit but on a SSSI this is probably the only option the Ranger will want / allow. I wouldn't recommend a mulcher as the amount of arisings to be dealt with later will be immense.

 

Give me a call if you want to have a chat about it.

[Buzz]

whats the budget?that will give you the answer to how the job gets done

 

 

Not on a SSSI mate, method is more important than cost. Specially if it's HLS or HLF money.

[slack ma girdle]

We cleared six acres of gorse with brush cutters that had the spinney blades of death on the end. With practice you can fell an arc in one swipe, which is about what you can carry under your arm. One person with the strimmer, and two people to clear as you go. Keeps the ground clear under foot, and causes minimum ground disturbance. Don't have one big fire, but spread the fire sites across the work area. And watch out nothing burns hotter than gorse !!!

[Buzz]

We cleared six acres of gorse with brush cutters that had the spinney blades of death on the end. With practice you can fell an arc in one swipe, which is about what you can carry under your arm. One person with the strimmer, and two people to clear as you go. Keeps the ground clear under foot, and causes minimum ground disturbance. Don't have one big fire, but spread the fire sites across the work area. And watch out nothing burns hotter than gorse !!!

[Highland Forestry]

 

Done plenty of gorse clearance... personally I favour the cut and chip method.

 

One man cutting, two clearing and chipping with a tracked chipper, spread the arisings out well and give them a dose of time and they'll rot down and leave the site looking good.

 

Burning is another option but there's handling and kit involved to shift it to a burn site, although it works well if your gorse is in clumps rather than solid, simply cut them off and then burn them where they lie.

 

Tractor and swipe can work well on gorse too.