4 acres of Blackthorn

[Highland Forestry]

mulcher. Contact Justin Kingwell - he's local to you.

[NI Tree]

what about a jungle buster they work very well i use it on a 40 hp deutz and love it. it will cut 6in and is 5 foot wide

 

it works the same way as this

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFWHpdkTxjU]Slagkraft Chain Swipe Mower - YouTube[/ame]

[tommer9]

Very interesting concept, haven't seen or heard of one of these machines in Ireland yet. Have you seen one in action Tommer? Do you know what sort of diameter material it can handle comfortably? Also is the height of the material being baled an issue?

 

Yes i ahve, It belongs to a friend of mine. There are only two in the country I think, and only 16 (at last count) in the world. It will handle big bits- IIRC he said up to 10", and in the video the gorse is higher than the tractor cab.

The bales weigh a third of a tonne, and have the equivalent calorific value as 1/3 of a barrel of oil, so you end up with a very useable product, which due to the coarse nature of the bale, dries quickly.

[Iain H]

I have worked on a site where they have used tree shears on a excavator, let the material dry then put it through a whole tree chipper for power stations. Depends on size of blackthorne. The site i am thinking of was mature Hawthorne with butts around 12". The site was then mulched and we then planted into it. A follow up spray sorted any regrowth.

[rowan lee]

It will handle big bits- IIRC he said up to 10", and in the video the gorse is higher than the tractor cab.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm surprised the material in the finished bale looks so intact. Obviously this is necessary for the bale's final structure as I'm sure finely mulched material would not bind as well in the chamber and the finished product would simply fall apart once it has dumped out the back.

 

Material most pass up very quickly through the cutting head and into the chamber, before it is obliterated beyond all recognition.

 

I note two pto shafts on the baler, presumably they both feed into one main shaft that is attached to the tractor, and one of the two is geared up to achieve the necessary rpm for the cutting head?

[tommer9]

The cutters are below the pick up tines, so the gorse/ blackthorn/ whatever, is cut and ground at ground level, and the rest is picked up and baled like straw in a conventional round baler. There is very very little left on the ground, including finer stuff.

Yeah- one shaft from the tractor into a gearbox.

[Daniël Bos]

Very interested in this baler. My parents flail and export a fair few hectares of moorland for nutrient depletion and heather regeneration. There's often birches in there that go up to 8" or so, would it cope with those? And how is it with varying crops as it goes heather-coarse grass- rushes - birch scrub etc all in a furlong or so.

 

Another important issue on the peat they're on: how much does it weigh?

 

And the last most important question: What is the market for the bales like? Price/tonne?

[tommer9]

You would be best to contact Rupert at Moor heat direct TBH.

[Stereo]

How about a skid steer with front mounted brash cutter? Something like this.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60YC3sGn8Ss&feature=related]BUSHMASTER skid steer brush mower and tree cutter - YouTube[/ame]