Mini digger or compact loader

[doobin]

Has anyone rigged a hedge flail on a mini digger?

 

Is that a really bone question??

 

 

You'll need to be careful speccing the machine to the flail. Oil flow is important, and so is the arrangement of the pumps on the machine. On most machines, it will be next to impossible to track and flail at the same time due to the fact that the pumps that power the track motor also provide the extra flow for the auxillary. The thinking being that you don't tend to track about much when using a jackhammer

 

Just slewing whilst flailing is OK for some jobs but not hedges or verges etc. Probably the wrong machine for the job it that's what you want it for.

 

Remember that flails are very power hungry. For small machines this would be much more effective (rotary chains)

 

http://www.clark-engineering.com/media/uploads/cat-110/clark-engineering-land-cultivation-slagkraft-chains-swipe-mower.pdf

 

You'd need a bloody big exclusion zone on that beast though.

 

Shame they don't make a mini model.

[irish surgeon]

What would something like that set you back eddie, ha I'm making up a big bank breaking wish list

 

 

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[sandspider]

You'll need to be careful speccing the machine to the flail. Oil flow is important, and so is the arrangement of the pumps on the machine. On most machines, it will be next to impossible to track and flail at the same time due to the fact that the pumps that power the track motor also provide the extra flow for the auxillary. The thinking being that you don't tend to track about much when using a jackhammer

 

Just slewing whilst flailing is OK for some jobs but not hedges or verges etc. Probably the wrong machine for the job it that's what you want it for.

 

Remember that flails are very power hungry. For small machines this would be much more effective (rotary chains)

 

http://www.clark-engineering.com/media/uploads/cat-110/clark-engineering-land-cultivation-slagkraft-chains-swipe-mower.pdf

 

You'd need a bloody big exclusion zone on that beast though.

 

Shame they don't make a mini model.

 

Is it juvenile that I chuckled at Slag-craft?!

[cornish wood burner]

A very wise old owner of an excavation company once said to me "If you have a job to do and you need a 30 tonne swinger but think a 15 tonner might do, always go for the right machine. A 30 tonne might be more to hire but it will save you money because it will do the job in a 1/3 of the time.

I have always thought of a 1to 1.5 ton machine as an easy alternative to a pick and shovel nothing more. As been said previously a big jump in performance when you are over 2.5 ton. I dont think a flail is a good idea at all on a swinger especially the sizes you are considering. I think you need to decide what you want to do with the machine and pick one to suit. Using the wrong / too small a machine will damage your machine, patience, and reputation. Wheels or tracks get the right weight for what you are going to use it for.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

You'll need to be careful speccing the machine to the flail. Oil flow is important, and so is the arrangement of the pumps on the machine. On most machines, it will be next to impossible to track and flail at the same time due to the fact that the pumps that power the track motor also provide the extra flow for the auxillary. The thinking being that you don't tend to track about much when using a jackhammer

 

 

 

Just slewing whilst flailing is OK for some jobs but not hedges or verges etc. Probably the wrong machine for the job it that's what you want it for.

 

 

 

Remember that flails are very power hungry. For small machines this would be much more effective (rotary chains)

 

 

 

http://www.clark-engineering.com/media/uploads/cat-110/clark-engineering-land-cultivation-slagkraft-chains-swipe-mower.pdf

 

 

 

You'd need a bloody big exclusion zone on that beast though.

 

 

 

Shame they don't make a mini model.

 

 

Spot on! I've been investigating today and have reached a conclusion pretty much just as you say above (and as Cornish Wood Burner says below). If you can't track & cut it probably can't match 2x fellas with brush cutters/clearing saws! Still thinking / looking! Trialled an Avant this afternoon, waiting to find out prices for machine & attachments.... We'll see!

[eddiegts]

 

 

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[Matthew Storrs]

The trouble is any machine with any real clout becomes a pain in the backside to transport. Sub 3 tonners are great for their size but unless your in a garden or some other confined space then it usually comes down to the bigger the better.

That said, the operator makes the machine- a 1.5 ton with a skilled operator is far more capable than a 3.5ton with someone who hasn't a clue.

[doobin]

I have always thought of a 1to 1.5 ton machine as an easy alternative to a pick and shovel nothing more.

 

I hear what you're saying re use the biggest machine you can for the job, but a 1.5t will do the work of half a dozen men, especially with attachments like grabs and augers etc.

 

It's the cheapest man on the job by a long shot.

[cornish wood burner]

I hear what you're saying re use the biggest machine you can for the job, but a 1.5t will do the work of half a dozen men, especially with attachments like grabs and augers etc.

 

Or two cornish men if you are digging. Mining county so we're good with a pick.

 

 

Seriously though you're right. Also right about the cost per hour. What ever you get I am sure will save you time and money.

[Stephen Blair]

No 1 machine is perfect, and the way I look at it is compared to man power.

Maybe a mini digger and flail will be rubbish in the eyes of a road sude verge guy, but any things better than a day hacking away with strimmers and hedge cutters and a week of picking thorns out your fingers and arms!

If I buy a £3k flail, it will either last me 10 years or pay for itself, make me money and I'll renew it every few years.

 

 

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