Picking a mini excavator mulcher for your business is like trying to pick your life partner without knowing them. They all look good and sound nice, but in reality, some are duds, and some are gems.
In this article, I will help you choose the best mini excavator mulcher. Not just the best quality mulcher, but also the best mulcher for your machine. When you are done reading, you'll have a good idea of what direction you should go in regards to picking the best mulcher for your needs.
Key Takeaways
- Promac Equipment manufactures the best mulchers for mini excavators.
- LSM 30 is the best mulcher for mini excavators between 4 and 10 tons.
- LDM 30 is the best mulcher for mini excavators between 6 and 10 tons who want to maximize performance.
- LDM 50 is the best all-around mulcher for mini excavators between 8 and 15 tons.
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Best Mini Excavator Mulcher (4-10 Ton)
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LSM Series Mini Excavator Drum Mulcher by Promac Equipment |
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Best Mini Excavator Mulcher (6-15 Ton)
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LDM Series Mini Excavator Drum Mulcher by Promac Equipment |
Promac Equipment - Offering The Best Excavator Mulchers
Promac Equipment, hands down, offers the very best mulching heads on the market. The design, build quality, and performance is unmatched by any other manufacturer. Each unit is hand made, and the attention to detail that goes into the production of each piece of equipment is second to none.
Promac is located on Vancouver Island in Canada, in the heart of the Canadian forestry industry. The company has been in the business of manufacturing since the 1970s. In the early 1990s, they focused on forestry mulchers and brush cutters for skid steers and excavators.
Given Promac's North American location, they have access to skilled labor, which they leverage to manufacture nearly every mulching head component in-house. This "quality over quantity" approach has given them 50 years of success.
LSM Series Mini Excavator Mulcher
Many mulchers are too heavy and require too much power to be used safely and comfortably with a mini excavator. However, Promac solved this problem with the introduction of the LSM 30.
LSM 30 Drum - Perfect For Big Jobs With Small Excavators
The first problem, of mini excavator mulchers being too heavy was solved by reducing the drum size on the LSM 30. By bringing the cutting width on the drum down to 30", the weight of the mulching attachment dropped to 630 pounds.
The reduced weight of the mulching head lowers the tipping tendency on smaller excavators and lowers the overall power requirements for the machine—mini excavators as light as 4 tons can operate the LSM 30.
LSM Power
A direct drive, bent axis, and fixed displacement hydraulic motor powers the LSM. In short, the LSM motor is very powerful and efficient.
A direct drive motor removes the drive system's need for gears, chains, and other moving parts. The hydraulic motor turns the drum directly, eliminating additional wear parts, points of failure, friction, and maintenance.
Bent-axis hydraulic motors are built to be operated at high speed and often produce more torque than in-line hydraulic motors.
A fixed displacement motor provides constant torque to the drive system. Given the lightweight drum, there is little advantage to adding the complication and cost of a variable displacement motor on the LSM 30.
Overall, the hydraulic drive system on the LSM 30 exceeds the needs of its lightweight drum while allowing most compact excavators to handle it easily.
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Best Mini Excavator Mulcher (4-10 Ton)
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LSM Series Mini Excavator Drum Mulcher by Promac Equipment |
Mini Excavator Recommendations
The LSM 30 is the best mulcher for mini excavators weighing between 4 and 10 tons, with an auxiliary hydraulic flow of 13 to 23 GPM and pressure up to 3,500 PSI. Examples include the Kubota KX057, Kubota KX080, Bobcat E50, Bobcat E60, and Bobcat E88.
Having an excavator in the 4 to 10-ton range helps ensure that you can safely fully extend the boom while mulching, even in tough terrain. Excavators above 10 tons can consider moving up to a larger mulching head.
Most modern mini excavators can preprogram specified auxiliary hydraulic flows. This makes fine-tuning and balancing your excavator and mulcher's hydraulic needs precise.
The LSM 30 can be fitted with any modern wedge lock, pin grabber, or X-Changer mount to suit the needs of all mini excavator brands.
LDM Excavator Mulcher
What do you do if you want larger cutting widths and variable displacement hydraulic motors with twice the displacement? Enter the LDM 30 and LDM 50 excavator mulchers. The LDM series of excavator mulching heads is Promac's answer to the customer who is looking for a more aggressive mulcher to get the job done faster.
LDM Mini Excavator Forestry Mulcher - 30" and 50" Models
There are two kinds of customers the LDM series mulcher is perfect for. Those with "lighter" mini excavators who want more performance and those with "heavier mini excavators" who want extreme performance. The LDM 30 is designed for the former, while the LDM 50 is designed for the latter.
LDM 30 - Get The Most Out Of Excavators Between 6 and 15 Tons
If you've read this whole article, you'll remember that the LSM model of mulcher was the perfect match for excavators between 4 and 10 tons. But what if you are a member of this group and want to ensure maximum performance, Less drum recovery time, high power, and more torque? You get the LDM 30.
The LDM 30 is designed for mini excavators weighing between 6 and 10 tons. The mulching head weighs approximately 1200 pounds and sports a large 55cc variable displacement hydraulic motor.
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Best Mini Excavator Mulcher (6-15 Ton)
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LDM Series Mini Excavator Drum Mulcher by Promac Equipment |
LDM 50 - For Larger Mini Excavators Looking For Maximum Production
Putting too small of a mulcher on too large of an excavator may not only get you laughed at, but it's also not a good way to maximize potential. Enter the LDM 50. This larger forestry mulcher offers a 50" cutting width, 28 teeth on the drum, and a variable displacement 55cc piston motor.
The LDM 50 is designed for excavators weighing between 8 and 15 tons and producing between 15 and 30 gallons per minute of auxiliary hydraulic flow at up to 4,000 PSI.
LDM's Variable Displacement Piston Motors - What The Fuss About?
One feature that makes the LDM series mulchers the best is their variable displacement piston motors with Promac's Automatic Torque Controller (ATC). But what is this, and why does it matter?
A piston hydraulic motor is a hydraulic drive system often used in high-end attachments. Compared to other hydraulic motor designs, it offers high torque, high hydraulic efficiency (up to 97%), and smooth operation even at low flow rates. These characteristics make it perfect for forestry mulchers.
But What is variable displacement, and why does it matter?
But what about a variable displacement piston motor? Variable displacement means the piston motor can change how it performs on the fly. When Promac's automatic controller senses that the drum is working hard, it can dial up the torque automatically. It can reduce the torque to increase speed when it's not working hard.
This affects mulching performance in two ways. Increasing the torque while pushing into vegetation helps to keep the drum from slowing down, and reducing torque while backing out of vegetation helps the drum to pick up speed again. Overall, this reduced recovery time adds to productivity and efficiency.
LDM Drum And Tooling Options
Your choice of piston motor isn't the only variable in recovery time. Having a drum with adequate teeth and choosing the right kind of knife tools for your mulcher is also a factor.
Heading into vegetation with an under-equipped drum or worn-out mulching teeth causes slow production times. The LDM series mulchers solve this problem by having 16 cutting teeth on the 30" drum and 28" on the 50" drum. Several different types of mulching teeth are readily available.
Chipper Teeth
The chipper teeth are standard on the LDM series mulchers. They are efficient at mulching wood but will not stand up to accidental contact with rocks. They are double-sided and can be sharpened. Some customers can get up to 100 hours of use per side.
Quad Teeth
Quad, meaning four, describes these teeth fairly well. They have four sharpened corners and blend performance and cost perfectly.
Double Carbide Teeth
Double carbide teeth are the solution to rocky terrain. They do not mulch wood as efficiently as chipper teeth and can't be sharpened, but they are tough and will often last up to 500 hours.
Rounding It Up
An investor doesn't buy a stock simply because it's cheap; he buys its intrinsic value and the expected future cash flow it will bring. Buying a business asset such as an excavator mulcher should be looked at the same way.
The intrinsic value of the LSM and LDM engineering and designs is unmistakable. The cash flow they will provide in the future can be invaluable.
Can I Finance My Mini Excavator Mulcher?
Yes! We provide business financing through our partner bank CIT. Applying is easy and only takes a minute. Click Here To Get Started.
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