Fecon tracked brush shredder: Anyone have any experience to share

[Mowingman]

I am about to start clearing 160 acres, using a rented Fecon, FTX140 shredder machine. I have operated a lot of big machinery, but have no experience with one of these.
Has anyone here ever used one of these big Fecon, brush and tree shredders, or one similar. I am looking for any operating tips and suggestions so I can get the most production from this thing. I want the property to have nothing showing except acres of shredded woodchips when I am done.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Curbside]

I am about to start clearing 160 acres, using a rented Fecon, FTX140 shredder machine. I have operated a lot of big machinery, but have no experience with one of these.
Has anyone here ever used one of these big Fecon, brush and tree shredders, or one similar. I am looking for any operating tips and suggestions so I can get the most production from this thing. I want the property to have nothing showing except acres of shredded woodchips when I am done.
Thanks,
Jeff

You haven't said anything about the size of material you are going to be shredding. The FTX 140 is meant for 6-8 inch material with occasional larger. If you just want to mow the material down you can pretty well find your speed and go but if you want to shred the material into tiny peices then you have to work the material back and forth. The larger the material the more back and forth you have to work it.

You will also want to keep your eyes open for rocks, wire and steel. Hitting peices of steel are the worse cause they will break your carbides. Wire can get caught up in the bar and wrap up real tight. Rocks will wear the carbides down real fast and if you hit them hard enough will break them.

As far as production per day that is totally dependant on what size of material you are starting with. Density of the area and the final size of shredding you desire. Probably could expect 3-6 acres a day unless your doing larger trees then you might only get 1 acre a day. Make sure you have a fuel tank close by as the machines blow through fuel like crazy. Also you need a way of blowing the debris out of the engine compartments etc several times a day. Have fun but for 160 acres you might want to rent the larger model FTX 440 or FTX 350. You have a lot more horsepower and will have no problem laying into larger material. If you have just bush and scrub then the FTX 140 will be fine.

 

[Mowingman]

Thanks for the info. This property is mostly scattered light brush, with lots of mesquite trees widely spaced. Generally, the base of the mesquite trunks is under 6" diameter. I estimated I can clear 6 acres/day. The machinery company that sells and rents these, said it will use 5 gal./hr. I have a 50 gallon tank on my truck to haul fuel. I hope to leave the property clear enough that it can be mowed with a batwing mower in the future. The landowner has a crew at work cutting out the bigger trees. He
wants me to come back and grind those stumps down with my stump grinder.
Hopefully, this Fecon will do the job in an effecient manner. The landowner has about 400 more acres to clear in this area. It would be nice to get to do all of it.
Jeff

 

[joesawer]

For the price of the machine I am very disapointed in it.
Tiny final drives, Dust in the cab like nothing I have ever ran before, although not bad if there is a lot of moisture. Cheap harbor freight looking bolts stripping all the time. poorly designed and functioning latches and fastners.
It is a Rayco tractor with a Fecon head. Rayco should have stuck to stump grinders or took a lot better look at comparably priced forestry machines and heavy equipment. Because their 140 just comes across as cheesy. The best thing on it is the the John Deere engine. Good power and fuel economy, it works good once they upgrade the origanal, frequently failing ECM.

 

[joesawer]

Oh yeah the hydraulic hoses to the head are very exposed where the come out of the front of the tractor, you have to be very careful to keep the material cut pretty low or you tear the hoses loose.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

For that amount of area, I would be using the 350 or 400. The FTX140 looses a lot of power in its hydraulic drive. its great for a few acres here and there, but not for that big an area. We have been down to 1/2 an acre a day in big (8"+) material using the 330hp machine...
The FTX is a poor version of the RT140, built by Ahwi GMBH. Fecon builds Ahwi equipment under license, but its not as good as the originals. point in case, the RT140 has a sealed air conditioned cab = no dust.

Use the 350, set the head at 6"above grade, and plow forward for 100 yards, pushing everything over and rough mulching it. Then drop your head to 2" below grade, close your front door on the head, and back drag the same 100 yards. this will reduce everything to a fine mulch. Set your speed according to how fine you want the mulch.
Good luck, sounds like a nice sized job.

 

[Mowingman]

Thanks for the great info. The 140 is the biggest machine you can rent around here. Hopefully, any problems with this machine will have been found and repaired already, as it has been in their rental fleet for several months.
As to dust, it has a cab with heat and air. I would think if you close it up and keep the blower fan running, you would have enough pressure in the cab to keep dust out. I guess I will find out pretty soon. Have scheduled the rental to start on Jan., 14th.
I will report back on how things go. I figure it will take a day or two to learn the tricks and get production really up to speed.
Jeff

 

[joesawer]

I have about 300 hours on two different 140's. If it has the Fecon head with two turn motors it will work much better. With the 140 you can not travel forward for long distances through brush because the hoses to the head are very low and exposed. you have to focus on keeping the stems lower than the hoses.
I used to live in Lewisville so I am familar with you environment. The scattered mesquite and grassy weeds should masticate pretty fast. I don't know why you need a track machine for that ground though. Both of the 140's I have ran have the enclosed pressurized cab that is supposed to be dust free or low dust. Well that is total BS, If there is moisture wich you should have plenty of in NE Texas right now, it is OK. But in the very dry California mountians with the loose DG soil the dust inside is overwhelming and very unhealthy. The so called sealed pressurized cab, blows the powder fine dust through the vents into the cab so bad that I have to clean the inside of the windows every 15 minutes or so. It is so bad that I have refused to run them unless there is a lot of moisture.

 

[Mowingman]

I have not seen the rental machine, but, it is supposed to be the latest model with the Bullhog head. From the photos on the Fecon website, it looks like the hoses going to the head, are up on top of, and behind, the shredder shield/housing. Kind of between the head and the front of the cab.
Jeff

I have about 300 hours on two different 140's. If it has the Fecon head with two turn motors it will work much better. With the 140 you can not travel forward for long distances through brush because the hoses to the head are very low and exposed. you have to focus on keeping the stems lower than the hoses.
I used to live in Lewisville so I am familar with you environment. The scattered mesquite and grassy weeds should masticate pretty fast. I don't know why you need a track machine for that ground though. Both of the 140's I have ran have the enclosed pressurized cab that is supposed to be dust free or low dust. Well that is total BS, If there is moisture wich you should have plenty of in NE Texas right now, it is OK. But in the very dry California mountians with the loose DG soil the dust inside is overwhelming and very unhealthy. The so called sealed pressurized cab, blows the powder fine dust through the vents into the cab so bad that I have to clean the inside of the windows every 15 minutes or so. It is so bad that I have refused to run them unless there is a lot of moisture.

 

[joesawer]

Yes the hoses run from the front of the cab up in a big arch and down to the head. The hoses for the turn motors are ok, but the other hoses come out of the tractor on the lower left corner. These are fragile at best. Just be aware of the low location and poor protection when moving the tractor forward.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Joe,
This is the version the Ahwi factory build. direct drive with fluid clutch.
http://www.ahwi.com/en/carriers/tracked/rt130.htm

 

[Mowingman]

Thanks. I will be sure and check out that hose situation. don't want to have a lot of downtime. The AHWI does seem to have better hose placement .
Jeff

 

[joesawer]

Every one tells me that the 140 is a Rayco tractor. I don't know for sure. It sure looks like one.
You will also need an air compressor to clean the machine with. Every day you need to clean all the combustibles off of and out of it. The easist way to clean the engine campartment is to leave it idling and let the radiator fan blow the stuff away as you blow it loose with an air hose. You also might need to clean the back radiator screen a lot more often, it depends on the conditions. Every day you need to pull the oil cooler, A/C screens and blow them out. If you don't the A/C wont work for long. There is also a filter behind the seat for the A/C that needs to be cleaned often. The air filters for the engine and cab air need to be cleaned at least once a day. The easist way to blow the cab out is to bungee the door open and leave the A/C fans on high while you blow it out.

 

[armormp]

Fecon Rental in the Dallas area?

Mowingman - Where did you rent the Fecon at in the Dallas area? Looking to clearing out some areas on my land.

 

[Mowingman]

I rented from Pettit Machinery. They WERE, the J.D., JCB, and Fecon dealer in Dallas. They sold out about a year or more ago. They sold to Darr Equipment. This is the Darr folks who sold the Cat dealerships to Holt. However, Darr stayed in the forklift business in the DFW area. I called last fall, and they were selling Fecons and renting them. The rent for the new version of the FTX140 was $14,000/month, plus tax, plus environmental tax, plus loss/damage insurance. I think the phone number stayed the same.
Try 214-819-3991. Wally was still the rental manager.
Jeff