power rotation or not for Branch manager

Daniel

Daniel

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
I've been thinking about adding a mini loader to the fleet... If I do will get a branch manager . What's the consensus on the pros and cons of the power rotation.. the extra $ isn't much of an issue.. I want to get the best set up for tree work..

PS.. also like the clamshell attachment for cleaning up stump chips, so thinking the power rotator would be helpful for that..
 
Having ran rubber tired log skidders for years in the logging biz and owning a branch manager with the power rotation I say get it. Yes you can do fine without it with little tricks but all in all you can’t beat having the ability to rotate the grapples. Makes feeding the chipper soo much easier. Makes everything easier.
 
if the unit without the pwr rotator does not have a lock for parallel or perperndicular or free wheel I would stick to pwr rotator. The wallenstein mini grapple I own has this capability.
adjusting the grapple or trying to coax to pick up piles or logs gets annoying as does jumping off and on. the off and on is most times necessary any ways to pick up over sized piles to kick the last few stems into the reach of the grapple. what mini you looking at?
 
I've owned a BMG for about a month now, I went with the non powered and have yet to need to get off the machine to rotate the grapple. Unless you get dual auxiliary hydraulics I think it would be a pain to switch from rotation to grapple. I would also think that a free spin would be a necessity if you did go with a power rotation.

The only downside I have noticed so far to the manual rotation is when turning logs into firewood. I have a stack of logs and will carry a log to the splitter and hold it level at waist height to cut it down to firewood. Sometimes (not often) I will be trying to hold it straight out and the grapple will pivot due to me grabbing the very end of the log. If I grab any further out on the log I can get the log on the heel plate to prevent the spinning, but then I end up with a piece that's a little too long and the grapple is gripping it where I'd want to cut. Of course this situation only happens where I store my logs and firewood, not on a job site.

I have not used the scoops, so I have no opinion on the power rotation on them, but I am interested in getting a set of those as well.
 
If money isn't a concern, and the hydro rotate can free spin. Get it. 97% of the time the none rotate isn't a pain in the butt at all. I would rather have a pin or some stop to lock the grapple at 180 and 90 degrees.

I don't think this would help, some way to tip the grapple up would be SWEET! Just drive in to a small tree or shub, pinch then cut.
 
For a mini loader, and if you're decent on equipment AT ALL, power rotate just isnt needed.

I've thought about the scoops, but in the end it's just more equipment to lug around I feel like. A large mulch bucket will serve more purposes, plus you can pick up the mulch bucket with the grapple and transport it onto the trailer, around the jobsite etc.
 
We are doing a lot of stump grinding, often on really big stumps. EAB about to kill off all the ash trees around (plenty of monster ash) here is going to keep everyone super busy for a couple years maybe more.. So there is going to be more tree work and stump grinding than I can handle for some time. I couldn't even get to all my estimates in 2018..


That clamshell attachment seems like the cat's meow for cleaning up stump chips!!!

Right now I use an ASV RC-50 skid loader with 60" grapple bucket for tree work and stump clean ups. But mostly try to avoid the stump clean ups, where I could try to sell them with the stumps if I was set up for it.

A buddy of mine is a mason by trade, but he's had bad knees so he can't handle the physical side of that business much anymore. I was thinking of setting him up with a mini-loader, dump trailer and f350 to haul it. With that set up, he should be able to make a decent living, between cleaning up after stump jobs, helping out with his own masonry jobs, and picking up side jobs with other tree companies and homeowners. And of course I'd have access to the mini if I had a backyard job that the big loader couldn't fit..

And it could be used for snow work and we could buy augers and other attachments..

The more I keep typing the more of a no-brainer this seems.. Only concern is he is a little hesitant to commit, until he gets his knee operation this February.

I was thinking vermeer s925tx
Does the power rotation work with standard controls.. Going to talk to Dave at branch manager about it tomorrow.
 
I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes or kill a sale, but I’ve never been impressed with the clamshells. Seem like a solution in search of a problem. I suppose they get the job done but are unwieldy at best.

If the machine is going to be basically a dedicated stump cleaner why not just go this route or similar:

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Or even one of these (if you’re concerned about minimizing manual labor for your friend):

36A726A7-4508-41DF-9902-63F02204B753.webp
 
It remains to be seen if its going to be a dedicated stump cleaner upper ... hopefully do both trees and stumps..

If we have monster stumps we can always use the big loader wit the grapple bucket.. The problem with just a big snow bucket is that it will have a trouble capturing the chips without a lot of manual labor. This guy is 58 years old, and half crippled and will probably be working by himself.

Has anyone ever seen the clamshell clean up after stumps.. My buddy has a log truck with a clamshell and says that's his secret weapon..
 
Daniel said:
It remains to be seen if its going to be a dedicated stump cleaner upper ... hopefully do both trees and stumps..

If we have monster stumps we can always use the big loader wit the grapple bucket.. The problem with just a big snow bucket is that it will have a trouble capturing the chips without a lot of manual labor. This guy is 58 years old, and half crippled and will probably be working by himself.

Has anyone ever seen the clamshell clean up after stumps.. My buddy has a log truck with a clamshell and says that's his secret weapon..
Click to expand...

Any particular reason you are leaning towards the Vermeer 925?

I’ve ran a toro 1000 & a Bobcat MT85: both of those seem to be solid choices, especially with the turf tracks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I love turf tracks on the full sized skid loader.. Didn't know they were an option on the minis..

I certainly have no brand loyalty towards vermeer... but they do get good reviews..
I'd be open to other suggestions.. we need some muscle

I wouldn't do tree work without turf tracks on the big loader, but didn;t think they were necessary on the mini...
 
Mini-s don't need power rotate.

If it's got power and free spin, sweet.

You lose lift height... Telescopic booms plus power rotate seems useful. Non telescopic... Maybe lose to much lift height.

Scoops look like labor savers.


I got off my mini to position the grapple the other day. Literally, it's been counting on one hand since the second week of ownership that I've positioned it by hand.

I think I didn't want to damage the wet turf with wiggling without a half to 3/4 sheet of plywood. 3/8 had been recommended for mini-s.

Wide turns with regular tracks, not turf tracks, works fine.
 
Vermeer and ditch witch are both 2 hours away from us. Its been basically no issue with ditch witch. Vermeer on the other hand has been a complete pain. I have an sk650 with a bmg. It has a few minor shortcomings but I'd gladly buy another ditch witch. Other than a radiator, all the parts I've needed have been reasonably priced. Mine is a 2006 model with 2500 hours on it. The parts catalog actually matches what's on the machine unlike Vermeer. I have two Vermeer chippers. I will not have another one due to our 2 hour away dealer.

As for the bmg, you really done need power rotate. Its pretty easy to rotate it using the log or brush you are trying to pick up. I wouldn't want to give up the weight capacity either on a mini. Now my grapple truck has a power rotator and its critical on that. The clamshell on the grapple truck works awesome for cleaning up large stump grinding. It's really not bad to do with a bucket on a mini, either.
 
A year ago I bought a Ditch Witch (sk800) a bmg, the scoops and the broom. Power rotate is not need and only adds lines and weight to the tool. The scoops and broom are the greasiest thing ever! I dont use them on every job but when I do they are worth their weight I gold. Do the tree work. Drag the shite with the bmg. Sweep up with the broom and make piles. Put the scoops on and pick up the piles. Blow off when done and never pick up a rake. As for brand, I regularly run a new Vermeer (725). And every time I run the Vermeer I cuss like crazy. Vermeer isn't half the machine the Ditch Witch is. Ditch Witch makes the best mini period.
 
I think Carl (Lumberjack) said the power rotate on the Avant added 85 lbs. So every lift is 85 lbs less than it could be without. It wasn't a matter of money that I decided to go without because I'm always happy to spend more money for better performing equip. From the start I didn't even wish I had power rotate.

Scoops and a broom may be in my future too. Some of Lumberjack's old videos showed the scoops picking up chips from stump grinding.
 
Scoops work well for small to medium sized stumps (medium as 3-4'. On large stumps a regular bucket is often better. With that being said though, I use the scoops 98% of the time...even if it is a large stump.

Scoops do not dig well...which is a good and bad thing. Good because it will often just slide over the grass, and not dig it up. Bad because if you drove on the grindings (packing it down) it can be hard to get up. This is why on a large stumps a bucket is better, since it may get packed down as you are moving the grinder around.

The way around this is to spin the scoops so one is against the dogs of the bmg, like a plow. Then you can dig into the grindings by pushing them up into a pile.

I rarely touch a hand tool when doing stumps. Just the grinder mini with bmg and scoops, and a blower.

Bmg Rake - I have it, and like it. But I rarely use it for tree work unless on a parking lot or a super crispy flopped tree. I mostly use it for snow cleanup

Mini brand - It is a matter of personal preference and service. I went with vermeer because I have a fairly local shop that treats me well. I prefer also preferred their controls.

Video of doing a stump. You can skip around the first 2 mins of grinding.

 
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Picture of how I spin the scoops to "dig" packed grindings
20190108_195721.webp

Regular bucket wouldn't have worked well here
20190108_195744.webp

As to power rotation, I've never felt it was needed...but I've also never tried one. Rarely do I have to step off the mini to get the grapple properly orientated. I prefer the free flowing (follow me swing) of no power rotation...and just lock the branches on the dogs if you need it rigid.
 
Look at articulating with 4 in 1 bucket for stumps ... no turf damage lift more and higher with Telescopic boom. Power rotation inst necessary just learn to manipulate grapple on machine (and its much easier on a mini articulating loader than a mini skid)

IMG_3498.webp
 

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