2006 fecon ftx 130 fm

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

harkless25

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
north texas
I am about to buy a fecon 130 mulcher to help reclaim about 79 acres of pasture land that has been overtaken by cedars and some other stuff. We have some thinning we want to do in another 46 acre parcel. Anyway it seeemed that it was more cost Effective to buy a used mulcher as it was to pay someone to do it. I need some expertise though since we have never used one.

any tips on use?
Given the 40k cost of mulcher, am I thinking right?
What are the key dos and donts?
It has the oil-cooled duetz engine, I know the risks here, but has anyone had a positive experience with? What helped you stay on top of and manage the risks with the duetz engine

any thoughts would be helpful
 
$40,000 won’t buy you much of a mulching tractor with a head, it may get you a good head. Try $140,000 for a good used one. Purchase price is part if the reason I settled on running a head on a skid steer over a dedicated mulching tractor. Not sure how that changes your price outlook.

It’s also worth considering your lost time on other things you need to do. As with other things, there will be a learning curve that will probably involve some equipment repair, because you will damage the machine learning how to run it. A contractor will do it much faster and not spend your time doing it. A lot if people think about doing things in house and then it actually costs their overall operation way more than what the cash layout for just the machine is.

They’re a violent machine, and you can’t just put the head down and run through everything. You almost need to take one pass to sever things and lay them down, then mulch them. Other than that, keep the cooling system clean so it runs properly and whatever you do-do not-let the thing get low on hydraulic oil. You will burn up a pump faster than you can imagine.

As far as the Deutz engines, they run fine until the don’t, at least in the farm tractors we had when I was younger. The failures are usually catastrophic but they’ll take a lot of abuse before then. Don’t let them get hot and change the oil regularly and they’re almost indestructible.
 
Super Helpful. Thank you. I have went back and forth on the skid steer with mulching head but for the most
Part what we need is the mulching…. We are trying to manage costs and get 90% of what we need done. But the risks you highlight are real. It is a bit of a gamble. Why I want yours and other’s input…. It is appreciated.
 
Back
Top