Harvester vs. Feller Buncher?

[PB]

I was wondering if you could tell me the difference between a harvester and a feller buncher? Looks like they serve the same purpose, but are called by different names.

 

[Cletuspsc]

Yea i guess it depends on where you live. . . .around here they pretty much mean the same thing. .. . but i have heard some people refer to CTL (cut to length) systems as harvesters. . . .but also as processors.

-steve

 

[PB]

Thanks. I was wondering about it since the Northeast Logging show. They look like they are built differently. Tigercat and other companies list harvester separate from the feller bunchers.

 

[Gologit]

Hey Spud Man

It's mostly semantics. I'm sure there are totally accurate names for each piece of equipment but, around here at least, they're interchangeable.
Hotsaw, fellerbuncher, harvester...even if the machine is different everybody knows what they mean.

LOL...One outfit calls every mechanical cutter they have a Timbco...they haven't run Timbcos in six years but the name still sticks.

 

[RPM]

We differentiate between the two around here.

Fellerbuncher around here is a hotsaw and is production, felling machine - lay the wood down in bunches for a grapple skidder.

Some contractors are using smaller machines with a harvestor / processor head combo so that they can do both - fall and process (CTL) at the stump and then use a forwarder to take the wood out. Typically, these are be being used for selection cuts, and so more so now - fuel modification projects. Basically, somewhere you are not clear cutting, have some sort of retention prescription and have tip toe around without damaging your residual stems.

 

[mercer_me]

A feller buncher cuts the tree down and lays it on the ground and that's it. A harvester cut's the tree down and cut's it to length, and when the tree gos through the rolers the branches come off. Feller bunchers are usualy used with skidders, and harvesters are usauly used with fowarders.

 

[Zackman1801]

Feller buncher: usually has a large circular saw around here (Maine) or a hydraulic shear and cuts trees off and lays them down tree length in bunches to be picked up behind a grapple skidder.

Harvester: has a head that grabs onto the tree has a hydraulic chainsaw that swings out cuts the tree down, then it pulls it through the arms, strips the limbs off, and cuts the pieces into marketable lengths with the chainsaw so you have piles of sorted wood. Usually a forwarder follows them and picks up the sorted wood.

darn you mercer you beat me to it!

 

[RPM]

A feller buncher cuts the tree down and lays it on the ground and that's it. A harvester cut's the tree down and cut's it to length, and when the tree gos through the rolers the branches come off. Feller bunchers are usualy used with skidders, and harvesters are usauly used with fowarders.

Isn't that what I said ... ?

 

[slowp]

'cept out here, the forwarders are used for tailholds or guylines because the mills don't like those short logs.

The trees are not in rows, and the ground is pretty "tippy". So the processors are used along with grapple skidders or are up on the landing.

 

[380LGR]

You all forgot the most important diff. about a 100k!!

 

[Meadow Beaver]

I just know them as a harvester processor, feller buncher, and i have seen those forwarder processors.

 

[MEdooGuide]

Bunchers work on heavy mechanical operations with grapple skidders. As they cut they group the trees into a twitch to increase the productivity of the grapple skidders. They work tree length and chipping operations typically. Very high production machines and they typically have a much shorter life span because the hot saws are inertia driven so they use a huge amount of horsepower. Its pretty rare to see them involved in cut to length ops unless they are dealing with really big wood.

Like said above. Harvesters are cut to length operations and eliminate the need for a stroke boom delimber. Usually they work with one or two forwarders. Easier on the machine because they use a lot less horsepower. These are typically most effective on select cut and stumpage operations. But they are a lot less productive.

I have seen some super high productive operations using a buncher and harvesters. The buncher bunches and the harvester cuts to length and limbs for the forwarder.

Because of horse power demand and decreased lifespan a lot of times midway through the lifespan of the buncher they will take the buncher head off and put a harvester head on.

 

[Oldtimer]

I want a leveling Deere 759 with a quadco 5660 CTL head. Best of both worlds. Bunch for the grapple, process @ the landing. Quadco tells me they can upfit the 5660 with an accumulator arm so building head loads is possible.
Would more or less eliminate the need for a loader slasher.

 

[1270d]

A feller bunched falls and bunches timber whether it be for a heli, high line, or skidder
A processor sits on a landing or deck processing stems into marketable sorts.
A harvester falls timber, then processes in the woods. A forwarder then picks up behind it.

This is one of many interpretations

 

[OlympicYJ]

I want a leveling Deere 759 with a quadco 5660 CTL head. Best of both worlds. Bunch for the grapple, process @ the landing. Quadco tells me they can upfit the 5660 with an accumulator arm so building head loads is possible.
Would more or less eliminate the need for a loader slasher.

The Log Max heads bear a look. They have some fixed. I believe accumulator arms are an option on em. Never seen the fixed but they are a very nice processor. The hardwood mills out here will let em use the steel Log Max rollers on alder, V-Steel rollers. They don't bruise the wood like a Waratah will. This probably also has to do with the way the rollers grip the logs. Log Max rollers are opposite of one another and the knives hold the stem against the head. Much less slippage than a Waratah. Waratah's on the other hand use the rollers to suck the log up against the head. This seems to give less tractive effort than the Log Max heads and causes more "log rash".

I'm not familiar with Quadco processing heads, other than the Keto track heads and Quadco hotsaws, maybe their rollers are like the Log Max's.

Wes

 

[1270d]

Is there quite a few keto's out that way?

 

[OlympicYJ]

There's a few. I've seen a few outfits with em. They seem to be very reliable compared to the waratahs. The tracks do the measuring so if they slip you're off but I don't think they slip much.

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[Profit Logger]

I was wondering if you could tell me the difference between a harvester and a feller buncher? Looks like they serve the same purpose, but are called by different names.

The difference between a harvester and buncher is actually quite simple. Altho both machines are similar a buncher only cuts a tree. The harvester will cut, limb, and can also cut to length.

 

[Skeans]

First is a track harvester running a fixed Fabtek 2000 head doing long log thinning for both a grapple cat as well as a forwarder for yarding. Next is a wheel harvester a JD1270G with JD/Waratah H415, and last is a track buncher the difference is a bunchers is you cut and bunch piles of tree length trees. To systems of yarding depending on ground or type of work clear cut or thinning you'll see shovel logging, cat yarding, skidding, long log forwarders on a clear cut, were as thinning will be a skidder, cat, or forwarder for both long and short logs.

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[Dave Hadden]

This looks like a good spot to add to the discussion so indulge me a bit.
Today was gorgeous up here and my pal Joe, recovering from cancer, called and asked if I'd give him a hand getting some firewood.
For sure, so away we went up to some hills between Campbell River and Gold River where Joe normally drives a logging truck.
His boss knew Joe needed to replenish his firewood supply so told him to bring his truck up along with his trailer and the boss would bring along his dual wheel tip-trailer and run the machine to cut some wood.
It's a Madill 1800 and I didn't take a pic of it but Google it to see what they look like. Pretty standard track machine with a processing head that limbs, measures and cuts to length as directed by the operator.
The pics show the country we were in and how nice some second growth can be.
As well, the rows along the road make it easy for self-loading log trucks.
Also shown is the pickup and trailer load we got. Simply created a pile of cut rounds of about 16" length to hand-bomb into the pickup box but cut the rounds right into the trailer.
Didn't take long to get this load plus the big trailer load went quickly too.
Good day in the bush for sure.





Take care.