A mulcher is a piece of equipment used to break down organic matter into a fine composition. Mulchers can be used for dense brush, stumps, yard waste piles, logging scraps, and even whole trees. Mulchers are regularly used for landscaping, right-of-way maintenance, fighting forest fires, cutting recreational trails, golf course maintenance, and other vegetation management services.^[1][2]

Contents 1 How it Works 2 Types 3 Common Manufacturers 4 References

[edit] How it Works

The mulching process starts when organic matter is engaged by spinning carbides on the rotor. The material gets pulled inwards towards the cutting chamber. Along the way, the material is forced through a line of stationary carbides while being continuously chipped by the spinning rotor. The resulting mix gets trapped in the mulcher’s cutting chamber, where it is further exposed to chipping until it is fine enough to pass through to the ground.^[3]

Various mulchers will employ slightly different variations of this process, but the overall idea is the same. Large pieces of matter are pulled into the mulcher, where they are exposed to multiple cutting motions, until they pass through as a fine mix.^[4]

[edit] Types

Mulchers are available as stand-alone units, trailers, or as attachments for a variety of equipment types; including mowers, skid steers, excavators, and feller bunchers.

[edit] Common Manufacturers

• Caterpillar Inc.
• FAE
• Fecon
• GyroTrac
• Loftness
• Magnum
• Morbark
• Tigercat
• Seppi M. SpA

[edit] References

1. ↑ Fecon Mulchers Draw Receptive Crowd. TimberLine Magazine [September 22, 2009].
2. ↑ The Bull Hog. Fecon.com [September 22, 2009].
3. ↑ Two-Stage Cutting Chamber. Loftness.com [September 22, 2009].
4. ↑ How Does a Mulching Lawn Mower Work? AnswerBag.com [September 22, 2009].