As the appetite for wood fuel has increased over the last few years so has the range of equipment that is available to cut and process it. The Tree-Lopper fills a niche which sits well between the wood fuel industry and a number of associated industries.
Whether the work is cutting out timber to waste, cutting and processing timber for chipping or cutting random timber into ‘rough logs’ for the wood burning stove the Tree-Lopper is a powerful and robust tool which will meet all of these demands.
The Tree-lopper has been around for a few years in various guises which arguably have established it as a very versatile tool in industry sectors including Forestry, Agriculture, Wood Fuel, Waterways and Recycling.
The latest generation introduces design changes which improve durability and performance.
The three model range of Tree-Loppers is suitable for fitment to excavators from 1.5 to 14 tonnes and also loaders, telehandlers, skid steers and tractor loaders
The Tree-Lopper could well be described as an overgrown pair of secateurs which when attached to an excavator or loader arm can be used for cutting all sorts of timber. The addition of a 360 degree rotator between the Tree-Lopper and the arm means that the operator can achieve precise positioning for cutting operations and can then also use it for timber handling and basic processing
An application which is very well suited to the Tree-Lopper is tree pollarding and in particular, willow trees. The practice of pollarding willow trees was traditionally carried out in the winter months with the resulting timber being used for fuel. The work was labour intensive, slow and inherently dangerous.
In more recent times with increasing pressure on labour costs and more stringent health and safety legislation the pollarding activity has declined significantly which has resulted in trees becoming overgrown, invasive and potentially dangerous.
With the Tree-Lopper fitted to an excavator or loader, the operator can cut complete limbs from the crown of the tree in one ‘snip’ from the safety their cab. Once the limb has been ‘dropped’ the Tree-Lopper is then used to pick it up and process it into cord timber and brash.
Contractors who commented that they were struggling to achieve consistent outputs of two or three willow trees a day when using the ‘man in a basket’ method are now reporting outputs of around thirty trees a day – cut and processed – when using the Tree-lopper, and all with one person.
It typically takes a couple of hours to perfect the most efficient working method but once mastered, the process is pretty seamless.
The Tree-Lopper equipped machine is commonly used in conjunction with a second machine which takes care of the cord wood and brash clearance.
To add a further dimension the kit can be barge mounted thus enabling trees to be cut which would otherwise be inaccessible from dry land. Over hanging trees are a common problem on Britain’s inland waterways these days, impeding access, creating blockages due to falling debris and posing health and safety risks.
Another application which perfectly suits the Tree-Lopper is the handling and processing of waste timber from construction and forestry operations. Foreign material in the timber such as nails, wire and stones have little or no effect on the cutting mechanism. Similarly, engagement with the ground is not a problem. In the rare event of damage being done to the blade, it can be rectified very simply by a quick dust over with an angle grinder.
The Tree-Lopper is rapidly making inroads into the agricultural world where it is being used very successfully to cut back hedges which have become overgrown over many years thus restoring fields to their original size. Overhanging branches can be removed quickly and safely to allow the modern farm machinery to maximize production from the land.
Tel 0044 1684 593052
www.exac-one.co.uk
TL250 on 7 tonne excavator Barge mounted, TL350 on 17 tonne excavator, TL150 on 5 tonne long reach excavator, TL350 on 13 tonne excavator, Tree-Lopper TL350 on Telehandler
