What is a Tub Grinder?? Tub grinders were first introduced for wood and green waste recycling appli...

Choosing the Right Tub Grinder

This is a brief introduction to tub grinders and some of the factors you should be considering when planning to purchase a new or used tub grinder.

Tub grinders have been around for roughly 30 years and are aptly named for the large round tub or infeed.  Tub grinders rely on gravity and tub rotation to feed material into the hammermill at the bottom of the tub which performs the grinding function. 

When talking to customers, many seem to have a common goal; pay off all their loans.  In their minds this is when they achieve financial freedom and wealth.  Although we would all like to be debt free it is not typically how you can maximize your profit and overall wealth. If you have access to affordable debt financing with reasonable interest rates, financing your equipment, even when you have cash on hand, is often a great way to increase your overall returns.  

One of the first choices that buyers face is whether to buy a new vs. used grinder. If profit is a concern to you, then read on. Like cars, grinders depreciate rapidly in the first few years and many buyers realize too late that they have lost as much value on their new grinder as they made operating it. I believe that Grey Livingston said it best – “Driving a brand new car feels like driving around in an open billfold with the dollars flapping by your ears as they fly out the window.”

Tub Grinder – PTO (Dry Clutch) Maintenance and Operation Tips

 

(Warning) improper adjustment of the mechanical PTO (clutch) can cause catastrophic failure of the PTO the first time you feed material to the grinder.  Before operating the PTO on your tub grinder, be sure you’ve read and understand your manufacturer’s operations manual.

Looking for ways to streamline your wood and greewaste recycling operation.  Increase your profits, but seeking out additional ways to add to the top revenue line, as well as slimming down on overhead and operating costs.  The following is a quick list of ideas successful operations are employing around the country to make their operations a success!

Utilizing Screening Equipment

One of the biggest mistakes I see operators make is thinking that the best way to maximize profits is to purchase the biggest grinder they can find in order to produce a final product on the first pass.  Although I have heard various manufacturers promote this idea over the years, this is almost always the wrong approach to maximizing profit in a mulch operation.