Considering the Pros and Cons of Going Electric (An overview of the benefits and drawbacks of owning an electric tub grinder or horizontal grinder)

Little doubt the key advantage of diesel power over electric for your tub grinder or horizontal grinder is mobility. But if your grinder can operate in a fixed location, and you have a facility with or capable of upgrading to 460V 60 Hz 3 phase,

A trommel screen is named for the screened cylinder used to separate materials by size, for example, separating the biodegradable fraction of mixed municipal waste or separating different sizes of mulch or crushed stone.  Production rates can vary from 20 to 30 yards an

Horizontal Grinders were first introduced in the late 90’s as an alternative to the tub grinder.  Similar to tub grinders, there are a variety of sizes and horsepower, designed to handle land-clearing debris, bark, brush, logs, stumps, wood construction and demolition (“C&D”) material, 

You may not expect to have non-woody contaminants mixed in with the wood and yardwaste you’re recycling, but if you don’t get any, you’ll be the exception. Experience has shown that there is always some percentage of non-woody items mixed with wood and yard waste in the municipal waste stream. 

Before setting up a wood and yardwaste recycling operation, the questions “What products will be produced?” must be answered. This post will cover a variety of the most common marketable products in a wood and yardwaste recycling operation.

The following items are common to wood and yard waste recycling operations. Because of the amount of equipment required to recycle all of these items you may see many operators who limit their recycling to only one or two items listed.

The following items are common to wood and yard waste recycling operations.   Depending on what type of material you plan to process and what finished product you decide to make, you will only need a few of these machines to get started.  We have grouped the equipment into material 

Loading Your Grinder, Plan Ahead!

How you plan to load your tub grinder or horizontal grinder will significantly impact your machine selection, production rates and operating costs.  Factors such as load height, infeed size, bucket or grapple size, and the operator’s view will all play a role in the success of your operation. 

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. 

1. What wood and yard waste materials will be processed and what contaminants are expected?
2. Where and how will the machine be operated and loaded?
3. How will you handle repairs and maintenance on your machine?

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

As many of you may have seen in the news the past week, ( Metal Object Crashes Through Roof ) tub grinders do pose a risk when not operated and maintained properly.

We can see in the photo how damaged the tip is. Normal operation of a grinder with minimal contaminants ( Common Contaminants ) would not cause bolts to break free and eject the hammer tip in such a way.

In this post we will describe how to change the hammers in your pin & plate style hammermill for your tub grinder or horizontal grinder. We will also provide time and money saving tips to help you get the job done quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Stay ahead of repairs and maintenance on your Tub or Horizontal Grinder!  Repairs are expensive, but downtime and can be extremely costly; especially when the material starts to pile up and your grinder is still down.   Our advice is to keep an inventory of common wear parts that will keep you running.  Here is a brief list of the most common items we recommend you keep on hand to help minimize downtime. 

Introduction to Colored Mulch

Producing colored mulch can be a great way to add new products to your existing operation, grow your customer base and maximize profits.  If you already own a grinder and/or screening equipment, then the upfront investment to produce colored mulch is minimal, and the opportunity to improve your bottom line can be significant.

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.

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!

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.  

Stay ahead of repairs and maintenance on your Tub or Horizontal Grinder!  Repairs are expensive, but downtime and can be extremely costly; especially when the material starts to pile up and your grinder is still down.   Our advice is to keep an inventory of common wear parts that will keep you running.  Here is a brief list of the most common items we recommend you keep on hand to help minimize downtime.