Is a brushcutter overkill for clearing 1 acre?
April 12, 2011 10:32 AM Subscribe
Is a 40cc saw bladed brushcutter ridiculous overkill for clearing out a 1 acre woodlot?
We live on a 2 acre property that's about half overgrown woodlot. The abandoned half is solid Maryland jungle, full of large trees, saplings, dense brambles, metastasized English ivy, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, etc. You can just about wrestle your way through most of it in tough clothes. I want to clear out everything up to the small trees to make it manageable and little-kid-friendly. I also need to clean up the borders so that hopefully passing cars will stop dumping trash in it.
I'm looking at getting a saw bladed brushcutter like this two-stroke Husqvarna 235FR. My thinking is that I should get something heavy enough to clear bushes/vines/saplings but light enough to use for weed management afterwards. I have no experience with gas engine tools.... Are these kinds of brushcutters ridiculous overkill? Or underpowered for woods management? What would you do?
(As an aside, we will probably get goats someday and I know they would be great for the underbrush, but for personal reasons we're not getting them any time soon...)
We live on a 2 acre property that's about half overgrown woodlot. The abandoned half is solid Maryland jungle, full of large trees, saplings, dense brambles, metastasized English ivy, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, etc. You can just about wrestle your way through most of it in tough clothes. I want to clear out everything up to the small trees to make it manageable and little-kid-friendly. I also need to clean up the borders so that hopefully passing cars will stop dumping trash in it.
I'm looking at getting a saw bladed brushcutter like this two-stroke Husqvarna 235FR. My thinking is that I should get something heavy enough to clear bushes/vines/saplings but light enough to use for weed management afterwards. I have no experience with gas engine tools.... Are these kinds of brushcutters ridiculous overkill? Or underpowered for woods management? What would you do?
(As an aside, we will probably get goats someday and I know they would be great for the underbrush, but for personal reasons we're not getting them any time soon...)
Best answer: One acre doesn't seem like a lot until you're a quarter of the way through and it's been 2 hours in the sun. I'd say definitely not overkill, if anything you may want to go bigger---but the Husqvarna machines are pretty good. Check the diameter recommendation for brush, it might be smaller than you think it is. Most of these tools don't want you taking stuff down that's more than 1-1.5" in diameter.
Were it I, I would probably use a chainsaw to take down the primary trunks of the bigger plants. Depending on how dense the woods are (and I assume you want to keep the real trees), you may look at renting a brushhog and getting a smaller trimmer for weed maintenance later.
posted by TomMelee at 10:51 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Were it I, I would probably use a chainsaw to take down the primary trunks of the bigger plants. Depending on how dense the woods are (and I assume you want to keep the real trees), you may look at renting a brushhog and getting a smaller trimmer for weed maintenance later.
posted by TomMelee at 10:51 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am going to agree with sexyrobot (and I loved writing that), rent now and rent something that is a ridiculous overkill because it will be more fun that way.
This does not seem like something that really merits a long term investment.
posted by BobbyDigital at 10:54 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
This does not seem like something that really merits a long term investment.
posted by BobbyDigital at 10:54 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think you might have a mismatch between the initial cleanup and the maintenance. Maybe rent something really serious, or even better just hire out for the initial cleanup. That said, the first rule of this sort of thing is to always, always, always buy more than you think you need. I'd probably get something close to what you're talking about even for the maintenance. Using it to trim right around trees that you want to keep might be a little tricky, though.
posted by madmethods at 11:10 AM on April 12, 2011
posted by madmethods at 11:10 AM on April 12, 2011
The back half of my property is about a third of an acre, and was in a similar state when I bought my house. What I did was rent a walk-behind mower-type brush hog for the initial cleanup, then use a handheld/strap-on machine like that for ongoing maintenance. (I have to do mine in April, June/July and again in November or so.) The rental was only like $35, and it was worth every penny - I was done in an hour and a half.
posted by deadmessenger at 11:50 AM on April 12, 2011
posted by deadmessenger at 11:50 AM on April 12, 2011
Personally, I'd recommend a Stihl 2 cycle brushcutter/weed trimmer over any other gas powered tool. They are easy to start and last a lifetime. Next time you see professional landscapers - check out which brand of gas powered tools they are using - more often than not it'll be Stihl.
The key in whichever tool you purchase will be the ability to swap out the cutting heads - so you can swap out your brush cutting blade for a weed trimmer head. This will give you a lot more versatility and use out of your tool. I don't mean ones that easily interchange - you need something you will need a pair of wrenches to perform a swap. Do not get anything that advertises a quick change/push button swap because it will not stand up to the abuse you will encounter with heavy brush...
Also, I would suggest buying the weed trimmer head in which you tie on your own string (Fix Cut) a piece at a time instead of the plastic heads which hold a reel of trimmer string. You can use a much bigger gauge of string on the former and save a whole lot of time and use a lot less string in the long run.
I would start here.
posted by cinemafiend at 12:05 PM on April 12, 2011
The key in whichever tool you purchase will be the ability to swap out the cutting heads - so you can swap out your brush cutting blade for a weed trimmer head. This will give you a lot more versatility and use out of your tool. I don't mean ones that easily interchange - you need something you will need a pair of wrenches to perform a swap. Do not get anything that advertises a quick change/push button swap because it will not stand up to the abuse you will encounter with heavy brush...
Also, I would suggest buying the weed trimmer head in which you tie on your own string (Fix Cut) a piece at a time instead of the plastic heads which hold a reel of trimmer string. You can use a much bigger gauge of string on the former and save a whole lot of time and use a lot less string in the long run.
I would start here.
posted by cinemafiend at 12:05 PM on April 12, 2011
I am electrician. I own lots of tools.
In my experience, a more expensive tool will be better treated and last longer. If you buy a piece of crap tool, that is how you will treat it. If you pay for something good, you will be more likely to maintain it and care for it properly, and ultimately that means it will last longer.
Plus, having kick-ass tools is kick-ass. Why struggle with something that is just barely good enough - when you can over-kill.
posted by Flood at 12:05 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
In my experience, a more expensive tool will be better treated and last longer. If you buy a piece of crap tool, that is how you will treat it. If you pay for something good, you will be more likely to maintain it and care for it properly, and ultimately that means it will last longer.
Plus, having kick-ass tools is kick-ass. Why struggle with something that is just barely good enough - when you can over-kill.
posted by Flood at 12:05 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you can afford it, I've never regretted buying a lower-end but pro-quality tool. As Flood says, you're not fighting the tool, you can just get the job done.
The real choice is to rent or not. I'd also be thinking of a small chainsaw. That's the handiest tool on our 5 acre lot.
posted by bonehead at 1:30 PM on April 12, 2011
The real choice is to rent or not. I'd also be thinking of a small chainsaw. That's the handiest tool on our 5 acre lot.
posted by bonehead at 1:30 PM on April 12, 2011
For the initial job, no way that's going to be enough. It's like a souped up weed whacker, which is probably good for maintenance (personally I would worry about it being too heavy for me to wield effectively).
You might want to Hire A Guy for the initial job, if you want to take down trees. Or if the trees are wrist-diameter or smaller, I wholeheartedly recommend Alligator Loppers, which are a godsend.
Then for the shrubby stuff, deadmessenger is right - rent a brush hog.
posted by ErikaB at 5:44 PM on April 12, 2011
You might want to Hire A Guy for the initial job, if you want to take down trees. Or if the trees are wrist-diameter or smaller, I wholeheartedly recommend Alligator Loppers, which are a godsend.
Then for the shrubby stuff, deadmessenger is right - rent a brush hog.
posted by ErikaB at 5:44 PM on April 12, 2011
Check your phone book. A lot of people with tractors whom own brush cutters will sell their services. I've spent the money on their services before, and it's quite a saver of time and hassle.
posted by ZaneJ. at 10:47 PM on April 12, 2011
posted by ZaneJ. at 10:47 PM on April 12, 2011
Response by poster: Huh. Sounds like at least I'm not barking up the wrong tree. I'll take a harder look at renting a brush hog. I'll need some kind trimmer/brushcutter no matter what... Sounds like the decision is really over (a) tool power and (b) rent up front or not. I appreciate the moral support to not cheap out. :)
I'll update when we decide what to do. Thanks!!
posted by mindsound at 9:16 AM on April 13, 2011
I'll update when we decide what to do. Thanks!!
posted by mindsound at 9:16 AM on April 13, 2011
Response by poster: We ended up buying a Stihl FS130 brushcutter with a weed knife and a Beaver Blade. We went with Stihl because (a) it was the brand with the best word-of-mouth reputation and (b) there's a local dealer a quarter mile away. The brushcutter is awesome. It powers through stuff easily while still letting us preserve specific plants etc. The Beaver Blade cuts through saplings with almost no resistance... it's pretty terrifying.
posted by mindsound at 9:26 AM on May 10, 2011
posted by mindsound at 9:26 AM on May 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:49 AM on April 12, 2011