Isaac Weber likes to think outside the box. It’s one of the many reasons that his demolition and excavation business, The Weber Company, in Archbold, Ohio, has had continued success in a range of activities. Another reason is that Weber isn’t afraid to mix and match his machines and mulching attachments to get the right combination for a project. So, when the local township had a land clearing project 60 years in the making, they knew there was only one man for the job.
Drennan Ditch is a man-made drainage ditch that is a tributary of the Maumee River and the western Lake Erie basin. Weber and his team were tasked with removing sediment from a 2.25-mile stretch and an additional 840-foot span further down the ditch.
This latter task required working with a tricky 1.5:1 slope that needed a long reach excavator to clear out. Weber was the only company to bid on that portion of the project because they were the only company with that piece of equipment on hand.
Staying Above the Slippery Slope
After spending two months digging out the ditch, Weber was asked to bid on a downstream section of the project that had the significant slope.
“They said we were the only ones bidding because we were the only ones capable of doing the job,” Weber says.
The reason for the lack of competition was in fact that tricky 1.5:1 slope and how deep and wide the ditch was at that part of the project. Nearly 80 feet from bank to bank and 35 feet down the slope meant the ditch was practically impossible to work on without a machine capable of reaching over 60 feet. Thankfully, Weber and his team had the right piece of equipment for the job.
Rather than fighting up the slope, Weber and his team took the high ground — literally. Positioned at the top of the slope, they stationed their 63,000-pound Case CX250D long reach excavator with a Fecon Bull Hog forestry mulching attachment. With this setup, the Case’s 60-foot fully extended boom arm could easily reach the elm and cherry trees and nuisance vegetation on the slope.
Weber has a plethora of landscaping equipment options between excavators, skid steers, and attachments — but this combination was the only one that worked for the job.
“The other Bull Hog mulcher we have on the 210 Case excavator would only get halfway down this bank,” Weber says.
Using their mulcher to clear out the growth all along the bank, Weber and his team were able to accomplish the mulching in just over a day, much faster than any other option.
“If you were trying to do this by hand, you’d be at it for a week,” Weber explains.
With the slope mulched, Weber’s team was able to successfully dip out the spoils and debris to help open up the Drennan Ditch for better waterflow.
How the Mulcher Works
The CEM36 mulcher can be equipped with a variety of rotor and blade options to optimize the equipment needs for the job at hand. Weber opted for a depth control rotor with Viking Sword cutting blades. The depth control rotor limits the bite to keep RPM high, which keeps the machine productive.
Weber sharpens his blades two to three times per day for roughly 15 minutes using a 60-grit flap sand wheel. When it comes to mulcher attachment maintenance, Weber applies grease whenever he sharpens the blades. The Viking Sword blades are double sided and can be easily flipped for a brand new edge to double the life of the blades. Weber estimates that he gets over 100 hours on each side of the blade. The design of the Viking Sword blades also features a tapered body which allows chip materials to flow more efficiently, resulting in a finer finished product.
“What’s nice about this Fecon mulching head is that it can also go on my Case 130 or my 250 Long Reach, so I can intertwine them between each other,” he explains.
Typically, operators would need to scale down their bucket when going from a 250 to a 130 Case excavator — but the Bull Hog’s balance of weight and durability allows it to deliver reliable performances on excavators of varying sizes. For Weber, this means he can mix and match his attachments with his equipment to have the right matchup for the job.
As his arsenal of landscaping equipment grows, Weber finds himself drawn back time and time again to the brands that he has had success with in the past. With Case for his excavators and skid steers, Fecon for his attachments, and Werk-Brau for his buckets, Weber has the tools to set his company up for success no matter what challenges a job brings. SW
Published in Stormwater magazine, May 2022.
