Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/426956
uct service engineer. When you're ready to bite into a log, the low- speed/high-torque setting hogs out material without bogging down. The push bar on the new mulcher has been redesigned to be adjustable. When you're dealing with a big tree you can angle the push bar out further from the cab to insure the tree falls in the direction you want it to go. High impact teeth Cat reconfigured the teeth on the mulching head in a helical pattern so the full force of the hydraulics transfers into just one tooth at a time, rather than a whole row of teeth simultaneously. And you can now replace the teeth with one bolt, rather than two bolts as per the previous design, cutting the time it takes for that particular chore in half. A hydraulic pressure gauge on the mulcher lets the operator see if the drum is running at the recommend- ed 3,500 psi. If he sees the gauge climb up to 4,000 to 4,500 psi, even if he can't hear it, he knows to back off and take a shallower cut. Finish-grade finesse The door covering the drum can be hydraulically controlled from the cab. If you don't need a fin- ished surface you can leave the door open and let debris blow out. If you're in a residen- tial setting, you can lower the door and force all the de- bris straight down, mulching it to a fine consistency and creating a neatly finished, uniform ground cover. The base ma- chine, the 299D XHP, has enough horsepower and hydraulic flow (40 gpm, 4,600 psi) to drive Cat's most aggressive attachments. Cat recom- mends two other attachments to round out the land management package. An industrial grapple rake enables operators to move logs, rocks and large objects. And a power box rake fluffs up mulch and materials to give you leave finished surface and uncompacted soil. December 2014 | EquipmentWorld.com 44 product report | continued Visit equipmentworld.com/safetywatch Looking for safety resources? Safety Watch articles are now available for download on our website. Designed for use in training and in toolbox talks, the articles cover a range of important safety topics such as falls, trenching, welding, back over accidents and more. Each Safety Watch features an actual construction accident, and outlines ways to prevent similar accidents from occurring on your jobsite. Equipment World's AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH and SPANISH The steel tracks on this CTL are designed to slug it out in conditions that would kill tires or tracks.