HECTOR, Minn. — Loftness has introduced new models of its Battle AxÔ horizontal drum mulcher designed specifically for skid steers. Featuring a new rotor, tooth design and exclusive two-stage cutting chamber, the heavy-duty Battle Ax is designed for highly efficient vegetation management, including right-of-way maintenance, land clearing, forestry applications and more.
The Battle Ax is available with 61- and 71-inch cutting widths for skid steers with 50 to 120 hydraulic horsepower. Its 17-inch-diameter rotor features built-in depth gauges, which function similarly to raker teeth on chain saws to prevent the attachment from engaging too much material at one time. This unique design is more ideal for managing the amount of material being fed into the attachment than competitive ring-style rotors, which many operators find to be overly limiting.
The Battle Ax rotor is optimized for use with all cutting tooth styles. Customers can choose from Quadco planer blades, hard-surface Quadco blades and carbide teeth. The cutting teeth are mounted to the rotor with a single hex bolt for easy removal on the jobsite.
To further maximize performance, the Battle Ax features a two-stage cutting chamber, which allows material to be cut twice by the rotor and helps produce some of the smallest particle sizes in the industry. The primary shear bar is adjustable for customizing particle size.
The Battle Ax is available with two hydraulic motor options. A fixed-displacement gear motor operates at a constant RPM that provides an optimal balance between speed and torque. Customers may also choose a variable-displacement piston motor, which automatically shifts the rotor RPM from the highest speed to a lower range for increased torque, as needed. The piston motor results in less stalling and a shorter recovery time, helping operators to concentrate on the job instead of power settings and continuous head repositioning.
Other standard features include universal skid-steer mounting, premium strength steel housing, adjustable skid shoes from 0.5 inches to -1.5 inches for below-grade mulching, a machined anti-wrap bearing protector, an adjustable push bar with welded claw hooks, an integrated pressure gauge, and a staggered tooth pattern to ensure single-tooth contact with the work surface at all times.
Loftness manufactures the VMLogix line of vegetation management equipment, which includes hydraulic oil coolers, the Kwik-Trim compact mechanical tree trimmer, and high-performance mulching heads for a variety of equipment, ranging from excavators, skid steer loaders and up to 400-horsepower prime movers. For more information on Loftness’ complete product line, contact Loftness Specialized Equipment, P.O. Box 337, Hector, MN 55342, call 800-828-7624 (U.S. and Canada) or 320-848-6266 (international), email [email protected], or visit www.loftness.com.
