Torrent Technical
Torrent designs and manufactures CE compliant rotary mulching attachments for use in forestry, construction and agricultural land clearing and rehabilitation applications such as:
- Highway roadside maintenance
- Road building
- Silva culture
- Wetlands management
- Construction site clearing
- Seismic line clearing
- Land reclamation
- Heavy stump grinding
- Tree removal - any size
Torrent products are designed for high volume, severe terrain clearing while consuming minimal machine power. Torrent's exclusive spherical cutter (Patent Pending) is extremely durable and does its work efficiently as is evidenced by the whisper quiet operation of our implements.
Torrent offers mulcher head attachments for a broad range of applications, equipment types and horsepower considerations. Whether a 30 hp (22Kw) mini-excavators capable of handling a 350 lb (159 kg) attachment or a 300 hp (225 Kw) purpose-built forestry platform, Torrent can provide mulcher heads suited specifically to your application.
The importance of selecting the right mulching head for your machine and application
Torrent is committed to assuring that when you purchase one of our products it will be the best possible match for your machine and application. Thorough research (and verification) of the machine specifications is critical in determining the suitability of a carrier (excavator, forestry platform or skid steer) as a mulching head recipient. It is important to understand that not all information necessary to understand the cost and complexity of the installation of a high flow hydraulic attachment (such as a mulching implement) is necessarily contained in standard mulching head attachment specifications. Often it is necessary to consult the manufacturer of the carrier to get all of the information required to provide valuable guidance to the customer. At Torrent it is our policy to perform a detailed analysis of the application, machine specifications and options before offering any recommendation or quotation to a potential customer. We want you to be as informed as you can possibly be – up front, so as to avoid any costly or disappointing surprises.
Considerations in selection of the right mulching head for your machine and application
There are three key points to be considered in the selection of mulching heads for any carrier that we at Torrent can and will provide consultation on (at no charge) whether it results in a sale or not:
- The suitability of the carrier (i.e. is the machine capable of running any mulcher efficiently)
- The matching of the carrier with the proper mulching head (i.e. available auxiliary oil flow and pressure, machine weight vs. implement weight, application etc.)
- Cost and complexity of the installation (is the machine plumbed properly, is the auxiliary flow accessible, is additional directional control system work required or desired etc.)
Boom reaction and carrier stability
Torrent was the first manufacturer to market a fixed tooth mulcher that could be run efficiently by a mini excavator. Using the 161-3 Kubota (a 6 tonne class machine) as the target match for a mini mulcher, Torrent fielded a 26" cutting width unit with an installed weight of approximately 900 lb (400 kg). The unit worked admirably but the carrier became unstable at full reach and booming down was very tricky indeed even at little over half of full reach. In response to customer feed back we set out to redesign the unit to better suit the target market. The belt drive and associated hardware has been eliminated in favour of a direct drive system reducing cost weight and maintenance - four years and thousands of hours of testing later we now offer the EX30DE with a 30" (0.75 meter) cutting width weighing only 550 lb (225 kg) and efficient and light enough to be run on many 4 tonne class machines. And for the 4 tonne clas and lighter machines we now offer the EX24D.
Pay close attention to the full reach boom capacity of your carrier. In the case of the KX161-3 with a rated lift capacity of 2200 pounds-force or roughly 9.8 kilonewton (at full reach or approximately 4 meters) a 900 pound or 400 kilogram mulcher proved to be too heavy to maintain carrier stability. A good rule of thumb when selecting a mini excavator mulcher is to stay around 35% of your maximum lift at full reach over the side to maintain an acceptable level of stability. Read More ...
Canadian Made Torrent Mulchers
Torrent Mulchers are employed in a broad spectrum of applications such as brush cutters, forestry mowers, stump grinders and whole tree mulchers. Highway maintenance is fast becoming one of the primary uses of Torrrent clearing attachments especially when mounted to mini excavators. A mini excavator equipped with a properly sized head (see "The importance of selecting the right mulching head for your machine and application" on the "articles" page) is ideal for roadside clearing with relatively low capital cost, low fuel consumption, low mobilization cost and zero swing which in many cases eliminates the requirement for traffic control personnel. Based on the mentioned considerations, a contractor equipped with a mini excavator mulcher can tender work using higher margins and lower cost than a competitor using a larger, heavier forestry mulcher with higher capital, operating, mobilization and support costs.
Torrent mulching machines are especially well suited to use in high volume land clearing operations. Rather than using brush cutter blades, flail mower technology or extremely inefficient and expensive carbide teeth the Torrent line incorporates spherical cutters on all units offering the highest efficiency and lowest operating cost when compared to any competing mulching equipment manufacturers. Torrent land clearing machines have been designed and tested on the rugged east coast of Canada in a variety of applications from use as a stump grinder on blueberry field development to roadside vegetation management on the rocky south shore of Nova Scotia.
Canadian forest products gaining particular momentum are high-grade tree mulchers. A relatively new innovation, these Canadian forest products are credited for their eco-friendly and effective land clearing methods. Considerably more environmentally friendly and considerate to the vegetation and wildlife than traditional Canadian forest products, tree mulchers efficiently remove trees without damaging the surrounding environment and woodlands. A tree mulcher is the ideal Canadian forest product for environmental planners and engineers looking to maintain and preserve the woodlands by cutting down old trees blocking the sunlight of newer growths. Bulldozers are known to destroy the surrounding land and trees, which necessitates extensive and costly clean ups and takes years to fully repair. Unnecessary environmental damage does not adhere to Canada's demand for sustainability. Tree mulchers are ideal Canadian forest products for precise and effortless tree removal that preserves the environment.
Canada is the leading supplier of wood related goods; paper, logs, and mulch supplement the country's economy. The balance between maintaining and using the country's woodlands are precarious at best but tree mulchers as Canadian forest products are helping environmental planners make huge gains. Not only sensitive to the environment, these Canadian forest products produce mulch, which can be used to further enhance the woodlands and/or generate profit. Mulch made from these Canadian forest products can be used to maintain soil moisture, control weeds, heat soil during the frigid winter months and cool soil during the hot summer months, improve the soil's structure and fertility, and inhibit disease. Ideal for the economy but also the perfect product to help enhance and maintain the woodlands, mulch from Canadian forest products are another attractive aspect of a tree mulching head.
Torrent Technical Inc. produces and designs specialized rotary mulching attachments for Canadian forest products. Designed specifically to mulch large, aged trees, of up to 20" in diameter and grind any size stump, Torrent Mulchers's Canadian forest products are suited for heavy grade land clearing equipment. Their innovative cutter design reduces RPM and power consumption, thereby lowering overall fuel costs. Lightweight but incredibly durable, made from the highest quality and strongest materials on the market, their attachments are the ideal Canadian forest products for environmental maintenance.
To learn more about Torrent Mulchers and tree stump grinder, please contact us.