Question
What slope can a mulcher work on?
GRazer's remote-controlled machines work on slopes up to 55 degrees. For comparison, a conventional tractor and topper generally stops being safe somewhere around 20 to 25 degrees. The difference is that a remote-controlled machine has no operator on the slope, so a rollover is a machine problem rather than an injury.
Fifty-five degrees is steeper than most people picture. It is well past the angle at which walking up a face becomes hard work, and far past anything you would put a tractor on. The number matters because it is the boundary between land that can be managed and land that quietly goes out of use.
The reason the number can be that high is the absence of an operator on the machine. Conventional slope limits exist mostly to protect the person in the seat: tractor rollovers remain one of the most serious causes of death and injury on New Zealand farms. Take the person off the machine and the limiting factor becomes traction and machine stability rather than survivability.
It is worth being precise about the figure, because competitors in this category advertise different numbers. GRazer's stated capability is up to 55 degrees, in degrees rather than per cent, and that is the figure the business stands behind.
In practice the question on any given site is not only gradient. Ground conditions, surface, moisture and what is underneath the vegetation all affect what is sensible on the day. GRazer generally prefer one to two dry days before starting for access, safety and productivity.
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