Powerhand EX25 forestry grapple

Where the EX25 sits in the range

The EX25 is the lightest of Powerhand’s four EX forestry grapples, below the EX28, EX36 and EX40. It is the only EX built for 8 to 12 tonne carriers, and at 323 kg base or 400 kg with rotator it leaves most of a small excavator’s lift available for the timber. The forestry grabs buying guide sets the whole family in context, and the EX25 vs EX28 vs EX36 vs EX40 comparison lines up the sizes.

If the same carrier needs to cut as well as carry, the EX25 grapple saw puts a 600 mm saw on the same 0.25 m² head, at 651 kg rather than 400 kg. That difference is the deciding factor on a 10 tonne machine: buy the saw if cutting is part of every cycle, buy the grapple if the timber arrives sized.

What the published figures mean on site

Buyers tend to compare maximum opening, and the EX25’s 1,641 mm is generous for its class. The opening answers how wide an object can pass between the tine tips; the 0.25 m² grapple capacity answers how much bundled roundwood or brash the closed geometry actually contains. For repetitive chipper feeding it is the capacity figure that drives cycle productivity, because the head is closing on a pile rather than around a single stem.

The weight is published two ways for a reason. The 323 kg base figure is the bare grapple; 400 kg is the figure with rotator, and it is the one that belongs in the lift calculation if rotation is specified. Add the coupler or adaptor on top, since Powerhand’s figure does not know which hitch your carrier runs. The EX25 uses smaller-section solid Hardox tines than the 50 mm tines on the larger models, which keeps the mass down at the cost of some resistance to the abuse a heavier machine could inflict.

Carrier matching and the suspended-load rule

A grapple’s capacity is not a lifting capacity. The carrier suspends grapple, rotator, coupler and timber together at whatever radius the boom is at, and the lift chart at that radius, not the 8 to 12 tonne band, decides the payload.

Illustratively, assume a 10 tonne excavator rated 1,500 kg at the working radius and a coupler of 150 kg. After the 400 kg grapple, about 950 kg remains for material. Assuming green eucalypt near 1,100 kg per cubic metre, that is well under a cubic metre of solid hardwood, and a full 0.25 m² head of 4 m logs would exceed it. Brash is far lighter for its volume, which is why the EX25 fills comfortably on vegetation work but needs discipline on sawlogs. Those three assumptions are illustrative only: run your own machine through the lift capacity calculator and read the lift chart and attachment mass guide.

Typical work and production considerations

The EX25 belongs in council parks and urban vegetation work, biomass and chipper operations with compact chippers, and storm damage and dangerous trees clean-up where a small carrier fits the access. The inward-angled tine geometry wraps round timber as the jaws close and the gripping structures on the underside of the headstock steady a larger single log against the body, which reduces re-grabs and dropped loads on the way to the chipper.

Balance the head to the chipper. A compact chipper fed continuously by a 10 tonne machine with an EX25 is a productive pairing; the same machine trying to keep a large drum chipper busy is the bottleneck, however good the grapple. Australian hardwood density means the safe grab of sawlogs is smaller than the head’s volume suggests, as the Australian hardwood guide explains.

Limitations and when to step up or down a size

The EX25 is at its limit when the carrier is 12 tonnes and the material is dense log bundles rather than brash. At that point the EX28 offers 0.28 m² and 50 mm tines for 217 kg more with rotator, and its 12 to 25 tonne band means it will follow the fleet upward. Below 8 tonnes there is no EX grapple; a general-purpose sorting grab is the usual answer, and the forestry grapple vs sorting grab comparison explains what is given up.

Options and configuration to settle at quotation

The EX25 is offered in rigid and swing-link mountings with rotator options. Rigid mounting gives precise placement and suits chipper feeding and sorting; swing-link lets the head align naturally with long timber in repetitive loading. Confirm the rotator model and torque, since a low-torque rotator will stall when turning a loaded head against a pile, and confirm tine width and how gripping pressure is controlled so high-value logs are not crushed and light brash is not dropped. The hydraulic matching guide covers the rotator circuit.

Wear parts and support

Price pins, bushes, cylinder seals and rotator seals before ordering, and ask how tines are repaired, since undocumented weld repairs on Hardox are a known problem on used grabs. A transport stand that holds the head with hoses protected is cheap insurance. Machinery Specialist is the Australian distributor; the wear parts guide gives a pricing checklist.

Confirm before ordering

• Weight in the ordered configuration: 323 kg base or 400 kg with rotator, plus coupler
• Lift chart checked at the actual working radius with that weight deducted
• Rigid or swing-link mounting chosen for the work, with rotator model and torque
• Gripping pressure control and rotator circuit flow confirmed for the carrier
• Chipper feed opening and typical piece length checked against 0.25 m² capacity
• Pins, bushes, cylinder seals and rotator seals priced with Australian stock location
• Transport stand and tie-down points included

Frequently asked questions