Powerhand EX25 grapple saw

Where the EX25 grapple saw sits in the range

The EX25 is the entry point to Powerhand’s rigid forestry excavator grapple saw range, which runs EX25, EX28 and EX36. It is the only one built around an 8 to 12 tonne carrier, and at 651 kg it is the lightest saw head Powerhand offers for an excavator. That is the commercial argument: a council or arborist running a 10 tonne machine gets a head that grips, cuts and retains the severed piece without giving most of the boom’s capacity to the attachment.

If the work is handling rather than cutting, the matching EX25 forestry grapple shares the same 0.25 m² capacity and 1,641 mm opening at far lower weight. The grapple saw buying guide explains the three mounting architectures Powerhand builds.

What the published figures mean on site

The 0.25 m² capacity describes how much bundled material the closed tines contain. The 1,641 mm maximum opening answers a different question: how wide a stem or limb can pass between the tine tips. For a saw head the opening matters, because the tines must close around a standing stem or hanging limb before the cut, and 1,641 mm reaches around trunks larger than the saw will sever.

The 900 mm bar and the 600 mm maximum cut are also separate figures. Bar length is what the saw box carries; the cut is what the head passes through in one plunge with the timber gripped. Treat 600 mm as a mechanical ceiling rather than a production target, since chain load and cut time in dense hardwood climb steeply toward it. The 651 kg attachment weight is the number for every lift calculation; confirm whether it includes the Indexator rotator and the coupler in the configuration you are ordering.

Carrier matching and the suspended-load rule

A 600 mm saw capacity is not a 600 mm safe piece capacity. After the cut, the carrier holds attachment, rotator, coupler and timber at whatever radius the boom is at, and the lift chart at that radius decides what is acceptable, not the tonne class.

Illustratively, assume a 10 tonne excavator whose chart shows 1,500 kg at the working radius and a coupler of 150 kg. Subtracting those and the 651 kg head leaves about 700 kg for the piece. Assuming green eucalypt near 1,100 kg per cubic metre, a 600 mm section carries roughly 310 kg per metre, so the controlled piece is a little over 2 m, not the 5 m a softwood job might allow. Every figure in that sum except the attachment weight is an assumption: run your own machine through the lift capacity calculator and read the lift chart and attachment mass guide first.

Typical work and production considerations

The EX25 earns its keep where an 8 to 12 tonne machine already suits the site: council parks and urban vegetation, road corridor clearing where traffic control makes each closure expensive, and storm damage and dangerous trees where hung-up limbs must be gripped before they are cut. The value is control of the severed section rather than cuts per hour.

Plan each piece: length, diameter, density, centre of gravity and placement path. For chipper work, size pieces to the feed opening so the saw is not cross-cutting twice. Australian hardwood density shortens safe sections noticeably against pine, as the Australian hardwood guide explains.

Limitations and when to step up or down a size

On a 12 tonne machine that regularly meets 500 mm plus hardwood, cut times lengthen, the 0.404 inch chain is working hard and the boom has little margin for the piece. That is the point to consider the EX28, which keeps the 600 mm cut but adds saw motor and chain pitch options across 12 to 25 tonne carriers. There is no smaller rigid saw; below 8 tonnes a tree shear is the realistic path, and the tree shear vs grapple saw comparison shows when its simpler cycle wins.

Options and configuration to settle at quotation

The figures here describe the rigid excavator version. Powerhand also builds the EX25 head on a tiltrotator and in a tree-care worm-drive configuration, each with different weight, hydraulic demand and price, so state the architecture in writing before comparing quotations. Within the rigid build, confirm the Indexator saw rotator with continuous rotation, a saw motor displacement matched to the carrier’s actual auxiliary flow rather than the largest motor available, 0.404 inch chain, automatic tensioning and the chain lubrication reservoir. The hydraulic matching guide covers why an under-flowed motor cuts slowly and runs hot while an over-sped one wears early.

Wear parts and support

Budget the saw side first: chains, bars, drive sprockets, saw motor service and chain oil, tracked as chains per day and bars per month so the tender rate reflects reality. On the grapple side, price pins, bushes, cylinder seals and rotator seals and ask where they are stocked in Australia. A transport stand that protects the bar and hoses is cheap against a bent bar mount on the first float move. Machinery Specialist is the Australian distributor, and the wear parts guide gives a pricing checklist.

Confirm before ordering

• Mounting architecture stated in writing: rigid excavator grapple saw
• Delivered weight including Indexator rotator, coupler and hoses
• Lift chart checked at the actual working radius with that weight deducted
• Saw motor displacement selected against measured auxiliary flow and pressure
• Chain pitch, bar length, automatic tension and lubrication reservoir specified
• Chain, bar, sprocket and seal pricing with Australian stock location
• Transport stand and tie-down arrangement included

Frequently asked questions