The OMEF CS400 and CS400H are the heavy end of the pruning range: 400 mm and 420 mm cuts on 10 to 24 tonne excavators, in heads of 550 and 570 kg. This is stem-class capacity in a tool that deliberately does not hold what it cuts, and that single fact should drive every part of the buying decision.
Where the CS400 and CS400H sit in the range
The CS family is OMEF’s individual-cut range, above the continuous TRI and BTD corridor tools and above the CS100, CS200 and CS300 heads for smaller carriers. The two models are close siblings. The CS400 is rated for 10 to 24 tonne carriers at 550 kg with a 400 mm cut; the CS400H starts at 12 tonnes, weighs 570 kg and adds 20 mm of capacity to reach 420 mm. Everything else in the published data is shared: 200 to 250 bar, 50 to 100 L/min, 360 degree rotation, two double-acting lines and no holding grapple. The mechanical pruning guide explains the ladder.
What the published figures mean on site
Four hundred millimetres is not a hedge-maintenance figure. It is a mature roadside limb, a rail corridor tree, a plantation edge stem or a storm-damaged hanger, and a green hardwood piece of that diameter and five or six metres long can weigh close to a tonne. The head cuts it; gravity does the rest. The extra 20 mm on the CS400H is a marginal capacity gain that matters at the top end of transmission easement work, and the higher starting carrier class reflects the extra 20 kg and the loads that go with the larger cut. Both figures are maxima on green wood; in dense hardwood the production diameter sits below them, as the maximum versus production diameter guide and the Australian hardwood guide explain.
The 200 to 250 bar requirement is higher at the bottom than the smaller CS heads, which is worth noticing: a carrier relieving at 190 bar will run the CS300 comfortably but leaves the CS400 short of force on hard wood.
Carrier matching
The bands are 10 to 24 tonnes for the CS400 and 12 to 24 tonnes for the CS400H. The CS needs two double-acting hydraulic lines, one for the cutting cylinder and one for 360 degree rotation, at 200 to 250 bar and 50 to 100 L/min. Flow sets cycle speed; a 12 tonne machine at 60 L/min cuts but turns and closes more slowly than a 20 tonne machine at 100. Confirm the arrangement with Machinery Specialist for the exact carrier, and follow the hydraulic matching guide and the hydraulic cooling guide. Reach is where the heavy heads bite: a 570 kg head plus bracket at the end of a long-reach front, at height over a road batter or rail cutting, is a lift chart question before it is a hydraulics question. Run the lift chart at the actual radius, and read the 10 to 16 tonne and 16 to 25 tonne class pages for candidate machines.
Typical work and production considerations
Heavy limb removal on highways, rail corridor trees inside possession windows, transmission easement clearance, plantation edge and firebreak stems and storm-damaged hangers are the work. Production is counted in cuts per productive hour and, at this diameter, is set almost entirely by what happens after the cut. Illustratively, a head cycling every 90 seconds could make 40 cuts an hour, but a 400 mm piece needs a grapple or loader to move, a saw to buck and a chipper, mulcher or truck to remove, so the realistic figure is whatever the ground fleet can clear. On a state road that fleet works inside a traffic control setup with a fixed day rate; on rail it works inside a possession that ends whether or not the last tree is down. Plan the day around cleanup throughput, not head speed. See road corridor clearing, rail corridor vegetation and storm damage and dangerous trees.
Limitations and when to choose a different family
Neither head holds the piece. That is the deliberate reason they weigh 550 and 570 kg rather than the mass of a grapple saw with a rotator, and it means the buying question is always the same: what happens to the severed piece? Where it can fall safely into a cleared zone, the CS400 is a light, fast, agile tool. Where it cannot, over a carriageway, a rail line, a fence, a structure, a live service or a crew, the correct tool is a grapple saw that holds and lowers it; read the grapple saw guide and the pruner versus grapple saw comparison. Where whole stems are being felled with directional control, a tree shear is the tool. Operators should establish exclusion zones and follow applicable WHS procedures and manufacturer instructions, and cut diameter must never be read as a safe suspended-load figure.
Options and configuration to settle at quotation
The decision that is unique to this page is CS400 against CS400H, and it should be made on the carrier class and the top-end diameter actually on the contract rather than on the 20 mm of extra capacity. Beyond that, settle the items common to the family, including the bracket and hitch (with any long-reach front), the second double-acting circuit, hose routing through rotation, carrier pressure and flow settings, blade options and guarding, and get the delivered weight in the ordered configuration in writing.
Wear parts and support
The blade, blade bolts, pivot pin and bushes, cylinder seals and rotation motor seals are the wear items, and at 400 mm in hardwood the blade edge is the cost to watch. Price a blade and seal kit with Machinery Specialist, confirm Australian stock, and read the wear parts guide.
Confirm before ordering
- Every planned cut can fall safely into a cleared zone; anything that must be held is grapple saw work
- CS400 (10 to 24 t, 550 kg, 400 mm) or CS400H (12 to 24 t, 570 kg, 420 mm) chosen on carrier class and top-end diameter
- Carrier has two double-acting circuits, relieves at 200 to 250 bar and delivers 50 to 100 L/min continuously
- Lift chart run with head plus bracket at the actual working radius and height, including any long-reach front
- Ground handling, bucking and chipping capacity matched to the head's cut rate
- Bracket, hitch, hose routing and guarding specified for the exact carrier
- Blade and seal kit priced and stocked in Australia
- Traffic control, possession windows, exclusion zones and cleanup priced per job
- Native vegetation and dangerous tree approvals checked where applicable
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the CS400 and CS400H?
The CS400 cuts 400 mm, weighs 550 kg and suits 10 to 24 tonne carriers. The CS400H cuts 420 mm, weighs 570 kg and starts at 12 tonnes. Pressure, flow, rotation and hydraulic lines are the same.
Does the CS400H hold the branch?
No. Neither head has a holding grapple. The severed piece falls, so plan every fall and use a grapple saw where a piece must be retained.
What hydraulics do they need?
Two double-acting lines for cut and 360 degree rotation, 200 to 250 bar and 50 to 100 L/min. Note the higher minimum pressure than the smaller CS heads.
Is a long-reach front a sensible pairing?
Only after the lift chart is run at the real radius. A 570 kg head at the end of a long-reach front is the configuration most likely to run out of chart before it runs out of hydraulic capacity, and it is also the hardest on the hitch.
How do I price the work?
By cuts per productive hour limited by cleanup throughput, with traffic control or possession costs and material removal as separate lines.
Is 420 mm achievable in eucalyptus?
It is the published maximum on green wood. Dense dry hardwood cuts more slowly and the production diameter will sit below it.
Other mechanical pruning to compare
OMEF TG hydraulic hedge trimmers
The light end of the OMEF range for fine vegetation rather than timber: the 800 mm six-knife TG2 for 1.8 to 2.5 tonne carriers and the 1,200 mm nine-knife TG1 for 2 to 5 tonne machines.
OMEF BF cutter bars
Extremely light reciprocating cutter bars (40 to 46 kg) in 1.2, 1.5 and 1.7 m widths for 30 mm class vegetation on 1 to 5 tonne carriers, built for linear metres rather than branch diameter.
OMEF TRI pruning cutting bars
Comb-style shearing bars for 4 to 10 tonne excavators in 1.6, 1.9 and 2.2 m widths. All three cut the same 100 mm class; the difference is linear coverage per pass.
OMEF BTD disc hedge trimmers
Rotating-disc trimmers for continuous woody vegetation up to about 150 mm on 3 to 10 tonne excavators. Two, three or four discs set the working width and the production rate.
OMEF CS100 forestry pruner
The compact 360-degree forestry pruner for 1.6 to 3.5 tonne excavators: 120 kg with a 100 mm cut for orchards, councils and light tree pruning.
OMEF CS200 forestry pruner
A 200 mm hydraulic pruning head for 3.5 to 6 tonne excavators: 210 kg, 360-degree rotation and enough capacity that the fall of every severed section has to be planned.
OMEF CS300 forestry pruner
Where pruning crosses into selective forestry: a 300 mm cut on 6 to 10 tonne excavators at 340 kg, for large roadside limbs, plantation edges and utility vegetation.
Get a recommendation, not just a price
Send us your excavator model, hydraulic figures, tree species and typical diameters. We will come back with a carrier-matched configuration and a written specification you can compare against any other quote.