The size where the head stops being about logs
Third in Powerhand’s EX grapple family, above the EX28 and below the EX40, with the EX25 at the bottom, the EX36 is built for 16 to 25 tonne carriers. What changes at this size is not really strength. It is the jaw. The step from 1,632 mm to 1,928 mm of opening, with capacity rising from 0.28 m² to 0.36 m², turns the head into a bulk-volume tool, and bulk volume is what brash, lop and top, and tangled windblown material demand. Logs were never the constraint here. The forestry grabs buying guide explains the family and the EX25 vs EX28 vs EX36 vs EX40 comparison puts the sizes side by side.
Where the same material has to be cut as well as gathered, the EX36 grapple saw carries a 650 mm saw on the same 0.36 m² head at 1,176 kg, against 837 kg with rotator here.
Why brash makes the opening matter more than the rating
Solid timber and brash behave nothing alike in a grapple. A cubic metre of green hardwood weighs somewhere near a tonne; a cubic metre of loosely tangled brash might weigh a couple of hundred kilograms, because most of what the jaws enclose is air. That single fact reorders the specification. On logs the carrier’s lift chart decides the grab, and jaw volume is surplus. On brash the chart is barely engaged and the jaw is the whole limit, so 296 mm of extra opening and 0.08 m² of extra capacity translate directly into fewer cycles for the same pile.
Put a number on it, illustratively. If an EX28 takes a pile in five grabs, an EX36 with roughly 29 per cent more enclosed volume takes it in four, assuming the pile geometry lets the jaws close on a full bite each time. Over a shift feeding a chipper, one grab in five removed is a meaningful production change and it costs nothing in lift, because the material is light.
Where the volume does not convert
The assumption in that arithmetic is the one that fails on real sites. A wide jaw only gains when there is a full bite available to take. On brash that has been piled, windrowed or left in a tangled heap, there is. On brash scattered across a cleared area there is not, and the EX36 then spends its cycle sweeping material together rather than lifting it, which a smaller and more agile head does faster. The rule is to buy the jaw for the pile, not for the tonnage of the carrier.
Two other conversions to check. The chipper feed opening has to accept the bundle the head presents, or the operator is dropping half of each grab short of the infeed and re-handling it. And the tines have to penetrate: 50 mm solid Hardox with inward-angled geometry will work into a compacted heap, but a pile that has been tracked over and consolidated resists any grapple, and is better ripped loose first.
What the 837 kg means on a 16 tonne carrier
Grapple capacity is a volume, not a payload. On this head the two figures diverge most at the bottom of the band, because 837 kg with rotator plus a coupler is a substantial deduction from a 16 tonne machine’s chart at reach, and on solid log bundles that carrier will reach its limit long before the jaws are full. On brash it will not, which is why the EX36 is a better brash grab than log grab on the smaller carriers in its range. Check the figure at your real working radius with the lift capacity calculator and the lift chart and attachment mass guide, and note that Australian hardwood density shortens safe log bundles well below what 0.36 m² suggests.
Typical work
The EX36 is a landing and bulk-material tool. In biomass and chipper operations it keeps a large chipper supplied with full grabs; in plantation thinning and re-establishment it bunches and stacks stems at the landing; in subdivision and civil clearing and mining and pipeline corridors it clears the heavy tangled residue that a smaller head takes in pieces. Landing work is also harder on a grapple than clean feeding is, because stems are dragged and rolled rather than lifted, and pin and bush wear runs ahead of the hours logged.
Up a size, down a size
On a 16 to 18 tonne carrier the EX36 consumes lift the timber needs, and the EX28 gives back 220 kg for 0.08 m² and 296 mm. On a 25 tonne carrier moving whole stems in volume, the EX40 adds 0.40 m² and a 2,137 mm opening for a further 254 kg, if the chart supports it at reach. For clean sawlog sorting a jaw this wide reduces the operator’s sightline to the log and slows fine placement, so match the head to the product rather than to the machine.
Specifying and supporting the head
Mounting style, rotator selection and gripping pressure control follow the family pattern set out on the EX25 page, and the hydraulic matching guide covers the circuit. The one specification to press harder at this size is rotator torque against a full jaw of wet material, because 0.36 m² of saturated brash has more rotational inertia than the empty head the demonstration was run with.
For support, price pins, bushes, cylinder seals and rotator seals, and ask about tine repair procedure and replacement tine stock in Australia. At 837 kg the head needs a transport stand with identified lifting points and the hoses protected. The wear parts guide gives a pricing checklist.
Confirm before ordering
- Pile geometry on your typical sites: is a full-jaw bite actually available, or is the material scattered
- Chipper infeed opening measured against the bundle a 1,928 mm jaw presents
- Cycle count compared honestly against an EX28 on the same pile before paying for the larger jaw
- Chart figure at working radius with 837 kg plus coupler deducted, particularly on 16 to 18 tonne carriers
- Rotator torque rated against a full jaw of wet brash, not an empty head
- Tine penetration discussed for consolidated or tracked-over material
- Pins, bushes, cylinder and rotator seals priced, with tine repair procedure and Australian stock
- Transport stand with lifting points and hose protection included
Frequently asked questions
What does the wider opening actually buy me?
On piled brash, fuller grabs and fewer cycles. 1,928 mm against the EX28's 1,632 mm is roughly 29 per cent more enclosed volume, which on light bulky material converts straight into production because the lift chart is not the limit.
Does the wide jaw help on scattered brash?
Less than buyers expect. It pays on piled or tangled material where a full bite is available. On scattered brash the head spends its time gathering rather than filling, and a smaller grab cycles faster.
Will a 16 tonne excavator run the EX36?
It is within the published band, and on brash it works well because the material is light. On solid log bundles the carrier reaches its limit before the jaws fill, and the EX28 is the better match.
Is the EX36 suited to sawlog sorting?
It can do it, but a jaw this wide blocks the operator's view of the log and slows precise placement. For clean sawlogs a smaller EX is more accurate.
Why does brash wear a grapple differently from logs?
Brash is gathered by sweeping and compressing rather than lifted cleanly, so the tine tips and the cylinder work in short repeated strokes. Tine tip wear and cylinder seal life, rather than structural load, are what to watch.
Other forestry grapples to compare
Compare models side by side with specification graphs →
Powerhand EX25 forestry grapple
The lightest EX grapple: 400 kg with rotator and 0.25 m² of capacity, preserving carrier lift on 8 to 12 tonne excavators feeding compact chippers.
Powerhand EX28 forestry grapple
The crossover grapple: 0.28 m² of capacity across a broad 12 to 25 tonne carrier band, for civil clearing, biomass and chipper feeding.
Powerhand EX40 forestry grapple
The industrial EX grapple: more than a tonne with rotator, a 2,137 mm opening and 0.40 m² capacity for high-volume log and biomass handling on 20 to 30 tonne carriers.
Powerhand Terragrip clearing grapple
A clearing and raking hybrid rather than a conventional grapple: one fixed leg works as a root ripper and rake while a single moving leg grips, with around 1,540 mm of opening on 14 to 25 tonne machines.
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