Rotary Cutter Bush Hog vs. American Farmland vs. King Kutter

[CentralNC]

My Dad was a die hard Bush Hog user. All of our farm implements were Bush Hog brand and they lasted forever. We still have (at my Dad's place) an old 5ft Bush Hog that is at least 25 years old and it still works. We used these mowers a lot and they were absolutely abused.

I need to purchase a rotary cutter for use in clearing off some land we just purchased. I would expect to cut trees in the 1-2" category with the rotary mower. Anything larger would get a chain saw. Most of the land is covered in tall, thick grass. I am stuck on deciding which rotary mower to buy. The choices are a Bush Hog Squealer 160 (5') or an American Farmland 5' cutter from Southern States. The BH is $1250 and the AF is $700.

My thoughts are that they BH is a much better mower, but I could buy 2 of the AF (or King Kutter) mowers at those prices. I am also worried that I could wreck any new mower in doing what I need to do with the initial cut. Once I get the land cut and cleared....either mower should do a decent job in maintaining it. King Kutters are also available at Tractor Supply in the $700 price range.

I guess this is the classic "good" vs. "good enough" arguement. Any thoughts or comments? I appreciate your advice.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

My Dad was a die hard Bush Hog user. All of our farm implements were Bush Hog brand and they lasted forever. We still have (at my Dad's place) an old 5ft Bush Hog that is at least 25 years old and it still works. We used these mowers a lot and they were absolutely abused.

I need to purchase a rotary cutter for use in clearing off some land we just purchased. I would expect to cut trees in the 1-2" category with the rotary mower. Anything larger would get a chain saw. Most of the land is covered in tall, thick grass. I am stuck on deciding which rotary mower to buy. The choices are a Bush Hog Squealer 160 (5') or an American Farmland 5' cutter from Southern States. The BH is $1250 and the AF is $700.

My thoughts are that they BH is a much better mower, but I could buy 2 of the AF (or King Kutter) mowers at those prices. I am also worried that I could wreck any new mower in doing what I need to do with the initial cut. Once I get the land cut and cleared....either mower should do a decent job in maintaining it. King Kutters are also available at Tractor Supply in the $700 price range.

I guess this is the classic "good" vs. "good enough" arguement. Any thoughts or comments? I appreciate your advice.

Bush Hog, like just about every premium grade manufacturer, has fallen into the trap (as I see it) of competing with "lesser brands". The SQ series is good LIGHT DUTY equipment. So are 1000 other brands. At a certain point, you're paying more for the legend of Bush Hogs time tested quality than for the quality contained in their low end models. That said, the SQ series is PROBABLY a little better, but is it significantly better? 2 TIMES BETTER? Doubtful.

You won't find too many people as loyal to the Bush Hog name as I am. Their medium and heavy duty lines are as good as anyones, and better than most. For that matter, their light duty lines are AS GOOD as anyones and better than some. UNFORTUNATELY, they're double the price of some others.

This may or may not answer your question, but I'd understand your logic behind buying a "lesser brand". Now your dad might not understand

 

[Slacker]

If I were in your shoes (and I recently was), I'd buy a used KK or Howse and beat it silly getting your land cut. Then, if it continues to work after that...continue to use it! If it breaks, then get a new one of whatever brand suits your fancy and pocketbook.

 

[jbrumberg]

Slacker:

You are on to something- disposable rotary cutters ! I went the HD route first and beat that RC up pretty well for around 20 years. Then I downgraded to a MD model. Jay

 

[patrick_g]

I'm running a 6 ft Cimmaron HD model rated for 80 HP with a 39.5 PTO HP tractor. I cut trees up to 5 inches or larger with it. Sounds terrible, shakes the whole tractor, I sometimes kill the engine, and I have had to straighten the thing out and weld it after 5 years but it hasn't hurt the gear box. and it still works good. I keep promising myself I will sharpen the blades sometime when I get around to it but haven't sop far.

I have looked at KK and other bottom models. There is hardly a comparison. There is a progression running from light duty (useful as a light duty lawn mower substitute) where the deck is light gauge metal with flat bar reinforcement. Next up is heavier gauge metal with angle iron reinforcement on up to fully boxed reinforcement (my type) and really heavy gauge metal. There is just no way you can do what I do with a with a light weight cutter. All I would have to do to get lawn keeping performance equal to any of the genre is to sharpen or replace the blades.

For me, buying two cheapies is NOT anywhere near as good as buying one good one.

Pat

 

[CentralNC]

Thanks for all of the advice. It seems like there are a variety of valid options. Would a used John Deere LX5 be a good option? I found one for sale locally (used very lightly) for $875. Is this a good compromise between a Bush Hog Squealer and the King Kutter?

It would be nice to be able to afford a Bush Hog 295 (medium duty), but those cutters are $1700 + tax. They are much heavier duty and weigh 50% more than the Squealer 5' cutter......but they are much more expensive too.

 

[patrick_g]

Central, Don't lose sight of your needs and intended use. I couldn't use anything much lighter duty than the unit I have which is as heavily built as any 6 footer I have ever seen. As size goes down the problem gets easier to solve so metal gauges can be a bit lighter and reinforcing a little less extreme and still be strong enough.

If you will never ever use your mower for anything harder than cutting grass and weeds once you have the brush cleared then buying a new HD unit may be overkill. I have a quarter section to try to maintain and lots of other things to do besides mow so I don't always keep up with brush and sometimes due to other commitments have to let it go till it is a chore to clear again.

I have yet to ever regret buying too high of a quality or too heavily built implement. You hear few complaints about equipment that just takes a licking and keeps on ticking but plenty of complaints about things breaking that are too light duty. Frequently the hassle and complications of a broken light duty implement are of greater significance than the extra cost would have been to buy better equipment.

I hear a lot of folks talking about their troubles but I have never heard anyone complain that their tractor or implements were too good and got the job done too fast with too few problems.

Pat

 

[jbrumberg]

I agree with patrick g. One thing people tend to forget is that nature will quickly take back what is not constantly maintained. My cleared 7A's became ovely populated with ~2" poplar saplings with two years of nonmaintenance. I was lucky that I had my HD rotary cutter. Jay

 

[patrick_g]

I agree with patrick g. I was lucky that I had my HD rotary cutter. Jay

Jay, My informal analysis tends to indicate that rag sailors in general tend to be more conservative when it comes to their standards of what is good enough in strength of materials and equipment.

Don't know where you sail or what you sail but your experiences sailing undoubtedly reinforce your accommodation of reality.

Pat

 

[jbrumberg]

Pat

I agree with you about sailors being more conservative . I have an overbuilt Newport 17 sloop which I sail in the Adirondacks (Lake Piseco). I have had quite a few experiences on this and several other sail boats in my 25+ years of sailing . One reason I small lake sail now is that "She Who Must Be Obeyed" has forbidden me to go on larger bodies of water including the ocean and I also have a lifetime free mooring . From her perspective there are many, many reasons for her "decree". Wifey will only get in the boat when it is on its trailer, at its mooring, and/or at the dock. She does not realize that experiences are part of sailing and part of the fun ! I switch to sailing mode this week . Jay

PS: I converted the boat for single handed sailing. I only have to follow my own commands and it is a lot quieter ! I do have a very small outboard to get me back in time for "Happy Hour" .

Pat do you sail?