Rotary Cutter Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels?

   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #1  

runwme

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I mow 12 acres of pasture and land around my house with a bush hog 72in cutter. Keeping blades sharp it does decent job, but sometime when turning will scalp my yard worse then indians did custer.

I have set the 3 pt hit every,way i can think of with no success due to tractor bouncing ( 686 international diesel) over bumps. I dont want to spend big bucks on a finish mower, so want to make my bush hog as close to it as i can.

Is there a wheel kit for doing such a task ? or should i just buy yoke and casters and add 2 wheels to front of my bush hog?

Thanks soo much for your tips
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #2  
I've had what seems to be a similar problem with a 48" Bush Hog. Despite check chains and mowing height set to 4-5 inches, a sharp turn will often cause the inside (of the turn) front edge of the mower to dig in and start plowing. You refer to your problem as scalping but scalping is caused by the blades themselves which is not the case for me. In my case the damage to turf is caused by the front corner of the mower that plows merrily along even after the turn. I need to stop or raise the position control to stop the plowing. I've taken out 10 -15 foot divots on occasion but usually I catch it sooner.

I tried check chains but they really did not help much if at all. With a wider mower check chains might be useful but my check chains were connected to the mower deck inside the 3PT arms so did not have much effect in preventing the plowing.

I note that Bush Hog has twin tail wheels on some of the medium and heavy duty rotary cutters and that would certainly help. I've never seen a kit for adding dual tail wheels to the lighter duty Bush Hogs however. Adding wheels to both front sides would certainly help but I've never seen anyone do that.

I should note that others have noted this plowing phenomenon with other brands so it is not really a Bush Hog only phenomenon.
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Your exactly right and i used the incorrect terminology.

The blades aren't causing the problem for me, its the front corners of the mowing deck and like you i can take a 5 foot long divot.

My bush hog is 10 years old and just has the one center tail wheel.

I am thinking if i added 2 wheels to the front of the deck, then they will help control height for more consistent cut height with less tearing up the turf.

Is there a kit like this or another solution / modification?
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #4  
I have the same problem and at first couldnt figure out what was causing it.. I would just see clumps of grass and bare earth on my second pass.. But I finally figured out what it was doing.. Now I just raise the mower when i start a turn to come back down..

If you added wheels, would you run the risk of knocking them off (or bending them) if you are turning and they didnt track quick enough? Sorta like the problem the JD 62" MMM were having creating divots.. But I suppose a divot is much better than a long strip of grass turned back..

Brian
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #5  
you have it set too low
nothing should hit on normal ground (obviously, odd shaped ground causes it to hit occasionally)

play with the wheel height and the 3point height to get it right.
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #6  
runwme said:
I am thinking if i added 2 wheels to the front of the deck, then they will help control height for more consistent cut height with less tearing up the turf.

Is there a kit like this or another solution / modification?

I had exactly the same thought and even bought a bunch of supplies to make up such wheels. I ended up not doing it however for much the same reason as Brian noted. If you put small wheels outboard of the front edge of the cutter, they would be very vulnerable to being damaged. If you put larger wheels there they would have trouble turning if they were on fixed axles. I even thought of putting finish mower style front and rear wheels on it but then gave up and just bought a finish mower. I now use the bush hog for land clearing and once I've cut things down so I can run the finish mower (set high) without hitting stumps, rocks etc I just use the "finish" mower for pasture cutting. Problem solved (kinda).

I looked long and hard and never found a kit to add front wheels that were designed for the bush hog. I did find however that Bush Hog has twin rear wheel cutters that I think would prevent much of the problem. The medium duty line ($$$) of Bush Hog cutters has twin wheels and those would prevent the cutter from twisting on the 3pt which is what allows that inside edge to catch the turf and start plowing.

Another solution would be to alter the front to back slope by lowering the rear wheel so you could keep the front of the cutter a bit higher but still cut to the level you want.
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #7  
LoneCowboy said:
you have it set too low
nothing should hit on normal ground (obviously, odd shaped ground causes it to hit occasionally)

play with the wheel height and the 3point height to get it right.

You have LOTS more experience with these cutters so I assume you are correct. How much of a rise do you set from back to front when you are trying to cut fairly low (3-4 inches) so that the front lip doesn't "plow" when making turns? When I set my mower the front lip is about 2 inches off the ground and it does fine on straight runs but will tend to dig in on the turns. All the 3PT chains are tight so there is virtually no sway.
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Yeah, i was hoping you guys would say... sure is a kit ! buy it right here ( and post a link ) GRIN... that was wishful thinking:)

LOL that not being the case, i will break new ground ( LOL TO keep from continually tearing up old ground) and rig something up.

If i raise it where it doesn't put divots in the yard, it mows grass too high. I have tried all sorts of adjustments on rear wheel and 3pt , but can't get what i want. I've even thought of buying new blades with more drop in them so I could run the deck higher, but still cut low. I have trees, turns, hills, dips, so i think setting it up like finish mower with front wheels is best approach to consistent height

I just took bunches of measurements, drew up an idea in my head and today or tomorrow will head down to agri supply and pick up forks, casters and plates.

The wheels will be large, and inboard of the sides, so hopefully wont get knocked off. I will try to over engineer to make it much stronger then it should need to be. If it works or not, i will post pics of what i did, and let you know how it did on yard.

Thanks
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #9  
runwme said:
The wheels will be large, and inboard of the sides, so hopefully wont get knocked off.

If the wheels are inboard of the sides that means they must be in front. Be careful that you don't create any interference with the tractor wheels even when the Bush Hog is fully raised or when the guide wheels pivot.
 
   / Scalping problem 72 bush hog, can i add front wheels? #10  
I guess one solution is training wheels, but where do you go when THEY start plowing furrows in the turns? And if you put them on casters, why not just buy a finish mower in the first place?

I'd recommend you simply alter your TPH settings. Rotary cutters by design should be adjusted so that the forward cutting edge is ~1 inch lower than the rear cutting edge (clippings get thrown out better that way).

So. Find an adjustment hole in the rear that is higher than you actually want to cut. Then adjust the TPH vertical links (the ones that connect the lower lift arms with the upper lift arms) to achieve the desired cutting height on the forward edge.

Re-measure the blade height in the back. Adjust front and rear heights as required until such time as you've got the desired cutting height on the front - and are one inch higher in the back. If that still plows in the corners, you're mowing too close - and probably should have bought a finish mower.

//greg//
 
 
 
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