Rotary Cutter bush hog gearbox rating & sheer pin vs. clutch

[witterbound]

I'm a greenhorn, and looking to buy a bush hog. I've got two questions. What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money? I'll be cutting mostly pastures. Thanks for all the help you're giving me!

[Charlesaf3]

yes a slip clutch is worth the extra money, without a doubt.

[greg_g]

What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money?

1. 40 and 60 are the small boys. They go up considerably from there. But to the point, it's a number that relates to your tractor's PTO horsepower rating. If you're rated for 45hp at the PTO, don't buy a mower with a 40hp transmission.
2. Yes, but again it's dependent upon the horsepower rating. They're not as common on the low end implements.

//greg//

[john_bud]

The slip clutch is a great thing - but requires steady mainenance. If you don't want to spend the extra 15-20 minutes every time you use use it, then save the bucks and just get the shear bolt.

A slip clutch will freeze up in as little as a day if left in a moist area, or in 1-4 weeks in a typical barn environment. The only way to know if it is free or not, is to loosen the bolts and slip it, the tighten them back correctly. A shear bolt is a hook up and go deal - until you pop them. If you are just doing a pasture, you probably won't pop more than a half dozen bolts in 10 years.

jb

[Soundguy]

I agree.. if you don't maintain it religously.. get a shear bolt design..

soundguy

[Rara Avis]

I'm a greenhorn, and looking to buy a bush hog. I've got two questions. What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money? I'll be cutting mostly pastures. Thanks for all the help you're giving me!

http://www.landpride.com/ari/attach/...s/311-254m.pdf
Start at Page 17...you'll find discussions on both 4 bolt and 8 bolt slip clutches...

[RWolf]

Well I'm definitely working on exceeding a few shear bolts in 10 years . I've gone through 3 in the last 3 weeks as I've been clearing some cactus and trying to avoid rocks. Seems my 6' frontier has a lot of iniritial (sp) weight and I need to be very carful when going over some of the vegitation on the property. I'm looking at adding a slip clutch because of the number of shear pins I'm going through and a $3.50 a pop it's going to get expensive.

[witterbound]

In Arkansas, I'll likely be hitting a lot of rocks, as they seem to grow in some areas I'll likley be bush hogging. If I hit a rock am I likely to shear a pin, or will the bush hog blades flex enough to save the pin? I though that the "unfixed" blades on a bush hog kept it from binding up like mowers can. Is that wrong, or are the unfixed blades just one defense, the sheer pin being or clutch being the backup?

[greg_g]

The slip clutch is a great thing - but requires steady mainenance. If you don't want to spend the extra 15-20 minutes every time you use use it, then save the bucks and just get the shear bolt.

Maybe I got a good one, because I haven't found that to be true. I used to disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust mine twice a year. Skipped one of them a couple years ago, so the thing went a year without maintenance. Still worked fine. Even though mine's parked out in the pasture year round, I've had no problems at all cutting the maintenance back to once a year.

//greg//

[greg_g]

... will the bush hog blades flex enough to save the pin?

Ain't no flex to a rotary cutter blade - they're your basic blunt instrument, usually an inch or more thick. I too had a shear bolt rig before I went slip clutch. Never broke a shear bolt till I hit a horse blanket. The RC would hammer away at 50 pound rocks without batting an eye. But hit a horse blanket......!!! Fence wire will do it too.

//greg//