Nervous about first use of MMM

[Darren]

John, there's no question someone would grenade a finish mower if they used it exactly like a rotary cutter. Meaning operating at the same ground speed. The blades on the Kubota mmm are under 1/4" thickness. The blades on my Woods MDC172 which is rated for 60 hp are slightly thicker than 1/4".

While at first it might seem feasible to compare gearbox versus gearbox, the belt drive on the Kubota adds a measure of "give." At the end of the last season, the Kubota blades looked good. In fairness, my experience with the mmm is based on one full season of use.

Perhaps time will tell. I'll continue my field tests.

 

[TresCrows]

Not to gang up on you since I do have an orange garage queen. I am sorry to say but a finish mower has no buisness where hogs hardly even break a sweat. I accidently ran over an eight inch stump I had cut last year with my Sthil. It was covered in weeds and Sumac and brambles. It stuck up about six inches. I backed my KK hog into the weeds to cut them and kabam--like as in a really loud KABAAAAAAAM. The tractor shook, the hog jumped sideways and then started going katwhap--katwhap. I was somewhat miffed at all the commotion not remembering the stump was there and so I pulled out and then for an encore of course I stupidly did the same thing again. Well, the hog is fine, I guess the tractor is OK and the stump--it ain't there anymore. So, just my humlbe opinion but your 30 horsepower "lawnmower" is just that--a lawnmower! It becomes a brush/stump/tree eating 30 horse hog when you put a cutter on it, till you do it is just a lawnmower being abused. Better watch out, I will call the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Kubotas on you and then you will be sorry /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif . Oh, I think I could buy at least three and maybe four KK hogs for the price of one Kubota belly finish mower with change left over. J

 

[Tom_Trees]

<font color=blue>but if we are talking sticks and stumps and rocks
and sapplings---</font color=blue>

Well, yes and no/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif No stumps, no saplings, some rose and bramble (up to about 3/16 inch single strands). The big items will be twigs up to 12 inches long and about 1/2 inch in diameter, or chunks of limb in the two to six inch length and up to inch and a half diameter -- and, of course, the rocks that escape the yard rake and hide under the oak leaves. Most of the twigs and branches have been on the ground so long they're punky and won't be a problem. I do know that I'm not going to see them all to pick them up beforehand.

I've some wildflowers I want to bloom before I mow, so the grass (such as it is) will be quite tall. I figure on the first pass as high as the deck will float (4 inches?) and may actually stay at that level for this summer. The yard is already planned to be tilled, topsoiled, and re-seeded this fall.

Tom

 

[Darren]

I appreciate the concern and I'm not being sarcastic. Rest assured I won't be taking on anything close to an 8" stump. The pastures have grown up in the past three years. Which is the last time the previous owner, a lumber company, mowed. The bigger stuff, I've been digging out. I'm familiar enough with the acreage to know where the dumps are, the remains of a house trailer foundation is located, a large pit for a well was dug, and several places where large chunks of lumber and debris lurk in saw dust now overgrown.

Most of the places, I won't run any mower until I've raked the area. In at least two places, old bed springs wait for the unwary. FWIW, I don't run through the weeds without knowing exactly what's there.

 

[RoyJackson]

We've been discussing using a rotary cutter versus the installed MMM for this gentleman's mowing job.
A couple of us maintain he can do it with the MMM.
I was one of those. I based this upon this statement <font color=blue>"Up til now, I've 'maintained' it with a string trimmer"</font color=blue> in the original post.
If that area could be cut with a weed whacker, I'm pretty sure the MMM can handle it too.
Of course, only Tom_Trees knows the actual conditions of the lot to be maintained.

 

[Tom_Trees]

<font color=blue>Now tell me the truth... how long do you think that finish mower blades and gearbox will hold up cutting 2" saplings...?</font color=blue>

No question there -- I take the larger ("larger" is over 1/2 inch) saplings out with my fiskars limb loppers and the 'weed puller' on the 3PH. I do feel that if my 3.5 HP Troy-Bilt string trimmer can take it out then the BX2200 mower deck should be able to handle it . . . which is going to lead me to the wonderful world of blade-sharpening, I know/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

Tom

 

[Mosey]

“wonderful world of blade-sharpening”

In my mind, that’s the key. The more you abuse a finish mower using it as a bush hog, the more you degrade it’s ability to do a quality job on the lawn. I didn’t have a bush hog until this year and I borrowed one for the rough areas. I would recommend borrowing or renting a bush hog for the first time over this area, then you can maintain it with your MMM.