ford flail mower with John Deere 750?

[santacruzom]

Hi folks,

I'm new here and hope to get some advice. I am selling my Ford 917 L "Special" flail mower (model 22-6001) and have been asked whether it is too big for a John Deere 750 tractor. The JD is a 20 hp mid-sized tractor, but I know nothing about it. Until recently, I used a Deutz D5506 which had more than enough power for the mower. Is anyone here familiar with the JD 750 and the 917L mower? Is this tractor underpowered for this model mower? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Regards,

Frank

 

[leonz]

I need to ask you five questions:

Why on earth do you want to sell it?????????????

Is the John Deere 750 a hydrostatic tractor?

Is it gas or diesel powered?

What type of mowing will be done with the JD 750 and the 917?

Does the 917 have a removable rear door to allow more efficient
mowing of tall brush and grass?



For your reference we had a Ford Jubilee gas tractor with gear drive
and we used it with a John Deere 25A 7 foot finish flail mower.
with no issues.

 

[santacruzom]

Leonz,

I will tell what I can. First, I am selling because I no longer have a tractor that can handle the flail mower. I no longer have a use for the mower, but I do have a dead fuel pump in my car and this will help offset the expense of replacing it. Second, I really know nothing about the John Deere. A fellow who expressed interest in the mower has a JD 750 and asked whether I knew if it would handle the mower. I simply don't know, so I thought I would ask around and get some advice. It sounds like the mowing he plans to do will be somewhat light - just grass, no heavy brush. To be honest, I will have to check this afternoon to determine whether the rear panel is removable. We used it on a 3-4 acre grass field, so we never needed to remove it. Thank you for the response.

Regards,
Frank

 

[leonz]

Leonz,

I will tell what I can. First, I am selling because I no longer have a tractor that can handle the flail mower. I no longer have a use for the mower, but I do have a dead fuel pump in my car and this will help offset the expense of replacing it. Second, I really know nothing about the John Deere. A fellow who expressed interest in the mower has a JD 750 and asked whether I knew if it would handle the mower. I simply don't know, so I thought I would ask around and get some advice. It sounds like the mowing he plans to do will be somewhat light - just grass, no heavy brush. To be honest, I will have to check this afternoon to determine whether the rear panel is removable. We used it on a 3-4 acre grass field, so we never needed to remove it. Thank you for the response.

Regards,
Frank

Hello Frank,

The JD 750 is a diesel powered gear drive tractor
with 8 forward speeds and two rear speeds.

The engine has 18.54 horsepower at the PTO according
the TractorData folks.

Since its gear drive mule he should have plenty of
power for the mower Frank.

 

[charleyfarmall]

Not a chance. The 917 is a power hog and weighs a lot. I had one that was in very good condition. I was using with 40hp at the PTO ( diesel) and a tractor that weighed 4500 pounds. On flat ground in short to medium grass I was ok. Anything else bogged it down and I had to crawl to cut.

The person I sold it too uses it with a Ford 3000 Diesel on flat ground to cut cover crops in their garden and is satisfied with it. The 3000 is 47hp with 38hp at the PTO

 

[aczlan]

Hello Frank,
The JD 750 is a diesel powered gear drive tractor
with 8 forward speeds and two rear speeds.
The engine has 18.54 horsepower at the PTO according
the TractorData folks.
Since its gear drive mule he should have plenty of
power for the mower Frank.

So yesterday a 35 PTO HP tractor is too light for anything larger than a 48" flail and today a 18.5 PTO HP tractor will handle a 60" one with "plenty of power"? If you say so :confused2:

Not a chance. The 917 is a power hog and weighs a lot. I had one that was in very good condition. I was using with 40hp at the PTO ( diesel) and a tractor that weighed 4500 pounds. On flat ground in short to medium grass I was ok. Anything else bogged it down and I had to crawl to cut.
The person I sold it too uses it with a Ford 3000 Diesel on flat ground to cut cover crops in their garden and is satisfied with it. The 3000 is 47hp with 38hp at the PTO

This appears to be the 60" version, so it may not be the same as the one you had.

I am somewhere between the two opinions. Assuming that this is the same Santacruzom, I would say that 5HP/foot is the general rule of thumb with a lighter tractor being able to handle a little more in light conditions.
We have a Kubota B7500HST which we sometimes use with our 60" bushhog and it is ok in light stuff, weeds, light/scattered grass, etc. It is not enough in heavy grass and you have to CRAWL. It is HST so I can do that, but that cant be done with a gear tractor.

So, will he be able to handle it? Yes, in low gear and/or in light mowing. It WILL NOT be enough to cut a full pass of 8" lush grass with ANY speed, but for cutting light brush or mowing the grass it should be fine.
Worse case, he can take a partial pass to reduce the workload on the engine.

Aaron Z

 

[leonz]

So yesterday a 35 PTO HP tractor is too light for anything larger than a 48" flail and today a 18.5 PTO HP tractor will handle a 60" one with "plenty of power"? If you say so :confused2:


This appears to be the 60" version, so it may not be the same as the one you had.

I am somewhere between the two opinions. Assuming that this is the same Santacruzom, I would say that 5HP/foot is the general rule of thumb with a lighter tractor being able to handle a little more in light conditions.
We have a Kubota B7500HST which we sometimes use with our 60" bushhog and it is ok in light stuff, weeds, light/scattered grass, etc. It is not enough in heavy grass and you have to CRAWL. It is HST so I can do that, but that cant be done with a gear tractor.

So, will he be able to handle it? Yes, in low gear and/or in light mowing. It WILL NOT be enough to cut a full pass of 8" lush grass with ANY speed, but for cutting light brush or mowing the grass it should be fine.
Worse case, he can take a partial pass to reduce the workload on the engine.

Aaron Z

Aaron,

yeterday the gentleman wanted to buy used flailmower for not much money;
Thats why suggested the new or used 48 inch flail mower just as specific size
IF he could afford it.

 

[greg_g]

Yeah, the 22BU6001 is a 60" flail. Even though it's the light duty model, I still think it's way too much mower for a JD750. I have a 74" 917H, and my 43hp JD3720 (35 PTO hp) struggles through some of the thick stuff.

//greg//

 

[santacruzom]

Thank you all for the great information. I will pass it along. Doesn't sound like this is a feasible combination. By the way, this is the same Santacruzom. I have found that forums such as this and Mytractorforum are a great place to learn when you're a novice. I relied heavily upon forums recently as I attempted to repair the Bosch fuel injection pump on the Deutz. Ultimately, that project was a bit more than I was prepared for, but I gained lots of practical information about dielsel engines along the way. I really appreciate the input.

Regards,
Frank

 

[santacruzom]

Aaron,

The rule of thumb is really what I was looking for. That's a very helpful guideline. Thank you. I went ahead and informed the fellow with the 750 that he'd probably be better served to find a smaller mower. I shared the rule of thumb with him as well. Obviously, I'd like to sell the mower, but I don't want to sell it to someone who won't be able to get good use of it.

Regards,
Frank