Rotary cutter digging into ground?.

   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #1  

AlbertC

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
155
Location
Perry, GA
Tractor
New holland 3930
I have a 6ft bushog that I run with my nh3930. I have a problem in that the skids are alway gouging the ground up. Sometimes I will be cutting and will look back a wad of grass under the skid on one side and it is scarring up my ground.

Are there any tricks to getting a good cut with a BH. I'll start out and things look ok and then all of a sudden one side is dragging. Maybe I am asking too much of the BH. I am cutting pasture grass (Bahia) and trying to get a nice looking cut but it just seems impossible.

?? On the hydraulic lift arms is it possible for one side to be stronger than the other or will they always lift with the same force on each side.

Thanks
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #2  
".. On the hydraulic lift arms is it possible for one side to be stronger than the other or will they always lift with the same force on each side...."


I have had very limited experience with tractors, but those i have looked at have both upper arms keyed to a common shaft which is operated by a single cylinder, so both arms would have to lift with the same force.
 
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   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #3  
The best "trick" for me was getting Top-N-Tilt so I can make adjustments on the fly to keep the skids from digging in. Side hills and up and down hill transitions can all be a little problematic and finding that perfect setting where it never digs in will result in cutting it higher than you would like.

The other thing you may want to check is to see if one or both of your cylinders are "leaking down" which could cause your problem.

Good luck!
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #4  
A couple of questions. What brand and model number is your tractor.. I can't seem to find a New Holland 3930 model?

Did you level the deck to begin with on a level surface? Take a tape measure and make sure both sides of the deck are level by adjusting the right adjustable lift arm.

Does your tractor have position control? If not, the 3pt arms will always drop over time due to normal leakdown. They should drop equally as noted above by the previous poster as they are keyed to a common shaft. Many tractors do not have position control, and will require "bumping up " the 3pt about every 10 to 15 minutes depending on how leaky your valve is. They all leak, but tractors with position control have a feedback mechanism that allows the valve to automatically open to keep the lift arms at a set position.
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #5  
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #6  
A bush hog is not a finish mower - so you may be expecting too much out of it.

That being said... While the lift arms will lift in unison - you can lengthen or shorten the height of one of the arms manually to get the machine level.

If the sides of your bush hog are digging in - try raising the overall machine (via lift arms) and then lengthen your top link to sit the rear back down. This will keep the front edge higher off the ground

Sean
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #7  
There is a LIFTING ROD on the right side of your Three Point Hitch which will allow you to adjust height of one lifting arm relative to the other.

Do you have POSITION CONTROL on your tractor? Are you using it?

If you do not have POSITION CONTROL you will need to install check chains from your tractor to the front of your rotary cutter. Check chains may appear kind of hinky, but they function very well.

LINK:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ta-b3300su-zerco-check-chains.html?highlight=

The mower front needs to ride on the lift arms of the tractor. The skids are just there for lumps in the ground or accidental contact.

Absolutely right.
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #8  
One arm might be lower than the other. Measure them is the easiest way. If one is lower (extended) use the turnbuckle to shorten it level with the other. Raise up the front of the cutter. You might be running the front much lower than the back. Front just needs to be a inch lower than the back. If your mowing just grass/yard/turf you can even mow with the rear lower than the front, <gasp!> It uses more power/fuel that way but if your just cutting foot tall grass it's not a big deal.

The mowe front needs to ride on the lift arms of the tractor. The skids are just there for lumps in the ground or accidental contact. At least that how I use mine.
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #9  
something else to look for is to see if your arms are in float or locked. On my JD, I have to rotate a pin with a lobed head on it to get a little bit of side to side play. Basically i get about an inch of up and down play in the arms before it lifts the opposite arm. What that does is it allows my mower to follow the ground a little bit better before it has to pick up the whole machine.
 
   / Rotary cutter digging into ground?. #10  
A local person bought a King Kutter rotary cutter that has that floating feature on both the lower arms. Then he mounted a large castor wheel on each front corner of the cutter so it will roll instead of digging the sod. He loves it but I wish I had a picture of it.
 
 
 
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