Rotary Cutters, Medium Duty, Heavy Duty, Gearbox Sizing, etc.

[novasbc]

I've spent this week looking at my local options for a shredder, as well as learning more about some of the ones I can buy and have shipped to me (especially the Tennessee River Implements cutters, as the price is quite nice).

Heavy duty to one person is medium to another
My father in law suggested I get a 6' heavy duty shredder. He was comparing it to his 5' heavy duty shredder. Most have said that a 6' heavy duty shredder is too my for my L3400 with 29-30 PTO HP.

Turns out, after many more questions, he was primarily referring to the gearbox, that he's seen many people blow the gearboxes on those, especially ones bought at Tractor Supply, etc. His example of a good shredder was his Bush Hog Squealer SQ160. He says the gearbox is better, and the round design, with the top having less areas for water to pool, and hold grass are highly desirable. I ran his 5' Bush Hog behind my L3400DT, and it ran very well, with barely a slowdown, except in the thickest of the blue stem you can find on his property. Additionally, it cut through smaller mesquite trees with ease, which is something desireable at my place.

I find that his Bush Hog has the same deck thickness as the TRI medium duty cutters.

Gearbox Sizing isn't precise

I find that gearbox HP requirements aren't well explained by the manufacturers, and I find posts that say you can go with the bigger gearbox and it just gives you more leeway, but some manufacturers (like Bush Hog) list a HP range (with a minimum). The Bush Hog Squealer 172 (since I have a comparison with my father in law's 160) lists a range of 30-45 PTO HP. That seems like it is very much borderline, with the listed specs on my L3400 showing either 29 or 30 PTO HP (I don't know what gear early versus late means, so I go with the late one. I guessed late meant at the PTO shaft on the back of the tractor).

Factors that are truly important

What you are cutting

If it's just pasture land, with nothing big, there is less risk of you bogging the engine. Cutting through thick, wet grass taxes it more. It seems to me that this is more a function of the size of the bite you are taking, on a 5' cutter, you are biting off less than a 6' cutter. I would assume the gearbox has no bearing here, unless you are undersized. So, for me, it seems that if I can get away with a 6' cutter with the output of my tractor, I'd like to go this way.

How heavy the cutter is

Primarily, this seems to affect the ability for you to lift the cutter. The TRI 6' cutter with the 45 HP gearbox has a listed weight of 708 lbs, and if you upgrade to the 90 HP gearbox, it adds 60 lbs. From this alone, I would opt for the cost of the 90 HP gearbox, because it feels like with me mowing with the FEL, the 60 pounds wouldn't be a problem. Tractordata says my tractor can lift at least 1400 pounds (without my understanding the difference between the two specifications listed, I picked the minimum). Given that, I assume it's only a matter of whether my front tires are going to come off the ground, so again, I doubt that 60 pounds is going to be the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back, but I could be wrong. Current bush hog models (BH16) seem to weigh similar to that of TRI.

Matching the gearbox to the tractor size

This one as I mentioned above seems to have some voodoo involved. Nobody lists a minimum HP for the gearbox, but I would imagine having a heavier duty gearbox implies potentially more HP loss than a smaller model. Can I pick up the TRI model with a 90HP gearbox to attempt to future proof my purchase, and work with a bigger tractor later?

Other niceties

I find that the Bush Hog and Land Pride models have a rounded shape, and less channels for water/wet grass to get stuck on, reducing the likelihood of it rusting out. My father in law's old cutter had the deck rust out due to it collecting debris and not properly cleaned. I'm aware that if you are very good with taking care of it, it should not be a problem, but sometimes life intervenes, and it seems like a great feature.

Ability to get parts? I have dealers for Bush Hog as well as Land Pride around, so it seems relatively easy to get parts. If I pick a model not sold locally, parts may be less available.

My ultimate factors
I want the biggest shredder that I can get (seems like 6'), with the best gearbox and body design, to last me for the long haul, even if I spend a bit more money up front. Given that, I need it to work behind my Kubota L3400, or it's worthless.

I checked pricing on the Land Pride RCF2072 locally, and was quoted $2400 (which turns into $2600 with tax). If I compare that to comparable pricing for a TRI cutter shipped to my property, I'm spending around $1000 less. I can see only the two main benefits, rounded design, and locally available parts. I'm tempted to save the $1000 and understand that the deck needs to be taken care of. At the moment, I can store the tractor in the barn, but I believe the shredder will stick out, so I have to assume it's going to see some rainfall.

Does anybody see anything wrong with my reasoning, after reading more threads, having seat time behind a 5' cutter, and getting pricing and options from local and online sellers?

Last but not least, I recorded some video of what I encounter on the property (I only have video from right now, with the grass not fully grown into summer, but it's still representative).

Thanks!

Mark

 

[novasbc]

I want to clarify one thing, that I did post on another thread, but was more about picking between flail and rotary cutters (I decided rotary would probably be a better decision).

I am looking at the 6' cutter to be able to get outside of the tire to get closer to buildings and trees. This is what my father in law recommended (without the context of heavier/lighter duty cutters), and I could see the value, cutting with his 5' Bush Hog SQ160.

If I am doing myself a disservice going with a 6' instead of getting a heavier duty 5' cutter, I would consider it. We do have a zero turn mower that I can use near buildings and trees.

Mark

 

[Tigershark]

I have a Badboy 5' cutter and love it. They didn't make a 6 ft version when I purchased it but they do now. I want to say it was around 1200$. It is very solid and handles 2-3 inch saplings with ease. Slip clutch and a heavy duty gear box with a good warranty. I pull it with ease with my 40hp Kioti. They changed some things from their initial design that looks like they made things even stronger. If you have a Badboy dealer around I would check them out. With25-30hp at the pto I would stay with the 5 ft model in whatever you buy

 

[Texasmark]

I was mowing one day with a 2 blade 8' Mohawk mower and a JD 4020 (96 engine hp). I got straddled a terrace and ripped the teeth off the gear in the center box. Boxes in the smaller units usually run 40-45 on the 5-6' light duty and my 6' med. duty (Branson) Kodiac mfgr. is rated at 60...current tractor PTO is less than 57.

I have no idea as to what the Mohawk boxes were rated for nor why my shear bolt, or slip clutch, forget which (been 25 years and lots of tractors and mowers) didn't save the box.

My rule of thumb is a box greater than the pto power. On sheet metal, never tore one up.

 

[jeff9366]

Rotary Cutter chassis' requires support.

The ribs can be on the outside, collecting grass, or, on smooth tops, underneath, collecting grass. The choice is yours.

I feel I am a fairly fastidious tractor and implement owner. Even so, my smooth top Land Pride RCF2060 sits outside on a pallet, covered with a treated 18 ounce COTTON tarpaulin. An 18 ounce tarpaulin does not need to be fastened with bungee cord. The weight of the material maintains it on the implement. The pallet allows air to circulate under the RC, where the ribs and grass are. I have to say in favor of the Land Pride RCF series RC's, the Top Link receptacle and struts swivel so the cutter operates more parallel to the ground than did my former King Kutter RC, if this small improvement in cut quality might be important to you.

 

[jeff9366]

I have nothing against Bush Hog. I own a Bush Hog Rollover Box Blade from India, which has been excellent except for poor quality paint.

Bush Hog has had several owners during the last twenty years. What was then, under a former owner; may not be today.

 

[novasbc]

From a practical perspective, could my tractor run a land pride rcf2072 at 760 or so pounds?

 

[jeff9366]

My L3560 has 28-horsepower at the PTO. My RCF 2060 does fine in grass to 40" tall. Taller than 40" I have to reduce the swathe from 54" to something less. Some grass is tougher to cut than other grass. How sharp you maintain your two RC blades makes a big difference. Cutting brush quickly takes the keen edge off RC blades. Blades still cut grass, but shorter grass and produce a somewhat raggedy cut. Cutting only grass, sharp edge persists through most of a season.

Your question eludes a YES or NO answer. If pressed, by my standards, my answer would be NO.

If you have an FEL mounted during mowing, with or without a bucket, I do not see 760 pounds as a problem as the tail wheel bears 1/3 of the weight. (( Good reason for an SSQA bucket. ))

Would you be content cutting with RCF2072, a 48" to 60" grass swathe under some conditions, while operating at full throttle?

 

[novasbc]

My L3560 has 28-horsepower at the PTO. My RCF 2060 does fine in grass to 40" tall. Taller than 40" I have to reduce the swathe from 54" to something less. Some grass is tougher to cut than other grass. How sharp you maintain your two RC blades makes a big difference. Cutting brush quickly takes the keen edge off RC blades. Blades still cut grass, but shorter grass and produce a somewhat raggedy cut. Cutting only grass, sharp edge persists through most of a season.

Your question eludes a YES or NO answer. If pressed, by my standards, my answer would be NO.

If you have an FEL mounted during mowing, with or without a bucket, I do not see 760 pounds as a problem as the tail wheel bears 1/3 of the weight. (( Good reason for an SSQA bucket. ))

Would you be content cutting with RCF2072, a 48" to 60" grass swathe under some conditions, while operating at full throttle?

This is a helpful comparison. It does seem like if I'm having to max out the engine and not being able to cut the full 72", there is no point to the larger model. I figured that there realistically shouldn't have been that big of a difference between the 60" and 72" models. Seems like I'm better off with the 5' shredder, and accept it's limitations.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[Piston]

Just for information, your fathers 5' squealer model is a light duty cutter, not a heavy duty. As your aware there is t really a standard among manufacturers but the generally accepted "ratings" would consider the bush hog squealer a light duty model.

If all your cutting is grass and less than 1" material as it seems, then a light duty cutter like your fathers would be a good match.

I personally think the 6' model would be doable with your pto hp.