Rotary Cutter Rotary Cutters

[Anonymous Poster]

Howse is meant to be cheap. I have a Howse MH5 (5' medium heavy cutter w/ 10 ga. deck, 100 hp gearbox) that I got for $650 at CT. Not nearly as nice as a Bush Hog or Woods. The gear box had a mixture of oil and water in it when I got it, and the paint job stinks. Other than that I have had no problems with it. I try not to cut anything bigger than 1-1/2" thick with it, but it has gone through a few rocks, etc.

[crown]

I also have a Howse 4 ft it was considerable cheaper than the woods but I only use it at most once a month on 3 acres, so far I have had no problems my lot is very hilly, rocky, with lots of underbrush, and it has performed very well. Probably a good low cost alternative.

[JohnMiller3]

Brand New John deere 513 in foreground with a one year old used 513 in the rear...



"You are what you eat, drink, think, say and do..."

[JohnMiller3]

Closeup of Thin Steel Used JD513...



"You are what you eat, drink, think, say and do..."

[JohnMiller3]

Rear view of Used JD513 - 1 year old?...



"You are what you eat, drink, think, say and do..."

[JohnMiller3]

Ford 30-35 year old rotary cutter... it's so rusty, you can't see the blue paint...the rear tire is worn to the steel rim & one rust through on top of deck... however... this is still usable after about 30 years of use...



"You are what you eat, drink, think, say and do..."

[glennmac]

One would think that a deere dealer would be embarrassed to display such a piece of used equipment. He might get a few bucks for it, but you'd think he'd be concerned about losing sales on his wildly-overpriced new 513's.

Immutable tractor law: the thickness of the steel on a JD light duty cutter is inversely proportional to the thickness of the profit margin on the cutter.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by glennmac on 08/07/01 10:45 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

[Alan L.]

I don't know who makes the JD513 but my Rhino light-duty unit seems a whole lot better built. For one thing, instead of that angle iron running across the top of the deck, mine has thick 4" or so channel iron. My deck material is very rigid, does not flex at all, or have any ripples in it. I do have a dent or two on the sides where I hit logs or something, but otherwise it looks good at 2 years old. I've cut down lots of 1" brush and saplings (no rocks) and thick growth and have been extremely pleased with it. My only complaint is that bolts holding the guard on the gearbox sheered off, the guard fell off, and I ran over it. I paid about $50 for a new one about a year ago and never did put it on.

The Rhino 5' was about $800 I think. I also have a Rhino finish mower and I'm very pleased with it as well.

Alan L., TX

[Anonymous Poster]

I agree with you on the kingkutter

[Hillbilly]

John,
What in the world was JD thinking when they had these 513 rotary cutters made?Don't the people who manufacture these implements for JD have to meet a certain specification? Aren't they tested for durability etc? I think JD was asleep at the wheel when they introduced these 513's!! Why would JD even let this junk get to the dealer lots? What do you think John?
I am just curious as what they were thinking.