Help with adjusting a bushhog on a L3830.

[HammerFour]

Other folks have covered how to adjust the cutting height, set the rear wheel and lift arm height to get the desired height off the ground, then adjust top link mechanism to give some slack so the mower can follow terrain a bit.

If the mower is digging in when backing and or turning, the rear wheel and lift arms need to be adjusted to raise the mower a bit or the top link needs to be adjusted to not be pushing down on the mower when backing/turning.


My question is how isn't the mower cutting properly? Is the grass not getting cut cleanly/evenly? If so, if your mower has a slip clutch, the clutch maybe be slipping more than it should causing the blade to slow down and the grass to not be cut properly. My father in laws rotary cutter had this problem, he couldn't get a decent cut at all with it. Once we tightened up the slip clutch, it worked like a charm.

 

[willy1947]

It's actually giving a pretty good cut. The 5' seemed to give a closer cut better. Part of it is the it's a 5' vs. 6' thing. By that I mean the 6' doesn't "float" as well as the 5' did. I notice my side rails digging in more. I'm sure that it is terrain related too.

It sounds as if I have it adjusted correctly. I've got some slack in the top link, it's level, and cuts pretty good. It may just be the terrain is more of an issue. The 5' just fit the ground better, especially in those tight places. Therefore it didn't dig in as much.

I was really wondering about those other toplink holes. I moved it down to the middle hole and it helped lift the back end better. I haul my tractor to other places to bushog and I have found it difficult to load because I couldn't raise the back enough. I now see some improvement in that

Thanks for all the advice! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Time to go bushog for 6 hours

Thanks,
Davev

 

[MMM]

The length of allowable travel is the determining factor on how a 3pt cutter will follow the terrain instead of follow the tractor. The slotted 3rd link allows more travel. I think a chain added to top link is better than either if cutter doesn't have any chains from Aframe to rear of deck. This can be a must have for loading onto higher trailers without a dovetail also.
Here's a thread that has in-depth discussion of using chain on cutters.
3 pt beating

I think there's another called check chains or something of the sort.

 

[have_blue]

Hi Willy,

I look for a few cues when setting up my cutter. In the "Down" cutting position, I like the rear of the deck to be 1" to 1-1/2" higher than the front. This ensures blade "relief" or clearence, and prevents re-cutting the grass which makes a general mess and robs horsepower. The top link should be quite slack in the "down" cutting position. The deck should be slightly angled, higher at the rear ,when in the "up" or carried position. Blades should be nice and sharp for grass, not as critical for big weeds and brush.

I suppose it's possible that this is peculiar to my last 2 cutters, but I would think it's universal.

 

[djradz]

The post eventually leads to this.

Check Chains

If you have a flexible, swinging, or otherwise moving top link connection at your deck, you are all set. Otherwise, as one photo in the post shows, you may need to replace your top link with a chain. I personally don't like that, but it sounds as if in this case, it won't be necessary anyway.

I've also attached a copy of a similar setup on my mower. I have the same on my brush hog, minus the turnbuckles, because adjustment is less critical.

I can tell you that with such a setup, I have virtually eliminated ANY digging of the side rails. The front of the the deck rides along very smoothly with the rear tractor wheels. It never goes any further up or down then they do. The lower arms just serve to keep it attached and sort of "trailer" it along.