Any opinions on Befco batwing finish mowers?

[felonius]

Debating various finish mower options for my tractor (56HP JD 4WD), as well as purchasing a 72" diesel ZTR mower. As I mentioned in another thread, I've got roughly 15 acres of pasture, and 6 acres of newly cleared/hydroseeded "lawn" areas (entrance to the property where no livestock will be kept). I'm thinking more and more that a batwing FM is the way to go. I figure it will reduce my mowing time, and that my tractor will do better on slopes than a ZTR.

Went to the local dealers only to discover that 15' batwings go for $15,000 and up! One dealer has a used Befco for $10K. it appears to be in very good shape, and the salesman said it had belonged to the owner of the dealership.

Not familiar at all with the Befco brand. Looks to be well built though. Any thought/opinions on this mower?

 

[RoyJackson]

"Not familiar at all with the Befco brand. Looks to be well built though. Any thought/opinions on this mower? "

Befco builds good quality products.
I've had a Befco 60" RFM for 5 years now. Other then a belt replacement, one spindle lynch pin replacement and normal blade sharpening, it's been quite reliable.

Befco calls the "batwing" a "gangmower", BTW.

Here's a link:BEFCO - Products. You'll want to click on Cyclone Flex Gang Mowers.

 

[ChuckT]

We have a (very) small 4' BefCo finishing deck, C-30, RD4. (That seems to translate as a 4' Rear Discharge with a max 30 hp gearbox.)

We bought it used - a "demo". The gearbox is a bit noisier than I expected, so much so that I am contemplating re-filling it and adding some Lucas Hub Oil (or ?) to quiet it down. Also the (solid) wheels are on plain bearing, steel pins in steel bushings, and when the mower was run (at the dealership?) the nit-wit that assembled it neglected to lube them properly AND cross-threaded the nuts. Other than that? The muching blades go for $24.20 a pop, there are three of them.

I'm glad the price was right!

cvt

 

[Slippy]

I have a 60hp tractor, 56hp pto. I pull a 10" pull rotary cutter w/ three gear boxes. I can tell you that it pulls it fine most of the time, but if the grass is tall and/or wet, I have to gear down to 2nd or third gear. I have a lot of hills as well. Usually my fields are at least a foot tall when I cut them. I would suggest, especially if the Befco is used, ask your dealer if you can demo it. Depending upon the application, it may be too much mower for your hp.

 

[Slippy]

Oh, and by the way, it is a lot less money as well.

 

[felonius]

Oh, and by the way, it is a lot less money as well.

What is a lot less money, you're 10' mower? What do they go for new?

 

[felonius]

I have a 60hp tractor, 56hp pto. I pull a 10" pull rotary cutter w/ three gear boxes. I can tell you that it pulls it fine most of the time, but if the grass is tall and/or wet, I have to gear down to 2nd or third gear. I have a lot of hills as well. Usually my fields are at least a foot tall when I cut them. I would suggest, especially if the Befco is used, ask your dealer if you can demo it. Depending upon the application, it may be too much mower for your hp.

What gear are you usually pulling in? Also, how low do you have the cutting height set?

The dealer didn't seem to think that I'd have a problem with the 15' Befco, but you're idea for a demo is a good one I will explore. There are also 12' Befco batwings, so maybe I could try that if the 15' doesn't work out.

Also, I do have an 84" Woods rotary cutter, so I could always use that if the grass is wet or gets too high for finish mower.

 

[thunderworks]

I mow 23 acres with a 10' Bush Hog mower on my Ford 4610 (52hp pto, 60hp engine). I can mow the 23 acres in approximately 6 to 8 hours (give or take - I can't exactly remember). A 10' mower is considerably less expensive than the batwing you've looked at. You can cover a lot of ground with a 10' implement. 15 acres can be mowed fairly quickly with a 10' model.

My mower (the heavy duty model) was mid-$6000, new, a few years ago. I probably could have saved a few dollars (maybe a grand) buying the medium duty mower. Before I invested $10,000 in a batwing, I'd at least look at other 10 - 12' mower options. I also question whether your 56hp JD can really pull effectively the 15" batwing. Seems like a lot.

 

[felonius]

The Befco website says the recommended HP range for that mower is 30-80HP. My JD falls in the middle of this range. This is a finish mower, not a heavy duty rotary/bush hog type batwing.

Should I really be concerned about a lack of HP, given the manufacturer's specs?

 

[Slippy]

The 10' is a lot less than the 15' batwing. I looked at the batwing mowers and could not justify the cost and did not think my tractor would pull it at a speed I would like. I usually set the mower on the ground then raise it up until the back chains clear the ground by a couple of inches. If I want to go faster, and just want to knock the grass down, an in high stuff, I will raise it even more. Like I said, my Mahindra 6000 is a big tractor, 4wd, and the 10' is all it can handle in the tough stuff at a decent speed. It will cut anything if you slow down enough. I figured that with a 15' mower I would have to slow down even more, but covering 5' more in a pass. But, you don't really get a true 5' more because I like to overlap by a couple of feet. So, unless you have a 70-80hp tractor, I personally don't think you will be able to really take advantage of the extra investment in the 15' cut. Now, having said that, if you are on relatively flat ground, dry grass, not very tall, it probably would work fine. And, mine is not a finish mower, it is a bush hog type rotary cutter.

I really think the only way you are going to know for sure is to get one out there and try it. I can run in low range 4th gear most of the time and sometimes high range 1st gear. But high range is going a little fast. Things start shaking and bouncing so I only do that in the smooth flat places. Up hills, usually low range 3rd gear.