Homemade grooming mower

[copndoc3]

While recouping from TKR (total knee replacement) surgery, it has given me time to think of new projects for my B2710. Already have front grapple plans for the FEL in the works and parts ordered. Now I'm thinking of a finishing mower. I have 2 Craftsman tractors with good 48" mowers under them. My neighbor forgets to put oil in them and wonders why they stop with a "THUNK". He gives them to me for "parts". Anyway, I would wondering, why couldn't I build a 7-1/2' finishing mower to pull behind the 2710? Building the frame for the 3-point hitch would be a breeze as would mating the two mowers together. I would off-set one mower 6" off the other to prevent center "miss cut". I'd love to use one or two hydraulic drive unit(s) (utilizing the tractor hydaulics) to power the two decks belt drive system. I think it would be easier to rigg up a pully/drive belt system with a hydraulic motor than to come up with driveshaft/gearbox setup.

I guess one of the big issues would be if they make a hydraulic drive unit strong enough to drive the decks and would the tractor hyraulics be powerful enough to turn the motors.

Anyway, I thought I'd throw the idea out for any comments/suggests/recommendations/etc from all the tractor guru's out yonder.

Tom

 

[Johndeere3720]

Actually, if you used a gear box you could take the belts off and add gears and a chain that link to the gear box. Add a sheild over top of the gears and chain for safety and paint er' bota orange.:thumbsup:

 

[zzvyb6]

Some of the fellows on the Forum use a rule of 5hp per ft of mower (hope I'm not mistaken on the rule or the application). If that's the case, then you are a bit underpowered, under flow capacity AND subject to some serious oil overheating issues even if the hydraulic motors are super high efficiency and you add a cooler and big reservoir. If you could get a batwing gearbox and another mower deck, what about creating a triplex mower with 11 ft of cut? You still have to drive the individual decks with a 540 or 1000 rpm gearbox, but that's just cost. The rest is welding and drilling some holes. It would be best if the mowers are already pto shaft driven instead of belt driven, because you can turn them 90 degrees, but those are just details.

I'm presuming that your tractor could struggle with the mechanical drive better than with the use of a hydraulic drive. I'd hook a 72" or 84" rear mower on the thing and go to town on the grass. My own rule, based on my own equipment, is a bit less power per foot. Keep the blades sharp and the grass height down and you can handle it.

 

[RoyJackson]

Some of the fellows on the Forum use a rule of 5hp per ft of mower (hope I'm not mistaken on the rule or the application).

That "rule of thumb" normally refers to rotary cutters which require more PTO HP then a same width grooming mower.

I think Johndeere3720's idea about a gearbox with chains linking the two decks' drives would be the easiest and maybe the least expensive. I'd guess the gearbox itself would be the major expense (other then copndoc3's time).

 

[shinnlinger]

I find it hard to believe you cant find a decent used mower for your machine that is ready to go for similar $,

THat said, you could also use a PTO powered pump to run your hydraulic motors and I bet that pump would become useful for other things in the future if you like to make things.

Good luck with your knee, my Mom had both of hers done a few years back and loves it.

 

[sandman2234]

I had a job that I wanted to lessen the seat time on, so I started building a 7'6" mower to pull behind my Ford tractor. The thing that deflated it was the one I hadn't considered, which was weight.After I built the deck, I put the motor, gas tank and everything on the deck and hooked it up. It was just a little too much for the 13 hp subcompact, so the project got moved to the corner of the yard.Electrian giving me a quote spotted it and paid me to finish it, plus trading out the electrical job. I removed the gas motor, tank, etc and installed a right angle gearbox to drive the pullies via "B" belts. New owner was happy and got years of service, I was told. I would look at swisher mowers as a guide for putting your two decks together. David from jax

 

[CCWKen]

You'd have to design in a way to keep the blade tip speed up. For the best cut, you need around 14,000fpm. Many of the commercial mowers have tip speeds of around 18,000fpm. The pto is only 540rpm so you'd need to gear it up and in the process, loose torque. Most lawnmower engines run at 3000-3200 rpm for the needed tip speed. Running chain drive that fast might be a little dangerous. Not to mention high maintenance.