Mowing L2250... what size brush hog

[4570Man]

You want to be able to cover the back wheels.

 

[bjorn773]

That's where the problem is. A 5 footer won't quite cover the wheels, and a six footer is way too big. I have a 60 inch Dixie Chopper that is my go-to mower so I will only use the tractor for rough cutting. From the responses here, a 5 footer sounds like the way to go.

 

[tractorworks]

Something does not compute. Tractor is listed as 49" wide with a wheelbase of 64" roughly. I had a B2150 with the same engine and it carried a 60 inch bush hog squealer (light duty) brush cutter pretty well. It is possible to bog down. Finish mower you can go 6' but again it is possible to bog it down. Just be ready to slow down.

 

[rbargeron]

......I'll keep looking for a 5 footer. BTW, I just measured and I'm 64" across the rear wheels.

A five-foot rotary cutter would be a good size for a L2250. The attached page from the owners manual shows the original wheel/tire widths for the L2250 and other similar models . It's possible the rear wheels have been swapped for a wider stance. May be adjustable by flipping the centers to get under 5' width.

 

[bjorn773]

It has Ag tires on it... pretty deep offset. I don't think I could flip them. 5 ft seems like a good compromise. The 6 ft listing in the manual might be referring to belly mowers.

 

[4570Man]

I'd put a 6' on it. Nobody said you have to take a full width pass.

 

[LD1]

The tractor is physically about the same size and lift specs and weight as my l3400, only less power. It should be able to lift and otherwise handle a 6' cutter fine provided you have a FEL or some other weight up front to offset the weight of the cutter.

As to power, you can always bog a machine down. You can have a 5' cutter behind 60hp and bog it at times.

You ain't out of power though until you are bogging it down in your slowest gear.

I have 29 pto HP and a 6' mower. Never touched 1st or 2nd gear. And only in the thickest of conditions do I need 3rd or 4th. Most of my mowing is done in 5 or 6. (4-5.5 mph)

 

[bjorn773]

My buddy from Toro is gonna drop off the 6 foot finish mower and let me try it. If it doesn't work out, the guy I just bought my tractor from has 2 five foot brush mowers for sale. Either way, I should be able to get something that works. I'll follow up after I try the loaner deck.

 

[JWR]

You no doubt have more help than you ever wanted on this. I stick to what I said in post #6 to this thread and still vote for a 5ft. hog.

I'll add this: A couple of things matter that might not have been addressed. Steepness of ground is one. If most of what you are doing is on flat land and you rarely get into the steep you might get by with a 6ft hog. The other thing is weight. For example I had a JD MX6 hog which was very sturdy, seemed indestructible and being pulled by a JD4700 with 48hp gross. Near perfect combo. I also pulled a Landpride finish mower 2672 model (also 6ft wide) and the finish mower was very noticeably heavier. On a 40% grade I had to shift down another gear with the finish mower compared to the same width hog because of weight mainly. It should also be noted that finish mowers usually use 3 blades and I think it takes slightly more oomph to turn 3 blades belt driven (finish) than it does to turn one blade direct drive (the hog.)

 

[bjorn773]

I'm pretty flat... no hills to speak of. I was thinking 3 small blades would be less stressful than 1 large blade. It won't cost me anything to try the six. The five I'll have to commit to before being able to try it. We'll see... I do appreciate everyone's input.