Finishing mower or brush hog ?

[treedav]

I have a new 18 hp Mihandra tractor with a category 1 3-point hitch. with a front end loader. I am thinking about purchasing a finsih mower or brush hog. I am not certain on which one to get. I have several acres to mow in addition to a wooded area with approx 2ft. high grass.

I stopped at a local Mihandra dealer yesterday,but none was available for some conversation.

I did not get the mid-mount mower. Anyhow I want to get something that I can do the yard as well as the tall grass. I assume with my 18 hp that I should stay within certain weight maximums.

Do I go with a 4 ft., or 5 ft. ?

Thanks,

Dave M.
Wellington,Ohio

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

On the 1815 I would recomend the 4" rotary cutter, as it is only 18 HP and 1600 lbs. As for the finish mower, it will depend on what your mowing charactoristics are. I have customers who run a 5' mower, but they keep it cut regulary and don't let it get to high. I hope this helps.

[EddieWalker]

The rotary cutter will be better if you let the grass get tall and only mow once a month or every other month. If you will be mowing on a regular basis, then the finish mower will give you a nicer finish and is easier to operate. The gauge wheels allow it to follow the contour of the ground better then just a tail wheel on a rotary cutter. Another advantage to the finish mower is that you can go a little bigger on it because it takes less power to run.

The basic rule of thumb for a rotary cutter is five HP for every foot of mower. With 18 HP, 3 foot is ideal and 4 ft is pushing things.

If you will only have one mower, then I think the rotary cutter is a better choice. Especially if you are like me and let your grass get out of control when it first gets growing in the spring time. It's just too wet to keep it under control, so I end up with a real mess at first. Then after I get that under control, I switch to my finish mower and keep that on pretty much the rest of the year.

Eddie

[treedav]

Thanks alot for the infromation. When spending good money for impliments I want to get the best for the job,and with the least amount of strain on my Mahindra 1815 HST. You helped me decide to go for the four (4) foot rotary mower. Now the next question to to see see who has one,most places I have checked locally only sell the Five (5) foot or larger ones. The dealer I bought the tractor from only stocks the five foot ones.

Do you recommend any make over another ? I don't want to get the most expensive,but not the cheapest either.

Thanks for your help,

Dave Myers
Wellington,Ohio

[EddieWalker]

I don't know your area, but there are several brands that are of good quality. This is one of those things that relates to how much you are willing to spend. Metal costs money, so does the time it takes to weld it together. A thinly built, spot welded mower will cost allot less then a thick gauge mower that has continuous welds. Then the most important consideration on any implement is where will you get the parts for it? Some stores are just retail, like Tractor Supply, while others support what they sell, like Kubota.

I own Landpride. I can't tell you if they are the best or not, but can say that they are very good. My dealer is fair at stocking and getting parts, but he has his days when he just plain forgets to order the parts and one week turns into three weeks with him. Kubota is now a distributor for Landpride, so I go to them now for parts. The one I go to is very professional and the lady who runs the parts desk does what she says she will.

Sometimes you just have to get out the yellow pages and see who's out there. Then take a day to check them out first hand. You don't have to buy brand new, but knowing that there is somebody who supports a certain brand will put that brand at the top of the list when out looking for used. If there isn't a Kubota dealer in your area, and nobody else has parts for Landpride, then I wouldn't buy Landpride.

Good Luck,
Eddie

[Bird]

My 1995 Kubota B7100 was only 16 hp; 13 PTO hp and I really liked the 4' Bush Hog Squealer I had, but it's hard to find any used ones and I don't think most dealers stock the smaller size; might have to order one, although back then, my Kubota dealer had it in stock.

[gerard]

Try tractor supply. The one out my way carries the 4 foot bush hog squealer. (I have the 5 foot version and have been happy with it) decent names are Landpride, woods, bush hog. kingkutter is a lower priced manufacturer but I'd still look at them especially if your not cutting unknown fields and not knowing what you're going to hit. If you're just cutting grass even a lighter duty one should suit you well and if you put a little edge on the blades you can get a pretty nice cut if the ground is realtively level.

[whistlepig]

Originally Posted by gerard

Try tractor supply. The one out my way carries the 4 foot bush hog squealer. (I have the 5 foot version and have been happy with it) decent names are Landpride, woods, bush hog. kingkutter is a lower priced manufacturer but I'd still look at them especially if your not cutting unknown fields and not knowing what you're going to hit. If you're just cutting grass even a lighter duty one should suit you well and if you put a little edge on the blades you can get a pretty nice cut if the ground is realtively level.

I have a Land Pride 5' brush cutter that I am extremely pleased with. Land Pride is expensive stuff. I have owned a 5' brush cutter King Kutter from Tractor Supply. I won't do King Kutter again. Best choice is the Bush Hog Squealer. That would be my choice. It's in between high and low priced. I love my Wood's finish mowers but would chose a Bush Hog brush cutter over a Woods brush hog any day. Bush Hog is premium stuff. I have a Bush Hog post hole digger that I wouldn't trade for any other post hole digger that is made.

[jpm1]

I persoanlly would look to tractor supply and the king kutter. I have a 2006, KK finish mower that has mown 2400 acres as of now. Yea you read right 2400 acres. Done nothing to the mower except Power wash, grease it and check the oil in the gear box, sharpened the blades twice. This mower is a rear discharge type which requires a bit less HP to run also. This mower mowes rain or shine and I would buy a third one in a minutes notice. Good luck John

[whistlepig]

Originally Posted by jpm1

I persoanlly would look to tractor supply and the king kutter. I have a 2006, KK finish mower that has mown 2400 acres as of now. Yea you read right 2400 acres. Done nothing to the mower except Power wash, grease it and check the oil in the gear box, sharpened the blades twice. This mower is a rear discharge type which requires a bit less HP to run also. This mower mowes rain or shine and I would buy a third one in a minutes notice. Good luck John

My goodness! That works out to 800 acres of mowing per year. 66 acres a week mowing twelve months a year.