How much is to much...???

[Anonymous Poster]

OK, now that I have gotten my new property brush hogged.I know were the few ditches are,and that is it not to rough but how much it to much for a finish mower?What would be the tallest grass recommended for cutting with one.What I'm gtting at is..It took me 2 days with a 5' roto cutter(1'grass and under brush and 6'dead britle weeds).i dont plan on lettting it get that bad again but would like to decrease the time as much as possible when I do by a tractor and figure i Finish type would be wider....Any ideas????

 

[Bird]

Paul, you say you brush hogged the property in 2 days with a 5' rotary cutter, but now are considering a wider finish mower just to cut down on the time. I'm not sure I understand, and I'd need more information. I may have seen, on previous posts, but if so, don't remember what size tractor you're talking about, or how many acres you're talking about. I have a 5' brush hog that cost $495 and a 5' finish mower that cost $1,695. I have cut a little grass that was a foot high with the finish mower, but you have to slow down to get a clean cut. These are two entirely different kinds of machine and if you want to do a finish mowing job on a pasture, there's nothing wrong with that, if you mow it frequently enough, and of course, remember that the finish mower is designed for grass, not heavy, coarse material like small saplings or woody type material that sometimes sprout up. But you're also talking about a very expensive machine (finish mower) to do the job a much cheaper one (brush hog) will do unless you just especially want the finish cut. Why not just go for a wider brush hog if you have a big enough tractor?

Bird

 

[PBMAX]

Bird,You got the idea I think. It will (is ) pasture and will eventually have a couple-three horses.The only reason it took to days was the previous owner had not cut it in a long while. Fortunately there is litte heavy stuff mostly grass now that I have brush hogged it.It is currently only a few inches tall and I would rather cut it a little more often with a finish mower if it would reduce the amount of cutting time..I realize a finish mower is not going to cutt sapling and is limited by the hight and thikness of grass and as you mentioned there is the difference in price....So i guess i should have said (asked) is a finish mower worth the extra cost just to cut down on the mowing time of a pature? Or would it be better to just by good brush hog with a clutch instead of shear a pin type. By the way i didn't even expect you could cut stuff a 1' tall....I figured maybe 6" or so....

Lil' Paul

 

[Bird]

I would anticipate increasing rather than decreasing mowing time using a finish mower of the same size, and think a finish mower requires a little more power than a brush hog of the same size. And if you're going to go with a wider one, I recommend just going with a wider brush hog. Late last Fall, I brush hogged about 30 acres that had been let go too long, had a couple of stock tanks, a few trees, etc. and it took me nearly 28 hours, so I can understand wanting something that's faster.

Bird

 

[Alan L.]

I'm real fond of my 5' finish mower, but for thick or tall grass you have to go a lot slower. I've been mowing through thick grass, weeds, and brush with my 5' cutter, stay in medium range on by B2710 and it never bogs down (unless I bottom out), plus the cut is way prettier than I expected it would be. My finish mower bogs the tractor down when I try to go too fast through thick lush growth. I have brush cut my pasture about 7 times now and its still not ready for a finish mower. But I'm perfectly satisfied with the way it looks.

Bottom line, the brush cutter is faster.

I don't know why manufacturs seem to rate a tractor for a bigger finish mower that brush cutter. The opposite has been true for me.

 

[browndog]

I use a 5' woods bushhog for all my pastures and on some areas that may be considered 'finished'. The bushhog leaves the grass looking pretty darn good, i can't think of any reason to go to a finish mower if you are not a golf course. Now that it is cleared the next round should go much faster. After my horses have graised all the good grass it is left patchy in some areas where they don't eat. But having them on the pasture keeps alot down. If your land is flat and tractor is capable, look at a larger bushhog for a faster cut. 6' cutters go in the high teens to 2k.

 

[W5FL]

I have always cut all of my grass with a 6 ft Rhino SE-6 and just bought a new Bush Hog 286. Both are rotary cutters. These mowers have a tip speed of approximately 200 miles per hour and cut grass as nice as my riding lawnmower - just not quite as short.

I have a small tif bermuda front and back yard which gets cut with a self propelled mower since it likes to be cut about 1 inch high. The remainder of the grass only gets cut with the rotary cutter and looks as nice as I would like for it to look.

I also have to contend with a lot of rocks and they tear up most any finish mower. When grass gets just a little high, the bush hog beats a finish mower all day long. Can mow easily in 4th or 5th gear and just hear the diesel get a little more fuel when the grass gets a little taller in places.

 

[PBMAX]

Bird,I was kinda thinking about a bigger brush hog but wasn't sure.I kinda figure that if the 4' and the 6' both have the same rpm rating the only real factor is the torque out put of the pto....? Would it be safe to say, I would be able to do with a 6' brush hog say what a 4' bush hog is recomended for and not bog down a tractor...? or would it be better to get a 4' for heavy stuff (saplings thick brush etc..)and use a 6' for thick or tall pasture grasses...?Or am I over simplifiing it?

Lil' Paul

 

[Bird]

Lil' Paul, I'm not sure I can answer this question. I still don't know what size tractor you're talking about, but you have to consider two things; the PTO power and the weight that the 3-point will handle. And if the tractor is big enough to handle a 6' mower on light jobs, and you wanted to use a smaller 4' on heavy jobs; nothing wrong with that except the cost of buying two different mowers. I use both a 5' rotary cutter and a 5' rear finish mower on my B2710, and I think they're the right size, but I wouldn't be afraid to use a 6' rotary cutter at all in light to moderate work, and don't think I would have a problem with a 6' finish mower, but haven't tried it.

Bird

 

[PBMAX]

Bird,I can't really specify a serton size as I'm still looking.I can say that all the tractors I have looked at(in my price range) the brochures(TC21D,B17?BX22) specs only recomend a 4' brush hog...So thats kinda what I'm going by..I'm trying to plan my implements and a brush hog is deffenitly 1st on the list...Then the boxblade(figure at least as wide as the rear tires reguardlees of spec and learn its limits).I guess I'll go with the 4' brush hog and if I find a good price on a 6' that will most likely work (prob used) I'll see if I can swing it.If not I guess a few more times around the pasture won't kill me.....Mybe I can talk the wife into looking at a bigger tractor...???!!!I'd probably have better luck getting blood out of that turnip.....thanks for the get back Bird and all....

Lil' Paul