Anyone run a 15' batwing with < 62HP?
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QRTRHRS
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I used to have a 3180 that I used a 108hp naturally aspirated tractor with so I have a couple of thoughts on this.
Bogging down was never a problem of course but I still had to slow down to get a nice cut on heavy grass/clover. You may have to cut high and make a second lower pass. With 15' though, you can cover a lot of ground.
You would not want to take on a thick hedgerow. Woods says that these mowers will cut 3" thick brush. Yes, they will but at a creeper speed and it gets pretty radical back there.
If I remember, the 3180 weighs around 4200 lbs, not sure about the BW180. The weight is something to respect.
When I bought the Case, the dealer in another state had gone over the PTO. To engage it, you pulled a knob mounted on a cable similar to say something on a dump truck. It was stiff to pull in and hard to "feather". The first time I used it on the batwing, I ripped the reverseable PTO shaft in half on the Case.
I did get used to it but once when I was tired, I pulled it in to quick and broke the main mower shaft in half right behind the front u-joint.
While having some other issues repaired, I had the PTO rebuilt by my local dealer. They said that it was not fixed correctly the by the first dealer. Off topic but it worked smooth after that.
My point is though, there is a lot of mass to get moving as others have said and you can tear things up.
I sold that tractor and mower to a neighbor when I moved. I told him to service the slip clutches before he used it come spring. He did not and tore up one of the wing driveshafts.
Overall, the paint held up well on my Woods except for the hinge area. Not much you can do there except wash it and spray some WD or something on it. Still going to rust.
Speaking about cleaning. I don't know if say a Rhino or Bush Hog is easy to clean but the 3180 takes some time to blast off with a pressure washer and you are going to be slimed until the job is done.
Lastly, my 3180 only had one hydraulic line when I bought it. One wing seemed to never want to go down even when the mower was level. I soon added return lines which is easier on some tractor hydraulics anyway.
Still, the wings were very touchy to drop. One would go down while the other would hang while loosing hydraulic pressure then come crashing down if I let it. When I had to go through a gate, I would only raise the wings enough to clear the opening.
I never got around to looking into some kind of valving to get around that issue.
Bogging down was never a problem of course but I still had to slow down to get a nice cut on heavy grass/clover. You may have to cut high and make a second lower pass. With 15' though, you can cover a lot of ground.
You would not want to take on a thick hedgerow. Woods says that these mowers will cut 3" thick brush. Yes, they will but at a creeper speed and it gets pretty radical back there.
If I remember, the 3180 weighs around 4200 lbs, not sure about the BW180. The weight is something to respect.
When I bought the Case, the dealer in another state had gone over the PTO. To engage it, you pulled a knob mounted on a cable similar to say something on a dump truck. It was stiff to pull in and hard to "feather". The first time I used it on the batwing, I ripped the reverseable PTO shaft in half on the Case.
I did get used to it but once when I was tired, I pulled it in to quick and broke the main mower shaft in half right behind the front u-joint.
While having some other issues repaired, I had the PTO rebuilt by my local dealer. They said that it was not fixed correctly the by the first dealer. Off topic but it worked smooth after that.
My point is though, there is a lot of mass to get moving as others have said and you can tear things up.
I sold that tractor and mower to a neighbor when I moved. I told him to service the slip clutches before he used it come spring. He did not and tore up one of the wing driveshafts.
Overall, the paint held up well on my Woods except for the hinge area. Not much you can do there except wash it and spray some WD or something on it. Still going to rust.
Speaking about cleaning. I don't know if say a Rhino or Bush Hog is easy to clean but the 3180 takes some time to blast off with a pressure washer and you are going to be slimed until the job is done.
Lastly, my 3180 only had one hydraulic line when I bought it. One wing seemed to never want to go down even when the mower was level. I soon added return lines which is easier on some tractor hydraulics anyway.
Still, the wings were very touchy to drop. One would go down while the other would hang while loosing hydraulic pressure then come crashing down if I let it. When I had to go through a gate, I would only raise the wings enough to clear the opening.
I never got around to looking into some kind of valving to get around that issue.
American Bulldog
Gold Member
I run a JD 15' Flex Wing rotary mower on the back of my JD 5520. I need to put 800 pounds of suitcase weights on the front to keep it down, or else I pull wheelies going up the hills that I have to mow. Anything over 20 degrees was wheelie time before the weights.
Anyways, my tractor has 75 PTO HP. If I keep it mowed regularly, I can pretty much mow at any speed. If I let it get too thick, I have to go slower, as the the mower bogs down. I certainly could get it to work if I had a 62 HP tractor, but I would not be able to go quite as fast. Also, watch the wheelies with the lighter weight.
Anyways, my tractor has 75 PTO HP. If I keep it mowed regularly, I can pretty much mow at any speed. If I let it get too thick, I have to go slower, as the the mower bogs down. I certainly could get it to work if I had a 62 HP tractor, but I would not be able to go quite as fast. Also, watch the wheelies with the lighter weight.
MtnViewRanch
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Just my opinion, but I think that that your Kubota is to small to be using this mower to be hired out. What I mean by this is you are looking to get hired to do a mowing job, you don't know what types of jobs are going to come along. If they are all mostly flat then you would be fine, but anything else and you could be treading in dangerous territory. It's not like you are only using it for your place and you know exactly what you have to deal with.
Just my :2cents:
Just my :2cents:
I don't think weight of the mower will be an issue as I have the largest available tires. The rears are filled with Rim Gaurd. I also have the LA1153 loader out front and I have the cab. My 7040 weighs as much as a 9540 with no cab or filled tires. So I'm not overly concerned with the 15' batwing pushing my tractor around too much.
I think it comes down to PTO HP. Looking at my customers & potential customers, I think that I will frequently find myself cutting high weeds 4+ feet high. I will not be cutting anything more than 1" in diameter. Very little brush clearing.
With that in mind, I think I'm on the borderline. Since I like equipment to perform well with plenty of power and most customers will be under 20 acres, I'm going to concentrate on a 12' batwing. Problem is I'm up to my eyeballs in cheap 15' batwings and can't find a 12' reasonably priced anywhere.
I think it comes down to PTO HP. Looking at my customers & potential customers, I think that I will frequently find myself cutting high weeds 4+ feet high. I will not be cutting anything more than 1" in diameter. Very little brush clearing.
With that in mind, I think I'm on the borderline. Since I like equipment to perform well with plenty of power and most customers will be under 20 acres, I'm going to concentrate on a 12' batwing. Problem is I'm up to my eyeballs in cheap 15' batwings and can't find a 12' reasonably priced anywhere.
radman1
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Finding a 12' will be very difficult. Kind of an orphan in the mower world. I have never seen one. Are they straight or bat wing? Batwing is much nicer for hills, roadsides ect. I would give the 15' batwing a try. Most dealers would let you demonstrate a used 15' mower for 1-2 hours. You can always overlap if the mowing is too difficult. I also believe your tractor is heavy enough to pull a 15' batwing without any difficulty. For me, tall grass is the most difficult thing to cut. Brush is easier on the tractor because of less material. Give it a try. I using a 10' on a JD 4520 CUT for god's sake.
LoneCowboy
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I do this commercially
In really heavy grass or kocia style weeds, It will slowly overheat, but it keeps running.
I run a TN75 which is about the same thing as your M
My rear tires are NOT loaded, I do have front weights on it, no loader. (way more manueverable without it), I do scary slopes, not an issue.
I'd buy the 15' and then go from there.
BTW, most of them sit at over 8'6" wide when loaded on your trailer. I know you're careful about being legal and doing commercial.
In really heavy grass or kocia style weeds, It will slowly overheat, but it keeps running.
I run a TN75 which is about the same thing as your M
My rear tires are NOT loaded, I do have front weights on it, no loader. (way more manueverable without it), I do scary slopes, not an issue.
I'd buy the 15' and then go from there.
BTW, most of them sit at over 8'6" wide when loaded on your trailer. I know you're careful about being legal and doing commercial.
12' batwings are nearly identical to a 15' batwing.
Here's what they look like:
http://www.tractorhouse.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1134&Manu=BUSH+HOG&Mdltxt=2212&mdlx=exact
I'm still trying to get the guy near me with the 15' Woods to soften up on his price, so 15' is still in play, but I'd prefer a 12' since I'm doing smaller plots right now.
Jim Thompson
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What would be the possibility of disconnecting and removing one wing of the 15 footer. We used to operate two 15' Rhino batwings and I was thinking that the outriggers were narrower than the center. If they were all the same, then of course you'd only have 10'. Just a thought.
Jim
What would be the possibility of disconnecting and removing one wing of the 15 footer. We used to operate two 15' Rhino batwings and I was thinking that the outriggers were narrower than the center. If they were all the same, then of course you'd only have 10'. Just a thought.
Jim
Yes, there are single wing 10' batwings as well. One wing is removed and in its' place there's a weight box.
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