Learning to use my new tractor and rotary mower- NEED SUGGESTIONS!

[pretendfarmer]

Hi everybody. I recently purchased a Yanmar 1700D for my 4 acre property, and I just bought a brand new Taylor-Pittsburgh 4' rotary cutter for it. Of the 4 acres, probably 2 1/2 to 3 acres is scotch broom and blackberries with the rest being larger fir trees and such. The brush is as tall as 10 feet, though none is very big around as far as stems go. While the property is pretty much level, the ground is rutted and somewhat rocky. I took my new tractor in there for the first time today, and I was disappointed in my skill level and lack of knowledge as to how to accomplish the task at hand which is clearing the land.

The guy who sold me the brush cutter set it up on my tractor. The rear is a few inches off the ground, and the front is touching. I have no owners manual for the tractor, but ran it at 2200 rpm with the PTO in 1, which I read should be 540 rpm. I was hitting rocks and making a dust storm, and got bogged down a few times, and generally felt like I was hurting my new mower. I ended up quitting because I did not want to damage anything. Rather than load the tractor back on the trailer and take her with me, I stashed her in the blackberry bushes out of sight so no meth heads would see her and get any ideas to steal her.

What I am wondering is if I am not supposed to use the mower for such big brush. The front of the tractor goes over it fine, but it seems a lot for the mower to deal with. Should I be using another method of clearing this land? I don't know how to go about this big project.

 

[BethelHntr]

You might try mowing with the 3 pt raised to it's up most position, Get things knocked down first then lower the 3 pt and re try, Mowing ten feet tall brush would be tough for any cutter. BTW It's most likely going to take a few passes.

 

[pretendfarmer]

You might try mowing with the 3 pt raised to it's up most position, Get things knocked down first then lower the 3 pt and re try, Mowing ten feet tall brush would be tough for any cutter. BTW It's most likely going to take a few passes.

Thanks for the reply. I was unsure if I was supposed to be running the mower at all in the raised position. The manual for it says to make sure it is all the way down before engaging. It seemed like it might be dangerous or something.

 

[BethelHntr]

It most definately could be dangerous for other people or pets because of flinging debris, Just make sure no one is around the cutter.

By starting out higher you are easing the load on your machine.

Start high to get things mowed down then move half way down or so then go for a lower cut, When the mower is low you will have to watch for high spots and move the 3 pt lever accordingly to avoid hitting dirt and large rocks, It isn't done automatically unfortunately. Good Luck, Larry.

 

[pretendfarmer]

I just watched as many videos as I could find, and the stuff I am mowing is definitely not too much for the mower. The problem I think is that the mower is set too low in the front, and needs to be raised a few inches because it is really trying to scalp the land. I will try to make adjustments to it.

 

[TripleR]

Do you have a manual for your cutter? It sounds as though it is adjusted improperly as the frnt should be only about 1-2 inches lower in the front than back and should not be digging in the dirt.

 

[jeff9366]

The guy who sold me the brush cutter set it up on my tractor. The rear is a few inches off the ground, and the front is touching.

What I am wondering is if I am not supposed to use the mower for such big brush. The front of the tractor goes over it fine, but it seems a lot for the mower to deal with.

Front of deck should NOT be touching the ground. There is considerable oscillation/whip in the blade; no wonder you are hitting rocks.

The mowing objectives you have described are well within the capacity of your RC. You may, however, need to mow twice, first pass adjusted higher, to chop down the verdure. Adjust to maintain high blade velocity.

 

[gwdixon]

The guys have given very good advice. A couple more things (EDIT: well it ended up more than a couple).

>When mowing with the slasher (rotary mower) high off the ground you have to make sure the PTO shaft is not in a bind or bent too much. It puts stress on the PTO's U-joints. Keep them well greased.

>When everything is off the ground, maybe 12"-18" or so, the rear of the tractor will be heavy and the steering lighter - just be aware.

>When 12" off the ground make sure the mower housing is still pointed slightly down. The top link may have to be shortened a bit get this adjustment. Make the adjustment when the mower is all the way on the ground because the top link will be very difficult to turn with weight pulling on it. Then raise and check again.

>It is unsafe to mow with the chains or rubber shields that high but you have to do what you have to do. Make sure nobody is nearby...like 100 yards.

>Go very slowly over thick areas. It will be easier on the tractor and mower. If bogging down is significant then the ground speed is too fast. It may seem like it takes forever but you'll only have to do this once if the place is going to be constantly maintained.

>When you get to short or thin areas the mower can be lowered all the way. BUT...then lift the 3PH two or three inches to raise the front of the mower that amount. Run at that setting. If the setting causes the front of the deck to be higher than the rear then lower the rear wheel a notch.

>The blades are probably bunged up by the rocks and hitting the ground. There are many opinions on whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. For now, just continue on with the blades as they are. They will only get more dull. After this stage is all over come back and the guys can argue over sharp blades vs. dull blade and you can make your decision from there.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Hi everybody. I recently purchased a Yanmar 1700D for my 4 acre property, and I just bought a brand new Taylor-Pittsburgh 4' rotary cutter for it. Of the 4 acres, probably 2 1/2 to 3 acres is scotch broom and blackberries with the rest being larger fir trees and such. The brush is as tall as 10 feet, though none is very big around as far as stems go. While the property is pretty much level, the ground is rutted and somewhat rocky. I took my new tractor in there for the first time today, and I was disappointed in my skill level and lack of knowledge as to how to accomplish the task at hand which is clearing the land.

The guy who sold me the brush cutter set it up on my tractor. The rear is a few inches off the ground, and the front is touching. I have no owners manual for the tractor, but ran it at 2200 rpm with the PTO in 1, which I read should be 540 rpm. I was hitting rocks and making a dust storm, and got bogged down a few times, and generally felt like I was hurting my new mower. I ended up quitting because I did not want to damage anything. Rather than load the tractor back on the trailer and take her with me, I stashed her in the blackberry bushes out of sight so no meth heads would see her and get any ideas to steal her.

What I am wondering is if I am not supposed to use the mower for such big brush. The front of the tractor goes over it fine, but it seems a lot for the mower to deal with. Should I be using another method of clearing this land? I don't know how to go about this big project.

It sounds to me like you are dropping the 3 PH control lever all the way down. You need to hold the front of the shredder up using the 3 ph. You should have a toggle bolt on it so you can tighten it down and once the correct height is established set the toggle bolt so that it impacts the lever so that it wont go down any more. The hydraulic control lever works in increments so the high you raise it, the higher the lift arms come up. Adjust it accordingly so that the front of the mower deck skids (side plates) are at least 3" above the ground. This will help you avoid hitting some of the rocks. When I had my Yanmar, I bought a set of check chains that one end fastens on where the top link of the 3 ph fastens to the tractor and the other end slips over the pins where you lift arms attach. These are available at Tractor Supply for about $20 IIRC. You can adjust them via a slot in the end connections where they fasten to the tractor so that it holds the lift arms at the prescribed position so that when you raise it up for whatever reason and then lower it back down, you don't have to worry about finding the exact same position, the chains will hold it. This is also better for your hydraulics as they wont be carrying the load. 10 Ft tall broom sage and black berry vines should be easy to cut although very dusty. Be sure you keep your radiator blown out so you don't overheat. Running in tall material will stop up the radiator very fast.

 

[pretendfarmer]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds as if I need some chains so that the rotary cutter does not come into contact with the ground in front. My tractor does not have incremental adjustments on the 3pt. It is either up or down.