How do you mow the edges of banks?

[jinman]

I have lots of ponds, a lake, and gullies. Normally I just repeatedly back my rotary cutter down to the dropoff edge or water's edge. I think I'm about ready to bid on a sicklebar mower on ebay. Many of them can be had for $700 or less used and sell for about $2500 new. I don't use one enough to justify new, but everytime I do the backup routine (even with my hydrostat tranny), that $700 looks like less and less money.

 

[daTeacha]

Around here, they mow the roadside banks (which go up or down depending on where you are) with a bush hog on a large hydraulic arm. There is a big counterweight on the opposite side of the tractor and this arm can hang a 6 foot mower about 15 feet out from the tractor. It's a big tractor, too. I don't know how often you feel you need to mow the bank or what it's worth to you but I suspect a rig like I've described is not cheap.

I've considered using a longer PTO shaft and top link to lower my bush hog over the ditch bank I mow, but haven't thought it worth the bother since I only mow it a couple times a year and have other things to do with my time. I use the hang the mower over the bank technique with the loader and bucket hanging out the front for balance. The bank isn't very high and the edge is heavily covered with grass/weeds/puckerbushes so the soil is quite stable. Even if I did back off the edge, the loader would still be on top and I think I'd be able to drive back up with some effort and soil damage.

 

[scott_vt]

I mow a bank by the road and around a small pond and I use a 50" sicklebarmower attached to an old 856 WheelHorse. It does pretty good as it will cut at just about any angle.

I've seen those 3PH fabricated mowers here in TBN and definitely would consider going that route had my ole sicklemower not work.

Hi Volfandt,
Gee, that is a real nice setup !!! I have a sicklebar mower for my 42 Farmall A but I cant mow that much of an incline But I do have a C-125 Wheelhorse, and Im wondering how you hooked that sickle up ?

Thanks for sharing

 

[bam747]

I spent the summer of 1975 mowing roadsides for the county with a 3ph side mount rotary mower similar to this Rhino DB150 unit:

'Course, the county didn't provide a nice AC equipped cab back then! And you can bet this kind of mower is NOT cheap. Also, this mower requires 60 PTO HP which is outside the capabilities of even the largest CUTs. I didn't see the spec in the requirements, but I'm sure that in addition to the HP requirements, they also have a minimum recommended tractor weight.

As has already been pointed out in this thread, you can also purchase articulated hydraulic boom rotary mowers with a 5' cutting width (2" max diameter material) and a 20' reach like this Rhino SV2160:

As you can see, this type of mower requires a very significantly sized tractor rated at 100 PTO HP, not to mention that tractors of this HP rating are probably going to weigh more than 10,000 lbs.

Rhino does have some smaller articulated hydraulic boom flail cutters that have a 37" wide cut (up to 4" diameter material) or 48" wide cut (up to 1 1/2" diameter material). Their smallest unit, the SV1348 with a 12' 10" maximum horizontal reach, only has a requirement of 32 HP "minimum with adequate front and side weights". However, these units are specified for a CAT II hitch. A few of the largest CUTs are CAT II and might work with appropriate ballast.

Here's and interesting application of the Rhino SV1948 boom flail mower (55 PTO HP, CAT II):

 

[Iowachild]

VOLFANDT that looks like a pretty neat unit. i have the same conditions and wonder where you got that sickle mower and what drives the blades?

I be interested in that info myself!

 

[Volfandt]

Hey gents, the sicklebarmower is a WheelHorse OEM unit made by Haban back in the 70's. My 856 is rated for the 42" sicklebar and I was told the 50" would be too big but I took a chance, pieced together a unit from another fellow and my 8hp 856 has no touble at all working it.
Inorder to bolt it up, I have to remove the belly mower's mid mount quick attach (pic #1)

The sicklebar assembly mounts in the front where the mid mount quick attach mounted and it "slides" on a bar that mounts just in front of the tranny. It slides to adjust the drive belt (Pic #2)

The same foot PTO that is used to work the belly mower is also used to engage the engine to primary sicklebarmower pulley. At 1st I'd just move the PTO but I later purchased another foot PTO on ebay so I don't have to swap it between mounts. On the same shaft inside of the front mounts is the 2nd'ary drive pulley which drives the 2nd'ary belt, makes a sharp 90 degree via two idler pulleys then loops around the sicklebarmower's gearbox pulley. (visable in pic#4)

The sicklebarmower will cut at any angle, even in the vertical transport position. It is not a quick attach implement but it's not that hard to R&R as a single assembly. I generally take it off for winter storage as I use the 856 with a snowblade when the rare snows hits us. Useing a dollie makes it about a 1/2 hr job and I can then roll it out of the way for stowage.

I've had it for 3 mowing seasons now and it has earned its keep 10 fold!
It's made keeping that bank mowed and also keeping the weeds down around my small pond a nice easy sitt'n on my can mow
They both used to take hours to do with a weed eater and now I knock 'em both out in about 20 minutes, whch is hardly enough seat time to suit me

Any other questons or pics just let me know.

 

[JeremyL]

How about don't mow it? It is usually best for water quality to leave a good sized buffer of growth around all bodies of water to prevent runoff. That is the ecological answer, and solves your mowing problem. Safe & effective. That work for you?

 

[riptides]

...How about don't mow it?...

Because we like to go splash in it. I wanna see the animals before I step on them.

Plus, I was wondering what other people do with banks, because of the number of roll-overs in the safety forum.

If I have no business near a bank, I'll be darned I mow it. But I will be aware of where it is on my property.

-Mike Z.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Check out this Woods unit on ebay. PTO shaft powered bank mower. He's got great pictures. I saved them for future reference in case I want to dive into an advanced DIY bank mower project.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ndexURL=4&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Volfandt,
Thanks so much for those great pics !!! I would love to hace one for my C-125 Wheel Horse, but Im thinkin there aint many around