first real brush hog experience

   / first real brush hog experience #1  

schmism

Super Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
5,136
Location
Peoria IL
Tractor
New holland TC(33)
So ive had my 5' ford hog for a month or so now. most ive done with it is make a pass or 2 through my front "pasture" which is a wheeny knee high. Ive taken out some brush with it around the house... nothing really "up to the task" kind thing....

well my neighbor has an area (1/2-3/4 acer ish) below his house that is pasture(ish). nothing but grass. but it hadnt been mowed for what seemed like all summer as it was waist tall (or better) in some spots. So i offered to mow it down for him.

Still have to figure out how to set the thing up to cut best but overall went well. I though for short stuff (knee high) i could easly run a 6' but with the waist tall stuff i could easly bog it down if i kept the speed up. Still managed a good clip (pun intended) and was finished in about 30 min.

It also really helped to understand how to set up the hog and how it cuts diffrently.

After i finished that up he was making a feeble attempt at cutting brush on the front ditch so i offered to help him out. managed to flatten and push over/grub out an area 4 times the size of what he had done in about 5 min with the FEL. Left the biggest stuff (2") just pushed over for him to cut off at the ground with the saw. but now he didnt have to wade in the brush to do it :D

Oh and it was a great weekend weather wise... sunny and 65-70. had the last mowing last week so i pulled off the MMM and cleaned it up, touched up the rust spots and put it away for winter. (what was supposed to be a little hr long job blossemed into 3 hrs of sanding rust spots and painting)
 
   / first real brush hog experience #2  
There are implements/tools I use more then the brush hog, but no other is like the brush hog in the immediate gratification/distruction that you can do with one. I usually love running mine, except when I mowed a family members 16.5 acres, that was WORK. I am glad you got to give it a work out. They are a great tool. Enjoy the weather while it last.
Dave
 
   / first real brush hog experience #3  
Brush Hogs have to be the most fun implement in the tractor world. You just can't beat the satisfaction you get when you run over thick brush and render it to splinters. I've cut 50 acres of thick/moderate brush a couple of times. It takes 10 hours but I love every minute of it.

The next best thing is the FEL. You can pick up, crush, dig, smash, tear, uproot, etc etc, just about anything.
 
   / first real brush hog experience #4  
I started using mine in a front pasture area that hadn't been mowed in at least three or four years. Keeping the RPM's up is key. As to setting it, I try to keep the lead edge a bit higher than the trailing edge. That grass was nothing compared to taking it into some back pastures that hadn't seen an implement in a decade or more. I got to take it through some really heavy brush and even knock down some saplings in the 2"-3" range. Now THAT is some satisfaction!

Rotary cutters are fun but also very dangerous so be careful. If you don't already have them installed, consider getting some chain guards to keep debris from zapping you in the back. Someone on here actually put together a plexiglass guard that mounted on the back of their ROPS after getting pelted enough times. I can't say I wouldn't try that if I hada big enough piece of it around.

Good luck with your mowing. :)
 
   / first real brush hog experience #5  
Gary_in_Indiana said:
I started using mine in a front pasture area that hadn't been mowed in at least three or four years. Keeping the RPM's up is key. As to setting it, I try to keep the lead edge a bit higher than the trailing edge. That grass was nothing compared to taking it into some back pastures that hadn't seen an implement in a decade or more. I got to take it through some really heavy brush and even knock down some saplings in the 2"-3" range. Now THAT is some satisfaction!

Rotary cutters are fun but also very dangerous so be careful. If you don't already have them installed, consider getting some chain guards to keep debris from zapping you in the back. Someone on here actually put together a plexiglass guard that mounted on the back of their ROPS after getting pelted enough times. I can't say I wouldn't try that if I hada big enough piece of it around.

Good luck with your mowing. :)

Actually it will cut better if the leading edge is slightly lower than the trailing edge. Then you are only cutting the material once. If the leading edge is high, it will cut the material, then as you drive over it, the trailing edge will have to cut it again. Same concept as a finish mower. :)
 
   / first real brush hog experience #6  
Gary_in_Indiana said:
I If you don't already have them installed, consider getting some chain guards to keep debris from zapping you in the back. Someone on here actually put together a plexiglass guard that mounted on the back of their ROPS after getting pelted enough times. I can't say I wouldn't try that if I hada big enough piece of it around.


All of our tractors that are used for brushhogging at work have expanded metal attached to the back of the ROPS to protect the operator. I guess after enough times of getting hit with flying debris they figured out a fix!
 
   / first real brush hog experience #7  
ovrszd said:
Actually it will cut better if the leading edge is slightly lower than the trailing edge. Then you are only cutting the material once. If the leading edge is high, it will cut the material, then as you drive over it, the trailing edge will have to cut it again. Same concept as a finish mower. :)
I know this is correct but why can't I understand the concept?.Seems like it would cut twice either way. Enlighten me Ovrszd.
 
   / first real brush hog experience #8  
I started last week cleaning up some cutover land. It had planted pines for 32 years. I don't like pushing stumps up by the roots so I just wait until they rot and take the rotary cutter to it. It took 5 years for these to rot. Two of those years we were in drought which slowed the process.

This is all hill side land. I mainly go up and down the slopes. Got in a briar patch last week beside the trail the skidder used to snake the logs out. It had HT woven wire under those briars and I didn't see it. Man! Talk about a mess. I tried cutting the wire out. No luck. It was either remove the stump jumper or burn the wire out. I don't have a torch, so I backed in the shop and pulled the welder up close. Hooked the ground to some small pieces of wire hanging out,turned the welder up to 200 amps, and put a rod in the stinger and a burning I went. LOL Didn't take long when you melt the wire. Just have to be careful about the grease seal.

Lots of the stumps are 30" across.(32 year old planted pine) Most when the blade hits them just turn to dust. There's a few that are still solid in the center but I can cut them to the ground if I take my time.

I remember 25 years ago a guy down the road a bit from me got both his legs cut off with a brush hog. He got in some fence wire just like I did. But he tried to pull the wire out with it running. When he pulled back on the wires the shaft caught the wires and the wires hung in his cloths and pulled him under the deck. So be careful out there. Stop the blade before getting on the ground. Over the years I've had blades to break and never found them.

Also if you keep the front end(of the deck) down more than the rear the blades tend to throw more out the back than the front.
 
   / first real brush hog experience #9  
Here are a few swaths I cut with a KK 5 footer. I did it mainly for thruways for the deer. I'd say it wqas 5 to five feet. Like everyone said, "It feels great to reap such Havoc."
 

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   / first real brush hog experience #10  
Bonez1 -- with the front end lower, the back end of the cutter will be running above the cut stuff and just throwing already cut material free. It works better since the blades get a chance to clear the cutting edge a little on the way around. The blade speed on these things is not as high as on a lawn mower so sometimes the puckerbush stems and such can hang up on the blades and decrease efficiency from cutting to just beating things to pieces.
 
 
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