Is a Bush Hog 295 too much for my tractor?

[Jarrett]

I'm in the market for a 5' bush hog, aka rotary cutter, to replace the Mott 88 flail mower I'm trying to sell. I've run across a Bush Hog 295. The ad as well as the literature from Bush Hog says 35hp minimum. Does anyone run one of these on a Kubota L3130 DT (geared) or similar size/hp tractor? At 950lbs, I know the 3pt can lift it, but I'm assuming the 25 pto hp just wouldn't be enough to spin those 4" blades efficiently. I never intend to cut anything 3" like the cutter is rated for.

 

[xring100]

Usually the rule is 5 HP per foot. But that's a lot of rotating mass to get going for 25 HP might be a little hard on the pto clutch spooling it up. but it should work just great once its up to speed. Probably going to make the tractor pretty light in the front. Its 900 lbs hanging out there quite a ways

 

[Ken45101]

A lot of it depends on what you are cutting. Light, dry grass, not too high, should be okay. OTOH, if you have 6ft high lush growth of grass and weeds, probably not. We have had a very wet year and growth is unreal. The 5hp per foot rule has been barely enough. At times, I've had to drop the M9540 to first gear and just barely made it through some of it without stalling (84 pto hp, 15' Bush Hog, 5.6 hp/ft).

I would be concerned about too much weight on the 3pt. Yes, it might lift it according to specs, but it will affect your steering and handling. It also depends on your terrain, flat or hilly?

 

[Zebrafive]

Can you try it out? Any plans to get a bigger tractor in the future?
The weight would be the least of my worries. Front end weights or keeping the loader on would take care of that.
Might even be able to buy lighter blades, maybe 3" wide.

 

[allen in texas]

Why are you selling the flail?

 

[Beltman60]

once you put it down so the tail wheel is on the ground the only weight you have is maybe 25% of the whole weight of the bush hog
My dealer told me I should use a 4' bush hog with my JD 3032E which has about the same PTO HP (because of HST) and the only thing I've used behind it is a 5' bush hog squealer
I normally cut maybe 30" tall pastures but I have cut though some nasty stuff about eye high sitting on the tractor at a friends place and it went right through it but used some fuel that day and I could see the RPM's come down about 200 while cutting the thick stuff
something else that helps is don't cut it to close to the ground
cutting at 4-5" tall down to 2 1/2-3" uses less HP also

 

[expedoman55]

I have a NH TC34 and just picked up a brand new BH 60" mower as a swap for some services with my local dealer. Do you think this is to much for my Tractor?

 

[Jarrett]

I think I'm going to pass on that BH 295. I just priced some new cutters today that will probably work better on my tractor. The prices were lower than what I thought they would be. The seller is asking $1800 for that 295 and it's about a 2hr drive. I was trying to avoid buying new just because I thought any well known brand would be $2k+ for their bottom of the line cutters. I got quotes on a BH Squealer 160, Modern Ag Competitor & Super Sunshine, a Woods BB60, and a Cimarron RB60. Prices range from $1400-$2000, with the Cimarron being the lowest. I've never heard of Cimarron before. It looks to be very well built. The dealer has 2 left that he's been having a while and has reduced the price of them. But for just 100-200 more I can step up to the galvanized Modern Ag cutter, which seems like a nice cutter with the 10yr deck warranty. Does anyone have any experience with the Modern galvanized products? The BH & Woods aren't much more than that.

I will mostly be cutting thick weeds/brush/cat tails and other swamp grass that grows in the swampy part of my land, when it's dry of course. I'll also be cutting some 1-2" saplings of tallow and water ash trees. I like to buy heavy duty stuff. I'm sure any of those cutters will be stout enough to handle more than what my tractor can.

Why are you selling the flail?

I'm selling the flail because I don't need it for grass anymore and it's too big for my tractor to cut heavier stuff. It'll cut most of the stuff I need the bush hog for, but not very well on my small tractor. My tractor handles it fine in regular grass.

 

[LD1]

For just light pasture work and maintenance, the 295 would be overkill. That is made for cutting some heavy overgrown brush, saplings, rosebushes, doing commercial work, etc.

BUT, your tractor would handle the 295 just fine. I have a L3400 (only a little more HP but lighter also), and I run a BH306 @ ~1100lbs and 90hp gearbox. Just bring them up to speed slow, but once at speed, they are fine. It is actually easier to keep more mass rotating than a lighter cutter when you hit that ocassional pocket of denser stuff.

 

[JHTFarmer]

I run a Bush Hog 295 on a Case DX40. I believe the DX40 is roughly similar in weight to your Kubota.

The front end seems a bit "light" if I don't have the loader mounted on the front, but not uncomfortably so. For instance, front end will slip a bit when turning sharply in heavy brush with the mower down.

Your tractor will have no problem spinning the blades with no load or a light load. However, you'll bog down with only 25hp if tackling heavy overgrowth.

My recommendation would be to go for the 295 if they are gonna sell it to you at a great price. If the selling price is more than what you would pay for a lighter duty cutter for, I'd pass as the extra cutting ability is of no use to you.