BCS Mower Experiences and Thoughts

[farmerboybill]

The thing is a brush mower is GOING to find those hidden rocks and metal... Its the nature of the job. It HAS to be strong enough to withstand repeated run ins with that type of material.

I cant count the number of times ive hit large rocks with the rental machines i mentioned. And Im sure that every other renter has done the same!! In my experience they are no worse for wear.

Having to buy and use 2 or 3 attachments to do the job of a properly designed rotary defeats any efficiency of the BCS type machines considering I can do the job with a single machine.

Hi Scooby,

Any mower used in areas with large rocks and pieces of metal is gonna get damaged if used in an unsafe manner. It doesn't matter if it says BCS, Grillo, Craftsman, DR, or Stihl. It's a matter of not sledgehammering into an area and knowing when you're abusing the machine by what the machine tells you as you run it. If you're a meathead, it's gonna be dangerous, no matter the brand or style of equipment. You can do all you want with a rotary rough-cut mower and expect a reasonable amount of safety when doing so IF YOU RESPECT THE MACHINE. Steel toe boots, long pants, long sleeved shirt, googles, hearing and eye protection are all absolutely necessary. Shin guards and foot guards are very good ideas as well. Also, keep your friends, kids, and pets completely outta the way. This goes for any attachment - sickle, flail, or rotary. The very rare broken blade isn't the only danger when it comes to mowing machines. Tossed rocks and sticks are much more common and can rip flesh and break bone, too.

I can assure you that a Grillo or BCS tractor with a 26 inch Del Morino mower will be as or more durable than a DR mower. Also, you don't need to buy three attachments to do a mowing job. John, Bill and I are kinda junkies on these machines and enjoy owning three tractors and 4 attachments that do similar jobs.

 

[Scooby074]

Thanks for the info Bill.

I may have jumped the gun, however SOME Italian and other European made equipment can be more "delicate" than their North American equivalent I wondered if the BCS rotary fell into this category.

 

[Bentleg]

The Italian stuff is anything but delicate.

 

[joebobbill]

>I suggested to the person considering adding it to the BCS line
>that maybe he should try driving it over the pile of
>broken cinder blocks sitting next to the shop...

This isn't such an odd suggestion.

I was mowing down some tall weeds, today. When I pulled the mower back, I had uncovered a pile of rocks. My mind immediately recalled the above quote.

That's what I have to do if I want to cultivate a limestone outcrop. It has its rewards. Grapes happen to be something that does really well in rocky soil.

JBB

 

[BCSSHOP]

Thank you JBB,

I was taken to task for suggesting such a thing but I want to know how the equipment fails and if it possibly creates a hazard to the operator or bystander. As the two-wheel tractors are getting to be more and more a consumer item run by people total unfamiliar such equipment we have to understand the risks and instruct users appropriately. I fully expect there are operators using the two-wheel tractor doing brush mowing shorts and sandals. While this sounds stupid some of these unaware users are wealthy folks who will sue us for big money if you sold the equipment (new or used), rented it to them or even loaned it to them.

I expect our favorite equipment will soon have to have been tested by independent testing laboratory like UL before it can be sold. I am very concerned about liability associated with our equipment and so is my liability insurance provider. Liability of operating, selling, servicing, renting, loaning or modifying would be an interesting thread hopefully written by someone much smarter than me.

My personal opinion is that no mower sold to untrained users should ever be possible to throwing a metal blade. Destructive testing is one way to learn what fails.

 

[wstr75]

Bush hogging with a 4 wheel tractor can be dangerous but usually only if the object bounces back off something and gets into the air heading towards the operator. A riding lawnmower in the open is not dangerous when it strikes something as the object just goes away from the operator. The only time I've gotten hurt on a riding lawnmower was an acorn hitting a tree and coming back into my face at high velocity. The point being made is the operator is not in the same plane as the blades and thus the objects being thrown are not normally coming at the operator.

However with a two-wheeled tractor or other walk-behind rotary mower, the operator is in the same plane as the blades. For a conventional lawn mower, this may not be a problem as the mower housing is rather close to the ground and absorbs the impact. A brush mower has a much larger open area between the housing and the ground, thus less opportunity for the accelerated object to strike the housing to lose energy.

Has anyone experimented with putting rear chain guards on a two wheel tractor brush mower in a manner like you see on DOT mowers?
Bill in NC

 

[leonz]

Hello

The Zanon 28" brush mower arrived this week and we put it to work mowing kudzu vines, briars and saplings on a hillside. It was on a BCS 853 with Lombardini diesel. The diesel seldom complained. The Zanon did a good job and large chunky items seemed to be expelled with relatively low energy for a rotary type mower. The owner's manual and the actual design do not jive as the owner's manual shows a traditional rectangular bar on the drive hub with two swinging blades. The actual mower has a disk with three swinging blades. The blades are mounted above the disk and each blade can rotate around on its securing bolt 360 degrees. This may explain what appears to be a lower expulsion energy of large chunky objects.

Untitled | Flickr - Berbagi Foto!
Untitled | Flickr - Berbagi Foto!
Untitled | Flickr - Berbagi Foto!

Bill in NC

Hello Bill,

The disc is actually what is called a stump jumper to which the cutting blades are attached to.

 

[leonz]

Thank you JBB,

I was taken to task for suggesting such a thing but I want to know how the equipment fails and if it possibly creates a hazard to the operator or bystander. As the two-wheel tractors are getting to be more and more a consumer item run by people total unfamiliar such equipment we have to understand the risks and instruct users appropriately. I fully expect there are operators using the two-wheel tractor doing brush mowing shorts and sandals. While this sounds stupid some of these unaware users are wealthy folks who will sue us for big money if you sold the equipment (new or used), rented it to them or even loaned it to them.

I expect our favorite equipment will soon have to have been tested by independent testing laboratory like UL before it can be sold. I am very concerned about liability associated with our equipment and so is my liability insurance provider. Liability of operating, selling, servicing, renting, loaning or modifying would be an interesting thread hopefully written by someone much smarter than me.

My personal opinion is that no mower sold to untrained users should ever be possible to throwing a metal blade. Destructive testing is one way to learn what fails.

Hello John,

The last time we chatted was either the woodsmans field days in Watkins or at the farm days- I think it was that day at the track when I said the palladino flail mower you were displaying was the safest type of lawn mower made.

Great minds think alike and thats why Like my towed flailmower for mowing and downing brush.

The big problem today is it is very hard to protect the consumer from himself as you will agree. The higher safety european standards for agricultural machinery and lawn mowers certainly bear this out.

 

[leonz]

Bush hogging with a 4 wheel tractor can be dangerous but usually only if the object bounces back off something and gets into the air heading towards the operator. A riding lawnmower in the open is not dangerous when it strikes something as the object just goes away from the operator. The only time I've gotten hurt on a riding lawnmower was an acorn hitting a tree and coming back into my face at high velocity. The point being made is the operator is not in the same plane as the blades and thus the objects being thrown are not normally coming at the operator.

However with a two-wheeled tractor or other walk-behind rotary mower, the operator is in the same plane as the blades. For a conventional lawn mower, this may not be a problem as the mower housing is rather close to the ground and absorbs the impact. A brush mower has a much larger open area between the housing and the ground, thus less opportunity for the accelerated object to strike the housing to lose energy.

Has anyone experimented with putting rear chain guards on a two wheel tractor brush mower in a manner like you see on DOT mowers?
Bill in NC

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hello Bill,

Theproblem is the open throated design as the chains would tend to enter the path of the mower blades.

It would be simpler to attach pieces of conveyor belt to drape over the open portion of the rotary mower. this would accomplish two things aid in knocking down the brush before it enters the throat of the mower and reduce the potential for throwing an object as the belting would be the first thing it encounters as it is ejected from the mower housing.

 

[wstr75]

Leonz,
I like your design improvements regarding using multi-ply scrap conveyor belting material, but disagree at putting it at the front of the mower to push down the incoming brush. I prefer having the brush standing up to be cut than to be pushed down and not cut. Rather, I would put the guard at the rear of the mower to slow down objects heading backwards towards my feet, ankles and legs.
Bill in NC