Mowing Is mowing a pasture supposed to be this hard?

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Just wait to you hit that bigger chunk of metal that has been lying half buried there under the grass...1st time pasture mows are always a gamble. I've even tried lowering the FEL bucket to about 4" off the ground but got skeered thinking it might hit something and throw me over the front.

I hit a piece of half buried "man walk" grate that did a number to our bush hog while trying to do a favor for our old church. They have 13 acres and need it shredded a few times a year. I was the guinea pig.

HP/mower size....I like about 8Hp per blade foot if possible. Otherwise, you just have to slow down and work with what you have. I am surprised that anyone would rent out a batwing considering all the things that can go wrong. Usually when someone has to rent something like this, it's because their pasture is overgrown and has saplings/brush etc. This is tough on a mower if you think about the wear and tear of mowing something that hasn't been mowed in a while.

A 7' foot shredder happens to have about the largest blade system available. I mean that most people jump up from a 6' to an 8' or 10' with dual blades. The huge 20' batwings use the 7' blades but they are aimed at mowing down corn stalks, not for stump jumping and cutting down heavy brush. If you think of the additional torque that can be applied to a 7' blade over a 5' or 6', it is quite a bit more. I would recommend that you just take it easy in B3 gear for the first cutting and keep a close eye out for objects.

You need to get that tranny error code problem fixed. Better luck soon!

 

[Lou66]

Well Corey I was going to mow today,, have about 70 A I need to knock down.. but after reading your post I may wait.. today is to pretty to get upset.. Just joking but not about the mowing,, that has got to be done.. Good luck on the rest of your cutting.. Lou

 

[MoKelly]

Sorry to hear your problems. Like many said ... it happens. And I thought I had problems when the PTO belt broke on my ZTR last Thursday!

MoKelly

 

[Ted Summey]

+1 on having days like that. There are hard days on the farm but the worst days are still mostly pretty good. In answer to your question, no it isn't supposed to be that hard - but it is some days. The way I deal with hard days is try to be patient, work steady and persevere. Eventually things will smooth out and get easier.

It is good to vent here because most of us have been there. Good luck!

 

[corey9212]

No, it's not "supposed" to be that hard, but as mentioned sometimes it just is and is the nature of farming, we had two fairly new tractors toes up last week for a coupe of days; nothing serious just annoying. Lots of good feedback on slip clutch etc., be thankful it was a U joint and not a gear box, we had that happen and $400+ down the drain.

Not related, but a small cutter is a waste on that tractor or at least it seems so to me.

Running tractors you will have good days and bad, just the nature of things, don't get too frustrated.

I am glad that it is just the slip clutch and not a gear box, bigger tractors are nice but when something happens the problems are bigger as well, lol. I agree the cutter is a little small but it's only temporary, once the pasture is maintained I will be harrowing and baling it.

Just wait to you hit that bigger chunk of metal that has been lying half buried there under the grass...1st time pasture mows are always a gamble. I've even tried lowering the FEL bucket to about 4" off the ground but got skeered thinking it might hit something and throw me over the front.

I hit a piece of half buried "man walk" grate that did a number to our bush hog while trying to do a favor for our old church. They have 13 acres and need it shredded a few times a year. I was the guinea pig.

HP/mower size....I like about 8Hp per blade foot if possible. Otherwise, you just have to slow down and work with what you have. I am surprised that anyone would rent out a batwing considering all the things that can go wrong. Usually when someone has to rent something like this, it's because their pasture is overgrown and has saplings/brush etc. This is tough on a mower if you think about the wear and tear of mowing something that hasn't been mowed in a while.

A 7' foot shredder happens to have about the largest blade system available. I mean that most people jump up from a 6' to an 8' or 10' with dual blades. The huge 20' batwings use the 7' blades but they are aimed at mowing down corn stalks, not for stump jumping and cutting down heavy brush. If you think of the additional torque that can be applied to a 7' blade over a 5' or 6', it is quite a bit more. I would recommend that you just take it easy in B3 gear for the first cutting and keep a close eye out for objects.

You need to get that tranny error code problem fixed. Better luck soon!

I already found the small rock pile that was hidden in the grass, that wasn't fun. I can see how it's tough on the mower, some of those mole hills were well established. I will mostly spend my time in B3 unless I hit an area that's well eaten down.

Well Corey I was going to mow today,, have about 70 A I need to knock down.. but after reading your post I may wait.. today is to pretty to get upset.. Just joking but not about the mowing,, that has got to be done.. Good luck on the rest of your cutting.. Lou

Lol, I know what you mean, just waiting for the mechanic to show up then I'll be in the pasture again mowing. Thank you and good luck to you too.

 

[corey9212]

Here's a pic of the other side that I was mentioning earlier

 

[TripleR]

Here's a pic of the other side that I was mentioning earlier

Man that is broke alright, something didn't slip like it should. I ran into a pile of target stands, wire, tires etc. last year with our M8540 and DS1260, if something hadn't slipped it would have been very, very ugly. Yes, I have grand kids.:laughing:

 

[Gator6x4]

Were or did you activate the rotary cutter at low RPM's or high RPM's? Activating the rotary cutter at high RPM's on a high torque engine will result in something having to give in the PTO drive. The rear universal joint could have been the weak link that gave and saved expensive damage. A seven foot rotary cutter is a lot of dead weight to suddenly bring up to 540 PTO RPM.

 

[AKfish]

Ouch...! Sorry to hear about your "perils of pasture" mowing!!! Nothing quite like those lurking "gotchas" buried in the grass! Hopefully, you'll get that clutch adjusted for the next cutting.

Any further word on the transmission code? I think that would bother me more than the wire, gopher mounds and broken U-joints. That new, smoke breathing 115hp tractor shouldn't be doing that..

AKfish

 

[bcp]

pas·ture /ˈpasCHər/
Noun
Land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, esp. cattle or sheep.

Animals are supposed to mow the pasture.

Bruce