Offset Flail Ditch Bank Mower

[TerryR]

Thanks for the tips, Keith.

I'll try what you describe when I get on it in the spring.

I found the colored caps here:
JOHN DEERE Parts Search | FREE

But my local dealer only wanted half as much for them.

These are for the 440 loader, which I gather uses a connector that's common for JD, but I think there are some other connectors used for other models of JD as well. These are 3/4" diameter on the nose of the connector. I'd think these would work for any connectors that are the same diameter.

 

[Jack Yuan]

It finally got warm enough to put the mower together and test it a little. Figuring out which outlet was supposed to go to which hose was "interesting," but I lucked out and got it right the first time. I bought a set of JD color coded dust covers so it will be easy to connect them correctly again.

The tractor seems to handle the weight quiet well, though I've not yet tried it on the steep parts. I did extend the mower all the way and tried to see how much I could bounce it by putting my weight on the end of the mower. It seemed very solid even without the suitcase weights on the front.

Here's a couple of shots of it doing a bank:
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It handles it nicely, even with my wide-set wheels. I'm sure I won't have any difficulty doing the rest from below. This bank has always been a pain - I have run the rotary cutter as close to the edge as I dare, then back up many times from below. I think I can now do it with two easy passes.

Here's a shot of doing the far side of a shallow ditch:
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I'd given up mowing that with the rotary cutter since the trees have gotten to big to get the tractor up in there. I think I can get most of the rest of it with a second pass with the tractor straddling the ditch.

I think it's going to do well for this sort of thing. We'll see how it does with open field work once I have something to cut in the spring.

Nice photos.

 

[TerryR]

The calendar may say "spring" but it's still winter here, so nothing to mow yet. But it did get warm enough to work in the shop so I built a dollie for the new mower. It's a bear to hook up sitting on the ground, but very easy with these wheels under it. Here's a couple of shots, front and rear:

 

[Peter 315]

The calendar may say "spring" but it's still winter here, so nothing to mow yet. But it did get warm enough to work in the shop so I built a dollie for the new mower. It's a bear to hook up sitting on the ground, but very easy with these wheels under it. Here's a couple of shots, front and rear:

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HI Terry how do you like your mower I was thinking of getting one any problems or set backs , would you buy it again if you had to or a different brand

 

[RoyJackson]

The calendar may say "spring" but it's still winter here, so nothing to mow yet. But it did get warm enough to work in the shop so I built a dollie for the new mower. It's a bear to hook up sitting on the ground, but very easy with these wheels under it. Here's a couple of shots, front and rear:

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Nicely done!

 

[TerryR]

HI Terry how do you like your mower I was thinking of getting one any problems or set backs , would you buy it again if you had to or a different brand

Peter,

All I can tell you at this point is it's a pretty color green, sits nicely on the dolly, and seems very well made and well finished.

As for setbacks, the big one is it was delivered in December and we've had winter ever since.

I made a brief trial on some spots I'd missed last fall, so I know it does deal with my banks. My real question is how well does it deal with open field mowing, and how does my tractor handle it on my hills.

The dealer installed extension hoses to reach the outlets for my FEL and the connections leaked initially, but we worked that out. Other than that little issue I'm very satisfied with the dealer, and impressed with the machine so far. I'll know more when I actually get to try it for real.

Nicely done!

Thanks, Roy. I don't have welding equipment nor a stash of steel, so wood is my material of choice. On this one I started with the dolly from the tiller I sold this winter and extended it front-to-back to fit the body of the mower. Then I added the front part to support the front frame of the mower.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Very nice dolly! I wish everything was as easy to hook up as my 84” rear finish Mower with big gauge wheels.

 

[Fallon]

Peter,

All I can tell you at this point is it's a pretty color green, sits nicely on the dollie, and seems very well made and well finished.

As for setbacks, the big one is it was delivered in December and we've had winter ever since.

I made a brief trial on some spots I'd missed last fall, so I know it does deal with my banks. My real question is how well does it deal with open field mowing, and how does my tractor handle it on my hills.

The dealer installed extension hoses to reach the outlets for my FEL and the connections leaked initially, but we worked that out. Other than that little issue I'm very satisfied with the dealer, and impressed with the machine so far. I'll know more when I actually get to try it for real.

Same exact situation here only mine doesnt articulate as much. 10 minutes of winter testing. I may have bought to big but it's beefy as I wanted.

 

[TerryR]

We finally got enough growth to test the ditch and bank function. The field is still not ready for mowing but I did get it out and mowed some driveways and along the public road.

I set the roller and top link so the skids are level and cutting height was about 2". I cut some modest banks, along some ditches, and a near-vertical bank.

Some other observations:

- It does a very nice job with ditches and modest banks along the side of the driveway and road. I easily cut off to the side of the roadway that was difficult with my old rotary cutter.

- Even with the hammer knives the cut looked very nice to me. Clearly better than a rotary cutter.

- Learning to manage the adjustments in three dimensions -- height of 3pt, amount of offset, and angle of cutting head -- will take some practice.

- Cutting steep banks is "interesting." You have to be careful to keep the lower end off the ground with the 3-point lift, while controlling the closeness to the bank with the steering wheel and offset adjustment, and the cut at the top with angle adjustment.

- I'm running the offset and angle controls off the FEL outlets. Even with orifices to reduce the flow they are a bit jumpy when running at full PTO engine speed. Good news is I found I got good cutting at lower engine speeds when I needed more control in tight places.

- They claim the hammer cutters will take 3" material. Maybe so, but will create quite a racket. But it did in 1" stuff on a near-vertical bank easily.

- The front of my JD 870 is clearly light with the mower is lifted, even with nearly 500lb of suitcase weights on the front. I clearly needed to use the turning brakes when I needed to turn up hill with the unit lifted.

- The manual says not to cut in reverse, but doesn't say why. Not that I would actually want to cut in reverse, but backing in to tight spaces with the unit on the ground seems desirable. I don't understand if that's really an issue.

In short, it does the ditch and bank stuff that is it's forte very nicely. Yet to see how it does as a field mower. I expect it will do well as a conventional behind-the-tractor positioned flail mower, and for mowing around trees and the like. I'm anxious to learn whether my tractor can handle it in the offset position on my hills as I'd like to be able to mow the field without the tractor wheels driving over the un-cut growth.

 

[leonz]

Hello Terry,

They are most likely concerned that the mower and boom will be pushed into the tractor damaging both units.