Which Bush Hog for a new Kubota 3540?

[FTG-05]

If your L3540 is hydrostatic it has 28 HP at the pto. Mowing a 5 foot "bite" with a 6 foot mower still takes more power than a 5 foot mower due to the heavier blade inertia and the fact each blade is 6 inches longer and thus it has more leverage to slow lug your tractor down. If you want a 6 foot mower you can get one with lighter blades, as in the JD/Frontier 2072. It has .5 inch thick x 3 inch wide blades. Much lighter than the 4 inch wide on most 6 foot cutters. It has a smaller gearbox that also takes less force to turn. Bigger gears turning fast in heavy gear oil use power. Smaller gears use less power. There are some ways to give your tractor a boost in mowing. Mow higher. Just a inch or two helps. Vent your mower so it expels clippings better. Get your blades sharper. Use low lift blades.

I found my GL5040 also got stronger as the engine/transmission broke in. Not a huge "wow" but without a doubt it is stronger than when it was new. Its got 275 hours on it now.

You should also look at the mowing charts to see just how much you gain with a 6 vs. 5 foot mower. By the time you go slower for the 6 footer I don't think you'll gain much at all other than just in the operators imagination. The simple fact is that your time spent mowing a field is more about horsepower than the width of your mower. A 28 pto horsepower tractor will only mow as fast as 28 horses can. No real magic trick to speed it up other than the higher/sharper option that I've been able to find.

Not to hijack, but where can you find these mowing charts? Thanks,

 

[stonypass]

Not to hijack, but where can you find these mowing charts? Thanks,

Here is one

 

[stonypass]

Not to hijack, but where can you find these mowing charts? Thanks,

Here is one

 

[sdkubota]

I normally mow when things are around 5' in height.

 

[LD1]

What do you mean by "just barley ran it"?

If you are struggling that much with a HD6' cutter, then a lighter duty I doubt is going to make a difference. Are you trying to go too fast in thick grass??

Thick and dense grass, even if only 16-18" high will bog/slow down about any tractor and cutter combination short of a 5' mower on a 90-100hp machine. I run a 6' HD cutter on my (similar powered) L3400. Sure I have to slow down more than if I had a 5' cutter. But I just dont see going to a lighter 6' cutter making any noticeable difference.

I'd give the HD6' another try, but go slower.

 

[jack9166]

I had to have the tractor at 1500 rpms to start the hog or it would stall the tractor. Somebody told me the gear boxes on the HD units are geared different and take more power to run. I mowed 4 foot dead weeds pretty easily with the HD unit but I had to go super slow in 10 to 15 inch thick grass. Today I hooked up my BB60 and mowed same grass in 8th gear with no problem. It seems to me that it should run the BB72 just as easy.

 

[ddb123]

My L3540 HST runs a 6' hog great. The manual says both the L3240 and L3540 are rated for a 6' hog. The 5hp/ft ratio is a bit conservative. I use mine for everything from thick, tall grass all the way up to clearing scrub brush. Mine is a heavy cutter and it would jolt the tractor like crazy if I just used the electric pto engagement. Engage at idle and use the foot clutch to slowly engage the pto. You will probably be happy with either a 5' of 6' hog, but there is no reason your tractor can't handle a 6 footer.

 

[jack9166]

My L3540 HST runs a 6' hog great. The manual says both the L3240 and L3540 are rated for a 6' hog. The 5hp/ft ratio is a bit conservative. I use mine for everything from thick, tall grass all the way up to clearing scrub brush. Mine is a heavy cutter and it would jolt the tractor like crazy if I just used the electric pto engagement. Engage at idle and use the foot clutch to slowly engage the pto. You will probably be happy with either a 5' of 6' hog, but there is no reason your tractor can't handle a 6 footer.

mine is a GST and pushing the clutch has no effect on the PTO. I think I;m going to go with a Woods BB72X. So far the best price I can find is 2200.00

 

[ddb123]

I forgot about that.

 

[LeadPoison]

I have a Kubota M4900 (45 PTO HP) with a
BB 720 and in real tall grass in 3rd gear it will sometimes bog down on a full 6' cut. Don't get a 6' mower if you plan to cut grass over a couple of feet tall. A BB 720 also weighs about 1100 pounds.