Finish or Rotary?? - Again

[greg_g]

I'm forced to agree with FWJ.. cutting 3/4" material is not duty a finish mower will like to do...

Rough land will also be hard on it... and you will want to mow often.. finish mowers don't like gobbling down foot tall grass.

Soundguy

I can support those observations relative to the comparatively light duty 4/5/6 foot finish mowers. But you have to see this 7 foot First Choice perform to believe it. Cutting height is adjustable up to 5 inches by fabricating an extra shim. It's strong; 3/4" saplings/fist sized rocks - no problem. Mixed grass & brush, no problem. It's stout; heat treated blades, oversized gauge wheel spindles, enclosed lift pins, no dents in deck after 5 years, haven't even had a flat tire. It's excellent value for the money - BUT ONLY FOR tractors that can handle the size.

Matter of fact, just compare the spec sheets on http://www.firstchoiceequipment.net/details2.asp?ProductID=45

//greg//

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

How about a flail mower . You get the best of both worlds.
Bill

 

[blueriver]

I would get the rotary (brush hog) it will cut the big stuff ... to a point ... and do a nice job on a regular bases.

 

[ChuckinNH]

It might be worthwhile to rent a rotary cutter for the first couple of mowings. Once you have that thicker stuff mowed down a finish mower might work well for you. Part of this depends on how short you want to keep the grass. If you try to mow 4"-5" high on rough, or undulating ground with a rotary cutter you will do lots of scalping on the humps, and in turns. If you want to mow twice that high you will be fine. I have a half acre, or so that I mowed with my garden tractor with the mmm all the way up. I got a rotary cutter for my new B2620 (4') and have to cut the grass a lot higher to keep from tearing up the area. Renting one (they are commonly available around here) would answer a lot of questions for you, even if you can't rent the size you will eventually buy.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a 6ft Landpride Rotary cutter and a 7ft Landpride Finish mower. Each has it's place, but for the best looking lawn, there is no comparison. The finish mower does a much, much better job of making the grass look nice. It's cut is even and uniform without windrows, standing grass or a wavy finish. The four wheels on the finish mower make it's height perfect all the time. No highs or lows, it cuts the same distance from the ground, which over a larger area, makes a big difference. Especially if you cut at least once a month. If the grass gets much longer then that, then the rotary cutter is a better choice because the finish mower isn't built for handling that much material.

For a really manicured look, a riding mower is even nicer, but I only use mine for my front yard lawn and driveway. If I'm expecting guests to camp out at my lake, I'll also cut that area with the riding mower, but that usually takes two to three cuts with a weeks growth in between to get it really nice from what the finish mower does. My riding mower is a 5ft Scag zero turn.

Eddie

 

[keyser soze]

It looks to be fairly easy mowing, for a bushhog, have you considered a lesser brand like King Kutter to save some money. They are not as pretty but if you are not mowing commercially like Junk does they will last a long time.

MarkV

Well... like you said the King Kutter is not as pretty, but I bet it will last just as long as the Bush Hog, and cost much less too. It's not like the Bush Hog is built much heavier. It weighs a little more (754 for a 6' Bush Hog with a 65 HP gearbox vs. 740 for a 6' King Kutter with a 60 HP gearbox), but when you consider that the King Kutter has the "I" beam sides versus the formed metal sides of the Bush Hog, I bet the King Kutter one will actually be harder to bend up the deck and sides on.

Also... why do you want a slip clutch if you're only cutting material up to 3/4" of an inch. You don't need it until you're starting to cut stuff up around two inches... and ALWAYS use the specified grade of bolt for the shear bolt. On a King Kutter it's a grade 5 bolt, and I think that's what the Squealer uses also. Both have 5 year gearbox warranties, but if the gearbox or cutter isn't abused... you shouldn't need it. Keep in mind that neither warranty a gearbox that the seal has been ripped out of by foreign material or if the gearbox is not properly lubricating the gearbox.

 

[Soundguy]

I can support those observations relative to the comparatively light duty 4/5/6 foot finish mowers. But you have to see this 7 foot First Choice perform to believe it. Cutting height is adjustable up to 5 inches by fabricating an extra shim. It's strong; 3/4" saplings/fist sized rocks - no problem. Mixed grass & brush, no problem. It's stout; heat treated blades, oversized gauge wheel spindles, enclosed lift pins, no dents in deck after 5 years, haven't even had a flat tire. It's excellent value for the money - BUT ONLY FOR tractors that can handle the size.

Matter of fact, just compare the spec sheets on First Choice Equipment

//greg//

The mower may handle it.. but i can't imagine 'lawnmower' style blades like most finish mowers use will last under that kind of punishment.

soundguy

 

[LetsRoll]

The mower may handle it.. but i can't imagine 'lawnmower' style blades like most finish mowers use will last under that kind of punishment.

soundguy

I have the same finish mower that Greg has, GM35-84 and the blades are no where even close to a lawn mower blade. If I remember right, there .250" thick (1/4"). I cant see where you can compare that to a lawn mower blade.

 

[greg_g]

The mower may handle it.. but i can't imagine 'lawnmower' style blades like most finish

Every single thing on my 5 year old GM35-84 is OE. Nothing's ever broken, nothings ever been replaced, nothings ever been added. Next time I have that mower mounted, I'll lift it for an underside photo. That should give you a fair idea how well the blades have held up to 5 years of mowing these rocky hillside pastures.

Another benefit I've realized from grooming with a finish mower (versus hacking with a rotary cutter) is better noxious grass/weed control. I used to have problem areas where brome sage/sericea lezpedeza/pin oak/sumac crowded out the "good" grasses. The rotary cutter cut that crap back, but did little to control it. Since buying that finish mower however, the pin oak and sumac count is now nearly zero, the sericea coverage is down to ~10%, and the sage only covers ~30% of what it used to.

//greg//

 

[have_blue]

Another benefit I've realized from grooming with a finish mower (versus hacking with a rotary cutter)
//greg//

There's no need to hack. Try sharpening your blade! YMMV, but for me it's hard to tell the difference between the cut fom a rotary cutter and a finish mower. Do an honest comparison and you'll be surprised. And the RC is much quieter and less dusty then the RFM.