Tractor Sizing bush hogging acreage

[MtnViewRanch]

Like you said COST. You don't need to preach to me, remember I'm the guy with a heavy duty flail, and I sure don't need to be told why a flail costs more. :confused2: What you need to grasp is that many if not most people are going to and continue to use rotary cutters, plain and simple. And why is that, because of COST. I'm done :mur: here.

 

[montelatici]

And I thought it was ridiculous to consider the substantial maintenance requirements of a PTO driven flail mower with v-belts, knives to replace and greasing and now we find out you have Briggs and Stratton gasoline powered flail mower. I swore off Briggs and Stratton 20 years ago when one of them seized on me.

 

[leonz]

Uh huh,

Its the same 16 horse power B+S I/C engine
that was installed on it too when the flailmower
was assembled in Illinois and purchase by us;
funny thing about that how about that too.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Cheap as they may be a bushog will run rings around a flail when the going gets tough. What a good bushog can do is more comparable to the clearing a mulcher can do ... all while very seldom having any problem. A flail is good for the little stuff. A bushog is good for reducing it to bites a flail might be able to handle. I have done 6-8" trees with a bushog.
larry

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Cheap as they may be a bushog will run rings around a flail when the going gets tough. What a good bushog can do is more comparable to the clearing a mulcher can do ... all while very seldom having any problem. A flail is good for the little stuff. A bushog is good for reducing it to bites a flail might be able to handle. I have done 6-8" trees with a bushog.
larry

Common Larry, no mower is going to stand up to a constant diet of 6-8" trees. I am assuming that those trees were soft wood, I kinda doubt that you were mowing down Oaks that size. My flail will cut 3" brush all day long and not even know that it was there. We are back to what quality and duty are we talking about. Let's not get into a pi##ing match here. To give you an idea of the build of my flail, it makes my 7520 squat when I pick it up and that is with fluid in the tires filled to max inflation. I don't know what it weighs, I will weigh it some time when our crane is at the ranch, But I would guess that it's well over 3000lbs. It's made of 3/8, 3/4 and 1" material. Oh yeah, that's in mid range 2nd and 3rd gear.

 

[montelatici]

Leonz, you are recommending that this poor guy buy something to cut down 200 acres of grass and brush that has a Briggs and Stratton gasoline motor that runs it plus v-belts belts. Sorry buddy, you are nuts, the guy will be doing more maintenance than cutting. Hopefully the fellow will buy a nice big PTO driven rotary mower/brush/bull hog and not take your advice.

Unbelievable.

 

[montelatici]

Common Larry, no mower is going to stand up to a constant diet of 6-8" trees. I am assuming that those trees were soft wood, I kinda doubt that you were mowing down Oaks that size. My flail will cut 3" brush all day long and not even know that it was there. We are back to what quality and duty are we talking about. Let's not get into a pi##ing match here. To give you an idea of the build of my flail, it makes my 7520 squat when I pick it up and that is with fluid in the tires filled to max inflation. I don't know what it weighs, I will weigh it some time when our crane is at the ranch, But I would guess that it's well over 3000lbs. It's made of 3/8, 3/4 and 1" material. Oh yeah, that's in mid range 2nd and 3rd gear.

I see we have come to willy waving. Look, the guy that asked the question doesn't need a 3,000 lb. flail mower. Full stop.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I see we have come to willy waving. Look, the guy that asked the question doesn't need a 3,000 lb. flail mower. Full stop.

Never said he did, I'm all for him getting a rotary cutter. :thumbsup: This was between Larry and myself and I should have PM him, sorry for getting off the OPs needs. :ashamed:

 

[Gsquared]

If you decide to go with a 7 foot mower (of whatever type) cutting 200 acres with a 7 foot wide path at 5 mph (which is pretty fast) will take 48 hours. That of course is a theory and math, in reality it will take much longer. I have a 6 foot bush hog and cut 41 acres it took about 40 hours. Of course that was the first time it had been cut in 20 years and I was going pretty slow because I didn't know if there was something metal or a log or a hole under the 4 foot tall weeds. To me 7 foot sounds too small, but it can be done, just how long do you want to spend doing it. Good luck!

 

[montelatici]

Never said he did, I'm all for him getting a rotary cutter. :thumbsup: This was between Larry and myself and I should have PM him, sorry for getting off the OPs needs. :ashamed:

Sorry, I misunderstood.