flyingcow
Veteran Member
110 to 135hp for up in this region.
Mowing ideal pto horsepower for 15 ft cutter
- Thread starter cowski
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Soundguy
Old Timer
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- Mar 11, 2002
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- 51,575
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- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
i've found lush grass is the hardest thing to cut vs stick and stemmy weeds and treelings.
my 7610s pulls a 15' good in 5th gear as long as grass is 3' or less.. or at least dry..
soundguy
Soundguy
Old Timer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Messages
- 51,575
- Location
- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
93 pto is just a couple more than i got. mine runs fine...
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
As mentioned, what you're mowing has a great deal of influence on how much power is required. Also consider ground speed, as well as hills....
As Chris mentioned, thick grass is a LOT harder to mow (hp demand) than dry stems and weeds.
Got any steep hils to mow your way up? Add a few ponies...
When we mow wide open fields where we can let 'er roll along at ground speeds in excess of 5mph, you better have a few more horses than when mowing at speeds down around 2 or 3 mph.
In my business, we run a total of 7 15' bat wings. A couple are behind 130hp tractors, a couple are behind 80 hp rigs. The other 3 are hooked to 95hp machines. I've been in heavy, tall fescue where the 130hp tractors have their work cut out for them. Also been in scattered, dry weeds about a foot tall where the 80hp tractors aren't working hard.
So....Best answer I can give is.....all depends on what you're doing.
As Chris mentioned, thick grass is a LOT harder to mow (hp demand) than dry stems and weeds.
Got any steep hils to mow your way up? Add a few ponies...
When we mow wide open fields where we can let 'er roll along at ground speeds in excess of 5mph, you better have a few more horses than when mowing at speeds down around 2 or 3 mph.
In my business, we run a total of 7 15' bat wings. A couple are behind 130hp tractors, a couple are behind 80 hp rigs. The other 3 are hooked to 95hp machines. I've been in heavy, tall fescue where the 130hp tractors have their work cut out for them. Also been in scattered, dry weeds about a foot tall where the 80hp tractors aren't working hard.
So....Best answer I can give is.....all depends on what you're doing.
fwj do you have more problems with the cutters as your horsepower goes up?the reason for my post was i used to run them with 150 horse tractors and had a lot of breakage. my 75 just is not enough especially on hills.i was thinking about maybe 85 to 100 horse tractor.due to fuel cost i was trying to stay as small as possible .fwj i noticed you are using newer jd tractors,how do you like them?
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
No problems with the mowers. I use Bush Hog 2715L's which are more than adequate.
The newer Deere's seem to be holding up just fine. We pile a LOT of hours on them in a season too. I do have a crew of VERY good operators. That means a lot when it comes to tractor longevity.
Fuel economy can be a double edged sword. Too small of a tractor will labor and use more fuel than a somewhat larger tractor with ample hp.
Soundguy
Old Timer
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- Mar 11, 2002
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- 51,575
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- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
remember.. on a properly running engine, fuel usage will be more a product of load than AVAILABLE hp.
IE.
A 120 hp machine doing an 80 hp task like uses about the same amount of fuel as a 100hp machine doing an 80hp task.
Sure there is a lil loss due to more mass, etc on the larger machine.. but the overwhelming 95% bulk of hte fuel usage / economy is sunk into that 80 ponies working the load...
soundguy
