new or used rotary cutter and expected prices?

[2manyrocks]

Upgraded to a Mahindra 3525 (35hp) and now want a bigger rotary cutter. Haven't bought one in years.

I saw a dealer advertising a new Jbar 6' cutter for about $900. No idea if it has a stump jumper or comes with the pto shaft drive.

Local asking prices for used 6' cutters seem to be from a low of $250 on up to $800 or $900 with most being on the upper end of prices.

Am I better off with a 6' cutter or should I try to go 7'?

I'm concerned that the new cutters may have chinese gearboxes, but worried that a used cutter may be about used up.

There's a local farm equipment auction this weekend. Wondering what I should be looking for in a used cutter and what prices I should expect?

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Your tractor is supposed to have 27 pto HP according to TractorData.com. Using the 5pto hp per foot of cutting width standard, that puts you on the low side of a 6' cutter and comfortably within the power requirements of a 5' cutter. I'd guess it could handle 6' fine if you go slow in any heavy stuff and are not trying to hack down 3" saplings.

The only 7' cutter you could handle would be a finish mower with multiple spindles.

I'm not familiar with JBar cutters.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

Your correct in pricing new one 5 to 6 ft go from around 9 hundred on up depending on who makes it and wether its light medium or heavy duty the old saying you get what you pay for is probably true in this case. I guess it depends on your use. I don't know how wide your tractor is but I try and stay with no wider mower than my tractor I use the school of thought if my tractor goes thru so does mower some don't agree. when buying used if you can find one that fits your needs for the right price then that might be way to go. I like rotary cutter EA makes but they only a 5 ft. model

 

[2manyrocks]

It is an all day job to cut here with a 5 foot cutter. My fields are full of johnson grass. The tractor handles the 5' cutter well.

I was hoping to save some time with a 6'. The dealer casually said the tractor would handle up to a 7 foot, but I started to think that might be pushing it with a tractor rated 27HP at the pto as you noted.

I just need something to keep the fields cut. Not much rock or stumps in the fields.

Since I know what I'm cutting, I was actually thinking I'd like a cutter wider than the tractor. The main thing is to get a size that's appropriate to the tractor and have it be reliable.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I think a 6 foot unit would be perfect. Might be able to get away with a 7 footer, but it will strain it. Sounds like pretty easy stuff, but thick grass is as tough to cut as anything. Should be able to pick up a used 6 footer for about $1000. Most any unit will work for cutting grass.

 

[JRobyn]

It is an all day job to cut here with a 5 foot cutter. My fields are full of johnson grass. The tractor handles the 5' cutter well.

I was hoping to save some time with a 6'. The dealer casually said the tractor would handle up to a 7 foot, but I started to think that might be pushing it with a tractor rated 27HP at the pto as you noted.

I just need something to keep the fields cut. Not much rock or stumps in the fields.

Since I know what I'm cutting, I was actually thinking I'd like a cutter wider than the tractor. The main thing is to get a size that's appropriate to the tractor and have it be reliable.

There's your answer - buy new. FIL just did the same exercise. Most of the used stuff we found was questionable about gearbox and seal condition. And it's hard to tell if there might be stump jumper or blade mounting issues without an actual test drive. If we found a less-questionable one, it was priced close to new or already sold.

- Jay

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

I heard the heavy duty 6 foot is to heavy for my l4740. 39 hp at the pto. The heavier blade is harder to turn so I was thinking a 5 ft but my outer wheels measurement is 6 ft. Any thoughts about using a bushhog smaller then the outside of your wheels?????

 

[patchnball]

I have a John Deere 4400 ( 35 hp) just bought a woods BBX720 to mow pasture fields. It does a fine job. Heavy unit but tractor handles it fine.

 

[2manyrocks]

The downside to using a cutter smaller than your wheel width on my machine is that the wheels pack the grass/hay down, and the wheel lines are very visible for weeks after cutting. The advantage of using a smaller deck is that overgrown weeks aren't going to choke it, and it's lighter for the tractor to handle than a bigger deck.

Since my original post, I've seen a few more 6' units for sale, and every one of them has ring marks in the deck which I take to be a sign of oncoming trouble with the gearbox letting the blades go up and down too far. Or am I being too cautious?

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I heard the heavy duty 6 foot is to heavy for my l4740. 39 hp at the pto. The heavier blade is harder to turn so I was thinking a 5 ft but my outer wheels measurement is 6 ft. Any thoughts about using a bushhog smaller then the outside of your wheels?????

I run a 6 ft. Alamo with my L4600