Buying Advice Considering Power Trac: Slopes and other questions

[woodlandfarms]

I am so glad you use the same mowing technique I do. Lift, drive in, set down.

You need new gloves.

 

[MossRoad]

Harbor Freight gloves! :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

I don't usually do that technique. It scares the bajeebers out of me. Usually, I smash woody bushes like that down with the mower not running, or with a bucket, then come back and mow them with the deck as close to the ground as I can. And I let the FEL arms down a lot smoother than that. I was cross armed and doing the FEL with my left hand.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Harbor Freight gloves! :thumbsup:

Technically that would be two thumbs up as your real thumb was poking out if glove thumb

 

[MossRoad]

Hey, going back and looking at it, those are my good gloves!

 

[JonFields]

So getting back to honeysuckle.... here's a crummy quality video of me eating an 8' honeysuckle with my PT425 48" brush cutter two weeks ago. The stems at the bottom were 2" at the largest.

Sorry for the late response, we've been having some family matters that have been taking up most of my available time.

The video is great. Thanks for taking the time to do that. It seals the deal for me.

One of the aspects of the PT that I like is having the brush cutter on the front loader attachment so you can lift it up high. You can only raise the front attachments on a Ventrac or a CUT/3 point hitch a limited amount.

I would imagine safety is an issue with the "lift the cutter and give it a haircut" approach. I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to put some plexy-glass/lexan as a screen on the roll bar as a guard against flying debris.

I've also read the other articles on the forum about the brush cutter hinged blades braking because they hit the mounting bolts. I want to learn more about that and solve it if possible.

Has anybody in the group thought of or developed some hanging chain guards around the unit so that it doesn't throw stuff as much? That would not help when the cutter is up high, but when lowered it might.

Anyway, I've been in contact with PT and am planning a trip to demo the equipment and go through the maintenance training.

I've decided on the 1430. I asked the PT folks and they say the slope rating is 30 degrees. They said the oil pan can handle it. I don't know if that is stock or a modification that they have made.

Thanks - Jon

 

[JonFields]

Regarding PT-425s and slopes, keep in mind that the Kohler Command on MossRoad's (and mine) had a lubrication system rated for 25 degree slopes, while the newer Subaru Robin engines are rated for only 20 degree slopes. Second, wheel motor torque to operate on these types of slopes, especially with hot hydraulic oil, is a factor. I've upgraded my Kohler-powered PT425 to MUCH larger displacement wheel motors and operate it on 30 degree slopes - though the engine (now with 1300+ hours) is starting to both leak and burn some oil. If you can afford it, I'd recommend a 1430 for slopes over today's 425s and even then, I'd talk to Tazewell about possibly putting larger wheel motors on it. Though they may be reluctant and least one PT425 owner here has successfully gotten them to put larger wheel motors and tires on theirs when they bought it, in order to work in loose beach sand.

Here's a couple of pics, before and after, of some of the slopes I use my 425 and brush cutter on...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...229602-brush-mowing-steep-slopes-dsc05683-jpg

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...4_10203809061536234_2332205663420887589_n-jpg

Thanks for the info Kent. I've decided on the 1430. The folks at PT say it is rated for 30 degrees, but they too cautioned to do your slopes first, and try to do them with cool hydraulic oil when possible.

You have more slopes than I do down in TN. We just have some slopes around creeks to deal with.

The pics look great. That is exactly what I am hoping to do with our property - clear out the brush to give the trees some "room to breath".

 

[JonFields]

Question about the brush cutter:

Is there any height adjustment when it is "floating" and running on the wheels? So for example, if I want to cut when "floating" at a higher 6", is there any way to accomplish that?

I guess I could raise it using the lift, but I'm not sure how well that would work.

Thanks, Jon.

 

[woodlandfarms]

On my mower the height is adjustable. Wheels can vary up and down as needed. In practice, due to the float feature (I assume the 1430 has the float feature) height is a bit of a challenge.

1430 is a stock Deutz, no modification to the oil pan.

You are going to love it (and hate it). When you go to the factory work the machine. We all have stories of fresh arrival machines and a bolt or hose being loose, so get your machine and give it a bit of a workout there.

 

[MossRoad]

The brush cutter blades don't break. The bolts that hold the blades to the hub is what breaks. They break for a couple reasons:

1. The bolt head is the lowest point on the cutter. Therefore, it take the brunt of all abuse, hitting rocks, stumps, dirt, etc... and eventually shears them off or cracks the bolt.
2. The blades can and do sometimes slip past the stop bolts and swing around and hit the bolt that holds the opposite blade onto the hub, damaging and eventually cracking the bolt off.
----- the stop bolts just hang down from the hub to try and prevent this, but after several hours of heavy use, the bushings in the bolt holes will either wear out or the blades will be bent to the point that they can and do slip past these stop bolts. Also, the stop bolts are also the lowest points on the cutter and share the abuse that the blade bolts get.

As for height adjustment. The front casters are very easy to adjust. You just pull a linchpin, drop the caster out, decide how many of the included spacers you want above or below the pivot tube, put the caster back in and re-clip the linchpin. That's pretty much the same on all PT implements with caster wheels... mowers, cutters, snowplow, etc...

The rear wheels are bolted on and require two wrenches to adjust. There are half a dozen height hole to choose from. Again, this is the same on the mower and brush cutter.

Should you decide to order, do yourself a favor and specify that you want solid tires on the front of the brush cutter. Pneumatics go BOOM!