4520c handle a 7 brushog

[Gary Fowler]

It all depends on what you are cutting and at what speed. My single spindle 7 foot will stall my LS P7010 in tall thick and tough grass when I try to go too fast (Medium range 2nd gear) but slowing to 1st gear works well.

Everything is relative to the speed at which you wish to travel assuming that you 3 PH can lift the mower without the front wheels coming off the ground. A 40 HP tractor could likely pull a 15' batwing if it was travelling slow enough.

 

[LD1]

. A 40 HP tractor could likely pull a 15' batwing if it was travelling slow enough.

Yep.

Too many times people think a cutter is too big for a tractor, or oh you don't have enough HP.

Biggest cutter you can get at a slower speed is ALOT better than a small cutter at a fast speed.

12' cutter at 2 mph,
8' cutter at 3 mph
6' cutter at 4 mph
4' cutter at 6 mph....

All require roughly the same HP...negating any drivetrain losses of the larger multiple-gearbox cutters.

All will mow roughly the same acres per hour.

So what's the difference.....

Slower is smoother and easier on the tractor.

And what happens if you get into light cutting, and want to push that 4' or 6' cutter a little faster, but just can't.....not for lack of power, but because the field is just too rough.

Well with the 8' you coul go faster, and ultimately get more acres per hour done....and still have a smooth ride

 

[Cougsfan]

So as I read all these replies, I guess it is safe to say you really gotta choose whatever width best fits your particular needs. Where I mow is not a flat field at all, and I have trouble keeping my 6' cutter from either cutting into the ground or leaving things too high at a given height setting. A had a 5' cutter that did cut much evener, but I sold because it took forever to mow the fields with it. The weeds are sometimes thick and sometimes thin. So if I got an 8' mower I'd have either constantly alter the speed or not cut in a straight line, and would have more variability in cut depth. Life is just full of compromises that throw the even the best thought out strategies into confusion

 

[kittyhawk]

Thanks for all the helpful information, as I said I looked at the tractor in question and it turns out that it痴 just small inside the cab for us. I知 still on the hunt for the right tractor. Growing up we had a old and I mean an old ford 8N that I mowed 35 acres with a 5 brush hog several times a year till we upgraded to a MF 245 then went up to a 6 brush hog and thought it was the cats meow. I spent many, many hours running a open station cab and the older I知 getting I知 definitely getting a cab tractor. I hope to find a 50-70 hp one that値l at least pull an 7 footer.