Rotary Cutter / Bush Hog Considerations for Compact Tractors

[jeff9366]

If you buy a Rotary Cutter too light it will visit the dealer yearly for $600 repair.
NEW Rotary Cutters cut everything at first. As the light blades dull a light cutter undergoes increasing stress.

60" - 72" Rotary Cutters:​

400/500 pounds = light duty = grass only.

600/700 pounds = medium duty = grass and ocasional light brush, perhaps to 1"

1,000 pounds = heavy duty = mostly brush, even dense brush and saplings to 2".

Heavy brush inevitably dulls the heavy blades so does not cut grass as nice as a Rotary Cutter used only for grass. Splayed-end brush cut by rounded blades dies more surely than evenly cut brush cut by sharp blades. Most who cut considerable brush sharpen heavy blades only at two to three year intervals.



I cut 3" hardwood saplings like Hickory with a chain saw. I knock down softwood 3" saplings with a Ratchet Rake on the bucket, before mulching them on the ground with a 1,000 pound Land Pride RCR2660 Rotary Cutter.

 

[jeff9366]

A comment on NEW Rotary Cutters: New Rotary Cutters with sharp, smooth blades will cut tall grass and brush OK. After 150 hours of use, when the blades are not smooth and may not be sharp, it can be a different story.

It is not hard to sharpen Rotary Cutter blades with a grinder but getting under a Rotary Cutter is something I do not do. I have the Rotary Cutter sharpened by the dealer when my tractor is in for fluid changes. The mechanic is in a pit when the blades are sharpened.

I find brush cleanly cut with sharp blades tends to grow back. Brush flayed with rounded blades often dies after one mower pass.

As blades dull you need either more tractor throttle (or more tractor horsepower) or heavier mower blades with more rotational inertia, or both.

 

[jeff9366]

I know it had been discussed many times on TBN, and the general consensus is 5 PTO hp for 1 foot of bush hog size. Wondering if anyone has real world experience with a L3560 ( 3,700 pounds / 35-horsepower net ) with a "2 inch" capacity bush hog. I need a 6' cutter to cover my tracks- tractor is 70" wide- but worry if I'll be underpowered. I do trust my dealer, and he says I'll be fine with a 6' cutter.


You will be find with a RCF2072 behind an open station L3560 if you cut grass and no brush thicker than 1". RCF2072 weighs 745 pounds.
The addition of a 600 pound CAB and liquid filled rear tires to an L3560 would moderate my assessment, especially if you need to mow hills.


Rotary Mowers, like other implements, come in Light Duty, Medium Duty and Heavy Duty models. Generally speaking, there is 150 pounds of weight difference assoicoated with heavier increments. If you carefully study new mower specs, most have Category 3 drive lines. Heavy Duty models have Category 4 drive lines. Dealers often refer to HD Category 4 mowers as "Right-of-Way" Mowers.

L3560 has 37-horsepower gross.


25 horsepower will power a Light Duty 5' Rotary Mower
35 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 5' Rotary Mower

35 horsepower will power a Light Duty 6' Rotary Mower
45 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 6' Rotary Mower

Using a HD Rotary Cutter of 1,000 - 1,100 pounds you will need an FEL to hold down the front of the tractor on moderate slopes.

I use a Land Pride RCR2660 (60") HD Rotary Cutter with a Class 4 driveline, weighing 1,002 pounds. My 2013 vintage L3560 powers RCR2660 through Florida jungle mowing over flat land with no complaint and no damage/distortion to the implement. I "try" not to cut brush thicker than 1-1/2". $3,120.00 in May 2018.

I had a Land Pride RCF2060 (60") medium-duty Rotary Cuter with a Class 3 driveline, weighing 620 pounds, nominally rated for 2" brush. It required a ~~$600 repair each year when I would get into brush. It would have been reliable cutting grass. $1,600 in February 2014.

Most Rotary Cutter mowing is done in HST/MEDIUM, with HST/PLUS half-step shifts.

If you buy too light a Rotary Cutter, then cut saplings, it will soon visit the shop.

Regardless of what you buy, order chain guards for the front and rear, not rubber guards and not plain metal.

 

[RalphVa]

I don't know, Jeff. I had an ex cheapo LX-4 for nearly 9 years on the 4010 and cut mainly trail grass but also slammed it into up to about 1 1/2 inch trees/saplings. "Sharpened" the blades every year.

Now have a Frontier RC2048 that is near about 8 years. "Sharpen" its blades every year. Easier to do than on the LX-4 because the stump jumper stays in place. Again, mostly trail grass but also sees some 1 1/2 inch trees/saplings but not many. Wife cleared out all the dead wood, etc. winter before this one. Fairly clean now. Its housing has a bunch of bulges and gouges like the LX-4's did, but still good.

Both about a $1,000. Got a push button PTO end on the Frontier after complaining to the dealer about that silly, non ergonomic collar. (New WM chipper has a push button one, too.)

 

[3gunr]

I cant believe you take your cutter in for oil change and blade sharpening . Takes me 5 minutes to do mine.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I've had mine 4 years so far. It's never been back to dealer for anything. It's never broken anything either. I sure as h*ll haven't "spent $600 the first year" on it. It definitely looks well used now, but the gear box, spindle, stump jumper, blades and tail wheel are all fine.

I really wonder how you come up with this stuff.

 

[buck12]

I had my last Rhino bush hog for 12 years and never sharpened the blades. I cut everything from grass and weeds to any tree or saplings that I could get under it. I even occasionally managed to wrap old fences around the blades and stump jumper. I greased the zerks and at least twice had to straighten the tail wheel assembly but she cut fine when I sold it last spring. I hope my current Landpride bush hog is as good as the old Rhino.

 

[TerryR]

Really, Jeff? I had a Bush Hog Squealer SQ60 for 20 years, which I think most would rate as light to medium duty. I cut tall weeds and brush up to 2" with it and never paid anything for repairs other than a set of new blades 10 years ago. I sharpened the blades every few years.

I sold it a couple of years ago for near half what I paid for it. Oil seal was still good, only issue was the PTO shaft guard was toast.

 

[RalphVa]

Changed the oil in the LX-4 once. Haven't changed yet on the Frontier. Oil would not get dirty nor heat up much. Did heat up on the LX-4.

 

[sea2summit]

Tying weight to the capabilities is dumb. Yes you're likely to see a correlation but 1,000# implement with a 20 hp gear box or chineesium blades is gonna get eaten faster than a lighter implement with quality parts. Buy a quality implement and use in accordance with it's design specs.