Mowing Max Bush Hog for Deere 3033r

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

Depending on your field conditions, you may be fine running a 6ft on 25 (?)pto hp.

But if you have heavy, thick grass, you're going to have problems. It's not the brush and weeds that normally get you, they usually grow in thinner and farther apart. It's the thick grass, but by the time the grass gets really thick, you're having to slow down for lack of visibility also. You can't really see what's lurking in the thick grass, so you have to feel your way along.

I'm running a 6' cutter on 32 pto hp, and I almost never have to slow down from lugging the engine. But I find with visibility at zero, I have to play "blind man's bluff" with my front end loader and bucket. But I'm mowing other people's fields, not my own. So I normally have no idea what could be laying out there in the tall, thick grass. If you're only mowing at your own place, and you can get your field cleaned out from objects, then maybe you could mow faster?

But if you're mowing fields like this, you're not going to want to fly along anyway. I can't see the ground in front of my tractor, not even out of the bottom glass. My cab is just over 7' tall, and those weeds are over 8'. I'm pushing the weeds down with my bucket as I drive over them, going along at a fast walking speed. I wouldn't want to go any faster than that, just for finding objects like old tires, stacks of pallets, hunks of old fence, etc. I had no power issues here at all. That's 6' cutter on 32 pto hp though. -Edited to add- I'm also making full width passes with the cutter, not half passes.

 

[WinterDeere]

OP,

Depending on your field conditions, you may be fine running a 6ft on 25 (?)pto hp.

But if you have heavy, thick grass, you're going to have problems. It's not the brush and weeds that normally get you, they usually grow in thinner and farther apart. It's the thick grass, but by the time the grass gets really thick, you're having to slow down for lack of visibility also. You can't really see what's lurking in the thick grass, so you have to feel your way along.

I'm running a 6' cutter on 32 pto hp, and I almost never have to slow down from lugging the engine. But I find with visibility at zero, I have to play "blind man's bluff" with my front end loader and bucket. But I'm mowing other people's fields, not my own. So I normally have no idea what could be laying out there in the tall, thick grass. If you're only mowing at your own place, and you can get your field cleaned out from objects, then maybe you could mow faster?

But if you're mowing fields like this, you're not going to want to fly along anyway. I can't see the ground in front of my tractor, not even out of the bottom glass. My cab is just over 7' tall, and those weeds are over 8'. I'm pushing the weeds down with my bucket as I drive over them, going along at a fast walking speed. I wouldn't want to go any faster than that, just for finding objects like old tires, stacks of pallets, hunks of old fence, etc. I had no power issues here at all. That's 6' cutter on 32 pto hp though. -Edited to add- I'm also making full width passes with the cutter, not half passes.

View attachment 775557

Geez, thought I was the only guy riding thru crap like that. I use a little 48" Woods rotary cutter behind my 3033R, which is grossly under-sized, but that's because it was purchased for an older and smaller tractor I used to own. I use it to clear new trails for neighbors, often thru growth just like what you pictured here, totally blind as to what I'm headed toward. Real fun in wetlands, when you can put your front tires into a creek run, before you even know it.

 

[John_Mc]

I had always heard the rule of thumb was 5 HP per foot of width for a
brush hog type rotary cutter. (Finish mowers generally require less HP than brush hogs.)

Obviously, this can vary significantly depending on what you are mowing. (Tall, dense grass really eats up the HP.) It also varues depending on your patience and willingness to go a bit slower. I have a 5 foot Woods BB60 on my NH TC33D (HST with 27 HP at the PTO). I've found it to be a good match as far as power goes. I did find that I need weight on the front end to get good steering, so my loader stays on when mowing.

As others have mentioned, weight is also a consideration. THe weight of a brush hog is centered well back from the lift point. It's not just the lifting it that is the concern, it can also do damage during transport: If you are traveling with the brush hog raised off the ground and hit some good bumps, that puts quite a shock load on the 3 pt hitch.

 

[beenthere]

I wouldn't mow through crap like that.

I'd mow it before it became that tall and keep it mowed.

Don't think the problem is lack of hp.

 

[John_Mc]

I wouldn't mow through crap like that.

I'd mow it before it became that tall and keep it mowed.

Don't think the problem is lack of hp.

Sometimes, "crap like that " is the goal. I have a meadow that I mow on a rotation: I mow about 1/4 of it each year, and allow the rest to grow up. The next year, I mow a different section. The goal is to keep it in early successional species for wildlife habitat. However, I don't want to just mow the whole thing once every 3 or 4 years, since that would largely eliminate the habitat I'm going for for the next year or two.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Geez, thought I was the only guy riding thru crap like that. I use a little 48" Woods rotary cutter behind my 3033R, which is grossly under-sized, but that's because it was purchased for an older and smaller tractor I used to own. I use it to clear new trails for neighbors, often thru growth just like what you pictured here, totally blind as to what I'm headed toward. Real fun in wetlands, when you can put your front tires into a creek run, before you even know it.

I have found a few watering holes in the deep grass that way. When I see the tops of my front tires get wet, it's time to stop and back up. I have had to push myself back on dry land a few times with my loader bucket.

Sometimes "crap like that" is what the customer has. I'm mowing for hire, and some of these guys only want to pay for one mow per season. If it were up to me, I would have hit that field much sooner. Hard to convince some customers that mowing frequently is better weed control.

Sorry for derailing your thread OP.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Sometimes, "crap like that " is the goal. I have a meadow that I mow on a rotation: I mow about 1/4 of it each year, and allow the rest to grow up. The next year, I mow a different section. The goal is to keep it in early successional species for wildlife habitat. However, I don't want to just mow the whole thing once every 3 or 4 years, since that would largely eliminate the habitat I'm going for for the next year or two.

Makes sense.

Have you thought about mowing down corridors, and leaving semi-permanent swaths of standing vegetation? I know some of the guys raising pheasants like to do that up here.

 

[John_Mc]

Makes sense.

Have you thought about mowing down corridors, and leaving semi-permanent swaths of standing vegetation? I know some of the guys raising pheasants like to do that up here.

THe problem with longer term swaths of vegetation is that it keeps growing, eventually progressing into another type of habitat. I'm specifically targeting brushy habitat in this space. I have done patch cuts in other areas that I might not cut again for 10 or 15 years.

 

[mo1]

I have a 5' but thinking of something wider. Any experience with how wide it will run?

thanks.

It depends on what you are cutting and how fast you want to go. Generally a 5' cutter is recommended for that size of tractor but you could use a light duty 6' unit if you are cutting grassy weeds that are not several feet tall. Do not get anything other than a light duty 6' cutter as it will be too heavy for your tractor. 800 pounds in a 6' cutter is light duty, medium duty is typically 1000+ pounds. For example, the Frontier RC2072 would be appropriate, the John Deere MX6 would not be.

Im just the opposite. I am constantly surprised by just how undersized people usually run, or is suggested, for implements.

HST as well as modern gear transmissions is a game changer. Too many people of the mindset of tractors half a century ago where 1st gear was 3mph and second was 5mph then a jump to 8mph for 3rd.

But with most modern tractors, and having 4 gears under 4mph....or even better, a HST.....makes better use of the HP.

Everyone wants to run a small cutter because they think mowing fast (5-6mph) is the way to go. I'll take slow and wide any day over fast and narrow.

In the OP's case, its a 3000# tractor with more than 2000# lift capacity out back. It will handle a ~800# medium duty 6' cutter with ease in terms of weight. If a 10% bigger cutter makes you go 10% slower thats a win in my book. Slower easier ride and more time to react.

If you aint running out of HP and bogging you aint using all your HP. Upsize the implement til you can.

You see a farmer pulling a 20' batwing on a 100hp (80pto) tractor and no one bats an eye. But balk at the notion of a 6' cutter on a 30hp or slightly less machine

The issue with larger implements is often their weight. This is why I recommended the original poster stay away from heavier 6' mowers, they weigh too much to hang off the 3 point. His tractor may have 2000# of lift capacity but there's a difference between hanging a long mower cantilevering off of the 3 point and simply exerting a ton of lift force at the draft link ends. Too much weight on the 3 point can overload the rear axle and/or unload the front axle enough that the tractor is hard to steer and can tip over.

Most of the tractors around here pulling batwings are 130+ HP simply because that's a common size of tractor to have around. The guy clipping pastures will use the same tractor he uses for cutting and baling hay to pull the batwing, and that's generally a 130-175 HP tractor. If somebody uses a batwing for crop stubble shredding, it's going to be an older ex-rowcrop tractor that they use for pulling grain wagons and augers and such, and it is also going to be in that same 130-175 HP range. There are a few 100ish HP units like Deere 4020s and such being used for pulling batwings, but those are all pulling 15'ers, not 20s.