Rotary Cutter 30hp 5ft thinking about a 6ft.

StewartGA1 · Sep 20, 2010

Ok, I've got a NH TC30HST 4WD w/loader, using a 5ft rotary, medium duty. I mow the hunting property twice a year. This year only one's. It takes forever! Normal two days wide open, it's out of town and an overnight trip. I'm always thinking "if i only had a 6ft", I would be done with this field and on to the next one. Can it HANDLE it? I mow at around 1800RPM and don't feel the need to run much over that (because the engine sound like it running to hard). I know I would go with a light duty to cut weight, I just don't want to buy one and it be bogging down all the time. I would like your 2 cents. Thanks!

jlsmith · Sep 20, 2010

I would stay with the 5' the 6' will be a bit much for that tractor. Is 1800 rpms is where your 540 is or are you just backing it down. If you are just backing it down you may be doing more harm than good.

CharlieS · Sep 20, 2010

Under the same conditions a 6 foot will slow you down even more. As a good example using a 5' bush hog type cutter in tall grass, with no significant growth of saplings or underbrush, i can easily choke, and overload a 50hp midframe tractor mowing in 5th gear, necessitating dropping to 4th and even 3rd at times in really heavy dense pastures.
Conversly, if i keep it mowed regularly, not letting it get over 10-12 inches in height, i can easily mow in 6th gear.
Mowing once a year grass and weeds are going to be several feet tall, i suspect a 6 foot would take even longer to mow, than with a 5', due to the necessity of an even slower ground speed. If anything, a wiser choice would be go smaller, to a 4' mower.

Kernopelli · Sep 20, 2010

First, your tractor is rated at 2600RPM and you should be fine running it at that for extended periods. If you are only mowing at 1800RPM, you are not even coming close to maximizing what you already have. The TC30 is rated at 25.5 pto HP so I would think the rule of thumb...5HP per foot would mean that you would probably be better served staying with your 5 foot and running at higher RPM and maybe being able to mow in a higher gear. I do think you could use a 6' behind a TC30 but I am sure it would be all the tractor would want. I suggest trying the 5 footer again and running at the rated RPM's and seeing if you can mow faster.

jcims · Sep 20, 2010

StewartGA1 said:
Ok, I've got a NH TC30HST 4WD w/loader, using a 5ft rotary, medium duty. I mow the hunting property twice a year. This year only one's. It takes forever! Normal two days wide open, it's out of town and an overnight trip. I'm always thinking "if i only had a 6ft", I would be done with this field and on to the next one. Can it HANDLE it? I mow at around 1800RPM and don't feel the need to run much over that (because the engine sound like it running to hard). I know I would go with a light duty to cut weight, I just don't want to buy one and it be bogging down all the time. I would like your 2 cents. Thanks!

Just an observation, but a 6' only covers 20% more area than a 5'. The interesting thing is you probably wouldn't be able to run it (well) at 1800 RPM, so you would kind of be forced to boost your speed as well. So a 20% wider cut at say 30% more RPM would have an effect, but the nice thing is you can get the 30% for free now.

ScottOkla · Sep 20, 2010

I would think it would depend on the type of grass.

I use a 19HP HST with a 5' King Kutter and it does fine except with slopes and with thick bermuda. The cutter is too big for it on slopes of any kind, though. HP has not been a problem, just weight.

I use a 45HP HST with a 6' Rhino at my other place, and even that has problems with thick bermuda, so I guess it just depends on what you cut and how often. If it has little slope and is mainly weeds, I would try the 6' and mow twice.

StewartGA1 · Sep 20, 2010

540 pto is at 2400 rpm. The engine just smooths out over 2000rpm. Its stop being the normal rattling diesel we all know and love to a wide open sound of an 18wheeler on the interstate. That all. Yes, its in the mountains, and Very hilly. Thanks for all your help guys!

bilrus61 · Sep 20, 2010

Your pretty much limited to how fast you can mow a field by the horsepower of the tractor. If you go to a bigger mower you have to slow down or overload the engine. Smaller mower you can speed up. It all comes down to if you have a 25 pto tractor your just going to be able to get it done that fast even is your mower is 4 5 or 6 feet wide. Is it brush or just grass/weeds? If its just grass a sicklebar mower like you cut hayfields with would gain you lots of time I think. They can't do heavy brush but they don't take much power for a wide swath.

bullbreaker · Sep 20, 2010

I also would stay with 5' bush hog.Espeicially since you state you only go there once a year.Remember a properly maintained(sharp blades, etc) 5' -ter will work better than any 6'-ter not keeped up.
I run a 6'(sq172) behind my L3400 Bota with no problem but the places I maintain I visit "frequently".The first time I bush hogged these places it was a bear(slow golng).

Boone

botakix · Sep 20, 2010

i have about the same size tractor as you do, except in the kubota 3130 model. i also run a 5 footer and have been thinking about going to a 6 foot. i have tried a 6 footer a buddy of mine has, and from my experience, it seems to cut about the same as the 5 footer in grass, but the big difference i see is not only is a 6 footer wider, it is longer hanging off the back, and i have found with my tractor, that that is ok when it is on the ground and i am cutting, but when i have it lifted for going back to the house, i can really tell all that extra weight and length is a huge difference from my 5 footer. i am going to stick with a 5 foot because i just think in the long run its better for the tractor. good luck whichever way you choose.