5055e with MX7?

[hosspuller]

A wider cutter is nice when the cutting is light. One can always over lap or go slower when the cut is heavy. The only limit is "can the 3 point lift it ?"

 

[ovrszd]

I think the 5055 will handle the MX7 just fine. Power or weight wise.

The 5055 is a heavy tractor for the ~50hp class. ITs the SAME basic tractor as the 5065e and 5075e. Same rear lift capacities, same machine weight, same engine. Just different power levels.

The MX7 is only a ~1300# cutter. Your tractor is 5500#. IT should run that thing ALL DAY with no need for front weights. (driving up a steep hill with the cutter in the air may not be wise).

My MX5100 is only a 3800# machine, and I carry around a 1600# 8' twin spindle cutter with no front weights. Its light in the front, and I cannot load forward on my trailer, but 90% of the time, the cutter is on the ground and the tailwheels are carrying half the load anyway.

So basically what Im saying, you can handle the MX7 just fine if you so choose. No worrys at all. But perhaps a better fit would be a 8' twin spindle cutter. And heck, if I had a tractor of that size and weight, And no plans to transport on a trailer, I'd even be looking for a 10' cutter

Yeah I think he's thinking too small. I'd go for an 8' twin as well.

 

[sisupower]

I haven't run into the brake issue yet. The 5series tractors are solid tractors. I've repaired a lot of older ones but not the new. As far as running the mx7 sure you can but I was giving you info in the JD chart they use at work that Is comparable to your size tractor. Few hp makes a difference if something gets jacked up and warranty needs to be used. If they see your using a shredder that isn't rated for your tractor hp wise it could cause an issue. I've seen it before. On a 3038 using a frontier trencher. If you don't do a m series then I would go woods brushbull single shredders. They offer 6yr gearbox warranty. We used to sell frontier a lot but they are crap. Now we sell the green woods not the orange of course.

 

[ovrszd]

I haven't run into the brake issue yet. The 5series tractors are solid tractors. I've repaired a lot of older ones but not the new. As far as running the mx7 sure you can but I was giving you info in the JD chart they use at work that Is comparable to your size tractor. Few hp makes a difference if something gets jacked up and warranty needs to be used. If they see your using a shredder that isn't rated for your tractor hp wise it could cause an issue. I've seen it before. On a 3038 using a frontier trencher. If you don't do a m series then I would go woods brushbull single shredders. They offer 6yr gearbox warranty. We used to sell frontier a lot but they are crap. Now we sell the green woods not the orange of course.

I don't have any personal experience with the newer M series but have read about some problems. But that happens in every brand. I have an older M1008 mounted. I love that cutter. Tough as a boot. Have 4 tail wheels on it so get no scalping.

 

[LD1]

A wider cutter is nice when the cutting is light. One can always over lap or go slower when the cut is heavy. The only limit is "can the 3 point lift it ?"

Rated to lift 3200# 24" behind the lift eyes.

I dont think a 1500-2000# 8' cutter is gonna be a limiting factor

 

[ovrszd]

Rated to lift 3200# 24" behind the lift eyes.

I dont think a 1500-2000# 8' cutter is gonna be a limiting factor

Definitely no problem lifting it. Required front weight to manage it will depend on terrain. I like stability and don't want to worry about the front tires being in the air. I add 1100lbs of suitcase weights on the front of my Kubota when carrying the cutter.

 

[LD1]

Definitely no problem lifting it. Required front weight to manage it will depend on terrain. I like stability and don't want to worry about the front tires being in the air. I add 1100lbs of suitcase weights on the front of my Kubota when carrying the cutter.

What cutter is that you are carrying when you add that weight?

Also worth noting.....the 5055e is basically the same size/weight as your M9540, just less power.

 

[ovrszd]

What cutter is that you are carrying when you add that weight?

Also worth noting.....the 5055e is basically the same size/weight as your M9540, just less power.

It's a JD M1008, 10ft, 3pt. Not sure what it weighs.

 

[LD1]

No idea what a 1008 weighs, but I am sure it's alot more than the average 8' twin.

My woods is 1620# per spec. I don't need weights to mow, but cannot load forward on a deck-over. I am sure the extra ton of tractor weight plus length, that either you m9540 or the op's 5055e have would make it a non issue.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I have a 5055e cab (2014) and had a mx7. It'll work fine. However, I would STRONGLY encourage you to consider an 8' twin spindle mower instead. I mowed my neighbors 23 acres. It's thick pasture grass. 15 hrs, 50 gallons of diesel. Absolutely horrible to me. I was having to slow way down as it was bogging it pretty good. The 8' would be less of a load on it and not stick so far behind the tractor. The swing can be annoying but you get used to it. 6' is way to small for the tractor. 7' barely covered the wheels.

After the 23acres and some issues, I ordered a 5100e cab 24x24 with mx15. It'll cut my mowing time down to less than 5 hrs and fuel should be around 20ish gallons.

Brett

 

[LD1]

I have a 5055e cab (2014) and had a mx7. It'll work fine. However, I would STRONGLY encourage you to consider an 8' twin spindle mower instead. I mowed my neighbors 23 acres. It's thick pasture grass. 15 hrs, 50 gallons of diesel. Absolutely horrible to me. I was having to slow way down as it was bogging it pretty good. The 8' would be less of a load on it and not stick so far behind the tractor. The swing can be annoying but you get used to it. 6' is way to small for the tractor. 7' barely covered the wheels.

After the 23acres and some issues, I ordered a 5100e cab 24x24 with mx15. It'll cut my mowing time down to less than 5 hrs and fuel should be around 20ish gallons.

Brett

What were the issues that were causing you to go so slow? Bumpy ride? hills? Lots of stuff to mow around? 1.5 acres/hr with a 5055e+ mx7 just dont sound right.

 

[rustyshakelford]

What were the issues that were causing you to go so slow? Bumpy ride? hills? Lots of stuff to mow around? 1.5 acres/hr with a 5055e+ mx7 just dont sound right.

Lack of power. This should've been cut and baled but the owner had a bad experience when he went in on shares. Guy cutting decided he didn't need any more hay and charged him for every bale against the agreement. He was stuck with a bunch of hay and had no need for it.

Place is real smooth and only trees are mature hardwood. I don't know what the problem was. It's just drug on and on and on. Every 6 hrs I needed to get fuel at 20 gallons a pop. I was running wide open and b1-3. Averaged prolly 3-3.5 mph. I honestly don't know what the deal was. Just slow going.

Hopefully I won't be short in HP now. I don't have the time to spend two days on a place at $20 per acre

I cut him a deal because it's 1/3 mile down our road and I can get to it when I get a little time here and there

Brett

 

[LD1]

I am not disputing that it took you that long to do. I have been into jobs like that, where they just seem to drag on. Perhaps you were trying to cut too low? Or didnt have the rear of the cutter a tad higher than the front? I have done jobs in dense grass before, where simple raising the cut height up an inch or so lowers power requirement by ~50%.

With 45pto HP and 7' cut, (6.5hp/ft) you should have been able to go faster than 3.5. but even at 3.5, should have been ~2.5 acres per hour with 80% efficiency. The fact that it took you 15 hours, tells me you were only averaging 2 MPH for the job.

Going to a 5100e and 15' cutter is gonna lower your HP per ft down to 5.5. So in theory, you will have to go even slower than the 2mph.

2mph with a 15' cutter is ~3 acres per hour. So I think you are still looking at a 8-9 hour job.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I am not disputing that it took you that long to do. I have been into jobs like that, where they just seem to drag on. Perhaps you were trying to cut too low? Or didnt have the rear of the cutter a tad higher than the front? I have done jobs in dense grass before, where simple raising the cut height up an inch or so lowers power requirement by ~50%.

With 45pto HP and 7' cut, (6.5hp/ft) you should have been able to go faster than 3.5. but even at 3.5, should have been ~2.5 acres per hour with 80% efficiency. The fact that it took you 15 hours, tells me you were only averaging 2 MPH for the job.

Going to a 5100e and 15' cutter is gonna lower your HP per ft down to 5.5. So in theory, you will have to go even slower than the 2mph.

2mph with a 15' cutter is ~3 acres per hour. So I think you are still looking at a 8-9 hour job.

I cut it as high as I could and still have the tail wheel on the ground. I had a guy that helps me run it for part of the job and that could account for some of the time. I didn't want to go to high and it showed like I just trimmed the top a hair. I wish this place would have 6' tall weeds over the density of the pasture. My 5055e is also a couple hp lower than 45 due to the cab. I think it's somewhere around 42-43. IIRC, the 5100 is around 85 or 87 according to the Nebraska tests. The mx15 hopefully will pull easier even though there is loss thru all the gear boxes since the blades aren't nearly as hefty as the mx7 and it'll have higher blade speed!

I wouldn't recommend an mx7 to anyone, get the 8" twin spindle even if you have power to spare

Brett

 

[LD1]

I cut it as high as I could and still have the tail wheel on the ground. I had a guy that helps me run it for part of the job and that could account for some of the time. I didn't want to go to high and it showed like I just trimmed the top a hair. I wish this place would have 6' tall weeds over the density of the pasture. My 5055e is also a couple hp lower than 45 due to the cab. I think it's somewhere around 42-43. IIRC, the 5100 is around 85 or 87 according to the Nebraska tests. The mx15 hopefully will pull easier even though there is loss thru all the gear boxes since the blades aren't nearly as hefty as the mx7 and it'll have higher blade speed!

I wouldn't recommend an mx7 to anyone, get the 8" twin spindle even if you have power to spare

Brett

I am not really sure there will be that much difference. I think the logic that it takes more power to run a 7' single vs a 8' twin is faulty logic. And I think alot of the argument is about the heft of the unit, and length. Making it "feel" like a bigger heavier cutter even if they weight the same.

Sure, a 7' has bigger blades, and heavier blades. But there are fewer of them, and 2 fewer gearboxes robbing power. But even so, how fast you can cut through grass, shouldnt matter. 7' may take more power to spool up initially, but once there.....sustaining it at speed should be no different. And all that extra heavy momentum that took longer to spool up.....also takes longer to slow down. IE: hit a thick dense patch....it shouldnt slow down as much as a lighter cutter.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I am not really sure there will be that much difference. I think the logic that it takes more power to run a 7' single vs a 8' twin is faulty logic. And I think alot of the argument is about the heft of the unit, and length. Making it "feel" like a bigger heavier cutter even if they weight the same.

Sure, a 7' has bigger blades, and heavier blades. But there are fewer of them, and 2 fewer gearboxes robbing power. But even so, how fast you can cut through grass, shouldnt matter. 7' may take more power to spool up initially, but once there.....sustaining it at speed should be no different. And all that extra heavy momentum that took longer to spool up.....also takes longer to slow down. IE: hit a thick dense patch....it shouldnt slow down as much as a lighter cutter.

According to Deere, min hp for a mx7 is 50, mx8 is 40 for pull behind and 50 for lift (assuming they rate it that way for a tractor weight guide) mx15 is also 50 hp min. Just food for thought. I don't know if they base that off tractor weight hoping that a higher hp will mean more weight or if it and to do with the required hp to run correctly. I would think the gear reduction in the mx15 will help with the lower hp and increased tip speed. Hoping it'll be like 4.30 rear end gears vs 3.73

Brett

John Deere rotary cutter guide (by duty level)

 

[sisupower]

According to Deere, min hp for a mx7 is 50, mx8 is 40 for pull behind and 50 for lift (assuming they rate it that way for a tractor weight guide) mx15 is also 50 hp min. Just food for thought. I don't know if they base that off tractor weight hoping that a higher hp will mean more weight or if it and to do with the required hp to run correctly. I would think the gear reduction in the mx15 will help with the lower hp and increased tip speed. Hoping it'll be like 4.30 rear end gears vs 3.73

Brett

John Deere rotary cutter guide (by duty level)

That's the chart I was going off when you look at what is compatible with the 5055E. I can post a pic if you want shows all the pull and lift shredders for that model that will work

 

[rustyshakelford]

That's the chart I was going off when you look at what is compatible with the 5055E. I can post a pic if you want shows all the pull and lift shredders for that model that will work

If all your mowing is weeds, typical pasture and not hay producing pasture it's been fine for my needs. I will say that it is a heavy mower and I broke no less than 3 or 4 of the bolts on the top part of the hitch that has the bushing. It has mowed maybe 100-120 acres max. I ended up hitting a stump with it a few months back and it dented the chain guard holder and front lip. Took it to the dealer to have some insurance work on that and some other issues as a result of the stump (still worked fine) and they totaled the dang thing. Hoped to buy it back but it went to auction and I haven't been able to find it. Aside from that it was perfect. Just mowed grass and maybe a few limbs that were in the grass. 5055e has enough power for most tasks but I would still recommend the mx8 if you can afford it

Brett

 

[sisupower]

If all your mowing is weeds, typical pasture and not hay producing pasture it's been fine for my needs. I will say that it is a heavy mower and I broke no less than 3 or 4 of the bolts on the top part of the hitch that has the bushing. It has mowed maybe 100-120 acres max. I ended up hitting a stump with it a few months back and it dented the chain guard holder and front lip. Took it to the dealer to have some insurance work on that and some other issues as a result of the stump (still worked fine) and they totaled the dang thing. Hoped to buy it back but it went to auction and I haven't been able to find it. Aside from that it was perfect. Just mowed grass and maybe a few limbs that were in the grass. 5055e has enough power for most tasks but I would still recommend the mx8 if you can afford it

Brett

Yep agreed

 

[LD1]

According to Deere, min hp for a mx7 is 50, mx8 is 40 for pull behind and 50 for lift (assuming they rate it that way for a tractor weight guide) mx15 is also 50 hp min. Just food for thought. I don't know if they base that off tractor weight hoping that a higher hp will mean more weight or if it and to do with the required hp to run correctly. I would think the gear reduction in the mx15 will help with the lower hp and increased tip speed. Hoping it'll be like 4.30 rear end gears vs 3.73

Brett

John Deere rotary cutter guide (by duty level)

Typically HP ratings are just a general guide to get you to size the tractor correctly.....physically. Usually has little to do with actual PTO HP. A 1500# 7' cutter is more load on the tractor than a 1500# 8' twin, because the weight is so much farther back, leverage does its thing. And it actually "feels" like a heavier cutter.