Advice on 6' mower to replace King Kutter

[rv7charlie]

I got about 20 years out of a King Kutter 7' mower, by spending more on it in parts (and ignoring my labor) over the years than the original purchase price. ~3 acre yard weekly and a 22 acre runway 3 or 4 times a season (rotating duties with the neighbors). Spindle bearings rarely lasted a full season, until I ditched the open bearings/external seals and replaced them with doubled up sealed bearings on both ends of the spindle shaft. Deck started cracking around the spindles after only a few years & had to weld large doubler patches on the deck. Double-Vee belt would last one season, at most, before replacement.

Finally decided a couple of years ago to upgrade to a high quality mower, and was down to a Woods or a Bush Hog brand, and picked the Bush Hog brand because it *looked* to be more rugged, and weighed about 150 lbs more than the Woods.

Verdict: DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, buy a Bush Hog brand finish mower. They delivered the 3rd brand new mower before I got one that even appeared to be acceptable (I guess I'm a slow learner), and even then, I've continued to have many issues with it. In addition to all the actual defect issues, there are the functional design issues. So heavy that it will drag a Kubota M4700 tractor sideways down the slope of a pond dam. The back wheels are so close together that any unevenness in even level ground causes the outside blade(s) to scalp the turf.

I could write for a week about all the problems I've had with it, but bottom line is, friends don't let friends buy Bush Hog.

 

[aboyles2002]

I own a 6’ bush hog brand finish mower and have been very happy with it. They are heavy, because they have decks that are thicker steal than some of the others. I looked at the woods and land pride brands when i shopped but decided on the bush hog. I haven’t had any issues with it so far in 3 years of mowing 5 acres with it. It cuts very good. The reason for the heavy deck is the high tip speed of the blades. Mowing decks have to be designed to contain a blade that breaks during use. Higher tip speed means more energy to be contained if it breaks which needs a thicker deck to contain. Higher tip speeds cut better. I would absolutely recommend a bush hog brand finish mower based on my experience so far.

 

[old and tired]

I love my Bush Hog RDTH 72" - best investment, and most used implement in my fleet. Grease it every time I used it and it cuts 4 acres - bought it used for $700.

Bought 2 belts and one new set of blades. I would highly recommend the Bush Hog RDTH 72

 

[DanBick]

I've had excellent service for many years out of two Woods 3 pt. finish mowers, a 5' and a 6'.

 

[TomDavis]

I have a 6' finish mower by Bush Hog that has served me well for 5 years. I especially like that the clippings are well distributed. I use a 1984, 23-HP diesel Massey Ferguson and like how the flashy red mower is handled by Fergie.

 

[rv7charlie]

I'm glad for you guys with 6' versions of the BH, but the 7' is a screaming disaster. 1st copy 'ready to cut' had only water in the gearbox, and a couple of the vertical shafts for the wheel assys about 4 degrees out of vertical, and at least half the MIG welds on the frame were just 'calked' onto the surface. There was more that I don't remember at the moment. 2nd had the weld issues, vertical shafts for the wheels binding so bad in their bushings that the shafts got scratched up removing them, ends of the shafts had been worked over with a hammer (literally), really bad rust on multiple shafts and grinder gouges on one shaft, etc etc. The 3rd copy had various issues as well; fortunately for me the delivery guy let me pull a few good items off copy 2 to replace defective ones on copy 3. One of the wheels had a sheared-off grease fitting which I didn't discover until after the delivery guy left; the dealer (remote from me) refused any assistance; told me to take it to a dealer. In less than 2 seasons of mowing, the solid tires started coming off the wheels (fortunately, someone here gave me a source for quality aftermarket wheels). I've been through 3 or 4 belts in 3 seasons of rather light use.

Design issues:
I wonder if the 6' & 7' mowers use the same frame & wheel spacing. The 7', with more overhang outside the wheels, will dig the outer edge of the frame into the dirt with very little unevenness of the ground you're mowing on. Many places where I had no issues with my old 7' mower get big gashes from the BH frame.

The lift mechanism was designed by...well, someone who can't do basic geometry. While the lift arms from the back up to the top of the A arms are slotted to allow the rear of the mower to float up, the A arms are pinned in two places to the mower deck, making it impossible for the deck to pivot up at the rear. I spent almost an hour on the phone with BH's 'engineer' trying to explain why the mechanism won't work as designed, including sending him drawings showing why, and he could never understand what I was describing.

If the deck gets wet (like, if you wash it), it traps a *lot* of water around the outer spindles. It also traps a lot of grass in those areas, setting up bad rust and bearing issues, long term.

Lots more in the design dept, but I'm tired of typing.

 

[bgr]

I had an Italian finish mower. Caroni? I believe. 5 foot, wheels on each corner. Seemed to be pretty strong. Never had any problems.

 

[jsrustad]

My 25 yo KingKutter 6' 3pt hitch finish mower is getting old. I'd like to replace it with a similar unit. I mow about 12 acres with it, mostly lawn-like, but it does get a bit tall at times.
Looking at review, it seems like the CountyLine stuff is quite light duty.

A 4-wheel deck is probably best since the hydraulics on my 1954 NAA are not as steady as I would think they need to be for a rotary cutter type. But, I could be wrong.

Any advice?

Your KK lasted 25 years? So did mine, but I expected to get five to ten years more out of it. I traded it and two dead tractors to a local mechanic for about $4000 worth of work on my son's Colorado. We both think we got the better end of the deal.

It sounds like the KK worked out pretty well. Why not buy another one?

 

[chim]

My 6' KK is 2004 and still going strong, but we only mow four acres. If your deck is fine, you'd be better off buying new blades, belt, and solid wheels and...., gearbox if you need one. No problems with mine. Original tires, rotated axles, 3rd belt, 2nd blades, 2 idler pulleys, and 3rd retention spring pulled by 1950 Ferguson.


View attachment 819633

Wow, you hired Bibendum to do your mowing!

But back to mowers. I've been using finish mowers here since 1990. 5 footers, 6 footers and now a 7-1/2'. First was a belly mower on a Cub 154 LoBoy, then LandPrides and Caronis on a variety of tractors. I like the Caroni RFM's as much as any.

The wheel yokes have been the only problems encountered, but have been with both the LandPride and Caroni decks. I' have a solution in the works now. My next door BIL has a 90" WOODS (RDX90?) that is extremely well built, and I can't imagine he'll ever have any problems with the wheel yokes.

EDITED - Had wrong brand for BIL's deck It's a Woods

 

[rv7charlie]

Wow, you hired Bibendum to do your mowing!

Thanks for making me look that up. Never knew he had a name...

 

[rv7charlie]

90" Bush Hog (RDX90?) that is extremely well built, and I can't imagine he'll ever have any problems with the wheel yokes.

Heh heh heh.... Maybe the old ones are better. But if it's an HDTH? See my earlier post with pics from a 7' (84"). And BH's '15-35 HP' for 60"-99" mowers is...let's call it optimistic. I'm running a 45 HP tractor and it's *adequate* for a 7' mower. as long as you're just grooming and not trying to cut really tall grass.

 

[chim]

Hey rv7charlie -

I was WRONG. I just opened a pic file to show which model Bush Hog it was and saw it is really a WOODS!

 

[old and tired]

...I wonder if the 6' & 7' mowers use the same frame & wheel spacing...

You did not post photo of your whole deck but mine does not trap water (and that would bug me, too). Mine is pretty old (bought used around 2006-ish). It's a tank and I walk all over it. I would not be surprised if newer ones are not built as good.

I'm at a point where I could replace the 4 wheels but it's still rolling around fine.

I did just replace the oil in the gearbox. I've done that 3 times, looks new inside despite the gear oil always mixing with moisture(?) - MILKY.

 

[rv7charlie]

That is a *much* better design (at least from looking at a pic) than the 7' mower. In addition to having the wheels out where they belong, it's *shorter*, without the pointless extra 15-18" of length driven by having the center spindle aft of the outer spindles on the 7' mower and the loooong taper instead of a sensible brush guard like yours. After 3 seasons of mowing, I'm still hitting stuff with the aft end of the thing because I've got 20+ years of 'programming' built in using a shorter design. I'm attaching as much of an overall pic of the 7' as I could get with it in the shed.

BTW, if you're getting that much water in the gearbox, you probably just need a decent gasket, or some good 'form-a-gasket' for that top cover. I've used Permatex 85420 to seal inspection covers on aircraft fuel tanks and it has worked great for me. The TDS says it's good for gearboxes, so it might be worth a look. You should be able to get it at local auto parts places, or from the usual online suspects. [edit]: Should have added that it never 'cures', by design. If you need to remove the cover 3 years from now, it will slide right off after removing the bolts.

Looking at the pic of the new Woods that chim posted, it wouldn't surprise me if his friend has some of the same scalping issues that I have; that's a very different design from their older 7' mower (that I should have bought).

 

[DK35vince]

I've been running an 84" First Choice (made by Sicma/ Italy) finish mower for 20 years.
Been a great mower.
Pheonix mowers are the same mower, different name.

 

[old and tired]

...I've used Permatex 85420...

I'll look into it, but hate to get rid of the old cork gasket!!!

(to be fair, I was young and stupid back then.... Now I'm old and still stupid!!)

 

[Zork]

You did not post photo of your whole deck but mine does not trap water (and that would bug me, too). Mine is pretty old (bought used around 2006-ish). It's a tank and I walk all over it. I would not be surprised if newer ones are not built as good.

I'm at a point where I could replace the 4 wheels but it's still rolling around fine.

I did just replace the oil in the gearbox. I've done that 3 times, looks new inside despite the gear oil always mixing with moisture(?) - MILKY.

The condition of the gears with milky oil is encouraging.