Rotary Cutter Brush Cutter Gear Box Rating - What do it Mean?

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi all, I was at the Farm Tractor store looking at the King Cutter 60" Brush Cutters. They have a gear box rating of 60Hp. The salesperson couldn't tell me if that meant I must have a 60Hp PTO or that that is the max Hp I could use with the cutter. I get my Kubota B7800, 30Hp, tomorrow. Is the tractor big enough for this? I am not looking for a top of the line cutter, just one I will use 5-10 times a year on 2 acres of brush, small 1-2" saplings, bigger get the Stihl. So, I guess I've asked two seperate questions;

1. Is the 60hp the max rating of the gearbox and I can then use it with the 30Hp tractor?
2. Is the King Cutter going to work for me?

Thanks in advance.

Frank

 

[looch]

Yes and Yes.

The gear box rating is how much you can throw at it before it throws stuff back at you.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

pbenven gave you the perfect answers to both questions. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[BillG_in_TX]

KingKutter makes a 40HP 60" model that should be plenty of cutter for your needs - and save you some money.

 

[normde2001]

"The gear box rating is how much you can throw at it before it throws stuff back at you.".....Well said, wish I had thought of that.

 

[icat]

Great question! Cleared up alot of confussion I had too. Now for a follow-up. When Bush Hog shows the recommended tractor HP for a given unit, is this the PTO HP or the tractor HP? For example, the Bush Hog SQ720 shows a 65HP gaerbox - so I can use it with a tractor up to 65HP. They also show the recomended HP as 30 to 45HP. Is this figure the PTO HP or the tractor HP?

 

[Bird]

Keith, it's my understanding that they're talking about PTO horsepower in that context. And you're right that the gearbox should be guaranteed to not break if used with up to 65 PTO horsepower and they're recommending a minimum of 30-45. Just remember that it's a "recommendation" only; probably a good one but not an absolute. If you're usually doing light duty work, you might be happy with only 20-25 PTO hp, but if you're usually doing heavier stuff, you might not be happy unless you had 45 or more. Naturally they don't want to sell one to someone with too small a tractor and have an unhappy customer.

 

[icat]

Thanks Bird. I just gotta keep telling myself that the 5' cutter is enough, the 5' cutter is enough, the 5' cutter is.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif