Brush hog question

[RandyS]

Are you able to raise the brush hog and "drop" it on wild roses and other bushes like them?
Also what do the brush hogs weigh? How thick will it cut?
Thank you.

 

[MrWoodChips]

Are you able to raise the brush hog and "drop" it on wild roses and other bushes like them?

Not an expert here, but this seems to me to be at risk of a thrown blade, something that you do not want to be in the path of. No, it probably will not happen. I probably won't get struck by lightning if I walk around in a thunderstorm while carrying a pointy metal rod. It is still something I'd recommend avoiding.

John

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yes, I do it all the time and yes, it is dangerous... Killing blackberries. Or alders. I can take out about a 3" alder but man is it noisy... I am not sure what machine you are looking at so your results may vary.

Here is some video

YouTube - Brush Hog

some note on this. On my hog there is a way to "lock" the mower from swinging back and forth, so I can tilt the mower up so if a blade came free it would shoot up or down. Without this when you raise the mower the blades are spinning in such a way they may come close to coming at you.

I wear eye protection for sure., some people suggest putting a metal mesh on the front of my tractor (good idea, have not figured out how to make it temporary).

I have to wonder what sort of stress I put on the mower... Running it t an angle.

Finally, I no longer use this method as much as I did to begin with.

I find it safer and easier to use my grapple. I drive into the bush, grab it and back out. Sometimes I get lucky and get roots, although that does not mean much with Blackberries. A grapple is on of the best tools you can buy for yourself. Don't get stuck on PTs version, there are others that are out there that are really nice.

Carl

 

[SnowRidge]

Are you able to raise the brush hog and "drop" it on wild roses and other bushes like them?
Also what do the brush hogs weigh? How thick will it cut?
Thank you.

The weight and cutting ability will depend upon the size. Which brush hog are you aking about, or which model PT?

As for raising it and dropping it, yes you can do that. You can also lock it near vertical (on at least some models) so that nothing is likely to come back at you. However, it is not foolproof. Multiflora rose is best attacked by simply running over it with the brush hog. Sometimes that isn't possible, so I drop the cutter on it.

 

[RandyS]

The smallest brush hog we're looking at, 45". It will go on our Powerhouse Prowler mini skidsteer.
My partner put a call in to Power Trac the other day but no answer.
Thank you all for your help.

 

[ponytug]

Dear Randy,

While you could do this, I wouldn't recommend ever lifting a running brush hog. It is way too easy to get high speed projectiles coming at you.

I have used the 72" brush hog to push over 3" hardwood and 4" softwood, so I haven't found a need to raise it. (Big chunks'll be flying, but they go right down.)

Just my $0.02.

Are you able to raise the brush hog and "drop" it on wild roses and other bushes like them?
Also what do the brush hogs weigh? How thick will it cut?
Thank you.

 

[SnowRidge]

The smallest brush hog we're looking at, 45". It will go on our Powerhouse Prowler mini skidsteer.
My partner put a call in to Power Trac the other day but no answer.
Thank you all for your help.

Then I don't know how to answer your questions. The Power Trac machines allow us to raise the brush hogs pretty high while controlling the tilt angle. It would depend on your machine. Power Trac experience probably isn't relevant.

As far as safety goes, the PTs have solid steel between the operator and the cutter blades, as long as you don't have it too high at the wrong angle. What your machine is capable of may be very different.

 

[MossRoad]

I have a 48" brush hog on my PT425 and a few videos of it in action. Click on my animated icon in my signature and that will take you to my website. Click on the VIDEOS link and scroll around to find the brush hog videos.

Yes, you can lift it up while it is running and drop it down on brush. While dropping it down you can also hang up the rear end of the unit on a thick branch, which will cause the unit to tip forward, putting your neck directly on the same plane with the blades as it flings out sharp shards of woody debris directly at you from the right, rear of the deck. The blades weigh several pounds each and I have personally flown mine 40 to 50 feet away from the tractor when hitting a rock and shearing the bolt head off that holds them on.

The most I ever lift it up off the ground while operating is just a few inches. The few reasons I lift it while running are to gain clearance over small 3-4" logs on the forest floor, clearing a dirt pile or to gain traction by transferring the weight of the brush hog from its own wheels to the wheels of the tractor.

If I run into something that I cannot take down with the brush hog (which is rare, as the thing is a beast) I will stop the blades, lift the hog up in the air, drive forward and smash it down with the weight of the hog, back away, start up the blades and then drive forward.

Enjoy the videos.

 

[SnowRidge]

Yes, you can lift it up while it is running and drop it down on brush. While dropping it down you can also hang up the rear end of the unit on a thick branch, which will cause the unit to tip forward, putting your neck directly on the same plane with the blades as it flings out sharp shards of woody debris directly at you from the right, rear of the deck.

If you run the tilt back so that the pivot is at the stops, it can't rotate forward on you, and the back won't raise. It is extremely dangerous to raise it up with the PTO enganged if you do otherwise.

Nevertheless, I don't suggest anyone should raise it at all if they are not comfortable with what they are doing. Nervous people make mistakes. This isn't the place to make one. And yes, even with precautions, there is still some risk involved.