Brush hog question

[Juniper Ridge]

Good afternoon

I have a couple of questions about brush hogs (I don't have a tractor yet, so the answers are to help me refine my search).

I need to mow about 6 acres of irrigated flattish pasture - the objective being to mow the weeds and encourage the grass. I'll be mowing every two weeks or so. I also need to brush hog a rough weedy hilly pasture of about 2 acres, probably once a month.

Can you adjust the mowing height of a brush hog?
What width/size brush hog would you suggest considering the fact that the tractor I would want to get would really only be used for mowing and the FEL (gravel, sand and some 'easy' leveling/cutting/filling). I need a very manoeverable tractor.

thank you in advance

 

[RobJ]

Well the cart is before the horse here. You need to figure out what size tractor you need and can afford (if that's an issue ). Then size the mower. You could get by with a 5' mower, 6' even better, 7' even faster. You can get away with an oversized mower on a smaller tractor if the grass is kept lower and not allowed to get to high.

For my little tractor I have a 4' mower. It came with it and I mostly use if for ATV trails, hunting areas, etc. I think the lowest it will go is about 3". And that's with it dragging on the ground if its not completly level. It won't go any lower.

Keep us updated!

Rob

 

[kthompson]

You do need to pay attention to the lowest height a rough cut mower will cut but from there you can raise them. Not the same as a lawn mower or even a "finish mower" but still can raise them using the tractor's lift to so and with the trail wheel(s) on them.

You will want a mower wider than your tractor if it will handle it and you do need to select tractor first and then mower for it. The make different grades of rough cut mowers and most if not all brands have at least two grades. The rougher what you will be cutting (such as small trees or brush compared to grass) the more important that will be. The more level your land is the wider one you can also use just as with any mower. If you have never used a rough cut mower they can be very dangerous. They are great to throw what ever they run over out and can throw debris a long way with great speed and force. You may wish to also consider a "flail" mower. They cost more but (normally) are shorter in length and don't have the same throwing action of debris they run over. You may wish to search them here for there has been much written comparing the different mowers.

A rough cut mower does give a rough cut. Don't think it will look like a lawn.

 

[MarkV]

Hi, welcome to the forum. As Rob said mower size really has a lot to do with tractor size. The rule of thumb is 5 PTO hp per mower foot. You can get by with less, I do, in pasture mowed more often.

You can adjust the height on a rotary mower, Bush Hog, but it isn't like the finish mower you may be use to. There is a tail wheel that sets the rear height and the front height is adjusted on the tractor with the controls that regulate your 3PT hitch arms. Not many rotary mowers are going to mow below 3 or 4".

MarkV

 

[newbury]

I think the OP is going about it right, figuring out what implement he needs, then figuring out what he needs to pull it.
I figured I needed a BH big enough to dig a hole I couldn't see out of, so a tractor with less HP was getting to small.
He probably should buy the tractor first, but it should help narrow down the choices.
So a 6' hog w/ a 30HP tractor might be a sweet spot.

 

[flusher]

Good afternoon

I have a couple of questions about brush hogs (I don't have a tractor yet, so the answers are to help me refine my search).

I need to mow about 6 acres of irrigated flattish pasture - the objective being to mow the weeds and encourage the grass. I'll be mowing every two weeks or so. I also need to brush hog a rough weedy hilly pasture of about 2 acres, probably once a month.

Can you adjust the mowing height of a brush hog?
What width/size brush hog would you suggest considering the fact that the tractor I would want to get would really only be used for mowing and the FEL (gravel, sand and some 'easy' leveling/cutting/filling). I need a very manoeverable tractor.

thank you in advance

You may be able to find a hog with blades that will mow down to and inch or so. Check around. With only 6 acres, your tractor very likely will be in the 20-30 hp range. My first tractor was a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, hydrostatic tranny, 4WD, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift capacity). Cost: $12.6K plus tax. I mowed my 10 acres of flat pasture with a 4-ft King Kutter rotary mower ($600 from TSC then, now $740).

But realistically, you probably need a brush hog for the hilly 2 acres and another mower for your 4-acre pasture.

Check out finish mowers, flail mowers and sicklebar mowers if you want to mow your pasture really short (1-2" height).

Finish mowers are fairly expensive ($1429 for a 5-ft mower from Tractor Supply). The height is more easily adjusted than on a hog.

Flail mowers are very expensive ($2850 for a 5-ft size from Northern Tool). These mowers can be adjusted to just about scalp the ground if that's what you want.

You can find used sicklebar mowers pretty cheap. I bought a used 7-ft MF-41 sicklebar mower for $550 a few months ago at a local auction.

You don't need a lot of pto horsepower for a sicklebar this size. My old Kubota B7510HST could handle it no problem. And it's pretty easy to adjust the cutting height of the sicklebar.

 

[Juniper Ridge]

Thank you for your replies.

I wouldn't want to mow the pasture lower than 6 inches - a sickle mower would work well for that. The hilly pasture is weedy, but there is no brush to cut, just *very* tall weeds. I assumed a brush hog because there are some largish stones (6" or so) that would undoubtedly get run over and I thought a brush hog was designed not to get damaged by such. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, but perhaps not.

And am I understanding this right? A brush hog is not the same as a mower/rotary mower?

I am thinking a tractor between 21 and 25 hp will work for me.

 

[newbury]

Thank you for your replies.

I wouldn't want to mow the pasture lower than 6 inches - a sickle mower would work well for that. The hilly pasture is weedy, but there is no brush to cut, just *very* tall weeds. I assumed a brush hog because there are some largish stones (6" or so) that would undoubtedly get run over and I thought a brush hog was designed not to get damaged by such. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, but perhaps not.

And am I understanding this right? A brush hog is not the same as a mower/rotary mower?

I am thinking a tractor between 21 and 25 hp will work for me.

Brush or bush hogs are things that cut stuff in a rotary motion with a blade.
When you start talking "mower" you are often moving from something that clears small trees, and leaves small stumps, to cutting grass and leaving something your loved ones can walk on barefooted.
It's definitions.

6" stones are kind of big to throw and kill two birds.
If it hit's a blade, whether bush hog or lawn mower, physics happen and the blade gets damaged.

Do some simple math, I'm to lazy -
Width of mower
Area of land
Mowing speed
FUDGE FACTOR
Figure out how long it will take to mow X acres at Y speed, w/ a 10% overlap.
Then figure out if you want to get a wider bush hog/mower (bigger tractor) or more seat time.

 

[MarkV]

Juniper, Bush Hog is a company name and some of their products are rotary mowers. You will also hear them called slashers, brush mowers or rough cut mowers. With your rocks it sounds like the type of mower you will want. Unlike a finish mower a rotary mower (Bush Hog) does not have fixed blades. Rotary mower blades can swing freely where they attach to a metal center disk called a stump jumper. There ability to pivot lets them absorb the impact of hitting objects like your rocks without major damage.

When looking at tractors keep in mind that PTO hp is the important number for a mower. Most tractors that have 25 hp will have somewhere around 20 PTO horsepower. That size tractor would use a 4' mower.

MarkV

 

[newbury]

<snip>

When looking at tractors keep in mind that PTO hp is the important number for a mower. Most tractors that have 25 hp will have somewhere around 20 PTO horsepower. That size tractor would use a 4' mower.

MarkV

Does that ratio matter much if you've got flat or hilly terrain?
For example I've got a lot of my land with fairly hilly terrain, should I figure on needing 6PTO HP per foot of mower?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Here is a chart that should help you out. A lot matters on how fast you want to get the job done. Rotary Cutters from Bush-Whacker -- Production Chart Size your tractor to the mower that will get the job done in the time frame that you want.

 

[MarkV]

Does that ratio matter much if you've got flat or hilly terrain?
For example I've got a lot of my land with fairly hilly terrain, should I figure on needing 6PTO HP per foot of mower?

Newbury, in my opinion the ratio has more to do with the material you will be cutting than the hills. Saplings and thick heavy grass will bog you down more than the hills although the hills may require to drop a gear and run slower. As an example I run a 4' rotary mower with only 13 PTO hp on my small tractor as fast as I am interested in going and it cuts fine in weeds taller than the tractor. If I get into real thick hay type grass I have to slow down or cut with more overlap to keep the tractor from working too hard.

MarkV

 

[newbury]

Here is a chart that should help you out. A lot matters on how fast you want to get the job done. Rotary Cutters from Bush-Whacker -- Production Chart Size your tractor to the mower that will get the job done in the time frame that you want.

Good chart!
So if the OP gets a B7610 (like what I've got) 24 HP (18 HP PTO) and a 42" hog it looks like he should be able to do about 1 to 2 acres per hour for a SWAG.
If he gets something like a B7510, 21HP (16 HP PTO) he might not be able to mow it at all.
I have read several posts of peeps with tractors my size destroying their PTO's w/ 5' and 6' cutters.

 

[Juniper Ridge]

My problem is that I have two types of jobs that I need to do. Big Jobs that require, it would appear, a Big Tractor and small jobs that require a small, easily manoeverable tractor.

I don't mind spending the time to mow the pastures (although longer than 6 hours is pushing my patience levels to use the above poster's example), but I do mind not being able to a) brush hog the hill b) mow the "small" lawn and c) drag and rototill the arena with the same machine.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

My problem is that I have two types of jobs that I need to do. Big Jobs that require, it would appear, a Big Tractor and small jobs that require a small, easily manoeverable tractor.

I don't mind spending the time to mow the pastures (although longer than 6 hours is pushing my patience levels to use the above poster's example), but I do mind not being able to a) brush hog the hill b) mow the "small" lawn and c) drag and rototill the arena with the same machine.

Go find yourself the most horse power that you can find and are comfortable with that is in a tractor that is 60"-66" wide or less and that will be the best compromise in my opinion.

Bobcat has some killer deals going on right now, you might want to check them out.

 

[newbury]

You hadn't mentioned rototilling
One site I found:

We recommend 3/4 hp per inch of tillage width as a minimum horsepower requirement.

from Maschio Tillers
Thus w/ a 20HP PTO tractor you could probably run about a 40" tiller.

One thing I've only found out from reading is that ground engaging equipment requires more power.

 

[DmansPadge]

Good afternoon

I have a couple of questions about brush hogs (I don't have a tractor yet, so the answers are to help me refine my search).

I need to mow about 6 acres of irrigated flattish pasture - the objective being to mow the weeds and encourage the grass. I'll be mowing every two weeks or so. I also need to brush hog a rough weedy hilly pasture of about 2 acres, probably once a month.

Can you adjust the mowing height of a brush hog?
What width/size brush hog would you suggest considering the fact that the tractor I would want to get would really only be used for mowing and the FEL (gravel, sand and some 'easy' leveling/cutting/filling). I need a very manoeverable tractor.

thank you in advance

So you have 6 acres that will be cut every couple of weeks and 2 additional acres to cut every so often? If I was cutting 6 acres every other week I would want at least a 5' cutter and a tractor that could handle it easily. The 5 PTO hp per ft rule is an ok guideline but every situation is different. You can definitely get by with less HP if you are cutting often.

I have had a 12 PTO hp tractor that I used a 4' hog on. I now have a 15 PTO hp tractor that I use a 5' hog on. Both handled their respective cutters about the same. If I cut often it isn't a problem at all. If it has been a while and is overgrown I can still cut it ok but my speed has to slow way down. Tall weeds and light brush really aren't the problem... it is where the growth is real thick that gets you. I can't see that you are going to hurt your PTO by running a larger than recommended cutter but you can for sure put undo wear on the engine by lugging it down while trying to cut more than it can handle.

Another thing you might consider is the frame and tire size of the tractor. If your property is smooth and doesn't have a lot of dips and such a smaller tractor will be ok. But if it is kind of rough a tractor with larger tires and a longer wheelbase will ride over the bad spots much better and will not affect the height of the brush hog as bad. This will also make it easier to mow faster and wouldn't beat you up quite as bad.

 

[medicshawn]

How about a bigger B series from Kubota. I had a B7800 30HP, 23 PTO. You should be able to run a 5 foot bushog with that. It would also give you more HP for your tiller. There has to be a million B7800s and you should be able to buy them used with a FEL for 12500 or less all day long. Or step up to the new B3200 for a few more HP.

 

[dodge man]

I have a Kubota BX2350 with a 4' brush mower. It might do the mowing you are talking about in 6 hours, but it might take 8 hours, it just depends on how long it gets. It is small and turns pretty tight and does a good job finish mowing. If it were me I would look a about a 30 hp tractor, something like a Kubota B series.

 

[deere5105]

I recommend something in the 30 to 35 hp range with a 5' rotary cutter. I run a 6' rotary, John Deere MX6, behind my John Deere 5105, 45 PTO hp, with very good results. I can cut rough areas and still drop it down to cut close in the areas that border my yard. Check the specifications on rotary cutters as some won't cut as close as others.