Brush hog vs. mower.

[Soundguy]

I'm still trying to figure out how a mower is ripping up an inground flush sprinkler head... no part of the mower is touching the ground save a tailwheel for a brush mower.. or deck wheels or rolers for a finish mower. Are wheels pulling up your heads?

Soundguy

 

[Poncho]

He's got about 10 acres of brush.... and no matter how often you cut it, it will always be brush until tilled and planted. As far as the other 25 acres being "various grasses", I would assume a type of pasture grass which grows tall. The bush hog is the best tool in both of these applications as pasture grasses should not be cut as close as a finish mower can cut, or you will wind up with dirt. you can raise the finish mower, but I think that would result in an ineffective cutting with the deck being higher than it should. I also think the pet name "Sunshine State" is a misnomer..... blazing hot and humid now frequently overcast, and those thunderous rain storms that start at 4:30 just before I get off really makes for a pleasant trip to the truck /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[_RaT_]

It really does boil down to what you have. I have rolling hills, the grasses are a mixture of dallisgrass, bermuda and many other types mixed in. I mow at 5.50 inches, the second highest setting my mower goes to. I really like the look it leaves over my brush mower simply because it does a good job of pulverizing the cuttings. It takes longer here for those cuttings to disappear with the low humidity. There is no question that for rough areas, a brush mower is better, mine just is not rough anymore, it's rolling green hills. On occasion I mow around my pond backing the whole mower down a steep bank using my hydraulic top link constantly to change the approach as the mower gets to the crest. My brush mower would do a good job of mutilating the few alder and willow saplings that grow. If I catch them soon enough, the finish mower has no problem cutting them down. My finish mower is a bit of a beast, nothing like the brush mower. It definitely is made of some nice thick steel all around.

 

[MMM]

Must be some tender 12" grass! 12" bahia grass eats RFM belts round here. 3 meals a day!

 

[Typhoon]

Go for the rotary cutter without a doubt. A finish mower is a very job-specific tool. It can only do 1 thing... cut lawn grass that has not grown up too much. A rotary cutter does it all! And I have found that once I tamed all of the larger brush on my property, I can get a real nice cut if I put a sharp edge on the hog blades. Obviously not as nice as the FM but pretty close.
-Brad

 

[KiotiJohn]

You're right Rat. Florida, the home of liquid sunshine! John

 

[_RaT_]

Yeah, it cuts pretty easy. I'm still on the first kevlar belt and there is not the slightest sign of wear. I guess I'm just lucky.

 

[sodamo]

I've really enjoyed this discussion. Seems to reaffirm my thinking to get a bush hog instead of mower, but I was wondering, once the pasture has been tamed with repeated bushhogging, might it be possible to change out the blades - replace with something thinner/sharper? If I read the specs correctly, the bush hog blades are thicker ie 1/2" vs 1/4".
David

 

[Gatorboy]

<font color="blue"> but I was wondering, once the pasture has been tamed with repeated bushhogging, might it be possible to change out the blades - replace with something thinner/sharper? </font>

This does not sound like a viable solution. One of the biggest factors for getting a good cut is blade speed. Check the specs of blade tip speed on finish mowers vs. rotary mowers. The finish mowers will have the higher speeds. Just putting on thinner sharper blades onto a rotary mower I don't believe will buy you much.

 

[Soundguy]

I agree. I think simply sharpening the rotary cutter baldes and mowing often will produce the best cut it is capable of. If the slightly rough cut isn't good enough.. a finish mower of some sort is in order.. For me.. I can cut down to 2" with my 5' kk rotary mower and say.. 3-4" with my 10' mower.. either is fine for me..

Soundguy