Build/buy a skid steer brush cutter or cobble one up from an old brush hog?

[tmc_31]

Ha, yes I have used them before, several times. Your are right, they will beat you to death. My skid has foamed tires. That said, there are still places that this works much better than my cabbed tractor with a shredder on it. I can mow much rougher stuff with the skid than I am willing to with my tractor. Also, it is much easier to maneuver in denser wooded areas.

I had not seen the three point to ssqa adapters with the motors. I suspect that it would be a pretty expensive adapter. Also, I intend to turn the shredder around so that it would present to the grass just as it would as if being pulled by a tractor.

Tim

 

[searcyfarms]

low flow cat 1 around 2000 hi flow around 2500 on cost of adapter

i have run with pneumatic and solid, the solid beat u to death with the thuds the pneumatic beat you to death from teh rocking - its a lot of weight extended out in front of you acting as a teeter totter - and yes i dont like driving my tractor in places i would take my SS with one of these on its just too hard on things and i dont want flats or trees whacking up teh sides of my tractor

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Brush Mower on LS160 Skid Steer (Bobcat) heavy bush - YouTube here is one thing built, 6.2 ci charlyn motor coupled to a king kutter 72"
had to reinforce the the deck.
an open front with blades exposed 6" is much more efficient. Never had much luck keeping a guage wheel on, being only 1/2 the height of the skid wheel and hidden in the brush they were to easy to break off

 

[jmc]

Brush Mower on LS160 Skid Steer (Bobcat) heavy bush - YouTube here is one thing built, 6.2 ci charlyn motor coupled to a king kutter 72"
had to reinforce the the deck.
an open front with blades exposed 6" is much more efficient. Never had much luck keeping a guage wheel on, being only 1/2 the height of the skid wheel and hidden in the brush they were to easy to break off

Well that's impressive! Got a picture of the cutter that shows the cut away front and the guards?

 

[skidsteer.ca]

not really any guards, just a push bar 16" above blades to bend trees forward made from 2" square tube. Also you need a bypass loop between the two hoses to the loader as the loader valve stps the flow when turned off. This forces the rotating blades to slam to a stop driven by their inertia. T ing the return hose to the pressure hose will prevent this. But you need a check valve in the crossover line so the flow can only go from the return into the pressure line. Not vice versa

 

[jmc]

not really any guards, just a push bar 16" above blades to bend trees forward made from 2" square tube. Also you need a bypass loop between the two hoses to the loader as the loader valve stps the flow when turned off. This forces the rotating blades to slam to a stop driven by their inertia. T ing the return hose to the pressure hose will prevent this. But you need a check valve in the crossover line so the flow can only go from the return into the pressure line. Not vice versa

Thanks for that.

I thought I saw some expanded steel mesh above the deck in front and below the deck at the rear.

 

[Fallon]

not really any guards, just a push bar 16" above blades to bend trees forward made from 2" square tube. Also you need a bypass loop between the two hoses to the loader as the loader valve stps the flow when turned off. This forces the rotating blades to slam to a stop driven by their inertia. T ing the return hose to the pressure hose will prevent this. But you need a check valve in the crossover line so the flow can only go from the return into the pressure line. Not vice versa

I have 1/2 NPT 3 GPM 15-3 PSI Hydraulic Cushion Valve | Relief & Cushion Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com for the same issue on my hydraulic post hole digger. It can spin either way so just a check valve wont work. Relief wont trip until until whatever you have it set to. Will heat the oil a bit, but not enough to wory unless you shut down the control valve a lot or otherwise stall the motor a lot.

A spinning motor becomes an effective pump when you shutdown flow to it. Blown hoses, pump case or seals are effective pressure relief for that motor turned pump. Kind of hard to reset them after they've tripped though, unlike a proper check or pressure relief valve.

 

[searcyfarms]

it looks to me like you are going to be well into your 2000 mark and at 2500 for a used one i wonder how much you will really gain vs a home made unit with all your time/energy doing that and you still wont have one as heavy - those brush cutters for a SS are not light like a bhog that goes on a tractor

 

[tmc_31]

Searcyfarms, Ha it wouldn't be the first time I spent more building something than I could have bought it for.

After I read your post this morning, I looked at the current cost of the brushcutters available on the net. The least expensive that I found that would be suitable for my needs was about $2600.

My anticipated costs are as follows:

Used 5'-6' shredder $0-$150
SSQA attach plate $100
Hydraulic motor: $310
Relief Bypass valve: $172
SAE A motor mount: $70
Misc hydraulic hoses, flat faced couplers $300
Misc steel for plate hinge, skid plates and general reinforcement: $200

Total: $1302 or there abouts.

Tim

 

[searcyfarms]

I have used two different brushcutters that go on a SS - i would say the weight of the tractor type shredder would be by far more desirable because all the weight makes it horrible to ride on - I have a 9000+ lb machine that is 86hp and 22gpm - it literally beats the heck out of you

i cant remember if you have a cab or not but you will want one - all of the debris comes in on you whn using one, dust/seeds/leaves/sticks whateever you are mowing ends up in the cab and on you -

I now what you mean starting a project and ending up over budget ;-) and then things being kinda quirky in my cases

The heaviest one i used also mulched it was strong and capable but boy did it work a machine hard and the more weight the more it beat me around - hitting large trees were more eventful also, it woudl chew up big stuff but you had to ride it like a bucking horse to chew it up

not sure what kind of hydro motor you are looking into but they spin down quickly and loose their momentum and then take a bit to get spun back up - that is annoying to me vs using a pto driven device like a tractor