Mowing Bush Hog operating Hints and experience

[dennis52]

After every use, a quick clean under the raised brush hog with a long handled thick bristle broom to remove wet clumped debris.
Will reduce rusting and allow you to spot tangled wire , blade damage or loose bolts.

 

[bironacad]

After every use, a quick clean under the raised brush hog with a long handled thick bristle broom to remove wet clumped debris.
Will reduce rusting and allow you to spot tangled wire , blade damage or loose bolts.

I am basically a weekend warier and yesterday was my first go at it and was thinking that I should have gave it a look, lol, will check for sure this weekend coming. Great tip though, the HTL will really help with the inspections.

Do you ever need to replace your blades? and if so how often? Do you keep back ups?

 

[kebo]

Unless you have LOTS of rocks in your area, blades should last a VERY long time, like many years. Of course, it also depends on how many hours of use the mower gets each cutting season, or if you break/bend a blade. Most people will "dress" them (or put a new edge) on them once a year. It never hurts to keep a spare blade or two on hand though.


I've only owned two bush hogs so far, one had new blades just installed when I bought it. I used that 4ft one for about 9 years before I sold it (with the same blades) and upgraded to a 5ft mower. The blades on the 4ft mower were very dull when I sold it, but that was mostly by choice. It makes the cuts very rough which makes it harder for scrub trees to regrow from the same stump. Have had the current 5 ft mower for about 3 years now and it's on the same blades I got with it (bought it used so age unknown). The blades on this one are rather dull but again that is by choice. I probably should sharpen them every so often but I don't.

 

[Samandothers]

It may not matter in your case but if you have a slip clutch versus shear bolts and your cutter sits for a while you need to loosen the bolts on the slip clutch before you use. Turn the brush hog blade with the PTO to pop the 'rusted' clutch loose. Then retighten to proper amount.
check the gear box to ensure proper amount of gear oil.

I back about as much as I go forward. especially in the edge of woods.

 

[RoyJackson]

All VERY GOOD posts!!! (rare in an internet forum!)

I'll add o a few (but you've probably experienced a couple already)

Engage the PTO at a low RPM (reduce the shock load to the tractor's PTO), but keep your foot or hand near the throttle if the engine starts to stall (give it a bit more fuel if that happens).

By now, you know the cutter will make a lot of noise and vibration initially...and you'll hear the "bang" when the blades pivot out.
Also remember it takes quite a while for them to spin down (my old Land Pride takes close to a minute)...still fast enough to throw debris out. Use caution and stay on the seat if possible.

Kebo wrote about watching the temperature gage...yes, do this. I keep a small paint brush (about 2" wide and the bristles cut down to 3/4-1 inch) to clean the grills. Bush cutting is a dirty dusty job!

Speaking of dirty dusty...you're breathing the same crap that is clogging your radiator grills...think about a dust mask...goggles (and, of course, hearing protection).

 

[TripleR]

There is an old thread that I can't seem to find on reducing the engine RPM prior to disengaging the PTO.

 

[bironacad]

All VERY GOOD posts!!! (rare in an internet forum!)

I'll add o a few (but you've probably experienced a couple already)

Engage the PTO at a low RPM (reduce the shock load to the tractor's PTO), but keep your foot or hand near the throttle if the engine starts to stall (give it a bit more fuel if that happens).

By now, you know the cutter will make a lot of noise and vibration initially...and you'll hear the "bang" when the blades pivot out.
Also remember it takes quite a while for them to spin down (my old Land Pride takes close to a minute)...still fast enough to throw debris out. Use caution and stay on the seat if possible.

Kebo wrote about watching the temperature gage...yes, do this. I keep a small paint brush (about 2" wide and the bristles cut down to 3/4-1 inch) to clean the grills. Bush cutting is a dirty dusty job!

Speaking of dirty dusty...you're breathing the same crap that is clogging your radiator grills...think about a dust mask...goggles (and, of course, hearing protection).

The low RPM deal on PTO engagement I am use to with the rear mount snow blower but the dust is something again. My grill was fairly clogged with dandelion seed when I was done playing so temp watching and grill cleaning is good advice. One of the reasons I was using the BH is because it was so hot. I decided to give my weed eater and mower a rest and climbed into the enclosed cab, filtered air conditioned air, what a wimp eh? :laughing::thumbsup:

 

[TroyR57]

check out this thread, of my bush hog use last weekend, I wish I had read this before then. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...g/208765-l3700su-working-hard-lehigh-gap.html , had a lot of fun though.

 

[RoyJackson]

There is an old thread that I can't seem to find on reducing the engine RPM prior to disengaging the PTO.

That was a good addition to the topic, TripleR...
I do decrease my RPM prior to disengaging...didn''t think about adding it when I wrote my post.

 

[TripleR]

That was a good addition to the topic, TripleR...
I do decrease my RPM prior to disengaging...didn't think about adding it when I wrote my post.

I went for a lot of years disengaging my PTO often without reducing the engine RPM; wish I could have found the thread as it did a good job of explaining why.

It often seems the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.