Mowing Bush Hog operating Hints and experience

[kebo]

Excellent advice already given, but I will add one thing...

Keep an eye on the temp gauge. Bushhogging usually creates a lot of debris that can clog up the radiator and cause the motor to overheat. If you don't have a temp gauge, then stop and check the radiator screen every so often.

 

[whistlepig]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

 

[beenthere]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

Seems a bit exaggerated, but the general point made is believable.

 

[whistlepig]

Seems a bit exaggerated, but the general point made is believable.

There will others that will have had this happen to them.

 

[JoeL4330]

1" for sure. And up to 2" if getting it pushed over. Underbelly is a concern and a risk to take.
Backing over heavy brush is usually how I protect the tractor belly. If driving over, then be sure you don't end up having to back up on pushed-over brush. :shocked:

This last piece of advice: don't back up on pushed-over brush, is important but may not be understood until you have a pushed-over sapling spring back up as you reverse over it and puncture your radiator ! ...especially important when you have already cut over the sapling and sharpened it like a punji stick. ...go ahead, ask me how I know.

 

[TripleR]

That is pretty impressive thanks for the pictures. It is equipped with a slip clutch I don't have a hydraulic top link so when you say raise and lower you are you referring to your lift arms?

No, when I crest a pond levy or other abrupt rise, I extend the top link which lowers the back of the cutter so it follows the ground. I also use this when sitting on the top of a levy and back down to the waters edge. It doesn't work as well as a pull type, but does a pretty good job.

 

[moored4]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

Did the tractor jump the wire every time it came by!

 

[Grandad4]

This last piece of advice: don't back up on pushed-over brush, is important but may not be understood until you have a pushed-over sapling spring back up as you reverse over it and puncture your radiator ! ...especially important when you have already cut over the sapling and sharpened it like a punji stick. ...go ahead, ask me how I know.

+1 to that, especially if you have a modern CUT-style tractor. Lots of exposed mechanical and hydraulic stuff underneath. In really tall, thick brush, plan your turns so you don't need to back up or make sharp turns at the end of a row.

Also, be prepared for the cutter to make an unholy racket as it chews up the larger debris. The cutter will take it, but from the sound, you'll think it's coming apart.

 

[Snaker]

I have a KK and understand fully that it is a lite duty mower. I've used it to make and maintain a little over 3 miles of trails plus grass mowing. The wear and tear really ramps up when cutting the thicker stuff. When clearing a new patch of brush, I prewalk with a chainsaw. Anything that I can't grab with one hand at knee level and bend horizontally fairly easily gets sawed off at ground level. Its not nearly as bad as it may appear and I still have a mower in good shape after about 15 years.

When blazing trails in thick brush I use toilet paper pieces to run a center line as the planned path can get tricky to eyeball.

 

[9973720wb19]

when doing an area with high brush (without smalls trees) I like to make the first cut by backing up in the center and work my way out and back driving fwd and back. this way I watch the back wheel on the brush mower to see if it gets muddy or starts to rise or fall sharply...helps to determine the lay of the land and where the wet areas are. when mowing fwd, I like to keep the fel low and it can help if i get stuck.