Bush Hog Question

[allpontiac]

I have the opportunity to purchase a new Howse 5 ft. rotary cutter ("bush hog") for what seems to be the very reasonable price of $485. I failed to get the model number but understand that it is their base model without chains. When it seems that most implements of this type sell for just under $1000, I thought I would check with some of you folks to see if you have an opinion or experience with this cutter. Thanks in advance for your help - Lewis

 

[MMM]

Get what you pay for. Should be ok for pasture clipping and light brush.

 

[Bird]

I used a 5' Howse 500 with my B2710 and was satisfied with it. I made my own chain guards for it. You can see a picture of the one I had here.

 

[btolle]

I had a Howse 42" that I sold with my old tractor.

It did a good jog of cutting, but was bad about throwing big chunls of wood and trash out the rear. The skirt just didn't come down far enough in the rear. If I had kept it I was going to find some heavy rubber (something like conveyor belting) and bolt on the rear and front. I figured if I bolted it at the top of the rubber strip it would be stiff enough to catch flying objects and aim the downward a little.

It did not have an access hole in the top to remove the bolt that holds the blades on the stump jumper.

My real gripe is there seemed to be too much gap between the stump jumper and the blades. Stems of grass and trash would get caught in the gap and lock the blade in place. It would start vibrating badly. The most efficient way I found to get the grass out was to use a nozzle on a water hose and blast it out while wiggling the end of the blade. A real inconvenience, and it seemd to happen at least once every hour or so.

My "fix" for that was going to be to take the blades off and make some spacers out of metal that was thick enough to narrow the gap but thin enough to let the blades still swing freely. Look at some other brands of cutters and see if the gap is the same as the Howse.

Look closely at it and see what you think. It may be made a little better than my 42" model was.

Howse 500 Series Econmy Cutters shows that the deck is 12 gauge metal. Most 4' cutters are 3/16" thick metal. If you are going to use it occasionally the 12 gauge may last but if youre a heavy user I would look for something more substantial.

Howse 5' cutter weighs 507 pounds and Modern Competitor 5' weighs 680 pounds. The Competitor is Modern's "Economy" series which is good for me since I probably won't put more than 20 hours a year on it.

The price sounds very reasonable as long as you want a light duty cutter.

I ordered a new Modern Competitior 4' rotary cutter last week. It was $695 + $60 additional for hot dip galvanized deck.

BTW, I have a 4' Howse box blade that I really like so I am not against buying their stuff, just that particular cutter was not all that great.

Bill Tolle

 

[BB_TX]

I have been running a 6' Howse cutter for 5 years and has worked fine. Mostly pasture mowing. But I have cut a lot of brush, cedars, and small trees as I reclaim overgrown areas around my creek. I often hit large chunks of wood hiding in the grass that have floated up out of the creek. I paid $500 for mine and don't see how a $1500 cutter would have done any better for what I do.

 

[normde2001]

If you have the right sized tractor (25+ pto hp), I would buy it in a heartbeat for normal homeowner use. If you don't abuse it like most folks do, and perform normal maintenance, (know what you are cutting, store out of the weather, and sweep off debris after use), it should last many years.

 

[mark777]

That is a very good price. I paid that much for my Howse 4' just a few months ago. Got pinched due to the first increase of steel prices. I would jump on that deal (5') and it should last for years.

Mark

 

[allpontiac]

Thanks everyone for the input - that's just the kind of info I needed. Also, thanks Bird for the chain photo - that will be a big help because I just feel better with a chain guard in place - Lewis

 

[Soundguy]

I don't mind the economy models like howse or KK> I have a 5' KK that has worked well for about 4 years now, and also a new 10" howse that just finished it's first mow season.

On the 5' KK I made a guard out of truck mudflaps and some perfed angle iron and misc nuts and bolts.. I think my total cost was like 11 or 14 bucks or something..

Soundguy