Bush hog sapling size

[Jmsmithy]

I just got my Kioti DK40SE HST, making 32hp to the PTO w/ a 6' Kodiak medium duty rotary mower w/ stump jumper. Gearbox is rated at 90hp. I explained to dealer my situation and what I wanted to do and he recommended that unit (he sells various mowers/brands). This setup easily takes out saplings wrist thick and then some. He showed me how to back into certain sized ones and how to raise and lower the mower deck on them as needed.
Something to keep in mind with size ratings too: it appears that, at least in talking to multiple dealers and reading mower specs/forums etc, sapling sizes are often given in diameter as opposed to circumference. A 2.5" diameter sapling is quite a bit larger than a sapling measuring 2.5" in circumference...

 

[TomSeller]

. Sure, a bushhog will cut saplings but it won't cut them very low and you run the risk of blowing tractor tires.. consider solid fill or forestry rated tires if you plan on doing a lot of cutting.
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Very true. Good point.

 

[Creamer]

Something else you can do is keep your tractor light, i.e. no FEL and do not lift the mower all the way up as it might push a stump through the tire.

 

[JimRB]

You say a chainsaw would be a pain. Here is an alternative I use these blades on a straight shaft trimmer with a harness and handlebars. It works pretty well and no bending over. for little 2" stuff is it pretty neat. Carbide Brush Cutter Blades | Trimmer Blades https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He3RDMBi5GI If you watch this video you can see the end of the unit jump a bit which is why you want handlebars and a harness so it is less likely to wack your ankles off. Of course cutting 4" stuff it would be faster to fire up my MS210 and cut but for little stuff the trimmer works well. That said I go over 2 and 3" trees with my brush cutter. It just makes noise if it succeeds in cutting and not bull dozing. The little trimmer is used to get where the bush hog cannot or working on mountain bike trials.

 

[like2wheel]

Something to keep in mind with size ratings too: it appears that, at least in talking to multiple dealers and reading mower specs/forums etc, sapling sizes are often given in diameter as opposed to circumference. A 2.5" diameter sapling is quite a bit larger than a sapling measuring 2.5" in circumference...

Safe to assume most people are talking about "diameter" here?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Safe to assume most people are talking about "diameter" here?

Id say. Never heard of the circumference designation, but I can drive my 15.5 foot bushog quite effectively cutting 10" trees with 25 HP.

 

[LD1]

Id say. Never heard of the circumference designation, but I can drive my 15.5 foot bushog quite effectively cutting 10" trees with 25 HP.

15.5/pi = 5' hog
10"/pi = 3" sapling

 

[Todd727]

This is something you can search for very easily from different manufacturers. For instance: Rotary Cutters and you will see that a Woods BB can handle up to 4". Having had a BB7200, I can vouch for it. If you don't need something that big, find one with the correct specs.

 

[Raised on a Deere]

I have a 5' pull behind type woods rotary I bought back in 1973, along with a well worn Ford super Dexta about a 35horse power 3 cyl Perkins diesel. I used the mower to beat everything imaginable into submission sometimes knocking over trees that would lift the front end as I walked over it carefully. then inched up to the mower until it started making contact with the blade and let it beat its way through as I inched the tractor forward. Did this for hundreds of trees taking days and I have never punctured a tire (lucky to and extend no doubt) but the mower was so dull it just chewed the trees up and the stump was all chewed over. I always wondered how much more of this the mower was going to take but it never failed. The seals went out and when the gears started howling I just filled the box with grease and kept going. I turned the whole rig over to my son 5 years ago and he has subjected it to similar use clearing out deer plots on a friends wooded farm. It is amazing what can be accomplished with equipment if you are willing to learn what it can do and are willing to fix what breaks. No dealer is going to walk you through that process. Any equipment ibuy I consider mine and I never look back to the dealer except for parts occasionally. Most parts can be ordered and arrive at my doorstep with out ever having to fool with the dealer anyway.

The 23 acres of land I did all that clearing on was left unattended for about 7 years and now I am moving back and looking for a new rig that will ride a bit better and be more maneuverable but I too am wondering how to cross reference the capability of that old woods mower to the newer decks out there. One thing that made that old worn out rig hold up was the pto clutch on the tractor would slip due to a leaky seal that kept it wet. It would only slip when the mower caught on something that stopped the blade and I would clutch to keep from burning the clutch up. the same clutch is operating on that 1964 Dexta even today. but boy -- no power steering, hard tail seat, no springs only 4 gears left after a couple of the forward speeds a gear tooth has broken. Just put it into another gear and keep going. You can see why I want a new rig now that I am financially set to get it. But likely as not I will not have the stress free use I got out of that old worthless worn out rig I bought back in 1973.

Insult to injury I even learned a year or two after I bought that tractor that the head had been welded on to it to stop a leak from frozen cooling system. I was really taken aback but as long as it pulled hard and kept on working I just quit thinking about it. I just used it with the intention of junking it when it quit but it kept on going. And so into the bushes I went and for years it did the job. Yes you can bush hog anything the tractor can knock over. Just depends on how much fun you want to have

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

Oh it will probably cut it but my god the noise it makes :shocked: is unreal.

When i first got my 5' shredder/brush hog/mower as everyone calls them i thought yeah i will cut some small sapplings down (inch or so in diameter, 12-14' tall) so had the mower going, drove over them slowly and holy heII the noise it made had me thinking im tearing this thing all to pieces (the mower) and i looked around and people were coming out of their nearby houses pointing and looking at me thinking i was having some sort of tractor accident. So the moral to my story is, yeah it will cut them but be prepared for some NOISE. :laughing:

It didnt really cut them, more like it made them explode and shredded them to small bits but they were gone nevertheless.