BX 60 MMM Time per Acre

[4570Man]

The owner would be money ahead to rent a bush hog for you to use. The production will be way better. I don’t think you’ll tear up the mower unless you hit hidden objects but I’m guessing it’ll take 2-3 hours per acre. Now 2’ tall thin weeds and 2’ tall thick grass are completely different. If it’s thin stuff you’ll be a lot better off.

 

[Diggin It]

They can do that, but I don't see any 2' weeds.

Which is the point I made above. Weeds are a lot tougher than grass. Maybe if we had a picture of the field in question as it is now .....

 

[nikerret]

I am hoping it’s like the pictures I posted. We will see, if he calls back.

 

[RjCorazza]

I cut "lawns" like pictured on occasion with my zero turns. Potential customers almost always describe their lawn as "a little high".
Anyway, I had envisioned something higher and thicker than your photos. Assuming you can leave no stand-ups behind, I still think you are still in the 20 hour ballpark for 10 acres. Maybe 10 hours if you can zoom through once and leave some weeds standing.
I charge a minimum of double my standard rate for an overgrown lawn, sometimes 3x if it's a real mess. Drifting further off topic, I have some seasonal customers that have by request delayed the first cut the season, or stopped service too soon in the fall. They get billed double or more for the high grass, and I either get fired, or they knock that cheap behavior off.
Good luck with the job!

 

[Jchonline]

About 10

10 acres with a BX...now that is some serious seat time. It looks like you have been able to cut it successfully...at least a few rows. It will cut so just seat time if you are willing. Split it into 3 days.

 

[nikerret]

I went to look at the job site. Here is the actual property. As you can see, it is all at least two feet tall and some up to four feet. Fairly thick, though the angle of the picture makes it look woolier than it is. You can see dirt when you look straight down.



A friend has a brush hog I can borrow, but I don’t know how well the BX will handle it or if I’ll have to buy a PTO shaft, since his 3pt arms are much longer than mine.

A couple of years ago, I cut brush like this, but it was not as thick. There was a lot more dirt visible, from above and it wasn’t as tall.

 

[JWR]

When you have health issues and need the money you will do what you can do with what you've got. I feel your situation big time.

If that one big picture in post # 26 is representative, I say yes you can do it. Far from ideal but you could.
1) If all else fails, walk the land to make sure what objects and debris are there, mark anything TOO bad, and then just go after it slow with the MMM set high. Don't let it bog down and burn belts or do damage. If that happens you lose.
2) Talk to your customer and see what his real expectations are. How short does he want it mowed? How flexible is he? Not good idea to start if you aren't going to satisfy him. By the hour versus price to do the job offer pros and cons.
3) For sure the brush hog is the right tool. Since you can borrow a brush hog, make sure it is 5ft or less. You can run a 5ft hog with your BX in that kind of weeds without too much grief. There are several issues for you with using a hog. First your lift arms may not want to spread wide enough to mount the hog. Cat I vs Cat II ? Second, the driveshaft may be too long and might have to be cut shorter to allow you to hitch (I doubt it.). I assume you have to pull the backhoe or is it off ? Do you have lift arms or have to add them to the BX? If you do not already have lift arms for your BX that almost rules out using the hog for a single job...the arms and lift links kit etc are NOT cheap.

I'm going backwards in this discussion but FIRST, before you even think about other options, check the compatibility of that bush hog. If it can be made to work , do it.
Only if you can't use the hog, go into it slowly with the MMM.

If able to use hog, get someone to help you pull the MMM off before doing the cutting.

[There are so many unknowns here -- what you have and don't have to work with, what help you have, how bad your physical limitations are, etc. Good luck!]

 

[skipperbrown]

Wow. I wouldn't try a post #26 field with my bx and mmm on 10 ac. I wouldn't do it with my b and mmm. You need a brush cutter and i'd pin up your mmm unless you have a cover over your hydro fan if you rent a cutter. Maybe the later models have a cover on them, but the fan on my bx is exposed. How about renting a 30+ HP tractor/brush cutter for one day and mowing it? Charge your labor rate + the cost of the rental?

 

[nikerret]

The brush hog I can borrow is Cat 1 and I have the 3pt kit and take the backhoe off pretty regularly. Will the PTO shaft work and will I be able to lift the mower high enough to get in the trailer are the two biggest issues. Then how well can the BX power a 5 footer....

Mine has a small cover, but there still is a possibility of something getting in and hitting the fan. I’m guessing the guy won’t call me as my price will be $650-1,000, possibly more. No way I can rent a tractor and make any money. Like I said earlier, I am sure some fly-by-nighter will come in and do it for less than the cost of fuel.

 

[sandman2234]

Your price isn't that far off, as a per acre charge. I mow two different 10 acres about 3 to 4 times a year and am on the low side of that amount. My price has some variances in it, but the customer usually doesn't care how long it takes, just what it costs. The first time I did one, I did it with a Ford 1100 and 4 foot brush hog. The owner had a very similar tractor with a finish mower, that wouldn't cut it(according to his son). Now I mow it with a 70 hp tractor in a lot less time! Make sure your blades are sharp, as that will lessen the strain on your tractor!
David from jax

 

[Henro]

The brush hog I can borrow is Cat 1 and I have the 3pt kit and take the backhoe off pretty regularly. Will the PTO shaft work and will I be able to lift the mower high enough to get in the trailer are the two biggest issues. Then how well can the BX power a 5 footer....
.

Well, I do not know about other BX owners here, but there is no way I would ever consider putting my 5 foot brush hog on my BX. A 5 footer is larger than recommended for my B2910, which is an order of magnitude larger than the BX...but it works fine on the larger tractor.

I do not know, but I imagine if I put the 5 foot cutter on the BX and tried to lift it with the 3PH, the BX front tires would probably rise instead.

Anybody here actually run a 60 inch brush hog on a BX?

 

[4570Man]

Well, I do not know about other BX owners here, but there is no way I would ever consider putting my 5 foot brush hog on my BX. A 5 footer is larger than recommended for my B2910, which is an order of magnitude larger than the BX...but it works fine on the larger tractor.

I do not know, but I imagine if I put the 5 foot cutter on the BX and tried to lift it with the 3PH, the BX front tires would probably rise instead.

Anybody here actually run a 60 inch brush hog on a BX?

I don’t usually use the toplink for bush hogging. It’s only good for pulling the back end off the ground and skipping grass. I wouldn’t care a bit to do that with a 5” bush hog and a BX if I had one. My B7200 would come close to doing it. A BX has 50 percent more HP and a lot more front end weight.

 

[Henro]

P

I don稚 usually use the toplink for bush hogging. It痴 only good for pulling the back end off the ground and skipping grass. I wouldn稚 care a bit to do that with a 5 bush hog and a BX if I had one. My B7200 would come close to doing it. A BX has 50 percent more HP and a lot more front end weight.

I am sure you are right that without the top link in the picture the BX front tires would stay on the ground. Still cannot imagine using a 5 foot cutter behind my BX though. Although I have pulled many loads of dirt in my 5x8 dump trailer with my BX, which is a lot more weight than the 5 foot cutter.



Maybe I am more of a pessimist than I realized!

 

[4570Man]

Pulling the weight on level ground won’t be a problem. The HP will be marginal but for fairly thin growth it should be fine. Overall I think it’s a lot better plan than using the MMM

 

[Henro]

One thing I wonder about is the BX hydraulically activated PTO. On mine the mid PTO activates uncomfortably fast. Like if one intentionally pops a foot clutch pedal.

Not sure about the rear PTO but imagine it is the same. The large cutter on the BX might stress things a bit at start.

It is possible to slow the PTO activation speed by VERY SLOWLY moving the lever to the on position, so if one were careful perhaps there would be no worries.

 

[JWR]

Well, I do not know about other BX owners here, but there is no way I would ever consider putting my 5 foot brush hog on my BX. A 5 footer is larger than recommended for my B2910, which is an order of magnitude larger than the BX...but it works fine on the larger tractor.

I do not know, but I imagine if I put the 5 foot cutter on the BX and tried to lift it with the 3PH, the BX front tires would probably rise instead.

Anybody here actually run a 60 inch brush hog on a BX?

Almost: I run a 5ft Bush Hog brand cutter on a Kubota B2150 all the time. The weight of the B2150 is about the same as the BX25D. My front wheels stay down and I do not have a FEL on it. The PTO hp is a little more on my B2150 (20 vs 17.5) and my 4 cyl probably has more robust "real" hp than the newer specs. My std trans does not have the losses of your hydro. But I run the 5ft hog easily in rather heavy grass and (based on that post #26 picture) I say he should have no problem cutting it with the 5 ft hog. I just do not see a problem. Sure,protect the plastic fan underneath. I think you can mow the 10 acres in one good day's work.

And for Pete sake forget the MMM !

 

[Diggin It]

I do not know, but I imagine if I put the 5 foot cutter on the BX and tried to lift it with the 3PH, the BX front tires would probably rise instead.

I hooked up to and lifted two different 6' and one 7' finish mower and moved them from a neighbor's place to mine, about a 1/4 mile, up a fairly steep hill. Front never felt light at all. Hydro system never even grunted, just lifted all three of them easily. I never even really thought too much about the weight, but I noticed yesterday while looking at something else that the 6 footers are listed at about 650 pounds. Not sure about the 7 footer yet. My machine is rated for a little over 900 pound lift. Used the lowers and top link. This was transport only, no PTO shaft connected.

 

[skipperbrown]

I once put a 5' ford brush cutter on the back of my bx2200. I would call it a medium duty cutter. Without the FEL attached and with the brush cutter raised, I could lift the front tires off the ground lifting on the brush guard with one hand, quite easily. Needless to say, turning the tractor with the cutter raised was an issue.

 

[310-510]

Maybe I am not smart enough to know what the BX is not capable of but I ran a 5' rotary cutter behind my BX24 and cut 17 acres of an overgrown field in Iowa. Just took smaller bites in the very thick stuff and had the fan well protected. Then cut it for 2 summers every 2 weeks. You do what you have to with what you have. Mowed at a rate of 1-1.5 acres per hour.

 

[nyone]

Once you get the first pass done you can easily take half cuts if needed. I would make sure your deflector shoot is nice and open so cut grass can get out fast. Try it. If it dosnt work well then go rent/buy something. Trying what you have is free..until you break soething.

Personaly i would try to mow it with my bobcat zero turn..at least once. Open the shoot and raise the deck upto 5in and take a shot at it. After all these belly mowers are not much more than a standard mowing deck.