3-Point Hitch BX24 with a 7 foot sickle mower (...experience?)

[Sodo]

Does anyone have experience hanging a 7' sickle mower off the back (and side) of a Kubota BX24? The MF31 has a heavy cast iron wobble box hanging out there. I would test it but the mower is a bucket case at the moment.

The MF 31 cutter bar starts cutting 2 feet out from the tire edge, and the far end is 9 feet from the BX24's tire edge. The BX24 is 44 inches wide.

I'm wondering if the off-center weight is too much for this little tractor. My rear wheels are weighted, with 133 lbs of foam inside each rear wheel (and 51 lbs in the fronts). Interested if anyone has experience with this, and should I keep going and fix up this mower to use on the BX?

The Mower (MF31) is same as on Flusher's pic (Mahindra 5525 ?) but the BX 24 tractor is much smaller, narrower of course.

 

[art]

Yep! it would be to much weight out that far causing the tractor to be unstable. About a 5' would do well for a BX.

 

[/pine]

FWIW....I have a similar MF sickle bar (model 41)...

I have a B1700D and the sickle bar is really too much for the B1700 but it does handle it...I take it very easy...I only use it for cutting nearly vertical BTW...

Somewhere on TBN another member mentioned they had made a sub-frame for this type of mower for a B-series but I can't seem to find it...

 

[Baby Grand]

Can you clamp a counter weight onto the cutter's frame, or add a single wheel weight on the opposite rear wheel? Might not eliminate the off balance completely, but might make it manageable.

 

[Sodo]

FWIW....I have a similar MF sickle bar (model 41)...I have a B1700D and the sickle bar is really too much for the B1700 but it does handle it...I take it very easy...I only use it for cutting nearly vertical BTW...

I see a 1700D is 1500 lbs and 38" wide
BX24 is 1500 and 44" wide

So yours is a pretty good comparison, thanks for the experience. I need to use it to mow a field, don't have any vertical!

I noticed the MF31 can narrow up by 10 inches, that will help a bit. As it sits the cut starts 24" past the tire, 14" sounds a lot better. Have you set your 41 at the narrowest configuration?

Seems feasible to add a counterweight.

 

[/pine]

Yes my "41" is set at the narrowest configuration...

I have used it to cut a neighbor's dam (about 60* down-slope) and have done a little horizontal cutting as well...but like I said I take it very slow and easy...and most of what I use it for is trimming back the road sides (vertical)

...not sure but I think the bar weighs about 200#'s and is a pain to raise and lower...I have hydraulic cylinder I bought a year ago but have not got around to fabricating the required mechanics to raise and lower the bar and maintain its agility...

BTW...the outside to outside dimension of my rear tires is about 46"...not sure what the tire style is called but they are very wide and filled...rims are turned out but hubs are at I think min. width...not sure where the 38" came from?...if I invert the rims I lose about 6" ...the hubs may be out one notch so with in-turned rims and absolute min. hub setting it might be 38" wide...

I have the original owners manual for the model 41 if it would be of any help...they look very similar...
Ken Sweet (sweettractors.com) is a very good authority on MF bar mowers...he is a contributing member to TBN...

one more thing while I'm thinking about it for anyone owning a sickle-bar...sickle-bar mowers are dangerous pieces of equipment...children should not be allowed near them even when they are being stored...it is scary to think about...all it would take is one kid with his hand on the cutter bar and another messing with the big pulley and....
...I know I can hold a 1" stick in the cutter and it does not take much hand force to move the pulley enough to shear the stick...!...safety first...

good luck with your mower...it is an awesome piece of equipment...!

 

[Sodo]

/pine, our tractors are almost identical in size & weight, this is the best kind of feedback, thank you. Point taken on the cutter bar, whew! Gotta be vigilant with that dangerous piece.

What it does, cut grass & weeds, and just leave it lay it is exactly what I want to do. I want to slay knapweed before it goes to seed too. Also cut under bushes without having to drive the tractor thru the bush. I guess I'll find out how it goes, but it seems like just the right implement.

 

[like2wheel]

I know nothing about sickle bar mowers -except that I would like to have one too-, but would it be feasible to shorten it to an appropriate length for your tractor?

 

[Sodo]

I have thought about modifying it; I really want it to work as the sickle seems like the way to go.

It looks easy to cut 2 feet off the end. This would take about 5 pounds off the implement. I bet the only difference is that it takes 40% more passes to cut the same field.

It seems to me that 19hp PTO seems like plenty of power to run 7 feet of sickle? Does anyone know how much power a 12 foot swather uses?

 

[/pine]

I've never tried to cut hay or any really think vegetation...remember my PTO is only 14HP and for what I do I do not have to run it at even half "PTO" RPM's...

If you search you should find several posts about similar MF sickle bars...As I mentioned before 'Ken Sweet' knows a lot about these cutters...and in one post told me the bars could be cut down...I'm sure if he sees this thread he will chime in...if not you can reach him via http://www.sweettractors.com