Rotary Cutter Fallen Branches

[Rail Dawg]

Scattered throughout my woods are large dead branches on the ground some which are maybe 3" diameter or a little more.

I have a medium-duty Brush Hog. Can I run over these 3" branches or do I have to scrape them up with the box blade?

Thanks!

 

[dusty3030]

I pile them up and burn them where they are.

 

[moored4]

First! :welcome: To TBN!

Next to give us a better understanding of your question. What is medium size to you for a cutter? Are the limbs new or have they been down on the ground several years and rotten? What kind of wood? What size tractor do you have? These :tractor: Nuts will have a wealth of info for you if you give them a little to work with!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Amen to Moored4. I have 18 acres of forest and I try to get those branches before they start to rot and use for firewood. Saves a lot of splitting and work great to get a good bed of coals going fast. I have a 60" Landpride mower behind a Kubota BX25 (23HP) and it is unbelievable what it will chop up especially when half rotted. I have mowed down a couple acres of brush and saplings this summer and chopped up some rotten stuff up to 6", just spewed it all around as mulch for a crop of pasture grass in the spring. When I started I had no idea what was under the brush as we just bought this place in Feb 2010. Even found a 4' high stack of fir split logs for fence posts half rotted. They made a great start for a brush pile fire. Now I know what is there after 3 blade sharpenings. Make sure you read your manual on blade sharpening to make sure you maintain balance. Also those self locking 1 1/8" nuts are one timers unless you want them to back off on you, takes a 1 11/16" 3/4" drive socket and a cheater on the handle to get those suckers off. You throw one of those 25# blades off and I do not want to be around.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Look at this thread also

New Kubota - TractorByNet.com

 

[pat32rf]

Both the species of tree and your climate have a bearing on your problem. I hauled out a red oak today that had been cut down about 14 yrs ago and left sitting on a rock base. Gonna make perfect firewood. Other types of trees that fell last year are already rotting.

 

[Rail Dawg]

First! :welcome: To TBN!

Next to give us a better understanding of your question. What is medium size to you for a cutter? Are the limbs new or have they been down on the ground several years and rotten? What kind of wood? What size tractor do you have? These :tractor: Nuts will have a wealth of info for you if you give them a little to work with!

Good questions and thanks!

It's a medium-duty Land Pride cutter. The limbs are oaks and pine and have been down for about two years. This is a Kubota L3800.

I'm new at this but am ready to start clearing. I just don't want to damage the machine!

Thanks for the help.

 

[Chilly807]

I have an L3400 with an RCR1860 Land Pride cutter. I've hit branches the size you're talking about, and there's no damage to speak of, but it gets seriously noisy under the cutter for a few seconds.

In all truth, I try to avoid them. That kind of shock loading isn't good for the driveline, even with a slip clutch to absorb the worst of it.

It'll chew them up a little, but you end up with pretty big pieces anyway.

If it was me, I'd gather up anything over 2 inches and burn 'em.

Sean

 

[Reg]

Good questions and thanks!

It's a medium-duty Land Pride cutter. The limbs are oaks and pine and have been down for about two years. This is a Kubota L3800.

I'm new at this but am ready to start clearing. I just don't want to damage the machine!

Thanks for the help.

I would get off my duff and give the tractor seat a rest.
Saw 'em up, pile 'em in the bucket, haul 'em outta there.
{Exercise opportunity}
Burn, bury, chip, compost, whatever after that.
Leaving 'em laying around on the forest floor only provides ground level tinder for the BIG ONE.

Kubota 3800 might be a bit light and fragile for actually "running over" stuff - they seem to be Yuppie driveway ornaments in Maryland (-:

 

[Glen Watkins]

I would get off my duff and give the tractor seat a rest.
Saw 'em up, pile 'em in the bucket, haul 'em outta there.
{Exercise opportunity}
Burn, bury, chip, compost, whatever after that.
Leaving 'em laying around on the forest floor only provides ground level tinder for the BIG ONE.

Kubota 3800 might be a bit light and fragile for actually "running over" stuff - they seem to be Yuppie driveway ornaments in Maryland (-:

Good advise!

Yuppie driveway ornaments:laughing:

 

[beppington]

This is one of the main reasons I just got a 2nd "bucket"; that is the bottom 1/2 of the grapple in the pic below. I can drive around with it on while mowing & scoop up branches & debris to move them out of the way without getting off the tractor.

I like this grapple bottom so much I have the feeling that my original bucket won't get used anymore

Note the long distance from the teeth ends to the gussets: about 18". This way they drag through the dirt without digging up a bunch of dirt, making a bigger mess than necessary, & one that I have to go back & repair.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Good questions and thanks!

It's a medium-duty Land Pride cutter. The limbs are oaks and pine and have been down for about two years. This is a Kubota L3800.

I'm new at this but am ready to start clearing. I just don't want to damage the machine!

Thanks for the help.

Your mower is far from being a "Yuppie Yard Art" it is a real piece of working equipment. Your tractor is far bigger than mine. If you look underneath you will see the blades are not bolted down tight but swivel. When they hit something large or hard the blade (s) stop spinning for a moment. Takes up a lot of stress there. You either have a slip clutch or a shear pin. You need to know which. Read your manual. I will bet; if you have a clutch (it is on the mower end of the PTO) that it was not freed up by the dealer as delivery prep. Mine on my rototiller was not and I learned that when I caught a root and it stalled the engine. I had to disassemble the clutch clean off the rust, polish the surfaces, reassemble and adjust. A real PIA, especially the safety guards. I have a shear pin on my mower. I have never sheared the pin or stalled the engine with all the crap I have hit. The shear pin is a mild steel 1/4" bolt. Keep a spare and do not pay Land Pride's high price. Get a cheap bolt at the Hdw store. I hear from others you can go many hours without shearing and then it will shear for no apparent reason. Probably the streeses cut it a little at a time. Having both I think the clutch is probably the best protection but requires a lot more maintenance, especially if you store it where it can get damp all the time either inside or under cover like here in the great PNW west of the mountains. The polished clutch plates rust real fast.

If you burn wood for any reason save that stuff, it is valuable even if you sell it off or give it to campers or wood burning heating users like me.

Ron

 

[brin]

I would get off my duff and give the tractor seat a rest.
Saw 'em up, pile 'em in the bucket, haul 'em outta there.
{Exercise opportunity}
Burn, bury, chip, compost, whatever after that.
Leaving 'em laying around on the forest floor only provides ground level tinder for the BIG ONE.

Kubota 3800 might be a bit light and fragile for actually "running over" stuff - they seem to be Yuppie driveway ornaments in Maryland (-:

I really agree with you Reg...problem is our county has now fallen under a new EPA rule and we can no longer burn anything outside...for us farmers that is a sure plan for a huge Forrest fire..there is no way I could ever afford to have dump trucks or use roll offs to haul all of the fallen branches that occur every year due to storms etc. it is all there acting as kindling for a huge forest fire...How dumb can they be...when the forest fires happen I suppose they will look to fine God for the pollution:confused2:...

 

[Chilly807]

Another option we haven't mentioned is a PTO driven chipper, and that may be one of the best choices both value-wise and ecologically-wise too.

Sean

 

[Rail Dawg]

shear pin is a mild steel 1/4" bolt. Keep a spare and do not pay Land Pride's high price. Get a cheap bolt at the Hdw store.

Where is the shear pin located on the Land Pride RCF 2060? If I get a 1/4" bolt how long is it?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Rail Dawg]

Your mower is far from being a "Yuppie Yard Art" it is a real piece of working equipment.

We don't take offense. This thing worked hard today and we were impressed.

It's certainly enough machine for what we're trying to do. The main thing is we want to do it right so we will come here and listen to the experts!

Thanks!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Where is the shear pin located on the Land Pride RCF 2060? If I get a 1/4" bolt how long is it?

Thanks for the help!

That's what I get for talking off the top of my head. Page 19 in your manual describes it. It is a 1/2-13 X 3 1/2 bolt with two nuts. I was repeating what the dealer's guy said. I have not had it out yet and contrary to my recommendation I have not bought one yet. The manual does not describe where it is; but I looked on mine. It is the bolt that goes thtough the yoke of the universal joint at the gear head. Have fun getting that guard off. On my tiller I got tired of fighting the guard when unbolting the bolt throygh the shaft when removing the clutch that I used a hole saw and cut a hole big enopugh to get a socket on the bolt. If it shears I am sure it will take a drift punch to drive it out so that hole will serve another purpose. I see the same solution for the mower. Make sure which protective device you have. The manual describes the clutch very well.

Oh! If you decide to get a quick hitch the drive line is long enough the take up the additional 4" the attachments will set further back. There are a lot of things to spend your money on now you have started. I love my QH. I no longer have to crawl around in the dirt hookin stuff up. 5 Min instead of 30 min.

Ron

 

[Glen Watkins]

Where is the shear pin located on the Land Pride RCF 2060? If I get a 1/4" bolt how long is it?

Thanks for the help!

Don't forget to get the lightest grade bolt you can find!