Finish mower HP requirements

gatractorman · Jul 6, 2003

Can some one tell me the PTO HP requirements of 4', 5' and 6' finish mowers?

RoyJackson · Jul 6, 2003

I run a Befco 60" RFM with 16.5 PTO HP quite easily

Bird · Jul 6, 2003

I think it will depend on what you're cutting, how tall and thick the grass is, and the terrain you're on, level, hilly, etc. For just one example: Bush Hog's web site shows the hp requirement for a 5' flat deck finish mower to be 15-35 hp. That's a pretty wide range. I used a 5' finish mower with a B2710 (about 20 PTO hp) and it never gave any indication at all of loading the engine. And I once talked to a dealer about 4' vs. 5' mowers behind a B7100 (13 PTO hp?) and he recommended the 4' one, but said he had some customers who were happy with 5' ones but that they were pretty heavy for the 3-point hitch to pick up without front end weights added.

Inspector507 · Jul 6, 2003

I just bought a TC18 and the PTO HP is around 14. I have used the RFM only once since I've been using the MMM. But the TC18 handles my 60" Caroni RFM very well.

Will_C · Jul 6, 2003

As Bird mentioned about the B7100, my brother had a MF 1010 (13 PTO hp), and he was able to use a Landpride 5' RFM. Tall grass woulld require you to shift into a lower gear, and you had to have 150 lbs of weight on the front, or you could wheelie the tractor /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif His B2400 handles the mower with no problem.
Will