Mowing Finish mower vs rocks

[Boondox]

Didn't get to the meadow in time to find/remove this year's crop of stones before the grass grew up to hide them. The poor LandPride FDR2572 mower found several of them and I couldn't believe the damage! The baffles are virtually gone, and one of the beefy blade spindles is cracked clear thru.

Photo of the underside is attached. Pete

 

[Boondox]

Closeup of the spindle

This one is going to hurt the wallet. Pete

 

[MarkV]

Re: Closeup of the spindle

Ouch! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

MarkV

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Closeup of the spindle

My dad always said---"never take a knife to gunfight" good luck!

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Pete,

My first thought when I read the topic (Finish mower vs. rocks) was "Rocks win" /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

The spindle looks bad. I hope you can find a way to repair it. If not, this could seriously cut into the budget for puppy treats and tennis balls. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Good luck with this. It looks like a tough one.

 

[kensfarm]

So that's what a trim mower looks like after it's been used as a rotary cutter... man... when I hit a rock.. I'm usually like "their goes my blade edge".. not.. "there goes the whole underside of my mower".. how long have you had it? Looking at your second picture.. it looks replaceable w/ those 4 bolts holding the spindle plate on.. you might be able to get just that part.. maybe a weldor can fab some new baffles.. or.. maybe it's just time for a new trim mower.. rotary cutter.. and rock rake! Those rocks are out there to get us.. cost me a rotary cutter(it was on it's last leg anyway).. sorry about the bad luck.. hope it's fixable!

 

[Chief]

The mower almost always looses this battle. I spent about 5 days walking and digging out rocks and debry in my pasture and still the rocks "grew back" . I set my mower very high as well to minimize the risk of hitting a rock and damage it causes. I am considering a Land Pride RCR 2660 or 2672. I think you might want to do the same or at least go to the Tractor Supply Center and get a King Kutter 5 ft. rotary cutter for unsure areas. They are on sale this week for $549.

 

[agcomike]

how much pto hp does it take to run a 5' bush hog?

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( how much pto hp does it take to run a 5' bush hog? )</font>

This topic has been discussed a lot, and a sorta general rule of thumb might be 5 hp per foot of width of the brush hog, or 25 PTO hp for the 5' brush hog. But it's by no means a firm requirement. If all you're cutting is grass and weeds with a light duty brush hog, you might get by with less hp. On the other hand, if you're wanting to mow down 2" saplings with a medium or heavy duty brush hog, you might need more.

 

[glennmac]

That is stupefying as well as depressing. All the baffles get torn off and a spindle shattered, yet the blades look relatively unscathed. Maybe I will rethink my idea of buying the Landpride RMM. Do you attribute any of this damage to weaknesses in the construction of the mower? I seem to recall some other problem you had with the mower and Carver.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color="blue"> how much pto hp does it take to run a 5' bush hog?
</font>

As a point of reference, my JD 503 5' "bush hog" specs 18 to 75 HP and I am running it on a JD 755 with 15 PTO HP. It works fine at this HP for light brush/field grass and I have cut small (1.5"diameter) sapplings/bushes without problem.

Jeff

 

[Boondox]

Good memory, Glennmac. I had a bad seal when I took delivery two years ago. A simple fix. I think the only weak point is the baffles, which BTW are MUCH more substantial on this year's model.

Pete

 

[Boondox]

Gary and Ken -- The spindle costs $95 and is already on order. But as much trouble as I'm having getting that blade off so I can pop out the spindle, I'm wondering if the damage generated heat and fused the darned thing! Tomorrow I'll try a six foot cheater bar since the three footer wouldn't budge it!

Pete

 

[Chief]

Weight also comes into play with brush hogs as well. A heavy duty rotary cutter such as the JD 609 is much to heavy for most if not all compact tractors but the tractor may have the hp to turn it. In the heavy obstruction environment this cutter would function in much more hp would be required. For example my 4410 is rated for an MX 5 medium duty rotary cutter which is over 800 lbs. but is also rated for the 613 rotary cutter which is wider but much less heavier built for light use.

 

[GreenMtnMan]

Chief, my JD dealer told me that the 4310 could handle the MX5 and the 4410 could go up to the MX6. Do you think the MX5 is too much for a 4310?

 

[popeye]

<font color="blue"> OUCH !!!!!!!!! </font> That hurts my pocket just looking at the picture. I sure hope it turns out better than it looks!!!!

Mike

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Pete,

Would a gear puller do the trick for you? It's hard to 'see' if that's what you need from here. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I just had a friend ask me where he could get a gear puller to remove a stump jumper plate from his rotary cutter. He only needed one for a 17" gear. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Amazingly, I actually was able to get one for him with a phone call to the heavy equipment side of the local Caterpillar shop. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I hope this idea works for you. Those breaker bars are a lot of work. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[frank_f15]

Pete: what u need to do is quit putting so much fertilizer on that rock patch, if they get any bigger u are really in trouble. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[frank_f15]

Pete: here is a trick that might work for stubborn bolts, something i do with old steam lines that have been in for years. 1st, soak it with penetrating oil, apply a little heat and then try <font color="blue">TIGHTENING </font> it first(not much so as to break it) then try to turn it out. i know it sound counter productive , but i have had this work many times. worth a shot.

 

[Justaplain]

Did I readon here that those finish mower blades are put on with 600 psi as required by some regulation? My neighbor had the same problem with a Bush Hog finish mower. Drove the whole rig 5 miles to a repair shop just to get them off. bcs