Hydraulic pump and motor for a mower

Rowski · Jul 6, 2003

Just remember to have a good sized reservoir so you don't over heat the fluid. I may be wrong but a gallon of fluid for every GPM? Someone here can answer that a lot better.

I'm very interested in this thread because I've wanting to do the same with a FEL mounted snowblower driven by hydraulics via rear PTO pump.

SnowRidge · Jul 6, 2003

( Just remember to have a good sized reservoir so you don't over heat the fluid. I may be wrong but a gallon of fluid for every GPM? Someone here can answer that a lot better. )

Sounds right. Our newly purchased Power Trac PT-425 has an 8 GPM pump with a 10 gallon tank. There is also a thermostatically controlled fan cooled radiator for the fluid. The tank was quite hot to the touch after several hours of mowing yesterday.

SnowRidge

Taylortractornut · Jul 6, 2003

Derek I worked with a hydraulics genius at a Gear Tek pumps and he always said that the capacity of the tank had to be 3 times the GPM in Ideal case but he also told me its not a perfect world. I salvages a few of those hi reack pallet stackers like Lowes and Home depot use and their tanks are 1.5 inches thick and 3 foot square to help with heat dispersal. Wished i had a Digital camera to send a few pics of the heat sinks on the counties old mower. It was simple and home made but droped the remperature 22 degrees. Take Care Taylor Lambert

40Kchicks · Jul 6, 2003

It looks like www.princedirect.com has better prices on the pto pump than bailey's.

I once saw a contractor using one of those bearcat cutters on a hill with black berry bushes about 6' tall. It seemed to do the job.

I have a old JD 5' mower. Someday maybe I'll convert it to run in front of the skid steer. It's to small for my new tractor. So if someone finds a motor that will work well make sure and post it. My cat 216 skid steer will flow about 15gpm at 3000 max pressure.

RobertN · Jul 13, 2003

Check out the Bobcat links I posted earlier. They have a hydraulic operated snow blower.

After using the S185 skidsteer and B250 TLB, thier attach system and available forward hydraulic connetcions are really a nice way to go.

I have thought for some time now that a front mount mower would be handier most times than a rear mount. It would be easier to see, and you would mow before you smash down the grass under front and rear tires...

bnixon · Jul 13, 2003

I just had a question on the idea of a front mounted mower.....What do you think it would do to the stability of the tractor on slopes. I know even with my loader low when I am on a slope it just seems a little less stable than without it. With a rear mower the weight is stabalized by the wider rear tires which do not swivel like the front. If you are to push that way out in front on the loader arms it just seems (to my simple mind /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif) that it could cause some stability issues. Maybe someone with more (read any /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) experiance than I have can help set me straight?

"Confused 90% of the time asleep the rest! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif"

40Kchicks · Jul 13, 2003

Brandon
You bring up a good point. On my skid steer all the weight is in the back so when I put on a heavy front implement it really stabilizes it. On larger tractors there wouldn't be a problem. A person could load his bucket with equivalent weight and go move it around at a low height to simulate the mower weight to see if there tractor would have problems.

I think a front mower is a great idea. Going into brush with my new tractor without the protection of a FEL is scary. I did this last week and didn’t like it at all. I need one of those front mowers. I would put it on my skid steer. Does anyone know what rpm the blade spins on a 6’ mower? If we knew that, we could match our flow to the correct hydraulic motor and gear box arrangement to get the right RPM.

Eric

MossRoad · Jul 14, 2003

If you are to push that way out in front on the loader arms it just seems (to my simple mind ) that it could cause some stability issues. 

Think how your tractor would feel going down a slope with a full bucket of dirt. Then think of how it would feel if the bucket had its own wheels and you put the FEL in float. Much less weight on the tractor. Much more stable feeling. You're just pushing it around, but not bearing much of the weight.

rambler · Jul 15, 2003

I think it would be hard to get a manufacturer to agree with the liability of all this.

1. If you keep the mower on the ground in float, it will be pretty stable - what % of buyers actually will do this? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

2. Hummm, I need those tree branches trimmed, all I need to do is lift up the loader & tilt it a little, should work fine.....

3. Hey, look how fast I can trim my hedge!

4. how many lawsuits will they get from this????? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Just thinking out loud, a front mower can have it's benifits, but I don't see it happening on a tractor loader frame for the liability.

--->Paul

MossRoad · Jul 15, 2003

I think it would be hard to get a manufacturer to agree with the liability of all this.

1. If you keep the mower on the ground in float, it will be pretty stable - what % of buyers actually will do this?

2. Hummm, I need those tree branches trimmed, all I need to do is lift up the loader & tilt it a little, should work fine.....

3. Hey, look how fast I can trim my hedge!

4. how many lawsuits will they get from this????? Just thinking out loud, a front mower can have it's benifits, but I don't see it happening on a tractor loader frame for the liability. 

Very good points.
Personally, I keep my mower on the ground when mowing and never lift it while the blades are spinning. The brush hog is another story. I do lift it a bit from time to time, but never more than a few inches. I figure if I can see the blades, they can see me and that just scares the bajeebers out of me /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif What I usually do is tilt it back, so the rear is still on the ground but the front is up a little, if I have to clear a tough bunch of saplings or something. The front mounted mower on the FEL arms works very well. And the brush hog out front is amazing. You get to mow over everything before you get to it. It is gone before the tractor gets there, making life much easier on the tractor and the operator.

Here's a link to a video of my front mounted brush hog in action.

It is grainy, but you'll get the idea. This is a 48" brush hog on a Power Trac PT425(25HP gas engine, everything is hydraulic, including the 4 drive wheel motors and brush hog). This is all weeds, no saplings, about a hundred yards long, two passes in about two minutes. The weeds are about 5-6 feet tall. The video is in Windows Media Format and is about 400K in size, so it could take a while to download over dialup.