Is anyone running a 7' cutter with less than 32 pto hp?

[SPYDERLK]

I just bush hogged 5 acres of pretty thick 2' grass (3mph) and was also able to do some 4' tall grass (2 mph) with 19 pto hp and a 5' Landpride cutter. It seemed to handle it fine. It was thick grass and I realize if we were talking bramble or brush, it would have been a different story.

For most of my uses though, I'm cutting weeds or tall grass. I'm thinking of getting a 7' cutter for a tractor that has 32 pto HP. Anyone running a cutter using 4.5 pto hp per foot of cutter?

If you like to go slow that is fine. -- But have you tried the 5' cutter on the 32HP? Youll have a more close coupled system - maneuverability and rigidity - than with a 7' cutter. And your speed choices will range from 0 up to 6 or 8 mph. And you wont need to buy or maintain another implement.

Ive used a stout 5' bushog cutter driven from 19 to 45 PTOHP. I cant really fault it anywhere within that range.

 

[EddieWalker]

For almost two decades I used a 6 foot rotary cutter on a 37 hp tractor. I don't remember what the PTO hp is. The tractor doesn't have a loader, so I had to add weight to the front just to keep the tires on the ground. For most things, it had just enough power. A lot of the time I had to be in my very lowest gear to get through the really thick stuff. Overall, I think it was a good combo for the biggest rotary cutter that I could handle with the tractor. I sure wouldn't want to try to mow with anything bigger!!!!

 

[Yander]

First question is what is the tractor?

32HP at the PTO is enough. Just have to go slower. Too many people on this site think that if you cant maintain 5mph that the cutter is too big. I'd rather cut with a bigger cutter and slower speed but at the same acre/hr rate. Bigger cutter and slower speed is a smoother ride.

Until you have used the slowest gear on your machine....you are NOT out of power or have too big of a cutter.

I use an 8' cutter with 42 pto HP and light conditions (things I mow 3x per year) I have no trouble maintaining 6-7 MPH and a good clean cut.

But back to the tractor in question....as well as a 7' hog. Are we talking a single spindle (which is long and heavy) and will require a physically larger tractor just to pickup and handle? Or are we talking a 7' offset twin....which is shorter and lighter?

32PTO HP tractors can be something as small as a deere 3000 series or kubota economy L. Which are light ~2400-2500# tractors and wont physically handle a 7' single spindle cutter. But will a 7' offset twin.

OR a 32PTO HP tractor could be as big and heavy as a deere 5 series or something that weighs 5000lbs. Literally twice the tractor with similar power. Which would easily handle the size and weight of a 7' cutter from a physical standpoint

Sorry, I should have listed the tractor...

It is this.. in a shuttle shift. 3,700lb without the loader so with loader roughly probably another #600. 3pt. lifts 2,700. Not sure if the tires are loaded but I will most certainly be getting them loaded if they are not.

Probably looking at single spindle.

TractorData.com CaseIH Farmall 40B tractor dimensions information

www.tractordata.com

 

[Yander]

OP: are you looking for a pull type or 3ph type mower? makes big difference on tractor your size.

3pt.

 

[big bubba]

3pt.

good luck w/your options. i've had to make similar decisions re tractor size & implement application. thinking a 6' hog would be the best fit for your tractor size, but may not be cost effective for only the extra 12", best regards

 

[Yander]

I was initially thinking of something like this... but you guys have me sufficiently thinking it might be too big.... I will probably get something like this for my my MILs tractor it is 36 pto hp. I'll get a 6' cutter for mine with the 32 pto hp.

 

[big bubba]

wise move, & good luck w/the purchase

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I run 6' single spindle on 32 pto hp. Mine is a hydro trans, so I can slow down easily when I need to. Not that I need to very often, usually only when the grass gets very thick, and is over the hood in height. If the grass is not thick, it usually doesn't matter how tall the weeds and brush get, I can mow through those without any issues. But I'm also not one of these "barnstormer" types that likes to see how fast they can drive, and bounce themselves silly going over rough ground. Most of my cutting jobs are on *very* rough pastures and I'm tuning my ground speed to that. But I can almost always maintain a fast walking speed as a minimum, no matter the conditions. I'm not going to beat myself, or my equipment to death. Most of the time I have the luxury to not have a short time limit to get a mowing job done.

I'm also typically dealing with fields that only get mowed every few years. I find all kinds of interesting things left laying in the tall grass, so "speed" is not my primary concern.

Someone else mentioned the Rhino Ag TS-10 batwing mower. I've been looking at one of these for a few years, and "maybe this year", depending on how the season goes, I can get one. I would look at something like this, instead of getting ANOTHER single spindle brush mower. You already have a 5'? I would personally not be looking at buying another attachment so close to what I already have. Too much money tied up on overlapping equipment use. Personal opinion, I would look at that batwing for the Farmall and keep the 5' for the smaller tractor and use that on smaller, tighter spacing jobs. More of an expansion of capabilities, than so much overlap.

TS10 Flex-Wing Rotary Cutter | RhinoAg

 

[Yander]

Thanks for all of the great advice and feedback guys! I did end up going and picking up this Wood Brush Bull 72" cutter over in Indiana last night. It is in good shape and for $1,100 hundred bucks I couldn't really pass it up. It appears to be about a medium duty maybe. But I don't plan to cut anything with it that would require a heavy duty cutter.

I haven't decided if I will keep my 5' cutter or not. I will probably list it for $1,600 firm and if it doesn't sell I'll keep it. It is a Landpride RCR1860 medium duty cutter in good shape and cuts very well.

As far as the change from a 5' cutter to a 6' cutter, it is a big difference when you are on it all day. I just cut 5 acres of 2'- 4' high, very thick grass with the 5' cutter and it took me over 6 hours. Partly because of the amount of trees and other crap I had to mow around. This was their front yard that they had been mowing with a ZTR. I would have loved to have had another foot of cutter and more HP. I plan to do more bushhogging for people so another foot and more HP will allow me to make more money for my time.

 

[Cokyice]

I was initially thinking of something like this... but you guys have me sufficiently thinking it might be too big.... I will probably get something like this for my my MILs tractor it is 36 pto hp. I'll get a 6' cutter for mine with the 32 pto hp.

View attachment 871986

You can get a brand new bush-whacker hd-72 for less than that the md-72 are even less