JD 790 and equipment

[John Weaver]

Does anyone have experence with JD 790, #70 loader, #7 back hoe or 5 ft. rotary mower? Is the hydraulic system adequate for the loader and back hoe? Can you dig in hard dirt? Is the 25 HP PTO suitable for a 5 ft. rotary mower?

 

[Bird]

No experience with the 790, so can't answer most of your questions, but I can tell you that 25 PTO HP is plenty for a 5' rotary cutter.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

John I have a JD 790 with #70 loader and R4 tires.
Loader works good for moving material around and patching the road.
I use a 5' finish mwer, 5' Box scrapere for digging and grading, and a 6' blade with shoes for the snow.
Just picked up a 5' disk that tears up the ground.
I have a local back hoe guy that is reasonable, so I can't justify a back hoe...(cant justify the 790 neather)

 

[RobS]

John, I have a 790 w/ FEL and 513 cutter. It works great. No problem with the 5' cutter and the loader is fine in loose material. Not many compact loaders will work in hard dirt though a toothbar may help. I also have a 5 1/2' box blade with scarifiers and the tractor has no problem ripping up hard dirt with the teeth down. Then the loader can go to work. For me, the hydraulics are fine. A real pro may want some more speed, but I'd just get into trouble with that. I don't have a backhoe (yet) but I think the same theory will apply /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Buck]

I've got a 60" belly mower on a new 790. For my lawn, 3.5 acres, it's fine. For my field, I've got to go over it twice, once with the mower up and once with the mower down in 1st gear. The field has grass and weeds that haven't been cut yet this year. The grass is a couple of feet in places. Several times, my tractor started to stall.

I tried my 70 FEL on dirt and was able to pick up a couple of inches at a time. I'm still learning to use the FEL, but am happy that it is as powerful as it is. I like the idea of the other poster of loosening the dirt with a box scraper first.

I would be interested in learning what others do to move dirt also. Do ripper teeth really make a big difference when digging the ground?

 

[scotd1]

Buck, Yes a toothbar on the bucket does make alot of difference. It is very difficult to dig in packed dirt with just the edge of your bucket but with a toothbar you can use them to bust up the dirt so the edge can get a bite (and back drag to really bust up the ground). I was really surprised how much difference it made. A couple of other advantages to the toothbar that I never hear anyone mention are: (1) using the teeth to get under and pick up things that I used to have to get off the tractor and chain to the bucket. For example, used to I would have to chain a log to the bucket to pick it up and carry it off but now I can get the teeth up under it, roll the bucket back and go with it. (2) The teeth are real handy to hook chains to. I have hooks welded on my bucket but I find myself using the toothbar to lift up items. By having the chain held at the bottom of the bucket instead of at the top (were the regular chain hooks are) I have more control when trying to place something with precision. Hope this helps, I think you'll find it usefull if you decide to get one.

 

[Buck]

Scott,

Thanks. It helps immensely.

Buck

 

[Doublezero]

Buck,

I think Rob was talking about loosening the dirt with a box graders "ripper" teeth rather than adding the teeth to your FEL bucket. Either way would probably get the job done, but I don't think I'll be adding teeth to my # 70 bucket. It looks sturdy enough to scoop up loose dirt, but I personally would want something much more sturdy if I had to gouge in really hard ground, even with teeth. Unless someone with more experience with the 790 and your setup has a better perspective, take Ron's advice and loosen the dirt with a box grader, disk or something else before you go gouging your FEL bucket into hard stuff.

No experience with a belly mower, but I can't imagine stalling my 790 with a 60" mower on grass and weeds. First test I gave it was pulling a 72" TPH mounted grooming mower through some tough grass and weeds. It was dry and I had the wheels at about 5.5 inches, but I went through some really tall stuff in second gear with no apparent load on the engine. Be sure you are not "lugging" your engine (running at too low RPM's). You need to be up to the rated RPM's (check your manual) when mowing.

Maybe someone with a belly mower will offer some advice.

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