Lawn and Field. Best Attachment?

[JayinNH]

I have a 3010 HST(Jezebel) and am looking for the best attachment for both the lawn and field. Is there a heavy duty mower that will cut light brush ( less than an inch in diameter) that you find in older fields? I'm looking for an all round 3pt mower if possible to mow both. Does anyone use their tractor to do both? Do I need a bush hog and a mower? What would be some brand names to look for? Thanks
Jason
PS: Sorry for all the questions

 

[FarmerBob]

Hi Jason...

I don't know of a particular attachment that is meant for what you're look'n for, but... I've used a good finishing mower on some fairly rough ground like you described and it did a good job. As long as you're not cut'n much over 3/4" to 1" stuff you'll do ok. I've had 2 Landpride 2560 side discharge mowers and both have been great performers. They're built pretty rugged and stand up to reasonable abuse. The only problem you'll have is blade sharpening/replacement more often than if you were just cut'n lawn. Remember though... there's no such things as a "stump jumper" for a finishing mower so stay away from stumps /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

FarmerBob

 

[JayinNH]

FarmerBob,
How much did the landpride 2560 mower run? Would you recommend buying used versus new? I bought a landpride rake and rear blade with my 3010 and like the durability that landpride puts out. Does landpride make a HD mower? If the mower you own cuts 3/4 to 1" brush/field what would your bush hog cut? I'm trying to get a better knowledge of the line between a bush hog and a mower.Thanks
Jason

 

[rbargeron]

Hey Jason:

With 25 pto hp you'll maybe do best with a 60" finish mower. The ones with 4 castors do a great job of following the ground contour and leave a nice "finish".

If you have some rougher fields, you can adjust the cutting height up a few inches and get good results. If the fields get too tall you may have to him them twice. This is because the long stuff can partially escape the shorter blades (anything longer than your deck will just lose its head). But the second time around does a fine job.

FarmerBob is right on about staying away from stumps (and rocks). Most finsih mowers have rigid blade mounting to the shafts. They can't swing back if they hit something. I know of one finish mower with swing-back blades - but it's a 90-inch and takes about 35 pto hp.

There's some strong opinion about brands - Land Pride seems to have a lot of fans.

Good luck and happy mowing.

 

[FarmerBob]

Jason...

The Landpride side discharge 2560 runs about $1,600 new, and the rear discharge 2560 runs a little higher. Both are made very well and tend to hold up under heavy use. There's a big difference between a finishing mower like the 2560 and a rotary mower which is made for heavy un-finished type mowing. The rotary mower will typically have 2 to 4 heavy 1" thick steel pivoting blades attached to a center hub. They are made to withstand impact with heavy brush and rocks and the free swinging blades will bouce off things they were not intended to cut (theoretically) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I have seen rotary blades broken completely in half. Anyway... they are not intended for lawn mowing and don't make a smooth clean cut like a finish mower does. On the other hand, the typical 60" finish mower has three blades similar to most walk-behind lawn mowers. Each is attached to a belt driven spindle mounted to the mower deck and driven through a gear box by the PTO. The blade tip speed on a finish mower is in the neighborhood of 10,000+ RPM, and a rotary mower is considerably slower since it does it's job with weight rather than speed.

A light to medium duty bush hog should handle saplings up to about 2" or a little larger. At least that's been my experience. The larger the sapling the more tearing effect you'll get from the bush hog. The finishing mower on the other hand makes a cleaner cut, even on a small sapling, but will also tend to bog down and tear if you get into more than it can handle.

The best bet is to have both pieces of equipment. I'd prefer not to be sharpening blades constantly on my finishing mower. Plus... if you allow your rough stuff to get a little too rough... then you're going to end up having to borrow a bush hog anyway. It's just nice to have the correct implement to handle any particular job. And your mower is like anything else... if you can find a good used one for less money it should always be an option.

Hope that helps some.

FarmerBob

 

[HR_Mutt]

<font color=blue>It's just nice to have the correct implement to handle any particular job</font color=blue>
ditto/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Mutt

 

[rbargeron]

If you can buy both a rotary and a finish mower, that's the best - it's always good to have the right tool for a job. Buying good quality is the best overall economy. The cheap stuff dies quicker and takes more maintenance as it goes. If your checkbook can only handle one high-quality tool now, get the finish mower and see if it will reclaim your field. If not, borrow or rent a rotary cutter for the first pass. (Also a handy way to see what size & weight rotary your 3010 is happy with) Then you can maintain the field with the finish mower.

 

[JayinNH]

FarmerBob,
Thanks for the great info. The wallet isn't what she used to be after signing the paperwork on Jezebel. I haven't utilized the PTO yet and need to get a mower. I think for right now I'll settle on the mower and wait for the wallet to recover from Jezebel.Thanks Guys
Jay

 

[FarmerBob]

I certainly know about the "wallet" situation. Our "toys" seem to keep us broke most of the time. You'll probably do ok with the mower first and then you can start stuff'n the cookie jar for the bush hog /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif. Be sure and let us know how the mower performs on the rough stuff.

FarmerBob