Learning to use my new tractor and rotary mower- NEED SUGGESTIONS!

[gwdixon]

Went back out to the property, and figured a few things out. First off, there is a little wingnut deal on the 3pt control which is supposed to tighten up and keep the 3pt in any position desired. It does not work, which is why the implements just fall down no matter where the handle is. I went to the hardware store and got a bolt and a wingnut so I could make that work. After that, I set my mower at the height I wanted, and really went to town cutting. I got about 1 1/2 acres cleared. The bad news is I hit a HUGE rock. We're talking bigger than a basketball. It was BAD. It was hidden beneath the blackberries, and the mower unearthed it. I felt terrible. My new blades are messed up, and I thought for sure I must have broken the whole brushhog and tractor. Nope, they are still moving right along. Unbelievable how strong this stuff is. I don't ever want to hit a rock like that again.

Hitting something solid, like a stump or rock, can certainly cause an alert to the system. Banging, shuttering, leaping about, and other symptoms show up. Soiled underwear is a common occurrence.

However, most slashers are made to handle such things. Notice the thickness of the blade and the fact that they are designed to turn out of the way. There should be a big circular plate that the blades attach to. That way, if the blades can't spin out of the way because the offending object is near the middle, then the plate causes the mower to lift up and over. That is why it is called a "stump jumper".

It still doesn't seem clear why the 3PH is only up or down and yet a wingnut will hold it in place. Does the lever by the seat only go all the way forward or back without the wingnut stop engaged? That is, there is no stopping in the middle of the arc without a wingnut.

I've used levers that are self-centering and return to center when an extreme is reached but not one like you mention. Maybe something is loose. The lever should hold its position anywhere between all the way forward and all the way back. At least that has been my experience.

When you hit the rock you describe it sounds like you were mowing fairly low. There may be others since there was that one. I'd recommend mowing a bit higher. That way you may be able to go over the top of such things and see them on reinspecting the field. Nothing like hindsight.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Went back out to the property, and figured a few things out. First off, there is a little wingnut deal on the 3pt control which is supposed to tighten up and keep the 3pt in any position desired. It does not work, which is why the implements just fall down no matter where the handle is. I went to the hardware store and got a bolt and a wingnut so I could make that work. After that, I set my mower at the height I wanted, and really went to town cutting. I got about 1 1/2 acres cleared. The bad news is I hit a HUGE rock. We're talking bigger than a basketball. It was BAD. It was hidden beneath the blackberries, and the mower unearthed it. I felt terrible. My new blades are messed up, and I thought for sure I must have broken the whole brushhog and tractor. Nope, they are still moving right along. Unbelievable how strong this stuff is. I don't ever want to hit a rock like that again.

Well obviously your position control does work, just a bit of operator misunderstanding of the principle. Don't be too concerned about hitting rocks, it may be the first time but it wont be the last time you hit a foreign object. Bush hogs are made to do that and keep on ticking, maybe with a broken shear pin if you have that. If you have a slip clutch, you need to check the tightness of the clutch. It shouldn't stall the tractor down without slipping but you don't want it so loose that it slip with a light load either as this will burn out the clutch plates prematurely. The first 4 -5 times I mowed my place, I hit all kinds of debris including a lot of smaller rocks that either shattered or the bush hog sent them flying across the pasture. The light duty Howse mower I had then had a permanent bow in the side facing the mower blade turning direction from the blade slamming rocks into it. The blades didn't seem to mind that much as they had just slight nicks from the experience. Now I hit one occasionally where the winter freeze has moved them up but the majority have been pulverized or I have picked up and hauled away.

 

[Larro Darro]

PF, glad you got going. Like others have said, raising the mower an inch or so the first time you mow a grown up field is always a good idea. You can always go back over it with the mower lower the next time. Then you should be able to see big rocks. But don't worry too much about your blades. They are big enough to handle most anything you can drive over. But in mowing big brush, you need to slow down your ground speed. That will make it easier on the mower and the tractor.

Good luck, Larro

 

[pretendfarmer]

Thanks for all the replies. The ground is very rutted and uneven, likely from the heavy equipment which cleared the second growth trees and stumps. This means i have my hand on the 3 pt at all times to raise it when the back end of the tractor drops so i do not scalp the ground. The smaller rocks have put a few dents in the sides of the mower. The used ones i looked at were riddled with dents so apparently this thing is going to get beat up. I actually did a very good job for the most part staying away from large objects and rocks. But by gosh was that a shocking strike when it happened. One of the blades got hung up on the stump jumper for a moment and the vibration led me to believe I had ruined it, but after shutting down and restarting everything was fine.

 

[jeff9366]

If you go to the "Bush Hog" web site, they have a HISTORY tab which is interesting.

 

[Beltman60]

cutting from a height of 5" from 3" uses much less HP
I do this when I cut a field for the 1st time with growth over my head sitting on the tractor
I also use my FEL about 4-6" off the ground to catch on anything that I might hit
glad you already have that 1 1/2 acres cut I bet it looks allot better :thumbsup: