Max size cutter for YM3000?

[WileyG]

I'm in the market for a new cutter. My old LMC Andy 500 will be left at deer camp and I will replace it with another Lowery cutter. I'm wondering if my YM3000 will run a 6 foot cutter if all I'm cutting is fescue/sage grass and the like that will never be over 2 feet tall. Occasionally I may get into some 1" diameter Privet. I don't want to burn the clutch out or risk breaking the crank shaft.

What say y'all?

 

[Gary Fowler]

If the clutch is properly adjusted, you shouldn't have issue with it, the motor should stall without damage to the clutch or PTO shaft.

Grass is usually harder to cut than weeds but I am not familiar with Privet. Any tractor with properly sized mower should be able to cut up to 2" material with a light to medium duty bush hog, you may have to downshift to a lower gear with a large cutter. Going slower with a wider cutter may not decrease your mowing time if the cutting is really tough BUT I like the idea of having the width to use when in light conditions.

I would try to just decrease the cutting width in tough stuff (overlap the already cut area) but use full width in light conditions.

Just for reference, the previous owner of my B26 TLB used a 5 foot cutter with it in waist high grass with no problems and it is only 26 HP at the engine.

 

[clemsonfor]

I would think you could easily turn a 6ft! I use a 5 ft model almost exclusively on my ym2000. You have 10 more HP than I do so I would think you could. I cut old fields. If the stuff is a thick 2ft tall its tough on it and I would go a gear slower than normal, but if its just grass with seed heads that are that tall which is normal its not that hard. And I know exactly what privet is. You should easily be able to cut a stand of one inch thick privet with that tractor and any cutter and not hurt anything. I have backed some privet down that's 2"s thick easy and driven over some and some trees that are closer to 3''s

 

[normde2001]

They used to say 1' of rotary mower for every 5 pto hp. A 4' works best on a 20 pto hp Ym2000 so a 6' should be good for your YM3000.

 

[chriswheeler]

My YM3000 ran a 5' cutter fine in all but the tallest brush. 6' would run fine as well if you just slow down in a lower gear, or don't take the full 6' wide cut when it's necessary. My issue was getting into tighter spaces, so mine was sized to just be a little wider than the back tires, wasn't a power issue. Weight is a issue as well. With the FEL removed, ( Koyker 160 ) the front felt light with the 5' cutter, has to be worse with a 6'. Guess you could add weights without a FEL or leave it on if you do have one. 5' cutter seams to be holding up well so far, 12 years of use cutting about 30 acres a year. Sold the 3000 and got a deer 970 and still run the same cutter, just finished using it. For me it comes down to being able to get the cutter into tighter spaces trimming the edges, if this isn't a issue for you, think you should have enough power to run the larger one, just at times, you might have to take a smaller bite.
Chris

 

[careyo63]

I agree mostly with 5hp. PTO. per. Ft. of Imp.. This is my 4Ft. International and my YM2000 runs it with no problems at all. No FEL. so I don't have a weight issue and is the same as my Rear Wheel Displacement. When I do use it being the same size as the rear is a big plus as not to get cought on a tree Etc.. I don't use it for mowing grass but to keep my 8acres of wooded area trails and property lines clear. I do use a JD. Frontier 5Ft. FM. but it is used on my 3acres that is cut Wkly. or Bi.Wkly. depending what the season. It handles it very well and now I have my 2nd. gear PTO. locking in and not coming out of gear I never run over 1800 Eng. RPMs.. And man is it nice to cut with.....

 

[chriswheeler]

One thing I didn't mention was the smaller 5' brush cutter did strip the drive line splined coupler inbetween the clutch and the transmission making me split the tractor to replace that little drive line coupler. Hoye did have the part in stock, not to expensive. Splitting the tractor for the repair was most of the pain. All of these YM3000's are gray market, who knows what use / or abuse they have seen before being shipped here, the brush hog load sure contributed, but the damage could have been there before I even mounted the brush hog. Another 5 hp. load on this part shouldn't cause it to fail.

 

[normde2001]

One thing I didn't mention was the smaller 5' brush cutter did strip the drive line splined coupler inbetween the clutch and the transmission making me split the tractor to replace that little drive line coupler. Hoye did have the part in stock, not to expensive. Splitting the tractor for the repair was most of the pain. All of these YM3000's are gray market, who knows what use / or abuse they have seen before being shipped here, the brush hog load sure contributed, but the damage could have been there before I even mounted the brush hog. Another 5 hp. load on this part shouldn't cause it to fail.

You obviously have too big, or wrong grade, shear pin, (bolt).

 

[kenmac]

I currently have a Andy 500.. 5ft cutter....I could most likely run a 6 ft cutter.. But, I have cut some thick stuff where I'm either going too fast ,or trying to cut too much.. I can & do bog my 3110 down with the Andy 500 at times...
Are you buying direct from Lowery ??

 

[chriswheeler]

I guess my point in post #7 was that although the YM3000 in ideal condition should run a 6' cutter fine, most of these tractors that came to the U.S. to be sold are not in "new" condition, more than 30 years old and used, some of them hard use, before getting to this country. The more HP any PTO driven implement puts on these older tractors, more likely something is going to break at some point. I bought this cutter new and the shear bolt in the 5' cutter is a OEM part and has never sheared in all of the years I've run it. It's likely if there is a weak link in the drive train or the PTO drive, a larger cutter will find it sooner. Just a personal opinion.
Chris