Rotary Cutter Need advice on 6' rotary cutter

[Z-Michigan]

My tractor has 540 PTO rpm at 2200 engine rpm. I can run 2200 engine rpm with the cutter attached, on, and cutting heavy grass with the throttle lever only about 1/3 the way open.

 

[Soundguy]

That's interesting... being able to run at that rpm at such a low throttle setting..

soundguy

 

[Z-Michigan]

Well, in fairness, heavy grass by Michigan standards is probably pretty thin by Florida standards. But my point is that the 5hp/foot rule appears pretty good.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I,bought a howse 6 foot heavy duty mower with 6 inch channel sides and it came with hi-lift blades it cut like a finish mower, I happened up on a deal with a 6 foot bush hog squealer that did in fact have a little better fit and finish, I bought it and was not impressed with the way it cut so I bought some hi-lift blades and it cut better , but still nothing like the howse mower and i cant imagine anyone having a better gear box than the bush hog , but overall i would buy another howse if i had it to do over again, you could'nt tear that deck or frame up with a bulldozer. Hope that helps another opinion.

 

[LoneCowboy]

You can buy the bush hog to start with
or you can buy another cheaper brand and then replace it in 1 to 5 years with the Bush Hog you should have bought to begin with.

JMHO

 

[skipmarcy]

The tractor is a 42 HP Branson, 6' would seem resonable for a tractor that size, No? 5 HP for ever foot of cut would be 30 HP.

I do not care about resale value because I will probably use whatever I get until it is sofar gone that even I can't fix it, and I can fix anything.

Tom

My Mahindra is 41 hp (38 pto hp) and it has handled my 6' Howse for years now, in some extremely heavy cutting. Your tractor should handle it just fine. The main thing is that your cutter is wide enough to cover your tracks good so you get a better looking cut and can get closer to fencerows etc. My Howse is probably well over 20 years old, I've had it 10 years. It has an Agmo brand gearbox. If the grass isn't much over 1' tall it will cut about as good as a lawn mower/finish mower. Taller grass it leaves a few pieces sticking up here & there but still not bad. I think alot of that comes from the tractor tires bending it over and the longer grass doesn't pop back up as quick for the overlap on the next pass - not really the fault of the cutter. I have pretty wide R4 tires. The replacement blades I put on about 6 or 7 years ago were almost flat, just a little bit of a "wing" up at the rear and I bent them up quite a bit higher for some lift - it worked. My tractor hits 540 PTO rpms at about 2600 engine rpms. If I'm cutting less than 1' tall I run about 2,000 - 2,200 engine rpms and get a fine cut. Ground speed has everything to do with quality of cut too, you have to experiment with your tractor to see where you need to run for the cut you want. Your cutting sounds like a light duty will serve you just fine but it won't take long to ruin it if you ever do cut some "rough stuff" in the future.

 

[Soundguy]

Why would you think a light duty cutter, used for light duty will only last 1-5 ys.

I have one of those KK hogs, and have cut many a ant hill, 2" woody sapplings, and 7' tall brush so dense i couldn't even see thru.

It's over 8ys old now and still going strong.

soundguy

You can buy the bush hog to start with
or you can buy another cheaper brand and then replace it in 1 to 5 years with the Bush Hog you should have bought to begin with.

JMHO

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Why would you think a light duty cutter, used for light duty will only last 1-5 ys.

I have one of those KK hogs, and have cut many a ant hill, 2" woody sapplings, and 7' tall brush so dense i couldn't even see thru.

It's over 8ys old now and still going strong.

soundguy

I can't speak for Brian, but I can understand where he's coming from. It's relative to volume of use. You use your KK mower in conjunction with 2 other larger mowers on a total of 13 acres. So the use is somewhat limited relative to the way Brian (or myself) uses a mower. (My crew logged a little over 700 acres last week) One of my competitors uses KK 6' mowers in the same capacity as I use my Bush Hog 6'er. He has to replace them as often as 2 times per summer, where I've already logged 3 years use on the Bush Hog 286, with no signs of it failing. The cheaper brands (as well as lighter duty models from the "premium brands" in many cases) just don't hold up under constant use. That's when you really notice the difference between a $600 mower and a $2000 mower. By the same standards, my 286 Bush Hog mower wouldn't last a week if I used it in the same conditions as we use the Bush Hog 406 (Extreme heavy duty mower)


Not ALL "higher priced" mowers perform better (simply because they're more expensive) but the better performing mowers are generally in the more expensive range. Because of certain factors such as blade type availability as an example, my Bush Hog mowers leave a better cut under most conditions than that competitors KK. Paying customers notice details like that.

So, if your volume of use is relatively low, your mowing conditions are light and/or results aren't always critical, a less expensive mower may be the ticket. On the other hand, they just don't give satisfactory results for many of us. Also, some folks are willing to spend a little extra to get that added quality even if they don't make 100% use of it.

 

[Soundguy]

It seemed like the original poster was indicating light / light duty use.. thus the money saving recomendation for an economy cutter... and he was on a budget.. etc.

Before I had my larger tractors and mowers, the economy KK had to do all the work... though as you point out, in the last 4ys, it has been mainly used to clean corners, and in wooded areas the 10/15' mowers can't get to.. etc.

soundguy

I can't speak for Brian, but I can understand where he's coming from. It's relative to volume of use. You use your KK mower in conjunction with 2 other larger mowers on a total of 13 acres. So the use is somewhat limited relative to the way Brian (or myself) uses a mower. (My crew logged a little over 700 acres last week) One of my competitors uses KK 6' mowers in the same capacity as I use my Bush Hog 6'er. He has to replace them as often as 2 times per summer, where I've already logged 3 years use on the Bush Hog 286, with no signs of it failing. The cheaper brands (as well as lighter duty models from the "premium brands" in many cases) just don't hold up under constant use. That's when you really notice the difference between a $600 mower and a $2000 mower. By the same standards, my 286 Bush Hog mower wouldn't last a week if I used it in the same conditions as we use the Bush Hog 406 (Extreme heavy duty mower)


Not ALL "higher priced" mowers perform better (simply because they're more expensive) but the better performing mowers are generally in the more expensive range. Because of certain factors such as blade type availability as an example, my Bush Hog mowers leave a better cut under most conditions than that competitors KK. Paying customers notice details like that.

So, if your volume of use is relatively low, your mowing conditions are light and/or results aren't always critical, a less expensive mower may be the ticket. On the other hand, they just don't give satisfactory results for many of us. Also, some folks are willing to spend a little extra to get that added quality even if they don't make 100% use of it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

It seemed like the original poster was indicating light / light duty use.. thus the money saving recomendation for an economy cutter... and he was on a budget.. etc.

Before I had my larger tractors and mowers, the economy KK had to do all the work... though as you point out, in the last 4ys, it has been mainly used to clean corners, and in wooded areas the 10/15' mowers can't get to.. etc.

soundguy

The original poster wanted to know the rationale behind purchasing a more expensive brand of mower vs. a cheap brand. He was inquiring as to the differences. And that's where the thread went.

There are differences. In many instances, those differences are more than adaquate justification for the added cost. Likewise, many instances there's enough difference that the less expensive models aren't practical, nor are they really such a great deal when you look at their shortcomings.

Since the OP was interested in those differences, there's a strong possibility that he has doubts as to which "grade" he might need.