Newbie Needs Help Flex Wing Mower vs. Straight Rotary Multi Spindle

farwindsfarm · Jul 21, 2013

Hey Everyone....New to tractobynet and farming in general. Long story short, we've end up with a large farm with pastures that need bush hogged. I've tried to give the "hay" away but theres simply too many bryers and weeds to make it marketable.

Couple of questions?

1. I'm going to be cutting about 150 acres of pasture. It's rolling terrain with a few trees here and there. I have a 15' Bush Hog 315 (older than dirt....but still working). The 315 is going to need some clutch packs etc but for the most part has been doing a good job. I've found a newer but used Rhino TW-168 (14') and was wondering what the difference in performance might be?

2. How do I know what PTO is on my tractor 540 or 1000?

Thanks again for the help this formum provides.

daugen · Jul 21, 2013

:welcome: from eastern PA.
I have two smaller mowers, not your size, so someone else will need to chime in, but be patient,
you'll get some feedback. Those are big mowers, which cuts down on the number of us with experience with them.
But welcome anyway.
I think much of the issue here is whether you have "moguls" that could get seriously chomped with a straight mower. How rolling is your rolling?

JimRB · Jul 21, 2013

540 vs 1000 rpm - Yesterday's Tractor Co. (#270051-1) read about spline count. 540 has 6 splines.

KWentling · Jul 21, 2013

I would think you would want to stick with a flex wing unless your ground is flat. A 540 pto is 1 3/8" diameter and 6 splines. Some tractors up to 120 HP or so have both, usually by turning the shaft around.

Kim

daugen · Jul 21, 2013

good reference Jim.
I love the statement: The speed of the engine must be kept at half speed or bad stuff could happen
Now they have economy pto modes on some newer tractors, perhaps yours, where the engine slows down and uses less fuel, assuming it has
adequate power to do so. I wonder if the electronics are doing the 540-1000 switch internally.

lot to learn here.
you could sure get some serious blade tip speed on your mower this way...for a short while.

leonz · Jul 21, 2013

What tractor do you own or have access to??????????

A used in "good condition" fifteen foot flail chopper will be
a better tool for your use and cost less to own as it has more
useable cutting edge than any rotary cutter of that size as only
half of a rotary cutters blades(inn your case only 90 inches of
cutting edge are cutting at any time where a 15 foot wide
shredder using scoop knives or side slicers is cuttting the
full width of fifteen feet(180 inches at all times).

A flail shredder with side slicer knives will provide you with
double or triple the cutting edge length in total facing the work
SO if you have a flail shredder with four rows of paired side slicers
you can have up to 60 feet of cutting edge shredding the brush for
you using the same horsepower depending on the brand of flail shredder
and the clippings will be much smaller in length and will decay faster.
at all times.

There are many good used flail shredder/choppers on www.tractorhouse.com

DT86 · Jul 21, 2013

I would use the flex wing. After all, you've already got it and know what it will take to be useable. I've never seen the Rhino you mentioned in person but it looks like it is made to chop crop stubble.

Ken45101 · Jul 22, 2013

I doubt there would be much difference in "performance" between the two cutters. There might be some difference in how one handles uneven ground vs. the other depending on the geometry (wheel spacing to tractor, etc.)

I have a 15' Bush Hog batwing on the M9540 Kubota (85 pto hp). At times it's quite a load and I wouldn't want to run it with less horsepower. I also would not want to run that cutter in hilly terrain with a lighter tractor, the cutter would push it around. I have 700# of front bumper weights on the tractor and at times the front end still feels light.

Gary Fowler · Jul 22, 2013

farwindsfarm said:
Hey Everyone....New to tractobynet and farming in general. Long story short, we've end up with a large farm with pastures that need bush hogged. I've tried to give the "hay" away but theres simply too many bryers and weeds to make it marketable.

Couple of questions?

1. I'm going to be cutting about 150 acres of pasture. It's rolling terrain with a few trees here and there. I have a 15' Bush Hog 315 (older than dirt....but still working). The 315 is going to need some clutch packs etc but for the most part has been doing a good job. I've found a newer but used Rhino TW-168 (14') and was wondering what the difference in performance might be?

2. How do I know what PTO is on my tractor 540 or 1000?

Thanks again for the help this formum provides.

The older tractors that came with 540 and 1000 RPM PTO had separate shafts with the 540 with 6 splines and I think the 1000 had about 12 (much more in any case) Todays tractors (some of them anyway) might come with a multi-speed gear box on the PTO and one has to be careful to choose the right gear to avoid burning up the gear box on the equipment. MY LS has 540-750-1000 speeds via gear selection. I either run it in 540 at 1900 rpm which is the rated 540 speed or shift to 750 and reduce my engine speed to about 1400 RPM which reduces the fuel consumption. Some tractors with the economy pto can do this automatically although I am not familiar with them and how they work.

If it were me and I had a functioning mower, I would keep with that and not waste money on another piece of equipment that is just newer. As long as they function and the deck doesn't rot out (this kills most bushhogs), replace the clutch pack for a few bucks and go chop those briars and saplings. This is assuming that your current tractor handles it satisfactorily.