Mowing nx4510 rotary cutter question

[Nmw1]

i have a hydro nx4510 was curious about getting a woods 6' 720x and was told it would be too much for my tractor and pretty much argued with by local dealer, what do you guys think? gonna be mowing some medium size brush and general mowing, just wanting a stout cutter incase i may hit something

 

[countrybumpkin]

I ran a 6' foot on my kubota 34 HP for years and wouldn't have been happy with anything less. I think a 6 would be a good choice. What type of stuff are you planning on cutting with it?

 

[Nmw1]

mainly just some up keep of 10 acres that has gotten out of hand, with trees, vines and brush. the first cut may be rough but after that just regular maintenance, i know the 720x is heavy duty and overkill but i want this thing to last forever

 

[Nmw1]

the dealer gave me a hard time and said that my tractors frame is not heavy enough and horsepower to low, that its way overkill, and pretty much was not nice about it, i was in shock and said i'll take my business somewhere else and hung up

 

[Nmw1]

this dealer is not a kioti dealer just a kubota and woods dealer so maybe he doesnt know how stout thses nx's are

 

[N2DFire]

Woods rates the BB720X as HP range of 30 to 120 & weight of roughly 1200 lbs
Kioti specs list the NX4510 HST at 33HP at the PTO, 3PT lift over 3000 lbs, and weight of 3,989 lbs (w/o loaded tires)

My initial thoughts are:
Lift Capacity - got it covered

Horse Power - Within the rated HP requirements though on the low side. Going to have to increase RPM & decrease ground speed to keep the cutter going through the heavy stuff.

Implement weight vs. Tractor weight - Wrangling that monster might make things a little "sporty" in some conditions - like mowing across a hill side or if you had to raise it up going up a significant slope, etc. Granted mowing up & down slope is preferred to going across but here in the "Foothills of the Blue Ridge" that's not an option for us all the time. If you're geography is similar it's something to think about.

Mowing Fodder - you listed trees & brush as some of your mowing fodder. We recently took on reclaiming old pasture land that had gone fallow for several years and had spruce trees in the 3" diameter range along with stumps from previous timber removal and blackberry vines galore. Due to the stumps we ended up hiring a neighbor with a (borrowed) dozer to come over and clear things off for us. If all you have are free standing saplings & brush you might be better off hiring (or renting) a skid steer with a forestry mulcher to do your initial cleaning & then go with a Medium Duty cutter for your following maintenance needs.

The BB72X for example is 11ga (0.1196 inch) instead of 10ga (0.1345 inch) but otherwise identically constructed to the BB720X but still 400lbs lighter (most of that is rotating weight in the cutter head which accounts for the 1.5" vs 3" cutting capacity). So operated w/in the intended design they should have pretty much the same life expectancy. The 72X is probably cheaper too.

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Here's a video if a Forestry Mulcher in action. You can tackle *most* of the same stuff with a RC and tractor but the finished product isn't nearly as nice.

So in a nut shell - you can lift it & spin it just fine - just not sure how easy / safe it will be to get around on your work area.

As I read what you're saying - you're looking to buy what you need to do the initial cutting/clearing & then use it forever to keep it maintained. My thoughts are find the best choice for the lifetime maintenance first, then do the initial clearing work another way if you need to. After all you're only going to cut it the first time once

At the end of the day - it's your money & your choice but for long term use I think you'll be happier with a slightly less wieldy cutter and finding an alternate means of dealing with the "rough stuff" the first time around.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

 

[CobyRupert]

That's a hefty 6' mower (1200#).
Tractordata.com says nx4510 is 4000-4500 lbs, and I believe that's without loaded tires, a cab or FEL.

I run a 7' medium light duty (approx. 1100 pounds) on the back of a tractor that tractordata says is 4634-5475 pounds (but also has additional FEL & loaded tires). You can definitely feel it back there. A big lever. Makes the front end a lot lighter; but only to the point I leave the bucket on the front for counter weight and to knock down brush that I'm mowing, but not to the point that I feel I should add more weight to front of tractor (or put dirt in bucket) . With the FEL totally off, you can easily do wheelies if want to pop the clutch.
Downside of having the bucket on is it makes maneuvering in tighter spaces harder. I have to remind myself that mower is lower than the tractors center of gravity on sidehills and actually helps. It just "feels tippy-er" because the front end is lighter.

How level is your ground?

If tractors weight and 3 pth is such that you can lift it and carry it safely, don't worry about horsepower. Horsepower is only a measure of the speed you can go, not the ability to do the task.

 

[Nmw1]

thanks for the replies, more and likely i'm gonna go with 72x but the extra cutting capacity of 720x would be nice just incase i might get into something heavy just trying to get past all the nasayers out there. i know the tractor can handle it, it had surpassed my expectations so far, the loader is awesome on these tractors i have picked up some heavy trees that my dad said his jd4720 would not have been abe too. who knows i may go with 720x just to see how it does

 

[Nmw1]

some of the ground is not real level, maybe 3 of the acres is wooded and thick brush, going to open it a little with the fel first , its hard to see the dips and slopes but speed wouldnt matter to me going slow would help me get a better cut most of the time anyways

 

[LD1]

Dont let the dealer scare you into buying a light duty cutter and regretting it. The dealer is an idiot.

I am quite amazed at how often threads come up on here. Are dealers really that clueless??? DO they think you need a freakin 8000# tractor and 100+ HP to run a HD 6' cutter???

I ran an 1100# 6' cutter behind a MUCH smaller 2600# / 29 PTO HP kubota for years

I currently have a tractor that has about 8 more HP than you at the PTO, but physically, your NX is heavier and more lift capacity. I run a 1600 pound 8' woods bushhog.

Either the dealer is an idiot that dont know the tractor, or he doesnt stock a 720bb and wants to sell you what he has....which also still makes him an idiot.