pto, grass cutting question

[calbug]

just a general question. what kind of 'bushhogging' could i do with a compact with @25-30hp pto and 5' cutter? not really talking about mowing big overgrown fields, but cutting around the pond and tall grassy plots. i'm concerned that if grass/weeds get thick and tall, a small tractor would struggle. looking at some of the package deals, @30-35hp tractor with loader. i only have experience with a ford 4000 and 7' cutter, so it would be a drastic power reduction, of course, but the ford was a little overkill for what i used it for.

 

[dave1949]

In tall, tough grass & weeds, a 5' cutter could give a 30 pto hp tractor a workout.

You can take partial swathes, keep the blades sharp, and cut more frequently to overcome that. I wouldn't worry about not enough power if you use it sensibly.

 

[RDrancher]

My tractor is right in that power range. It has no problem running a 6' brush hog, even with HD blades mounted to survive the occasional basketball size rock.

 

[TripleR]

You can do it with a thirty, but I would prefer a 35 PTO HP, we have run 5' cutters with our Ford 600's with 31 PTO HP for over fifty years and they do pretty well though in really tall thick grass we have to slow down a bit.

 

[Ted Summey]

I've always heard 5hp per foot of bush hog. Recently I heard someone say 8hp per foot of bush hog. For your purposes 35 to 40 hp should be fine. Our Massey Ferguson 135 makes around 35 hp at the PTO and does fine with a 5 foot heavy duty cutter.

 

[dave1949]

"Thick" is a regional variable. :laughing:

I have a small area that gets plenty of moisture (bottom of a slope) that I cut once a year when it is about 3' tall weeds and grass. I usually cut it in late July when it has toughened up already. It will work my 37 pto hp tractor pretty hard with a 6' bush hog. It's about the only area I actually have to run the tractor at pto speed.

 

[mostly_gas]

We have 10 ac. that get cut 4 times a year at church. Have mowed with 25hp and 35hp (same brushhog) and there is a speed difference but the 25 hp does fine otherwise.

 

[unbidden]

I run a 48" rough cut with my BX2660 which is 19.5 hp @ 3200 rpm to the rear pto with no problems at all. And I never run it at 3200 when rough cutting.

 

[gemstarfarm]

Used a 5 ft mower on my MF 231 (32 pto hp) for years. Just had to slow down in the heaviest stuff.

 

[Arc weld]

You have enough power for a 5' bush hog. You can always raise it up a little and do a first pass to knock the real tall stuff down. You can also take half width cuts. When you do the final cut, don't have your height of cut too low. You should only have to cut the real tall stuff once and then just maintain it before it gets too gnarly.

 

[JD5210]

You might want to look at this article to help answer your question.

TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

 

[calbug]

another question to go along with my first, could someone explain what 'live pto' means? i always thought live meant pto runs all the time like the old 8n's. i would think in the modern era all tractors would have independent pto, but i see many that say live. an independent would be a better choice, right?

 

[k0ua]

another question to go along with my first, could someone explain what 'live pto' means? i always thought live meant pto runs all the time like the old 8n's. i would think in the modern era all tractors would have independent pto, but i see many that say live. an independent would be a better choice, right?

This may help:

TractorData.com - Power Take-Off

 

[GManBart]

another question to go along with my first, could someone explain what 'live pto' means? i always thought live meant pto runs all the time like the old 8n's. i would think in the modern era all tractors would have independent pto, but i see many that say live. an independent would be a better choice, right?

You know, I never thought about it, but that is a confusing term. A "live PTO" means the PTO will still turn when the clutch is pushed in to disengage the transmission. You have to push it in farther to disengage the PTO. I'm guessing the intent was to describe that the PTO was still "live" while the transmission was disengaged....but that's totally a guess.

 

[jeffinsgf]

If you really want to stay in the low 30s for HP, you might consider a 4 foot shredder instead of the 5. Might take a little longer, but it will be easier on the tractor and you. You won't get into a "tail wagging the dog" situation.

 

[gemstarfarm]

You might want to look at this article to help answer your question.

TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

Yes some data to go along with all the opinion!

 

[dave1949]

Yes some data to go along with all the opinion!

No, some data to go along with shared experiences.