PTO Horsepower Needed to run a 5' finish mower.

[toppop52]

Just that, how much h.p. at the pto do I need to effectively run a 60" finish mower?

 

[aczlan]

Rule of thumb is just under 5HP/foot. We have a 5' MMM on a Kubota BX2660 which has plenty of power and we have one on a Kubota B7500 which could use a little more HP in the thick stuff.

Aaron Z

 

[schoolsout]

We run ours with about 26 pto hp.

 

[scrappy isb67]

I am running 5' with 18.5.

 

[creekbend]

I have always heard the same in regards to 5hp per foot. The weight of the implement and the terrain may also be prevalent in making a determination or decision.

 

[toppop52]

I'm looking at compacts/sub compacts and it seems strange many have less horsepower than my old Craftsman GT5000 which has 26. The problem with it is it's small, built for a lot less than I put it through with the bucket on the front and sooner or later it's gonna die. So instead of buying another stand alone tow behind with it in mind I'd like to get a small FEL with enough oomph to swing a pto mower of 54"-60" even if it's a tow behind, but I'd rather go 3 point.

 

[chim]

I have always heard the same in regards to 5hp per foot. The weight of the implement and the terrain may also be prevalent in making a determination or decision.

Absolutely! My Ford 1210 with an advertised 13.5 PTO HP handles a 5 foot Caroni RFM nicely. When I had my B7500 with a Landprice 5 foot RFM I swapped decks to see how they would work on different tractors. The 16 PTO HP (and heavier) Kubota pulled the Caroni deck like it wasn't even back there. The Ford struggled to keep the Landpride spinning when going uphill and the two suitecase weights weren't enough to keep the front end down if I got a little quick on the hydro pedal.

 

[greg_g]

It's not fair to compare riding mower hp vs cutting width to tractor hp vs cutting width. Riding mowers are for the most part belt drive, which is considerably less efficient than gear drive used by tractors. The 5hp per foot rule of thumb actually applies to rotary cutters (bush hogs). Finish mowers typically require less hp per foot than rotary cutters. Nobody's actually defined this, but I think you can get by with 4 hp per foot of finish mower cut. But as always, it depends upon what you're cutting.

//greg//

 

[toppop52]

Thanks for the replies so far. I am cutting mostly managed to semi managed, some reclaimed from a fern field, but the great majority of anything over 3/4" is gone and primarily grass with a few leftover berry vines and odd trees that pop up but normally are cut weekly-semi weekly.

 

[kebo]

I'm looking at compacts/sub compacts and it seems strange many have less horsepower than my old Craftsman GT5000 which has 26. The problem with it is it's small, built for a lot less than I put it through with the bucket on the front and sooner or later it's gonna die. So instead of buying another stand alone tow behind with it in mind I'd like to get a small FEL with enough oomph to swing a pto mower of 54"-60" even if it's a tow behind, but I'd rather go 3 point.

I don't think that 26hp gas engine will have the torque like a 21hp diesel will.