rear wheel on bush hog

OkieG · Jun 27, 2004

My neighbor cuts a couple acres with his brush hog. He has asked me why manufacturers bother to put wheels on anyway. He says his never touches the ground and he's thinking of just taking it off.

Oh well,...different strokes....

OkieG

JerryG · Jun 27, 2004

Stephan,
Maybe a little OT, but I have a question about AU slashers. When you set up your slasher, do you have it set to where the slides sit on the ground all of the time or do you hold it above ground when using?

have_blue · Jun 27, 2004

( Sometimes I don't count too well, but do you have 3 or 4 parameters listed? Would more slack in the toplink stop the wheel from whanging and banging, or does the wheel do that even when it's firmly on the ground?
OkieG )

That's just it. In order to get the wheel firmly on the ground, I have to give up something else. Mainly my mowing height or the relief angle. It's maddening I tell you. This deck is going to be the death of me if I don't modify it.

JerryG · Jun 27, 2004

blue,
If you are having that much trouble setting it up right, I would be willing to bet that the pins on the mower are mounted to high from the deck. When the front of the mower is lifted into mowing position, the lift arms should be close to level or at least not at a very great angle.

OkieG · Jun 27, 2004

Jerry,
Also, kind of sounds like maybe the rear of the deck is too close to the ground when the tail wheel is on the ground. Properly adjusting that would provide the correct cutting angle (front low at cutting height, rear higher with wheel on ground) and still allow for some slack in the toplink for terrain following.

OkieG

JerryG · Jun 27, 2004

I could be that also, or maybe both.

Gary_in_Indiana · Jun 27, 2004

Oakie,

What IS the proper angle for a rotary cutter? You said the front should be lower than the rear when the wheel is touching but you didn't say by how much. Thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

stephan · Jun 27, 2004

Jerry,

I don't understand the "OT" but our slasher sit on the ground on skids all the time. The height is adjusted by raising or lowering the skids with four bolts, one on each corner. Wheels are an option on slashers from about 4 foot and standard on slasher above 6 foot. Wheels are also included when the slasher might go up a rating, like from medium duty to heavy duty. A lot of the lighter duty slashers have a chain link from the top of the 3PL to the back.

All this talk makes me wonder again, when you think about it, what effect does the rear wheel have? If you consider the cutter acts like a sled where it rides the contours of the ground why the rear wheel. So that must mean the rear wheel is either for supporting weight or, helping maneuverability. I don't think it would be for adjustment as that would be handled by the toplink, unless there was some thought that the toplink is not strong enough to support the cutter.

Curious. Don't get me wrong I want a rear wheel (for the reversing up a slope) but by my thinking they must be for supporting weight and thus must be touching the ground. How much weight they would support would depend on the cutter, hence the larger cutters have two wheels.

Just thinking aloud and I'd be interested in other peoples thoughts on why the wheels are there in the first place. The why they are there would answer the how they are adjusted question.

Bird · Jun 27, 2004

( the front should be lower than the rear when the wheel is touching but you didn't say by how much )

Actually, I think it's individual preference. I believe the manual will likely say to adjust the front lower than the rear for faster cutting and discharge, but adjust the front higher than the rear for more mulching effect. So there's nothing wrong with having it level. Personally, I always had mine with the front 1" to 1.5" lower in the front.

KiotiJohn · Jun 27, 2004

( Newbie question: What is position control? Is this the same thing as draft control? I also read in another thread about putting the 3PT control in neutral position - I've never seen a tractor with this. What would this be? )
Position control simply means that wherever you put the 3pt hitch level handle is where the implement will stay. Draft control basically causes the implement to lift up when it encounters too much resistance and then back down after the resistance is gone. Without either of these, one drops the 3pt with the lever, and when it appears to be where you want it, you pull the lever back to neutral and then the implement stays where you set it. A little harder than position control because sometimes you've gone a little lower or higher than you really need, so you do it again. Position control is much easier. It also helps when you don't have guage wheels on something like a landscape rake etc. because you can pretty well set the implement at the proper height, and usually there are numbers or references so you can recall the setting later (which doesn't always work, because you may have changed top link setting for another implement). John