Rotary Cutter Recommendations Please

[papabear284]

I have an Agracat 2740 20 hp 4WD diesel and am in the market for a rotary cutter. I have a 5-foot Koyker FEL, so it would be nice to have a matching width cutter.

The problem: 19 hp pto; lift capacity 810 lbs. I have been told a 5-foot cutter would be too much for the tractor.

It will be used for cutting mostly 3 to 4-foot high grass and limited small brush. The terrain is a flat dried up "wetland" with peat and black dirt soil types. The area is, however, so full of lumps, dips, bumps, and ruts that my ZTR mower and lawn tractor bottom out and get stuck, necessitating tractor extraction.

Being a "Tim The Tool Man" type (UGH!), I want a slip clutch and prefer a sloping deck with as heavy gauge deck and blades as possible. I would like to say price is not an issue -- but it is.

Recommendations?

 

[oldnslo]

Do you a HST tranny or gear drive? With HST you can adjust the speed to match the load on your engine so a 5 foot would just mean you drive slower. Do you need to lift the whole mower or just use the 3PH lift arms and gauge/ tail wheel on the mower and leave the top link unhooked. If you do it this way the mower weight would not be an issue either.

I had a BX1850 and pulled a 4 foot bush hog. It 4 foot grass it grunted but I just adjusted my ground speed accordingly. With the Branson 2400H (24 engine HP) I drive a little faster and wish I had a 5 foot since in 2 foot tall grass I can never load the engine unless I travel so fast the grass don't have time to spring back up in the wheel tracks and the cut looks terrible.

 

[boggen]

i just left a post at... dealing with another rotary question.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/315703-rotary-mowers-post3814497.html

 

[GManBart]

I ran a 5' brush cutter with my 8N...no more power than what you're talking about, and it worked just fine.

 

[2458n]

The 8n was a heavier tractor and was designed to use a 5 foot bush hog from the factory. do you think that a sears mower would do the job with the 28 hp it has?

 

[GManBart]

The 8n was a heavier tractor and was designed to use a 5 foot bush hog from the factory. do you think that a sears mower would do the job with the 28 hp it has?

Sorry, but that's not correct. An 8N without ballast is listed at 2,410lbs. The Agracat he has is listed at 2,652lbs without ballast. If they 8N can run a 5' brush cutter, the Agracat should do just fine, plus it has MFWD which can't hurt.

 

[motownbrowne]

The 8n was a heavier tractor and was designed to use a 5 foot bush hog from the factory. do you think that a sears mower would do the job with the 28 hp it has?

I'll disagree here too, but for different reasons. I've spent LOTS of hours on an 8n with a 5' bush hog. It'll turn the blades fine in short grass, but in thick grass 1st gear is too fast. You end up taking about a 2' swath. If you could go half the speed it'd be fine, but that's not an option. My understanding is that the N series tractors were designed as plowing tractors. I'm not quite sure, but I don't think bush hogs had been around very long when the 8ns were being designed.

If the op's tractor is hydro it'll work fine. If it's got low gears, that should work too.

Good luck.