Rotary Cutter rotary cutter or finish mower?

[daugen]

For the last two years I have mowed a friend's 18 acres of hilly grassy fields, which he allegedly grows hay on. At least for the tax man. So he likes to let it get tall... I have used a Ferris 60" zero turn which is a real beast, and has the suspension to handle the field, and the mow height can be set at a full 6 inches.
Any less and I likely could not have cut it, too much to digest. And my friend does not like messy fields, no clumps, etc.

I am sick of eating bugs and beating myself to death out there so I bought a 1986 Case IH 255 25hp/21pto Mitsu clone with 1000 hours, previously owned by my Quaker Meeting for grass and a stick cart, but with all kinds of deferred maintenance, including a shot clutch. Put some serious R-1 tires on it, new clutch, and a new post hole digger. But I really bought this tractor to mow those 18 acres. But what kind of mower will do the best job?
I know I have to mow it twice no matter what I buy. One challenge is that I can find only one brand of finishing mower that will allow me to mow at 6.5 inches, which is where I want to be. And that unit costs over 2400 bucks. Not my budget. Can I get a decent "brush" mower that with two passes will leave the fields with a finished look? Are any of the brush mowers more "finish" like?

Lastly, with 21hp at the pto, am I nuts to put a six foot Cat 1 mower on this 2000 pound tractor or should I stick with 5? I may be getting a nice new JD or Kubota small cab tractor in the next two years, with about 50hp, so of course I'd like to be able to continue to use it effectively. But I don't want to cook this tiny three cylinder diesel either.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm a new member and nice to be aboard. My "new" 1986 tractor was delivered today and I spent a very enjoyable day in the garage working on it. And no leaks when I was done. Yes....
btw, grew up with a JD B pulling a two bottom and disc harrow. .
Drew

 

[JimRB]

A brush cutter might do the job. Note that some cutters have closed back decks which tend to mulch stuff more than a deck that has chains on the back side.

Mowing at 6 inches up you might want a crud screen mounted between you and the brush cutter. Some cutters fling lots of stuff towards the tractor and that is with a low cutting deck.

My 25-28HP tractor with a 5 foot deck cuts eaten pastures ok but a proper hay field with moist thick grass would require a slower ground speed. If you are cutting in the dead of summer with no rain the past few weeks the grass might cut at a faster ground speed.

I suspect it might be a bit light on power and weight for a 6' brush cutter.

 

[greg_g]

Five horsepower rule; 21 PTO hp divided by 5 hp equals a 4' rotary cutter. Then applying the +1 rule equals a 5' finish mower. Besides, do you really think that engine's still got 21 PTO hp after 1000 hours

//greg//

 

[Soundguy]

For the last two years I have mowed a friend's 18 acres of hilly grassy fields, ...... I have used a Ferris 60" zero turn .......mow height can be set at a full 6 inches.Any less and I likely could not have cut it, too much to digest. And my friend does not like messy fields, no clumps, etc. ..............I bought a 1986 Case IH 255 25hp/21pto Mitsu clone with 1000 hours, previously owned ............ but with all kinds of deferred maintenance, including a shot clutch. Put some serious R-1 tires on it, new clutch, and a new post hole digger. But I really bought this tractor to mow those 18 acres. But what kind of mower will do the best job?
I know I have to mow it twice no matter what I buy. One challenge is that I can find only one brand of finishing mower that will allow me to mow at 6.5 inches, which is where I want to be. And that unit costs over 2400 bucks. Not my budget. Can I get a decent "brush" mower that with two passes will leave the fields with a finished look? Are any of the brush mowers more "finish" like?

Lastly, with 21hp at the pto, am I nuts to put a six foot Cat 1 mower on this 2000 pound tractor or should I stick with 5? /

I think yer nuts thinking it will pull a 5' unless that is a finish mower.. then yes.. a 5' finish mower on that machine is acceptable.. IF the grass ain't high. high grass makes finish mowing tough.

ps.. if I had to mow 18ac with a rider, ztr or a 21hp tractor, on any type of re-occuring basis, past a 1-time emergency, i um.. i might do something drastic and life changing.. or sell my car and buy a real tractor and mower.. fit for the job..

seriously.. that's 30hp range, if not higher preferably. I mow less acers with more tractor.. ie.. 2-3 hours of mowing on a 10-15' mower is fine... mowing that much with a 5' mower... regularly.. and I'd have to quit one of my jobs I think...

good luck.

soundguy

 

[daugen]

Actually somewhere into the second mowing, I realized I WAS nuts to do this with a ZT, no matter that it looked like a golf course when I was done. Ok. Five foot mower maximum, and I suppose cut it fairly high on the first pass; then drop it down to about 6 inches on the second.

I also have a nice 8199G Gravely pulling a Swisher rough cut mower that I use for knocking down heavy stuff and "pushing back the woods" near the field edges. So I run that around the edges first, hit any nasties that may be there, so the rest of what I mow is pretty safe and just taller mixed field grass.

I'm retired and love being "out there"; reminds me of growing up on our farm. So I mow fairly slowly; rushing is not the idea here.
I pushed paper all my life, and getting into the fields/dirt is infinitely more satisfying.

This is not my "dream" tractor. I was looking for a 50hp new outfit when my church tractor died and somebody had to get rid of it or fix it up. So the fact I dumped 4 grand into a 600 dollar tractor, it still is pretty wimpy to do what I intend, though the garden work will be fine. And I can dream of a 10 foot batwing mower...but sure not for this tractor. Thanks guys.
Drew

 

[Soundguy]

IMHO, cutting high grass, even on a high setting with a finish mower is quite abusive on the tractor and mower. finish mowers are designed to cut a few inches.. if you are letting it get high.. you need to brush hog it, then if need be.. finish mow it.

 

[daugen]

abusing the mower or tractor is surely not what I want to do, so I'll stick to the rough cut and do it twice in lowering heights. No matter what, if the engine struggles, I'll just slow down, though I cut pretty slow anyway.
Now if I could take twenty pounds off me and put 20hp more in my tractor....

 

[Hollow]

Some one posted this on another thread. It will give you a pretty good idea on what time frame your looking at for a 4' vs 5' cutter. Your tractor should be able to top at 6" on the first pass with a 5' cutter. Especially if you already drive slow.
TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

 

[ejb69]

For 18 acres I would be looking for a 60-100 hp tractor with a 10-15' flail mower.

 

[greg_g]

For 18 acres I would be looking for a 60-100 hp tractor with a 10-15' flail mower.

Not cost effective for that small a patch. I mowed 15 acres, and got by quite well with a 45hp tractor and a 7 foot mower. That rig is gone now, I'm down to a 35hp tractor and a 5 foot mower. Takes longer, but is still enough tool for the job.

//greg//