Rotary Cutter Rotary Cutter Upgrade

[mgberry]

Hey guys...I know this question has been beat to death in past threads, but I was hoping to get more advice specific to my application. I have currently have a MX6 cutter that I pull with a 5083 (Which I absolutely love!). I am cutting a 30+ acre field that has a lot of terrain changes with my current cutter. I really like the MX6 for clearing out some of the over growth area on the farm (140 acre). I have been recovering some older fields that are connected to the 30+ acres that I mow. So I think over time it will be somewhere around 40 acres of light cutting that I will eventually have to maintain.

Ive been thinking about going with a larger cutter, but have been stuck on what size to make it worth it. If I go to a MX10 I was thinking about selling the 6' and only having one, but am I really going to notice a big difference on the 10' vs. 6'.....or should I buy an older 15' batwing and keep the 6' for clearing out older pasture. I just dont know if 30-40 acres warrants a 15' cutter. Any thoughts?

Thanks....Matt

 

[jenkinsph]

Welcome to TBN

First off if your MX6 is in good shape I would keep it, there are lots of times that a 3 pt mower is easier to deal with and further trading in implements always favors the dealer. Once you have the pastures cleared and in good condition a larger batwing will expedite the mowing process, you will have to determine based on frequency of mowing, how much time it takes and how much time you want to spend to determine the real answer.

If it were me I would get by with the MX6 and 4520cab that I currently have and enjoy the ride.


Steve

 

[KennyV]

Matt...
If you have an area open enough where you could use 15 foot, You will really wish you had it while grinding out 40 acres of mowing... KennyV

 

[Ken45101]

Well I've been using a 6' Woods cutter for ten years. This year I just couldn't keep up (too much rain and growth) and I got tired of all the time it took to mow the 35 acres. I was lucky to get the pastures all mowed once a year.

I bought a 15' batwing Bush Hog (and a new Kubota M9540 tractor to run it). Wow! It's wonderful! Pastures that used to take most of a day now take less than two hours!

It's not just the extra width, but the missed areas at the end where I turn. With the batwing, there is very little missed and a single pass around the perimeter will catch them all.

I knew I wanted to go to something bigger. 8' didn't seem worthwhile. 10 or 12' was a possibility but I'd need to upgrade to more HP. If I was going that far, I figured I might as well go all the way to 15'.

Although I've only had it for 6 weeks, I was quickly able to catch up on mowing. I figure next year I'll be able to keep ahead of things.

I'm keeping the old 6' for mowing trails, etc.

Ken

 

[pitt_md]

Well I've been using a 6' Woods cutter for ten years. This year I just couldn't keep up (too much rain and growth) and I got tired of all the time it took to mow the 35 acres. I was lucky to get the pastures all mowed once a year.

I bought a 15' batwing Bush Hog (and a new Kubota M9540 tractor to run it). Wow! It's wonderful! Pastures that used to take most of a day now take less than two hours!

It's not just the extra width, but the missed areas at the end where I turn. With the batwing, there is very little missed and a single pass around the perimeter will catch them all.

I knew I wanted to go to something bigger. 8' didn't seem worthwhile. 10 or 12' was a possibility but I'd need to upgrade to more HP. If I was going that far, I figured I might as well go all the way to 15'.

Although I've only had it for 6 weeks, I was quickly able to catch up on mowing. I figure next year I'll be able to keep ahead of things.

I'm keeping the old 6' for mowing trails, etc.

Ken

$50K should help a lot toward productivity. I am jealous!!!

 

[mgberry]

Looks like a lot more moving parts with a 15' batwing to fail. Ive been looking around and not being famaliar with the different batwing models, any thoughts on ones to stay away from. If I go cheap and buy an older unit am I opening my self up for headaches?

 

[jenkinsph]

Looks like a lot more moving parts with a 15' batwing to fail. Ive been looking around and not being famaliar with the different batwing models, any thoughts on ones to stay away from. If I go cheap and buy an older unit am I opening my self up for headaches?

You betcha,

If it looks well used it probably is, people that have these up for sale often feel that it is costing more to keep it working than is practical, they buy new to replace the worn out ones. If you are going that route do not buy someone elses troubles.


Steve

 

[trook]

As a general rule of thumb, while cutting at 5mph, consider the following acres/hour you can cut with the different size cutters:

6ft: 3.0 acres/hour
10ft: 5.0 acres/hour
15ft: 7.5 acres/hour

Therefore, 40 acres, in ideal conditions, will take approximately (x) hours for the following size cutter:

6ft: 13.33 hours
10ft: 8.00 hours
15ft: 5.33 hours

Given the above, only you know how much time you can devote to cutting and how much $$$ it's worth to minimize your time.

 

[PSDStu]

Well I've been using a 6' Woods cutter for ten years. This year I just couldn't keep up (too much rain and growth) and I got tired of all the time it took to mow the 35 acres. I was lucky to get the pastures all mowed once a year.

I bought a 15' batwing Bush Hog (and a new Kubota M9540 tractor to run it). Wow! It's wonderful! Pastures that used to take most of a day now take less than two hours!

It's not just the extra width, but the missed areas at the end where I turn. With the batwing, there is very little missed and a single pass around the perimeter will catch them all.

I knew I wanted to go to something bigger. 8' didn't seem worthwhile. 10 or 12' was a possibility but I'd need to upgrade to more HP. If I was going that far, I figured I might as well go all the way to 15'.

Although I've only had it for 6 weeks, I was quickly able to catch up on mowing. I figure next year I'll be able to keep ahead of things.

I'm keeping the old 6' for mowing trails, etc.

Ken

Would love to see some pics of your M9540 and 15' batwing!

I am trying to decide if I should add a larger tractor and batwing to my fleet. My dealer has a New Kubota 2007 M95s, 2wd on his lot which is sun faded which he will sell for $25K and then add either a 2515, 2615 or 2715 to it.

Not sure if the M95s price is right, and still deciding what I will do.

Stu