Rotary cutter..what to expect?

[biggziff]

Did my first work with the Kioti RC1060 rotary cutter tonight. Field with grass 3-6' tall. Hasn't been cut in several years. After cutting it, the center of each pass I mowed had standing grass, etc. Is that normal for taller field grass (upstate NY)

I mowed with RPMS around 2200 in medium range (HST trans) and maybe 3-5 MPH. Mower never bogged down, level field with no obstructions in it.

Thanks

 

[suburbanfarmer]

Need to go slower when its that high.

 

[biggziff]

Need to go slower when its that high.

Slower than 3 MPH?

 

[jeff9366]

Did my first work with the Kioti RC1060 rotary cutter tonight.
Field with grass 3-6' tall. Hasn't been cut in several years.
After cutting it, the center of each pass I mowed had standing grass, etc. Is that normal for taller field grass (upstate NY)

I mowed with RPMS around 2200 in medium range (HST trans) and maybe 3-5 MPH.
Mower never bogged down, level field with no obstructions in it.

"Field with grass 3-6' tall. Hasn't been cut in several years." You were mowing in extreme conditions. Likely there was some tree sprouts in the field after several years.

1) Shorten Three Point Hitch TOP LINK somewhat, so rear of mower is a 1-1/2" to 2" higher off the ground, allowing heavy load of grass cut by front of mower to exhaust out the rear more easily.
R/C tail wheel should still be in rolling contact with the field so you do not pound the R/C mast nor tractor Three Point Hitch unnecessarily.

Some grass was probably churning under the mower deck, slowing the blades.

Some churning grass may have been plastered against the sharp cutting edges, giving equivalent of dull blades.


2) Take a 50% overlap, rather than a 90% overlap. With a 50% overlap you will not be cutting at the center of the mower where blades are moving slowest. (In dry 24" tall grass you can take a full bite.)


3) Mow in HST/LOW rather than HST/MED. Blades will revolve more times per foot of ground covered.
I have mowed long pasture grass at 1-3/4 mph in HST/LOW.


Rain wet or dew wet grass is much harder to cut evenly than dry grass.

 

[DieselBound]

As Jeff suggests above, the rear of the mower needs to bet set up high enough that the cut material can eject. I can move along pretty good set down to 6 1/2" with my NX running a 6' BH, with grass up to 4' or so.

Depends a lot on the density of the grass. I mowed some of my neighbor's grass and it was as much as my B7800 running its 5' BH could do. I was doing some repairs on my NX, in which case it wasn't available at the time: it was kind of an emergency job. Made me really appreciate the cab on my NX (in addition to the power).

I once measured a stalk of canary reed grass here at 10 1/2'! Canary Reed grass. Everything grows like crazy here.

 

[4570Man]

"Field with grass 3-6' tall. Hasn't been cut in several years." You were mowing in extreme conditions. Likely there was some tree sprouts in the field after several years.

1) Shorten Three Point Hitch TOP LINK somewhat, so rear of mower is a 1-1/2" to 2" higher off the ground, allowing heavy load of grass cut by front of mower to exhaust out the rear more easily.
R/C tail wheel should still be in rolling contact with the field so you do not pound the R/C mast nor tractor Three Point Hitch unnecessarily.

Some grass was probably churning under the mower deck, slowing the blades.

Some churning grass may have been plastered against the sharp cutting edges, giving equivalent of dull blades.


2) Take a 50% overlap, rather than a 90% overlap. With a 50% overlap you will not be cutting at the center of the mower where blades are moving slowest. (In dry 24" tall grass you can take a full bite.)


3) Mow in HST/LOW rather than HST/MED. Blades will revolve more times per foot of ground covered.
I have mowed long pasture grass at 1-3/4 mph in HST/LOW.


Rain wet or dew wet grass is much harder to cut evenly than dry grass.

That might be a solid plan on level ground but I usually remove the top link when mowing because it’s prone to pulling the back of the mower off the ground and causing a lousy cut. I have much better luck when the tail wheel is riding on the ground. I think cutting twice is the only way to make something that bad look decent.

 

[biggziff]

"Field with grass 3-6' tall. Hasn't been cut in several years." You were mowing in extreme conditions. Likely there was some tree sprouts in the field after several years.

1) Shorten Three Point Hitch TOP LINK somewhat, so rear of mower is a 1-1/2" to 2" higher off the ground, allowing heavy load of grass cut by front of mower to exhaust out the rear more easily.
R/C tail wheel should still be in rolling contact with the field so you do not pound the R/C mast nor tractor Three Point Hitch unnecessarily.

Some grass was probably churning under the mower deck, slowing the blades.

Some churning grass may have been plastered against the sharp cutting edges, giving equivalent of dull blades.


2) Take a 50% overlap, rather than a 90% overlap. With a 50% overlap you will not be cutting at the center of the mower where blades are moving slowest. (In dry 24" tall grass you can take a full bite.)


3) Mow in HST/LOW rather than HST/MED. Blades will revolve more times per foot of ground covered.
I have mowed long pasture grass at 1-3/4 mph in HST/LOW.


Rain wet or dew wet grass is much harder to cut evenly than dry grass.

Thanks for the info. This field was bone dry, cutting in late afternoon sun. I had the rear wheel set so the mower deck was pitched 1-1.5" to the front (I read this was best for heavy cutting) I was in medium HST. Sounds like under these conditions, this is about what I can expect for results.

I appreciate all the help.

 

[biggziff]

You can see in the pics how tall the grass/weeds were. That red chair was marking the first in a line of 5' Ash fence posts.

One thing I was impressed with is the power this machine produces. I have been using a friends new Kubota L3650 with a 60" landpride cutter on much shorter grass/weeds and it often bogs down. Not this thing!

 

[jeff9366]

How sharp the mower blades are is a major, major factor.

 

[biggziff]

How sharp the mower blades are is a major, major factor.

They're coming off this morning for inspection and sharpening.

 

[BRMyers]

Is 2200RPMS fast enough for your PTO? It looks like in the middle picture you provided that 540RPM for your PTO is 2500-2600.

 

[biggziff]

Is 2200RPMS fast enough for your PTO? It looks like in the middle picture you provided that 540RPM for your PTO is 2500-2600.

I"m learning. I have 540E and 540 markings on my tach. I experimented with running it at 540E and other RPMs all the way up to the 540 marking. Didn't seem to change anything other than how much noise the tractor made!

 

[BRMyers]

I to am new, so I'm learning right along with you.

Maybe one of the more experienced hands can speak about the difference between the two and which you should be trying to meet for the best performance out of the mower.

 

[art]

You didn't say how high the stubble was when you were cutting. To do the comparison to the Kubota is not really good unless you were in the same field same conditions. There are ways with the Kubota transmission to change the bogging more then likely as in a different field type then yours we often run 7' behind the 3560 here in horse pastures very successfully! Your mowers lack of ability to cut what you had tells me you were cutting to low and the weeds you were cutting could not stand up under the deck to be cut. Brush hog style mowers do not have the suction that a good finish mower has! To finish the field try and raise the deck higher for the first cut for a cleaner first pass and a better looking second pass. You will find you can go faster and the cut product will be chewed up more and help the field and the potential grasses grow better.

 

[Diggin It]

Long tall grass/weeds ... first pass, cut high. Then lower and make a second pass, maybe repeat for a third pass.

 

[biggziff]

You didn't say how high the stubble was when you were cutting. To do the comparison to the Kubota is not really good unless you were in the same field same conditions. There are ways with the Kubota transmission to change the bogging more then likely as in a different field type then yours we often run 7' behind the 3560 here in horse pastures very successfully! Your mowers lack of ability to cut what you had tells me you were cutting to low and the weeds you were cutting could not stand up under the deck to be cut. Brush hog style mowers do not have the suction that a good finish mower has! To finish the field try and raise the deck higher for the first cut for a cleaner first pass and a better looking second pass. You will find you can go faster and the cut product will be chewed up more and help the field and the potential grasses grow better.

Makes sense. I'm going to try it on the next field he's asked me to cut.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Your mower is designed to run at 540 RPM's, as is your tractor, so run them at 540!

SR

 

[biggziff]

Your mower is designed to run at 540 RPM's, as is your tractor, so run them at 540!

SR

So what's the 540E indicator on the tach for?

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kioti-owning-operating/357670-ck3510-540e.html

 

[Turbys_1700]

The 540e shows where your rpm's need to be when running in economy speed for 540 rpm's. Your tractor will run at a lower engine speed and save fuel but your cutter will run at it's designed rpm's.

So what's the 540E indicator on the tach for?

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kioti-owning-operating/357670-ck3510-540e.html

 

[biggziff]

The 540e shows where your rpm's need to be when running in economy speed for 540 rpm's. Your tractor will run at a lower engine speed and save fuel but your cutter will run at it's designed rpm's.

I think that's only for tractors with a 540E PTO setting. Mine has PTO on or off...no 540E setting. They must use the same gauge cluster for tractors with and without this feature.