rotary cutter

[MESSMAKER]

If you are bent on buying a new one get a name brand, Woods, Landpride, Bush Hog brand, etc. You will thank yourself in the years to come when you need parts. I bought a used Woods BB72X off Craigslist for $1,300.00 About half price of a new one. I had to put new blades on it and ordered them from a Woods dealer and had them shipped to my door. I use it behind the Ford 4630 and was bush hogging stuff that was thick and higher than the canopy and no problems and the finish it left was awesome. If your tractor is rated 31HP at the engine I think you will have a hard time pulling a 6' in anything other than clipping light grass.

You have the power to run 5 foot but you will be pushing it with a 6. You can do it but you may not be able to take a full cut in really thick stuff.

 

[DieselBound]

My 30hp Kubota can get pushed hard running a 5' rotary. It worked REALLY hard when I did some grass cutting at my neighbor's. Not sure what grass was there, but it was insanely thick; that was the slowest I've ever had to run, and I've run through grass that's several feet tall and hadn't worked that hard (for sure, it was working hard, but that neighbor's grass! ). So, like I like to say a lot: "It depends." Run faster and cut a smaller swath, or run slower and cut a wider swath (and, perhaps, multiple passes). Different times of the year present different mowing conditions. And sometimes life throws a curve and you get behind and then end up facing some really tall grass (I've measured some canary grass here at 9 1/2'!).

I was looking at a new 6' "Medium Duty" (such as being discussed here) and I got to tell you that the sticker shock was just over the top for me: High side of $3k when taxes are included. Ended up with a bit of a lighter duty, used Bush Hog (286) that was beefed up for $800. If I got 4 years out of one of these then that would just about match the cost of a new one FOUR times over. That would give me about 16 years of cutting. I'm at an age where I could say that I may or may not have that many years that I could be doing this; and, I'm not buying equipment for resale value: really, what kind of retirement plan is that? :laughing:

 

[brown40]

I have a 3520, running a spliced together MX5 thats at least 20% lighter than a BB720. On light duty in smooth terrain you can manage that cutter, but the 4300 won't be able to shred what the cutter's potential is, and will wag the dog on slopes. Don't know about your loading or tires, but unballasted that cutter is well over 1/3 the tractors weight. A BB600 is probably more than JD would approve of. That said--if the deals good enough, and the application is a light one... Woods is top shelf.

 

[LD1]

Here is my experience so take it for what its worth.

I have probably mowed close to 1000 acres with a similar tractor + HD 6' setup. And in all kinds of conditions.

The tractor was a kubota L3400, 29PTO HP, and a bushhog 306. Which is a 1100# HD 6' cutter.

You will power a 6' just fine regardless of what others have said. Weight of the cutter on a smaller lighter tractor is the issue. I had no weights, only a FEL. Take the loader off and I could lift the front of the tractor with one hand. So make sure you ballast that front well.

Cutting......my tractor had 8 speeds. (4 in low and 4 in high). I have NEVER had to go below 3rd gear. And that was only in the thickest, nastiest, densest stuff you could imagine. MOwing over 10' briars and 3" saplings. Even in extremely dense waist high grass (which grass takes alot more power than your average weed field).....still, never even though about touching first or second gear.

SO those saying you dont have the power to run a 6........well.......maybe you dont have the power to run a 6' very fast. You wont be pulling it 4-5 MPH in thick stuff. But until you run out of power in your lowest gear......you arent under powered.

A 5' cutter will allow you to go faster. But going 20% faster with a 20% smaller cutter........no difference in the end

 

[TheMan419]

I have a 24 horse New Holland. Running a 5' mower. Yes through the very thick weeds or saplings near the high end of what the cutter is designed to handle I have to slow down. Other than that I can run about as fast as I want to go. For me that is low gear but near as fast as low gear will take me.

 

[SPYDERLK]

No front end loader but plenty of weights up front. My tractor is 31 hp so I was looking at mainly 6ft. I don't have really thick brush, mostly fields but I do have some woods. I am still looking at heavy duty and a thick deck because I do have a lot of rocks.

For maneuverability and ruggedness I suggest you go with 5' and single tail wheel. Five foot is the sweet spot for a single spindle bushog and the "rounded footprint" allowed by a single wheel lets you follow a profile better in tight quarters.

 

[Fallon]

I ran a 5' rotary behind my 32hp L3200 just fine. Ended up getting an old very beatup 7' flail & loved it. Had to mow a bit slower, but covered the same ground with me & the tractor getting less beat up than rolling at a higher speed.

If maneuverability & storage aren't huge constraints I'm a fan of going big. Cover more ground at a slower speed that's less abusive on you & the machines. You can always cut half a pass or what not if it gets to gnarly.

Rotary cutter ran off with the tractor last week. Wouldnt sell that old Ford 917 flail though. Its a bit beatup for any rough stuff though, so its more or less light duty only these days. Debating whether to get a medium duty 6' rotary with the new L4060. Leaning towards a WoodMaxx flail with hammers or something over the rotary I think. Still debating though less to break on a rotary, especially in rough stuff.

 

[MESSMAKER]

It will matter some weather you have gear or hydro. A hydro is nice but it sucks some power. It is enough to make a difference. It might be as high as 3-4 horsepower.

 

[LD1]

But the benefit of hydro is you can go infinitely slow. So that makes up for its lack of HP to the PTO

 

[Fallon]

I love my HST. Just sold the L3200hst & the new L4060 HSTC is due in next week. I've always heard HST robs 15% of your HP, but for me the ease of use outweighs that HP tax easily. Probably not as worth it if you are just doing field work or even mowing wide open spaces. But very worth it if maneuverability, loader work & precision stuff is in your plans.

 

[MESSMAKER]

But the benefit of hydro is you can go infinitely slow. So that makes up for its lack of HP to the PTO

I think I disagree. A hydro cost about 10% of power and no ground speed will get it back. This will be noticed if you are close or below power requirements to start with.

 

[LD1]

Going slower don't get power back.

But it lowers the power requirement to do the work.

My L3400 would only go 0.9mph in its lowest gear. With a HST you can go 0.1 mph if you want.

So if 29pto hp and 0.9 mph cause you to bog and stall.....being able to go 50, 60, 99% slower.....more than makes up for a 10% lack of power.

 

[TripleR]

Buying adequate HP was a better route for me than going with a less desirable transmission.

 

[big bubba]

No front end loader but plenty of weights up front. My tractor is 31 hp so I was looking at mainly 6ft. I don't have really thick brush, mostly fields but I do have some woods. I am still looking at heavy duty and a thick deck because I do have a lot of rocks.

ok. so your pto hp is in the high 20's. do you intend to keep your current tractor or eventually upgrade? if keep, go w/ 5' hd brush hog. if you want to upgrade your size tractor, then may consider hd 6' hog. as mentioned, it's not just about pto hp requiremtnts, but also the weight/size of implement in your operation. your manual will tell you the appropriate implement size your tractor can accommodate. what exactly is the pto hp requiremtnt of the 6' hd hog you are looking at? with your size tractor, a 5' is the best fit imho. otherwise, go slow, keep blades sharp, & watch out going up hill w/ a 1200lb implement....... sorry to say but in dirty harry's words, man's got to know his limitations....

 

[darrenjttu]

Well looks like woods wanted $3,500 for the 5 footer. Seems high to me but this is a heavy duty model.

 

[Shaneard]

Makes me feel a lot better about buying a used 6' Woods off Craigslist for $1,300. Good luck with your purchase!

 

[countrybumpkin]

Buying adequate HP was a better route for me than going with a less desirable transmission.

X2 , if you are worried about the HP loss with the hydro , step up a bit on the engine HP to make up the difference. But for me if your that close on HP limits then you need more anyway.

 

[RSKY]

Wider and slower is better. Spend time with a 5' flying across a rough field, then slow down and pull a 6' a gear or so slower. You and your body will appreciate the slower speed. You will also get a better cut.

The bigger diameter the rear tires on the tractor the better the ride will be. Dips and ditches that nearly throw me off the Kioti at a slow speed are barely felt of the bigger Ford. This doesn't matter on a perfectly smooth pasture, until you hit that ditch you didn't know was there.

HST may rob power but most small tractors, mine included, are rated by the manufacturer to pull a wider mower with the HST than the gear model. Because if it starts to bog down you just ease off the pedal a little.

As far as a heavy duty mower, even with the light duty on the Kioti and the medium duty on the Ford, if the tractor can push it over, the mower will chop it up. It may sound like it's gonna explode but they always do the job. Don't overspend on something you don't need.

If your tractor has a seat belt WEAR IT when mowing. Have been thrown off twice in the past six years. That is another reason why I like the HST over the gear drive. Both times I had just started back up after refueling or peeing and before I knew what was happening I was on the ground.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Whatever you decide to get just be ready to deal with flat tires. If you brush hog enough it will happen. I put 18 ply airplane tires on the front of my 4610 SU but I need to address my rears. I plan on pumping sealant in my front tires on my new Workmaster but I shave no remedy for the rears. Just food for thought.