rotary mower manufacturer comparisons

[Grandad4]

Sounds like you have some really tough ground to keep mowed! Advice so far is spot on... and just to keep things in perspective, consider this: it's actually better to beat up the mower rather than the tractor. If you get a heavier mower, it may just identify the next weakest link in your mowing system. If that is something in the drivetrain of the tractor, rather than the mower, your next repair bill will be a whole lot more costly than buying a new mower gearbox or re-attaching a wheel.

Just a suggestion about your 30 acres. You might see if anyone with a mid-size dozer would go over the property and grub any larger stumps and rocks for a reasonable price. Not a full re-grading, but just so you woudn't have it quite so rough when mowing. There are plenty of contractors looking for work these days. Maybe you could get 1-2 days work out of one for a reasonable price.

 

[Dargo]

I just looked up what a new one costs and it is $3000 so I think I'll just go with the new gear box. This Kutter box has been really strong with no reinforcements and no bends on the 3 point and no rust, so it has held up to some big abuse.
Any suggestions on how to properly adjust the clutch since my local "advice" person telling me to tighten all bolts on the housing didn't produce good results. These are the bolts with the compressed springs on the back where the nut is....how tight??? 2 were real tight, one was loose and the other 3 took about 3 turns to snug down. I didn't torque them down hard, but I did snug them up and thats when it shut the tractor down.

I may be way off on this, but I thought I read somewhere on here that backing the nuts off to leave about 10mm of spring will give you about a 40 hp slip. Don't hold me to that being exact, but it's something like that. If you tighten them down all the way, you really have no slip and have removed the slip clutch from your driveline.

 

[Grandad4]

Also, it the mower sits out in the weather, the plates of the slip clutch can get bonded together by the elements so they don't "slip" properly. Need to be dis-assembled, separated, re-assembled and adjusted.

 

[sandman2234]

Sounds like you have some really tough ground to keep mowed! Advice so far is spot on... and just to keep things in perspective, consider this: it's actually better to beat up the mower rather than the tractor. If you get a heavier mower, it may just identify the next weakest link in your mowing system. If that is something in the drivetrain of the tractor, rather than the mower, your next repair bill will be a whole lot more costly than buying a new mower gearbox or re-attaching a wheel.QUOTE]


EXTREMELY GOOD ADVICE. Weakest link should also be the cheapest to fix and the hog is a lot cheaper than the pto on the tractor!
David from jax

 

[beenthere]

Clutch adjustment.
Back all nuts off so each of the springs is loose.

Then tighten each nut so the gap between the two parts separated by the springs is the same distance (use an inside micrometer if you have one). Do a test run, to see if the clutch slips.

If the clutch doesn't slip, then back off each nut equally. Test again until it slips.

If the clutch slips, then tighten each nut equally (I'd say one full turn). Test again, and repeat until the clutch doesn't slip when cutting tall grass. Anything more than heavy grass...such as dirt, stumps, rocks, railroad ties and such should make the clutch slip and protect your gear box and drive shafts.

And I second the comment by Grandad4. Either buy, rent or hire the bulldozer to level your land so you can mow it. Have draingage ditches installed that can be mowed and kept clean. Just don't try doing it with the rotary mower. Its abuse.

 

[GaryCrowell]

All the brands you mentioned are good so long as you keep to the heavy duty end of their lineup, and it sounds like you do need the heavy duty stuff.

You really need to get the tailwheel working and keep it working on the mower, by dragging the deck on the ground you're just going to keep tearing stuff up, it's not designed for that. I've broken the tailwheel a couple of times and both times it was by doing something I shouldn't have been doing with the mower. Those things just don't break that much under normal use. Are you constantly backing the mower into stuff? I hate to say it but this sounds like an operator error type of problem, you probably need to slow down some and avoid backing the mower up. I've torn up a lot of stuff on a mower but it's pretty hard to tear the tailwheel off unless you're doing something it wasn't designed to do.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

I wonder if you could have the machine shop build some tail wheel mounts that would take a much larger wheel, like one off a pickup or something. It would not catch in the rough terrain so easily, just a thought.

 

[whistlepig]

I can tell you from experience that as soon as my rotary cutter slams into terra firma my slip clutch immediately smokes. Basically, if I see smoke come out of my exhaust, my slip clutch is also going to be smoking. Concrete blocks just explode, but old train tracks (yes, hit a section) and granite rocks are just flat brutal on the blades. My cutter in pretty well a 1400 pound frankenstein model that I surrounded with 2X2X3/8" wall square tubing for a frame. If I can knock it down, I'll try to cut it. That's where I find the surprises. So far the train track is the only thing that flat broke a blade. The chunk of granite ruined a blade, but it didn't break. These are 1" blades on pivots with a stump jumper and a 90 hp gear box.

I use my FEL as a "feeler" as I go through areas where I can't see and just take my chances. I'd almost break something than get old power lines all wrapped up under the deck though. That sucked! The same goes for a 'gatorback', which is what they call a big chunk of a retread that came off a semi tire. They take forever to cut out!

As others have said, if nothing else is damaged too bad, just put a stronger gear box on it and try to avoid leveling dirt with the cutter when possible.

My goodness! And I thought I had mowed some nasty stuff. I understand what you are saying about using the FEL as a "feeler". You venture where I would not dare to go.

 

[kenmac]

I don't use slip clutch ( maybe I should) I use shear bolt. Like others have said. may not be gear box. I would check clutch b-4 I bought a gear box

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would surmise that due to all the rough treatment, a tooth has broken off the gears inside the gear box and now is wedged into the bevels in the gears. The clutch has nothing to do with the mower driveshaft locking up. Slipping yes, impossible for the slip clutch to lock down the rotation. I think your best bet is by a new gearbox that is rated at least 1.5 times the HP of your tractor and install that. Fix your tail wheel(s) and reinforce them if necessary, adjust your hydraulic lift to hold the front of the mower high enough so the skids arent dragging. The tail wheel should then hold the rear up at least an inch higher than the front to allow the cuttings to flow out the rear better.