Super Mongo Heavy Rotary Cutter....or just a medium one?

[WoodChuckDad]

I need a rotary cutter. I finally have managed to grow a mixture of fescue, rye, clover, buckwheat and rape in my orchard and in another field that we are trying to get ready for planting. I had to cut all the flowering plants down in the orchard, so I could spray for beetles. (don't want to kill off the bees). All I had to work with was a wheeled string trimmer and a residential walk behind mower. I also had to mow the **** next to my pond. all in all it was more than 6 hours and it was bloody hot. A rotary mower could have done this in an hour, not counting hookup. And I would have been in Air conditioning. It's time to spend the money and get a cutter. But my problem is how heavy do I go. I have about 25 acres that were clear cut 2 years ago. Mother nature is trying to make a comeback on a fair amount of it. I will use the cutter on fields and in the orchard. I am leaning toward a 7 foot 3 point mower. I have lots of stuff growing all over mystery property (55 acres total), but because it was clear cut there is a lot of stuff with stumps so I will most likey go thru with the excavator popping stumps on the rest of the property first, before it ever sees a mower. So do I need the monster heavyweight cutter that can cut 3 or 4 inch material, or will a medium cutter that can handle 2 inch material do me just fine? I have looked at the woods BB84x (2 inch material) and the BB840X (3 inch material). There are a few others out there that go even heavier, according to their spec sheets. The difference is 2500 vs 4500ish. If I am never going to use that extra oomph from my�� 73 ?HP tractor (63 pto) then I would rather keep the money and use it on something else.

edit for clarity--Apparently I was not clear about my situation. I have about 30 acres clear cut. Then had bulldozer push most debris into windrows. Some stumps came up when dozing was done. I have a 30,000 lb excavator and I have been pulling stumps to clear areas that we want to plant apple trees in. Currently we have planted 500 trees and I anticipate a few thousand more over the years. I would not try to run the rotary cutter over areas that still have stumps, and I would get all the slash up before running across any of it as well. Even after you pull stumps lots of stuff tries to grow back. So you get thistle and briars and thorns and volunteer trees that pop up from root systems that havn't been completely removed. What I'm wondering is if something like a Woods BB84x would be sufficient for my needs or if I will be sorry that I didn't go heavier. IT is rated to handle 2 inch material. I would mostly be using it to mow over fields that have grass or upto 2 foot tall green manure type or nitrogen fixing type plants that we are using to condition the soil l. There are times that the forest starts growing back right beneath. you when you leave a field to nature for a while.
I agree that a twinn rotar setup would be more maneuverable but also less powerful from what I read. And it would be almost double the price.

 

[leonz]

You are getting too far ahead of things here. Any rotary cutter that tries to clear that thickness of material is going to turn to scrap metal really fast and your going to end up with a radiator with a hole in it or under frame damage.

You either have to hire a forestry mulcher or buy one that will work with your current mule or rent power for the smallest forestry
with that power class.

If you buy one you can take your time clearing one lane at a time grinding the stumps below ground level while backing up and avoiding any damage to your mule or the rented mule.

You should check with the folks at Iowa Farm Equipment for forestry mulchers or call the Northern Logger Magazine and ask or a couple of back issues as you will be able to glean a huge amount of information for what you need and names of wood cutters that also clear land.

You need a forestry mulcher not a rotary cutter that will protect your tractor and you and alos be able to grind the ALL the stumps down below the ground.

 

[oosik]

leonz has the right idea - IMHO. Trying to clear that much heavy undergrowth - even with a heavy duty rotary cutter will end up damaging your tractor and beating the crap out of your new cutter.

Trying to do a commercial job with homeowner equipment is just a loosing situation.

 

[Fallon]

A 7' mower is a bastard size. They get really really long & heavy spinning one blade. An 8' dual spindle is much shorter & generally uses less HP.

As others said, dont kill your tractor. You need some pretty decent skidplates & grill guards to not tear the guts out of your machine with 3-4" material. **** I need much better guards than I have on my machine for the 1-2" brush I do a fair bit,

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think it depends on how often you knock stuff down. I only mow my "pastures" every couple of years now. Some years I go out and knock down the junk trees by backing over them with the old cheapo king kutter. I try not to let them get much over 1 1/2 inches and they're all pretty soft. It's been working for over 15 years that way. I just make sure there's gear oil in it and replace a shear pin every so often.

Kevin

 

[CADplans]

Keep your mowing to stuff under 1 1/2",, and get a flail mower,,

I was SO happy the day my rotary mower left,, I was tired of dealing with the clumps.

I had a JD 6.5 foot rotary, it would not cut anything larger than this flail,,
well,, it would cut larger, but, both the mower and tractor sounded like they were coming apart,,, :laughing:

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Apparently I was not clear about my situation. I have about 30 acres clear cut. Then had bulldozer push most debris into windrows. Some stumps came up when dozing was done. I have a 30,000 lb excavator and I have been pulling stumps to clear areas that we want to plant apple trees in. Currently we have planted 500 trees and I anticipate a few thousand more over the years. I would not try to run the rotary cutter over areas that still have stumps, and I would get all the slash up before running across any of it as well. Even after you pull stumps lots of stuff tries to grow back. So you get thistle and briars and thorns and volunteer trees that pop up from root systems that havn't been completely removed. What I'm wondering is if something like a Woods BB84x would be sufficient for my needs or if I will be sorry that I didn't go heavier. IT is rated to handle 2 inch material. I would mostly be using it to mow over fields that have grass or upto 2 foot tall green manure type or nitrogen fixing type plants that we are using to condition the soil l. There are times that the forest starts growing back right beneath. you when you leave a field to nature for a while.
I agree that a twinn rotar setup would be more maneuverable but also less powerful from what I read. And it would be almost double the price.

 

[boomer1025]

Apparently I was not clear about my situation. I have about 30 acres clear cut. Then had bulldozer push most debris into windrows. Some stumps came up when dozing was done. I have a 30,000 lb excavator and I have been pulling stumps to clear areas that we want to plant apple trees in. Currently we have planted 500 trees and I anticipate a few thousand more over the years. I would not try to run the rotary cutter over areas that still have stumps, and I would get all the slash up before running across any of it as well. Even after you pull stumps lots of stuff tries to grow back. So you get thistle and briars and thorns and volunteer trees that pop up from root systems that havn't been completely removed. What I'm wondering is if something like a Woods BB84x would be sufficient for my needs or if I will be sorry that I didn't go heavier. IT is rated to handle 2 inch material. I would mostly be using it to mow over fields that have grass or upto 2 foot tall green manure type or nitrogen fixing type plants that we are using to condition the soil l. There are times that the forest starts growing back right beneath. you when you leave a field to nature for a while.
I agree that a twinn rotar setup would be more maneuverable but also less powerful from what I read. And it would be almost double the price.

Get The BB84x and keep stuff mowed.

 

[leonz]

Hello WoodChuckDad,

thank you for adding more information about your reclaimed area.
I am wondering if you would benefit more from a small boom mounted forestry shredder which will be of more benefit for your use as you still have regrowth of softwood weed trees?
The same rules of operation apply but with the lower boom fully extended you can clear a wide arc of material to the ground and when stumpage is encountered you would be able shred it below ground level.

A rotary cutter and the mule will suffer a lot of shock damage when clearing wood brush close to the ground where as the boom mounted forestry mulcher will not suffer impact damage due to the design of the attachments frame and mulching head.

The forestry mulcher mounted on the excavator boom would allow you to do a lot of work on smaller areas making sure there are few if any softwood weed tree stumps left to grow back that a tractor mounted orchard and vineyard flail mower with cast hammers could not handle as long as the area is mowed on a regular basis to continue destroying the weed tree seedlings and the potential for them to grow back.

I am not trying to spend your money, I am an outsider looking in.

 

[Texasmark]

I got lost in your huge paragraphs....made for difficult reading.

On what to get I buy per the gearbox rating for driving hp....since I tore one out once on a terrace......with a properly functioning shear bolt. On tearing up the deck, fat chance, saw some cracked but they were maybe 40 years old and a welding rod and piece of scrap steel solved the problem there. I like self locking nuts on any hardware....lift pins excepted if 3 pt....with lock washer, fine thread, and adequate torque they pretty much stay put.