tall grass with field mower

[sikboater]

I am mowing a field that has some grass that is over 6 feet tall and it keeps wrapping around the blade spindle on my mower (older ford 908 without a stump jumper). This, of course robs the engine of power and really uses the fuel..

Does anyone know how to stop this? I can stop and clean it out every few passes but it is really a pain and can make for some slow going..


Thanks for any suggestions you have..


Tim

 

[phiferpharm]

Been there and I found taking less than half-width passes seemed to help.

 

[roger4400]

For myself, on the first pass I had the mower up a foot or more from the ground and 540 rpm at the pto.( also wait for a very dry day) Good luck. Roger

 

[TripleR]

Going slow enough to allow the vegetation to be cut up thoroughly before getting to your shaft worked for me.

Also make sure the front is lower than the back.

 

[sunnyside360]

Agree with all the above. I would just add that this is where sharp blades on a rotary cutter makes a huge difference --- less load on mower and tractor, travel faster, and use a lot less fuel.

 

[sikboater]

Thanks for the suggestions, I sharpened the blades last night so that should help.....

Tim

 

[TripleR]

You probably already know, but be sure you are running at full PTO speed, some seem reluctant to do so.

 

[flusher]

Thanks for the suggestions, I sharpened the blades last night so that should help.....

Tim

Angle the mower on the 3pt hitch so the front is a few inches lower than the rear. That way the weeds are cut once and shot out of the rear of the mower. If you tilt the mower the other way, the weeds are cut multiple times before being shot out the rear as mulch.

 

[sikboater]

I have been running the tractor at the full 540 pto rpms... But I have been trying to keep the mower level... I will put the rear wheel up another notch and mow with the front down. I will not make it back to the field until this next weekend so I will give everyone's suggestions a try..

One thing I was trying was to always mow so the cut grass was laid down on the cut row (except on the first pass).

Thanks again for everyone's help and suggestions!

Tim

 

[Uncle Wayne]

Tim,

While it don't deal with your original question here's something I ran into in a similar situation. The grass was higher than the tractor and I was running full PTO rpms. I had sharpened my blades and was taking it easy. All at once I noticed the heat indicator was dangerously high, so high in fact that the tractor shut itself down to cool.

Driving through the tall grass had caused the grill to become clogged with seed, leaves and etc so much that my tractor overheated. Now I watch that much more closely and keep the grill cleaned out as much as possible. Just thought I'd share that with you.

Good luck.

 

[TripleR]

Tim,

While it don't deal with your original question here's something I ran into in a similar situation. The grass was higher than the tractor and I was running full PTO rpms. I had sharpened my blades and was taking it easy. All at once I noticed the heat indicator was dangerously high, so high in fact that the tractor shut itself down to cool.

Driving through the tall grass had caused the grill to become clogged with seed, leaves and etc so much that my tractor overheated. Now I watch that much more closely and keep the grill cleaned out as much as possible. Just thought I'd share that with you.

Good luck.

Good point/reminder, we have had situations in which we run a leaf blower out to the tractors to blow the junk out then give them a good cleaning with compressors at the end of the day.

 

[Ford tractor]

Always mow with the front lower than the back. Always.

The higher the grass, the greater the tilt.

 

[sikboater]

Finished the field today.. figure out that is was tryin g to cut it too short... Once I raised the mower up the grass would not get wrapped around....

Thanks for everyone's help.. here is a picture of the tall grass...

 

[eastexan]

.. here is a picture of the tall grass...

Looks like Johnson Grass. Tall, tough, and invasive.

 

[SSdoxie]

Finished the field today.. figure out that is was tryin g to cut it too short... Once I raised the mower up the grass would not get wrapped around....

Thanks for everyone's help.. here is a picture of the tall grass...

Give it a week or so let cut grass dry up then go over again with mower set down where it was. You will have a nice looking cut.