Texasmark,
I manipulate the throttle to hold 2,500 RPM - there is a white mark there - which is correct for the PTO and brush hog. Are you saying run it at 2,400 RPM?
You wrote; "Solution to mowing problems, since one would have too large a mower for the available tractor HP or vegetation too thick/high for the ground speed, then either shift to a lower gear, or move over and cut a thinner strip on these areas."
I'm coming to the conclusion the 6' wide rotary mower is too much for my 41 HP Kioti, given the hills, the height of the thick vegetation, the debris that chronically clogs up the screens (and seeps into the radiator cooling fins), the FEL (which I really want to keep on the tractor because of the hills), and the hydrostatic transmission, which I always run in LOW and with 4 wheel drive (another load on the tractor).
Thanks for posting!
Rhino
I think you nailed it.....too much load. In answer to your question, no I didn't mean run at 2400. What I meant was that you stop the tractor, bring your engine rpms up to rated with the mower running free.....not cutting anything and then proceed to the vegetation and start cutting. If during mowing your vegetation or the terrain or what have you causes the drop I mentioned then something has to change, i.e. lower gear, or cutting less width IF the occurrence is random.
The FEL serves 2 good purposes for you: If you drop the blade and tilt it down or straight out, height off the ground TBD...what height works best, it can push over the vegetation before it hits your grille, aiding in reducing clogging. It also helps to balance the weight of the tractor since you usually mow with the front skids on the mower slightly off the ground to prevent rutting and set your cutting height.
EDIT: One last item sometimes overlooked: Obviously with the engine off, grasp a fan blade and see if you can turn it without breaking it (obviously) The easier it turns, the less effective it becomes. Fan belts stretch over time and as they get loose, and are overlooked in maintenance procedures, they can't maintain the fan at the required rpm to keep the engine cool. With a goodly amount of pressure, it shouldn't turn. Check the deflection of the belt with your thumb. Usually your owner's manual specified deflection and pressure. For my engines, a quick is something like for a distance of 12 or so inches on that portion of the belt, if I get a half inch that's a lot....for the fan blade.
EDIT #2: You said "I manipulated the throttle.......". Once you set it as defined above leave it alone. RPMs will drop (due to the load, up and down) or they won't, below the suggested loadedvs unloaded range. Follow the instructions I gave you. When I said get a lower gear, I was referring to a geared tranny. On a hydro, that could be a combination of range selector....1-2-3, type thing and reducing/setting pedal pressure once the appropriate range was selected for the desired result. I'm thinking about a hydro...thinking...thinking...you have your range lever and your "cruise control". Cruise would be like the "throttle on a geared tractor once the most appropriate gear was selected. On geared, once you set it up, as directed above, you leave it....on a hydro I guess that would be setting your cruise and leaving it.
Course, you have to be moving to set cruise on a hydro do you not? Well then you get on level smooth ground, cut grass or no grass to put a load on the blades and setup your speed/rpms.....then proceed to the cutting area and cut.
