Rotary Cutter What is the biggest stuff you cut with a 48" brush hog?

[johnrex62]

My manual says 2" is my max. I routinely mow thick stands of 2-3" cedar elm saplings. When I say thick, I mean areas of saplings 4-6" apart covering 15x100' patches. I have run over a few 4" trees in the midst of these thickets over the last couple years and aside from a lot of bouncing and noise it justs keeps going. I have never bogged the tractor down and I push through this stuff in mid range with the pedal nearly half way to the floor at times. I only slow down for the ground conditions as the material to be cuts does not seem to push the limits on either the mower or the tractor. I have a shear bolt shaft and have not sheared a pin on saplings yet.

I think the manual limit is a liability compromise or possibly to ensure a pretty cut. I was more interested in opening a path than making it pretty. Pretty will come later after a few more mowings.

 

[compact]

Most cutters say 1" and will cut fields full of that at full speed. The occasional 1.5" is no problem. Up around 2" and I slow down, 3" gets interesting and I creep over those. Much bigger and I get the saw.

 

[CliffordK]

I tried to take down a 3 foot diameter tree with mine (well, a stump).

It did beat it up a bit, but didn't manage to chop it up that much. I'll try it again soon

 

[pennwalk]

I have a Yanmar 186D (18 hp) and a 48" kingkutter. I can chop anything that the Yanmar can roll over. On the bigger stuff it will tear it out and spit it out but not really chop it up.

Chris

 

[k0ua]

I pull a "regular" King Kutter 48" Rotary Cutter behind a Kubota B3300SU. Not a heavy duty implement. I limit my cutting to 1-1/4" mixed saplings. It might do more but I do not want to break anything; repair parts are very expensive.

I have the exact same "Kutter" and while I have a much larger tractor now than what the cutter was bought for (B7500) I also limit my sapling cutting to about the same size. Would it do larger? perhaps but the unit is not extreme heavy duty, and why push it. When the saplings are bigger, I push them out with the FEL, clear the ground, and let the grass and weeds take over.

James K0UA

 

[Soundguy]

I tried to take down a 3 foot diameter tree with mine (well, a stump).

It did beat it up a bit, but didn't manage to chop it up that much. I'll try it again soon

a 3" stump is way different then a bending 3" green sapplin..

 

[Dingeryote]

Just to give you ammo.

The MIL. is a hellion on the 1920 ford. Two years ago, she got to feeling spry, and backed into a section of field, that hadn't seen a chopper in 5-6 years, and was strewn with 6-14" stuff laying in the weeds. She did a bang up job of things, chewing up 12" half rotten stumps, 3" silver maples, snapping turtles, and whatever the **** else didn't flee in terror.

Finally something had to give, and thanks to the POS slip clutch on the Generic welfare grade 4' chopper, bieng rusted into a single unit, it was the PTO Mid shaft that yielded to the insanity.

So, yeah...4' cheapie welfare choppers have thier limitations, as do the oversized lawn mowers they are attached to.
But it's NOT 1" stuff.
If the MIL hadn't been working on mulching a 12" chunk of a Maple, while cutting the standing stuff, she might have gotten away with everything.

Maybe the guy OP talked to, is selling below welfare grade chineese crap, and figures everyones tractor is made as ****** as his product.:thumbdown:

 

[Piston]

I'd love to see some pictures of you guys taking down thick stands of 3" saplings!

Actually, this thread is hurting for pictures to begin with

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have a Yanmar 186D (18 hp) and a 48" kingkutter. I can chop anything that the Yanmar can roll over. On the bigger stuff it will tear it out and spit it out but not really chop it up.

Chris

I'd love to see some pictures of you guys taking down thick stands of 3" saplings!

Actually, this thread is hurting for pictures to begin with

This is the trick ... And the truth is virtually anything the tractor can bend down so the bushog blades hit is history. Think of an axe wielded by several tens of HP. By far the greatest capability is forward so that the bh frame doesnt bear the brunt of bending the tree.

,,, When I was in my late 30s I did light woods clearing type mowing with the JD 2010 and 5' JD127 Gyramor. I remember when we bought it that the dealer said it had a 125HP gearbox. The tractor was a tricycle type having rear axle case setting about 28 inches high. That would allow me to bend a pretty goog sized tree [4"] and cutting was trivial as opposed to tried backing up. I noted a set of 2" holes thru the bellhousing well forward of the axle and about 4 feet high. I put a 1-3/4" steel rod thru there and bushed it with plastic so the housing wouldnt be cracked if the rod bent. TREMENDOUS difference. I could push over awesome trees with this bigwheel 2wd tractor! ... Visualize 20' high trees falling forward right next to you. Literally anything 6" or less would bend over and get chopped by the 45HP axe. Many slightly larger would too. Some would stop the tractor as the ballasted AG on that side unweighted. I learned to stop there or the rod would bend. It was truly an adventure.
,,, Sorry, this predates pictures.
larry

 

[NICKB304]

Woods has 4 different grades of cutters. low horsepower that are good for 1" through all the widths, standard that are 1.5" rated for a 4ft cutter, medium duty that are rated at 3" for 5ft and up, and heavy duty that are rated at 4" for 5ft and up. I am sure other brands have similar ranges.