What size rotary cutter?

[bilrus61]

I have a set of the EZ hitch hooks that I took off my L4200 Kubota. They won't fit on my L5040's cat. 2 lift arms so I was going to sell 'em on ebay. If your interested private message me. They are 1 5/8ths inches wide by 2 5/8ths inches tall at the opening. Used one season and worked great.

Sounds like a good deal on that mower! Make sure you check the gearbox oil level before you mow a single foot of ground.

 

[dcyrilc]

Fred's got a good point, the deciding factor may not be the power required to drive the hog, a general number for that is 5 PTO hp per foot of cutter. I'd be more concerned about how much weight is bouncing around back on the 3 ph over rough ground.

Sean

Chilly,

Got a question. I always hear the 5 foot rule, but was wondering if there's a point where this changes? My JD 2240 is 50 HP PTO, but I have trouble picturing a 10 foot mower behind it. The dealer doesn't recommend going over 8 foot and maybe only 7. What's your take on it?

 

[TripleR]

Chilly,

Got a question. I always hear the 5 foot rule, but was wondering if there's a point where this changes? My JD 2240 is 50 HP PTO, but I have trouble picturing a 10 foot mower behind it. The dealer doesn't recommend going over 8 foot and maybe only 7. What's your take on it?

You will need to check the specs on the mower to be sure. I have two ten foot mowers, a Woods 121 and a DS1260. I would run the 121 with a 50 HP, but even though the 1260 is rated 50 HP up, I believe it would be marginal at best. Mowers often come in light, medium and heavy duty, so width is not the only consideration.

I would go with a good eight foot; just don't care for the single tail wheel 7', so I use a 6' in addition to the 10' models.

 

[Chilly807]

Interesting question, Cyril.. I think the 5hp/foot is aimed primarily at guys like myself, with limited power to begin with. Any less than 5 hp/foot and it may bog the engine down in heavy going. More power isn't a problem.

TripleR is right when he says there are other limiting factors aside from PTO hp, I'm more concerned with how much weight I have back there. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't want anything any heavier than what I have now. I take the loader off to mow, and the steering is noticeably lighter with the loader off and mower on.

With the bigger cutters there's also the factor of how much further behind the lift arms the weight is.

To my way of thinking, as long as the mower width covers the rear tire tracks that's all you really need. I have maybe 4-5 inches coverage on each side with the 5 foot cutter, so I'm ok there.

The bigger bat-wing type cutters require serious horsepower to run, and I expect the weight is right up there as well. I don't know if those are rated the same as a brush cutter, as to what they're designed to cut. May only be suitable for grasss and weeds ?

The only real advantage to a larger cutter is less passes to mow a given area, I'd go with the dealer recommendation. They SHOULD know best what the tractor will handle, although it's not always the case.

Sean