Rotary Cutter Which brush cutter to buy

[Wesdor]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

 

[RWolf]

Quality in manufacture, heavy duty compared to light. Kinda depends on models. Which one will last the longest? Depends on what you're planning on cutting. I would suspect that the JD brand will outlast the KK brand. For my pastures I don't expect to buy another shedder. I ended up going through my dealer on a 6' frontier. Now if I just can keep from shearing pins.

 

[foggy1111]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

I think some price difference is well justified...but your going to have to decide how much. I assume your comparing an MX 5 with the KK. They typically say their is Light, Medium and Heavy Duty Cutters.....I'm not sure if the MX5 qualifies as a HD cutter...but I'm certain it's at least one (likely two) notch over the KK. Then there's deck design differences: formed double panel steel vs single wall flat sheet. Then there is Paint...baked-on auto quality vs no prime spray. Then there is safety chains....yes or no. And then we have gear box heft and blade quality, as well as build quality and weight and warranty.

I can justify most of the MX5 John Deere....but I can't nicely fit the MX5 on the back of my little tractor (too heavy ).....so.....I bought a 5' King Cutter ($550.00) and added my own safety chains. I figure I can abuse three of 'em at these price differences....but I'd still like the JD.

 

[wny770]

Have you checked into a woods brushbull? There's a reason they've been manufacturing cutters since the 50's...

 

[coobie]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

Make sure to compare apples to apples when shopping!!What gauge steel is the deck?How about the Hp of the gear box?What is the warrenty?IMHO,I would look at JD,woods,landpride to name a few brands.I guess the other question would be how many times do plan on useing the mower each year,a few or many?If I was just mowing a few acres a couple times a year the king kutter would last a long time.Good luck on your choice.coobie

 

[Wesdor]

Thanks for all the replies. And if there are other thoughts please add them as well.

It is nice to hear what the rest of you are saying and it makes a lot of sense. Like a lot of other people, I prefer to purchase quality when possible and would rather save for a few months longer and buy better equipment.

You are helping nudge me toward that green machine.

 

[CDsdad]

If you are spending a lot of hours mowing on rough terrain, I'd go with Bushhog, Rhino, Woods, or something along that line. Howse even makes a heavy duty. For what I'd call general use (not clearing 3"+ saplings or 15' high brush), you could probably get great service out of KK, Howse, or such. There is a difference in quality in the brands, which is reflected in the price. I would tear up a light duty Howse, but it works great for my father.

 

[Soundguy]

whatcha gonna do with it? clip your pasture now and then.. or go into a mowing business?

soundguy

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

 

[JoeinTX]

Like others have stated, what are you going to doing with it? If you're going to be cutting 5 acres a few times a year to keep the place looking nice then save your dough and buy the KK . If you are tackling rough brush or feral pastures or going into biz then get something else.

That being said, I paid $500 for a new Howse 5' shredder 4 years ago (Lord, the price of these things today) and I've been totally happy with it using it on everything from damp grass to 1" plus mesquite and jubu. It still looks new wth no failures of any kind.

 

[Soundguy]

I paid 450$ for my 5' kk ?9ys ago.. has knocked out a fence pole or two.. mowed hundreds of ant mounds.. found burried lumber, cut some 1.5: woodt material as some thick green saplings.

oh yeah..actully managed to cut some grass with it too!

still works good... starting to show it age with faded paint and a weepy input shaft seal.. but that's about it.

soundguy

 

[The Dougster]

$2,300 is big bucks for a shredder and it is my humble opinion that you should be able to find a medium duty shredder for about half that. Now, having said that, you must take into consideration it's intended use.... Most medium duty shredders will take a lot of abuse for many, many years... The key word in my post is "medium duty"... Okidokers?

 

[George in Spokane]

If you are spending a lot of hours mowing on rough terrain, I'd go with Bushhog, Rhino, Woods, or something along that line. Howse even makes a heavy duty. For what I'd call general use (not clearing 3"+ saplings or 15' high brush), you could probably get great service out of KK, Howse, or such. There is a difference in quality in the brands, which is reflected in the price. I would tear up a light duty Howse, but it works great for my father.

I agree. I use a lot of KK but it's mostly to pretend that I'm a farmer on my 10 acres. They work fine for the few times a year I use them. Sure the other brands are better but do you really need them?

The thing I keep in mind is that my wife is awfully nice to indulge me. I don't want to push too hard on our budget.


George

 

[Wesdor]

Sorry not to post how I plan to use it.

I have somewhere around 25 acres of timber that I try to mow as many weeds down as possible - probably 3 -4 times per year. I do have an old 5' mower that is workable for the times when I'm in heavy stuff (read that if I'm going to hit something unknown or take down small trees).

My plans are always to be pro-active and purchase something new before the old totally breaks down - thus no emergency purchasing.

As I said in my original post, if I need to save for a few months longer to get better quality then I can do that. My only concern was that the only difference in the mowers was the color of the paint.

 

[firemen122]

Sorry not to post how I plan to use it.

I have somewhere around 25 acres of timber that I try to mow as many weeds down as possible - probably 3 -4 times per year. I do have an old 5' mower that is workable for the times when I'm in heavy stuff (read that if I'm going to hit something unknown or take down small trees).

My plans are always to be pro-active and purchase something new before the old totally breaks down - thus no emergency purchasing.

As I said in my original post, if I need to save for a few months longer to get better quality then I can do that. My only concern was that the only difference in the mowers was the color of the paint.

Buy the k/k brand and use the heck out of it. What you are describing it will last a long time. For the diffrence in money I can buy some spray paint and touch up once in a while.. I have a 6 footer that has held up fairly well. I had to patch a few welds after 2 days of clearing 2 -4 inch oaks, but hey it did it and I still have that extra cash... I would sugest to find you a used cutter. Many out there with very little use...

 

[rdbrumfield]

I have a couple of 6ft bush hogs. a couple of things I did that really save a cutter is to have a slipclutch on the pto instead of shearbolts. Make sure that the blades are tipped up on the backside so when you do hit something the backside of the blade will hit the deck instead of the cutting edge.

I put 3/8 flatbar down both sides of the deck on the inside, be sure to check for clearance and 3/16th under the deck all around. I have used this mower very rough on right of ways, rocky ground, and have hit just about anything you can imagine. The mower still looks in good shape. I have had to replace a lower seal in the gearbox and several dishes. I have used this mower for at least 15yrs and it is still going.

The things I hate the most to hit are tires and chainlink fence material it really gets the mower to convulsing.

 

[slan]

I agree with $2300 seems like a lot for a 5 footer unless you are going into business with it. I looked at low end all the way to the high end and picked what I thought was a good balance for what I was going to be using it for. I ended up with the Bush Hogg Squeeler with a slip clutch.

Now some of you might cringe when you hear this but I have routinly mowed over 8'-9' apple trees with mine (obviously very slowly) and with the slip clutch it seemes to work fine. I really am amazed at what it will do if you take it slow and give it time to maintain a high tip speed.

I can't imagine needing a more robust unit that this one unless for commercial use. I do however need to refinish the blades a bit for this season. (a few dents in the edge to take out and rebalance)

I dont know how much it would be stateside but I paid $1150 for mine in Canada

 

[Soundguy]

For sure the bush hog is a better quality than the KK.. however.. the intermittant use you describe.. you will likely giving either mower away with your estate decades down the road. Buy the 900$ mower.. put the other 1400$ in an ira or cd with a long term... you will be dollars ahead...

soundguy

Sorry not to post how I plan to use it.

I have somewhere around 25 acres of timber that I try to mow as many weeds down as possible - probably 3 -4 times per year. I do have an old 5' mower that is workable for the times when I'm in heavy stuff (read that if I'm going to hit something unknown or take down small trees).

My plans are always to be pro-active and purchase something new before the old totally breaks down - thus no emergency purchasing.

As I said in my original post, if I need to save for a few months longer to get better quality then I can do that. My only concern was that the only difference in the mowers was the color of the paint.

 

[Wesdor]

soundguy:

If I put the $1400 in an IRA or CD it might be worth less than $700 of today's $$ in 10 years (smile - that is an attempt at making a joke out of current situation).

For sure I am NOT going into business where I will use the mower on a daily basis. Maybe you guys have talked me into just using the old one I have until it needs repairs. Saving money in this day and age is not a bad thing.

THANKS for all the thoughts.

 

[Soundguy]

As long as you hit an fdic product.. even a bad one will get you 2% minimum...

I agree.. if you have a working mower.. work it.

it's not likey they are scarce and if you don't get one now you will have to search for one.

just keep an eye out in the trader papers.. etc.. might stumble on a deal on a new/slightly use done for a couple dead presidents...

soundguy

 

[TerryJ]

Go with the KK. And yes, green paint is very expensive in your case. $2300 is way too much for a 60" cutter, whatever the brand!