Mowing Which rotary cutter

[Marveltone]

They were an option for my Woods HC54, but I opted out. Figured I had spent enough money at the moment. If I think I really need a chain guard bad enough, they would be easy to order or make.

Joe

 

[TripleR]

The ones for the front would be relatively easy to make, but the ones on back, at least the LP would be pretty hard to match the factory protection. I did not initially have them on, but bought them later as I mow close to a road; don't have them on the Woods though after seeing some pretty big stuff coming out, we are giving it serious consideration.

 

[Tom_H]

I'm still a newbie so excuse if this sounds "newbish"! Wouldn't the PTO hp be the determining factor, you could always add ballast?

The PTO hp matters, but is only one factor. In a regular mower, it is the torque in the drive line that pushes the blade through the material being cut. Rotary cutters do not work this way. Rotary cutters have a spindle pan to which two (occasionally three) large, massive blades are attached by with free pivoting hinges. If the blade hits something substantial, it glances off rather than stalling the engine or breaking something in the drive line. Rather than using the torque to directly do the cutting, the massive blades build up inertia due to their high mass. Light duty units have moderate mass in the blades. Heavy duty units have very massive blades. These blades do not actually cut the material, they smash and break material. The blades on my HD Gearmore unit are as dull as they can be, have never been sharpened in the 11 years I have had it, and work just fine. The kinetic energy in the blades is what matters, not the torque to push the blade at constant velocity.

The PTO hp matters in that you need enough torque to bring the blades up to speed, to recover after hitting something with a lot of resistance, and to keep the blades up to speed if the material being cut is providing considerable resistance.

The reason a light duty model will not cut saplings is that the blades do not have enough mass to build up the inertia and kinetic energy needed to smash through the stems.

 

[Marveltone]

The reason a light duty model will not cut aspplings is that the blades do not have enough mass to build up the inertia and kinetic energy needed to smash through the stems.

Define "saplings." My light duty RC has cut through many of what I'd consider saplings.

Joe

 

[Tom_H]

Define "saplings." My light duty RC has cut through many of what I'd consider saplings.

Joe

In general, light duty models are described as primarily designed for cutting tall and wild grass. Again, in general, heavy duty models will cut entire clusters (20 or more) of saplings that are 2", 2 1/2", even 3" in diameter, even cluster after cluster that are all suckering from the same root system, without any slowing down at all. Mine will cut through cluster after cluster of 2" saplings with 20 or more stalks per cluster with no slowing and I have read others here who have said theirs would do so on 3" of the same conditions. I am not surprised to hear of a light duty model cutting individual stems, and maybe more. Again, in general, the light duty is mainly for tall grass and not for such a volume of dense woody material.

Ironically, though I don't lug down on those clusters of Poplar sprouts, the one thing that does lug me down is these giant clumps of broom grass. The material can be cut with a sharp machete, but it really resists being broken by the RC blades. I have to ease up on it slowly and almost sit on top of each plant for a moment or two, taking the time to chop it up slowly, in order not to lug down. Each stem is round and a bit larger in diameter than a swizzle straw. The stems are very fibrous, like jute, and I'd guess there are 300-400 stems coming out of each cluster. They don't really break, and my blades are not sharp enough to cut them; they sort of shred apart slowly. I've tried to just dig these out of the ground with the FEL or BH.

I'm glad you brought this up. It might be good for the OP if several people would discuss the maximum limits of what their light, medium, and heavy duty units are able to cut.

 

[taborekle]

I have a woods 54 inch rotary cutter that I run behind my B2920. Its a very good cutter. I have to cut some pretty steep slopes by backing down them, and I'm happy that its not any heavier then it is.

It's great though, very strong.

 

[juanmotime2k]

New member here. I have a BX2660 with FEL and need a new rotary cutter. I have been using a 48 inch, 20 year old cutter of unknown manufacture, and it is simply not enough. I cut grass and brush, mostly on trails, on a 33 acre area in mid-Georgia. Terrain is not always level, but there is a good deal of unknown once in the woods, so the FEL helps a lot. My question: Will a 60 inch cutter, (Woods, Land Pride, Bushog, etc.) be too big for this tractor? Can it pick it up and move around ok? My dealer says it is too big, but I am not certain. The BX2660 is a bulldog of a sub-compact and I believe it will move the earth if a suitable tie-down is found. Comments from the pros are most welcome! Thanks.

 

[Freddieboy]

I'm very happy with the woods 54" on my 2920, as it is just right. Looking back I feel the 60" would have been a bit too much.

Hope this helps

 

[Tom_H]

New member here. I have a BX2660 with FEL and need a new rotary cutter. I have been using a 48 inch, 20 year old cutter of unknown manufacture, and it is simply not enough. I cut grass and brush, mostly on trails, on a 33 acre area in mid-Georgia. Terrain is not always level, but there is a good deal of unknown once in the woods, so the FEL helps a lot. My question: Will a 60 inch cutter, (Woods, Land Pride, Bushog, etc.) be too big for this tractor? Can it pick it up and move around ok? My dealer says it is too big, but I am not certain. The BX2660 is a bulldog of a sub-compact and I believe it will move the earth if a suitable tie-down is found. Comments from the pros are most welcome! Thanks.

That is too big. For questions like this, I recommend starting a new thread of your own.