Woods BW180 15ft Batwing Pre-Buy Questions

[leeave96]

Looking at a Woods BW180 Series 2 batwing rotary cutter - 15ft cut. Appears to be in decent shape, has the equal angle PTO vs CV hookup to the tractor - which I like; easier for me to lift that short shaft than a heavy CV in my older age.

What is the good, bad and ugly of these mowers?

Series 2 - what did that bring to the mower vs the older series 1?

What is the angle range up and down where the cutter can flex and mow?

Any particular red flags to look for?

540 PTO - I’d be clipping pasture and hay fields with this mower and pulling it with an IH 886 with around 83ish PTO hp.

Any sage buying advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[9973720wb19]

I've owned and used this model for years and it's been great and tough as nails - only plastic is on the PTO shafts - mows nice hydro's up/down always work. I drive it on the road about 1 mile to and from...no issues. I use a JD 100HP with 540PTO on (60 acers) that is rough with a few large hills so i get about one flat per year on the guide tires. when that happens, i have them put a tube in that tire (or even with a new tire) so it helps with getting less flats. I've bent a few u-joints on trees that hold the tires but that's not the mowers fault...easy to replace - about $300 new. I've only replaced one belt in about 8 years. you can turn pretty tight too...never had any issues swinging around trees. The only PITA with this deck is greasing it. i can't tell you how many grease fittings there are and i really don't want to know. it'd take you about 3-4 hours to maintenance it - but I only do that once a year.

 

[leeave96]

I've owned and used this model for years and it's been great and tough as nails - only plastic is on the PTO shafts - mows nice hydro's up/down always work. I drive it on the road about 1 mile to and from...no issues. I use a JD 100HP with 540PTO on (60 acers) that is rough with a few large hills so i get about one flat per year on the guide tires. when that happens, i have them put a tube in that tire (or even with a new tire) so it helps with getting less flats. I've bent a few u-joints on trees that hold the tires but that's not the mowers fault...easy to replace - about $300 new. I've only replaced one belt in about 8 years. you can turn pretty tight too...never had any issues swinging around trees. The only PITA with this deck is greasing it. i can't tell you how many grease fittings there are and i really don't want to know. it'd take you about 3-4 hours to maintenance it - but I only do that once a year.

Thanks for the info - much appreciated!

 

[hayden]

There is a good chance you can download the manual in the Woods web site, even though it’s an older model.

 

[Hay Dude]

Looking at a Woods BW180 Series 2 batwing rotary cutter - 15ft cut. Appears to be in decent shape, has the equal angle PTO vs CV hookup to the tractor - which I like; easier for me to lift that short shaft than a heavy CV in my older age.

What is the good, bad and ugly of these mowers?

Series 2 - what did that bring to the mower vs the older series 1?

What is the angle range up and down where the cutter can flex and mow?

Any particular red flags to look for?

540 PTO - I’d be clipping pasture and hay fields with this mower and pulling it with an IH 886 with around 83ish PTO hp.

Any sage buying advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

I owned one of these. It was my first 15’ Batwing rough cut mower.

The primary thing I disliked about mine was the single deck design. If you got into rough stuff (thick brush) it would dent the deck. Where the deck got dented, the paint would crack. Where the paint cracked, rust would form. Then the deck looked terrible.

I quickly realized the error of purchasing it and bought a dual-deck John Deere CX-15. It has dual decks so the bottom deck absorbs all the punishment. Much happier. 10 years later and no dents or rust.

After owning both these mowers, I bet you’d be way happier with a Deere.