Mowing YM2000/BigBee Finish Mower

callais · Jul 15, 2004

My tractor is mostly used for cutting my 5.5 acres. A couple of days ago I passed a dealer selling a Ym2000 and mower just like mine. My intentions for stopping were to inquire about a used box blade, but we got on the discussion about the YM2000. It was his personal tractor and he used to cut grass with the PTO in 2nd gear with the Bigbee mower. My gut feeling is This cannot be right nor safe. He claims the bigbee finish mower can safely handle the 2nd pto gear. Is this true? Does anyone use the 2nd or 3rd gear for anything??? Thank in advance.

Callais

tractorworks · Jul 15, 2004

Does anyone use the 2nd or 3rd gear for anything??? Yes, I use it for cutting grass, but I lower the operating rpm some. Seems to work pretty well with a 5 ft light duty bush hog. If it gets too thick I shift back to first on pto to get rpm up a little.

scrinch · Jul 15, 2004

Since reading that others here use 2nd PTO gear for tilling (usually 2nd or 3rd pass) I have tried it and been happy with the results. Haven't tried it with the mower, though.