Bushhog with Farmall B

[Cdog2cool4u]

My family has a 5 acre field that has been widely neglected for the better part of the last decade being mowed roughly once a year. I'm thinking about getting a bush hog to run behind my B to start upkeeping it. My understanding is that the rule of thumb is 1ft per 5hp for a bush hog. So I'm thinking I need a 4ft pull type which seem to be few and far between. Am I overthrowing this or should I be able to run a 5ft which I can find more plentiful. The largest thing I expect to be cutting is 1inch saplings and grass about 5ft tall.

 

[caterpillar guy]

You are going to want one at least the width of the rear tires so you don't drive down the grass you want to cut. then I believe for cutting saplings and tall grass you will be severely under powered with that set up. I think you will want more like about 10 HP per foot or more. as for the saplings a good dose of 24D would work as easy and fast as fooling around with cutting. Put in a QT of Round up to the 20 gallon per acre of water with a bit of crop oil and things will start dying Spray with a wand or some other method than a boom. You are not out to kill the entire area of vegetation. The saplings may need a couple more doses as they are a bit tougher to kill. Remember if the saplings are cut off without being shattered when cut you have a field full of potential tire spears sticking up for the next trip over it. If you just want to kill the broad leafs you could use the 24D with a boom to do a broad cast coverage of them then leave the grasses stand for mowing. You would still need to use a wand or other means for the saplings.

 

[gene bender]

five 5ft tall is too much for a B FARMALL if you mowed early before it got over a foot tall yes

 

[khouse6]

the b has the same engine as the c and the a , so i understand. first, get an over running clutch. DO NOT USE THIS without overrunning clutch.
then: ahem, hog 2 times each year. you may have to not cut full 5 foot cut, in order to keep mowing. depends upon how much is in front of you. BE CAREFUL, TAKE YOUR TIME.

 

[thdrduck]

I use a 5 footer behind a worn out H but don't cut anything but tall grass and weeds 5-6 foot tall. Use an overrun clutch and 1st gear it is all the poor thing can do. I had the mower before the tractor so that's why I even do it in the first place. Really needs 30 hp or more.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

If you were using it like a lawn mower, 5ft would be fine and you could take a full cut.

"Cover the wheel tracks" is not really an option with a Farmall B. They're over 5' wide at their narrowest setting, and there's no way one would run a 6' mower in more than light short grass.

A B is nice though, in that you can hook the mower offset to the left so it's in line with the PTO and cuts directly behind your left rear wheel. You can even take partial cuts.

Since you have a while until you'll need to mow again, keep looking for a 4' mower. If you find a good deal on a 5', pick it up.

 

[grandpa Love]

The B is , at minimum, 7ft wide.... You ain't gonna cover your tire tracks.!

 

[grandpa Love]

PTO on a B is directly in the middle....

Biggest issue I see is the lack of a 3 point hitch. And the B doesn't have hydraulics. Gonna need a pull behind brush hog.

 

[John M]

I guess Im not understaning how youre planning on maintaining this feild if you let the weeds get 5ft tall and 1 saplings. If it does indeed grow that fast then you need to either A) cut it more often, B) get a bigger tractor and mower, or C) hire it done. (IMO) 5 acres is not really all that much, and could be cut in a rather short amount of time keeping it cut say evey 2 - 3 weeks. Id be on the lookout for a belly mower for it. It should handle a 5ft belly mower with ease if you keep the field maintained better.

 

[DeltaRed]

IMHO,forget a PTO powered bushhog. Go with an ATV hog with it's own engine.They come in 4ft widths,maybe wider.Friend has one. Pulls with an ATV,or his garden tractor.

 

[kshansen]

(quoted from post at 10:52:19 11/22/23) Id be on the lookout for a belly mower for it. It should handle a 5ft belly mower with ease if you keep the field maintained better.

My BN handles a 6 foot/72 inch Woods mower pretty good. But then I do mow the approx. five acres around every other week. Not sure how fast the grass/weeds in the original posters field grow. Then again when I rebuilt my BN 20 plus years back I did go for the big bore kits so that might be something to keep in mind.

If I let the vegetation get too tall some areas do need to be mowed in second gear, most of the time I'm in third.

Just an idea, would a flail mower be a better option? No idea of how much power they take. That was one of the option I was given back when I set up this BN with the Woods 306L.

This post was edited by kshansen on 11/22/2023 at 08:26 am.

 

[Cdog2cool4u]

I forgot to mention the way I described the field is its current condition. The end goal is to keep it mowed down but I figure I should buy a bush hog with the worst case in mind. Thank you all for your inputs.

 

[Brendon-KS]

Unless you have the mower mounted up front you're always going to be running over the material before it's cut. It doesn't really matter whether that happens on the current pass or the one before it so not covering your wheels really isn't a problem.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Except if the mower doesn't cover your wheels you're running it over twice. Once, the mower can lift and cut. Twice, it's pounded down and the mower isn't going to touch it.

Is it a show stopper? No. Is it the end of the world? No. It just works better.

This post was edited by BarnyardEngineering on 11/23/2023 at 05:06 am.

 

[grandpa Love]

Maybe so ... But a B ain't never gonna
power a 7 ft mower.... So you gonna be
running over uncut stuff.

 

[J Hamilton]

For what it's worth...I run a 5 foot pull type behind a Case VAC, which is about the same size and horsepower as your Farmall. I have no issues and regularly cut grass, brush, weeds, small saplings as tall or taller than the tractor. An over-running pto clutch is a must for safety

 

[thdrduck]

Another option would be to look for a used self powered brush hog and a 6 foot belly mower. Wack it down with the hog and keep it up with the belly mower. You could either sell the hog when you are done or keep it in case it ever gets away from you again.

 

[C.Amick]

I think a 5 foot one will be too much in tall grass, but you don't have to take a full 5 foot cut. I would go with a 5 foot one.
King Cutter

 

[Levi81]

I have been using a woods 72 inch belly mower on my
farmall B for years. I mow everything from lawn to
roadsides of tall grass