Mower 101 questions

[Clem Smith]

I would like to purchase a mower to run off PTO behind 8N, but I don’t know anything about mowers.

Brush hog, field mower, mulching mower, finish mower, etc.

Needs: I have 12 acres of dense mixed Black oak / Douglas fir/Cedar forest. Black oak leaves are 4” long and leave a thick duff mat each year with lots of downed 1-2 foot long, ¼” to 1” diameter dead branches, and lots of Douglas fir needles and cones.

Way too much volume for raking / burning/mulch piling. Trees are only 5’ apart (8N with 5’ blade barely fits some places).

Need to reduce fire danger by mowing downed fuels to smaller pieces and can then leave in place, but don’t want to keep scraping to bare ground with blade.

So I “just need to run a mower over them” that will cut stuff to smaller pieces.

Any PTO mower education suggestions or lessons to offer?

Thanks, Clem

 

[Devious]

Hi Seems like only 5 foot bettween the trees would stop any mowing operation because of the width of the tractor and the turning etc. I may not be understanding what you are splaining but Seems a little out of a n models field. for the first go round. Devious

 

[8N'r--WI]

Clem----you write "Trees are only 5’ apart (8N with 5’ blade barely fits some places)."

Consensus on this board and others, is the 5 foot bush hog (many brands) is the best size to run off of an N Series Tractor.....

After having said that, unless you have a use next year for that bush hog, I think I would look at renting a 4-wheeler with a pull behind mower (like D.R. Horton) for this years job.

Your tractor with a mower will most likely do a lot of damage to the trees because of the narrow row spacing.

I have a few acres of trees that I put in with 7 foot row spacings about 5 years ago....after 3 years of trying to keep weeds, grass, box elder trees and rocks down in those plantings I figured I was doing more damage to the trees with my bush hog than good.....this was when the trees were about 5 feet tall.

My 2 cents is now spent.

Tim

 

[Jasper1675]

I know this may be different than using the tractor. But what about an atv with a tow behind rough cut mower.

 

[souNdguy]

if yuo barely fit thru with a 5' box blade, then a 5' mower may be a squeeze since it is nearly 7' long due to the tail wheel.. you might have a hard time maneuvering.. if that length is too long.. go with a 4' hog style mower.

soundguy

 

[Clem Smith]

Thanks for the help.


SOME trees are only 5 feet apart (all 120+ feet tall), others 20-30’, mature mixed conifer/oak Sierra forest, 100-200 trees per acre, it’s not so dense I can’t 8N around with a 5” wide back blade (also used for snow), but yes, a 7’ long mower could be limiting in spots.


Mostly need to clear fire lanes around perimeter and through middle areas.

Intend to run it every year to keep fire fuels loading down and create defensible space (Sierra Nevada is a tinder box waiting for a spark).


Thanks, this is exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Anonymous-0]

if 5 ft. blade goes between the trees a 5 ft bush hog or rotary cutter should go too. or close wheels in if posssible and use a 4 ft. one

 

[R Geiger]

sounds like you need a control burn every year.

 

[Clem Smith]

Yep, we need a good burn. Smokey Bear did his job WAY too well for 40+ years stomping out every fire and now they all become catastrophic.


So, I cleared ladder fuels and created a shaded fuel break. It won’t STOP a fire, but if it can knock down intensity it will help. I need to maintain it.

Have tractor, just need to learn about implements.


Sounds like a 5 ft bush hog /rotary cutter in my future.

 

[R Geiger]

I run a 4ft here in Oregon and think it is good match for the machine. same width as the rear wheels are set for.

 

[Clem Smith]

Great, a 4ft rotary mower should work.

Now for mower manufacture info:
Is one brand (Brush hog, King Kutter etc) preferred or "better" than others?

Or does it depend on what I find laying behind Fred' barn for sale?

Thanks

 

[Kenster]

A five foot bush hog will fit about 90% of your needs. It's a perfect fit for an N tractor because it will cut the same width as your tire spacing.
And it will chop up nearly every thing it runs over. A finish mower is definitely not the right tool for this application. Be sure to get an overrun coupler for safety's sake.

 

[souNdguy]

the low end howse and king kutter are both light to medium duty cutters.. weight less.. cost less.. generally ok for an N.

soundguy

 

[Devious]

Soundguy I would never dispute what you say but I had a guy comer over to my daughters place 3.5 acres of bushes and tall weeds with some small trees and he mowed it down with a BUSH hog heavey duty type 6 or seven fgeet wide and he did it with a old 2n or 9n with lots of wear showing He just kept it in 1st or 2nd and sometime 3rd out in the middle and it did a fine job. Guess he knows his machine and how to get it to work. It never balked and that was when I decided to get a Ford and actually ended up with two in one days looking. 1000and 1800 per each. I was impressed with how the old tractor actually made that Real Bush Hog work. Somenone finally spelled out that brush hof means a lot of mowers but "BUSH HOG is a real fine cutter name. I hope to find one that I can redo somewhat for my new walk in life. I surely don t want one of these tin foil decked mowers that rust out in a couple of seasons.
Devious

 

[souNdguy]

I'm not sure what you are trying to debate.

I don't see an N and a 7' rough cut mower as a viable setup.. sorry. that's hard on a 40 hp mahcine even.

I HAVE seen 6' hogs on N.. in some conditions it works fine.

When it gets down to it.. 'BRUSH' actually cuts WAAAAAY easier than lush tall grass. IE.. 7' tall stemmy weeds is easier to cut than 2.5' tall lush grass.

Reason i reccomend something like a 5' hog for an N is weight. stock N with no front ballast gets real light int he front after about 750# a heavy duty 5' mower can weight that or more.. a light or medum duty sneaks in and don't make the front come up so easilly when transporting or lifting the mower. i also did not reccomend a 6' as the op says he has trees that he barely gets thru with 5' equipment. what do you think would happen with a 6' mower behind an n when a 5' box blade just barely squeezes thru????

as for tin foil? um.. I've got a howse and a king kutter mower. My KK 5' light duty hog is oh.. 11ys old now.. has no rust, and very mild wear on the front skids. still has the same pto shaft, gear box and laminated tail wheel.. same hyb bushings, and tail wheel bushings and bearings.. It's paint was oxidized and I splurged and pressure washed it early this year an re painted it oem red and black so it would look nice behind my ford 740 when i mow.

gear box is tight and holds oil.. blades are oem.. I sharpen them properly ( 1/16 flat edge so they don't get nicked by rocks ). At current wear and usage.. i expec at least another 10 years of use out of these blades. deck is solid.. not a bit of rust on the cutter at all. no dents, no dings. My howse is in BETTER condition, a few years younger.. still has bright oem paint.. it's knocked over a few 3" and 4" trees before as well as a few fence posts in it's life and is none the worse for wear.

Back tot he weight issue. the average N likely doesn't have as strong hyds as when it left the factory, and many are squemish about replacing the 160$ of parts under the lift cover to make it like new again... thus a lighter mower really helps out.

now.. if you abuse a machine.. it will fail.. brand nam bush hog or el cheapo king kutter... don't much matter.. treat it bad and it will fail. so do you want to pay 650$ or 1650$ for either machine that will do the same job and have a long life span?

soundguy

 

[Devious]

Oky Doky I don t think I said anything right at all so I concede and You win. Devious