home made batwing mower?

[rj's barn]

So I had a thought.... Somebody chime in and tell me if its a good one or not. I want to cut, scab, cabbage and weld together 3 4ft rotary cutters and make a little mini batwing mower. No hydraulics to lift the wings, I can do that manually and tie them together with chain for transport. Weldable hinges to float the wings and allow them movement. The only thing I am unsure of is the PTO driveshaft splitter. I have no idea where to find one. I'd like to have all of my forseeable needs together before I start cutting and welding. Ideas?

 

[howierd3866]

I believe if you put 3 4foot mowers together there will be strip of uncut grass between the the mowers.Because the blades will not provide enought offset to cut the strip.

 

[SuperDuty335]

Take your pick of gearboxes:
PTO Gearbox Fast Find

You will have strips to cut like Howeird said

 

[bobodu]

You just set the two rear decks inward enough to cover....no different than a regular mower deck.

 

[GE222]

SuperDuty335

Thanks for the link to the gearboxes!!

 

[SuperDuty335]

No problem. They have been really easy to deal with in the past and have fair shipping rates.

 

[bobodu]

Please don't forget to let us know what that critter costs!!!

 

[rj's barn]

I had planned to cut the inside of the outer wings and both sides off of the inner cutter so I could offset them to keep the center stripes to a minimum. From the prices I have seen so far it should run me about 2k to 2.5k by the time its ready to cut. I'll see how low those numbers are after I get out of the research phase and get into the development and construction phase. Come income tax season, y'all keep me in your prayers. RJ's gonna be cutting and welding for a couple weekends...... Thanka Fellers!

 

[howierd3866]

if you thinking its going to cost you 2k or more you can buy a good conidtion used batwing already use for that amount.

 

[rj's barn]

I looked at used wing mowers online and a used 15ft is usually 6 to 7k. I figured I could weld and fab for a whole lot less than that. That and I dont think my L3400 'Bota would effectively turn a 15 ft so I was gonna build an 11ft (+-) to maximize productivity and not destroy my machine. I run a mowing business and I get some ungodly huge pastures that I have to turn down because I don't have an implement that can handle it. I don't want to take a hit cutting 60 acres with a 6ft cutter. Turned that one down 2 weeks ago and decided that a purpose built cutter was in my future. No reason to let the competition pick a golden egg like that! If any of you know a manufacturer that makes a 10 or 12ft batwing....... gimme a yell! Lord knows i'm the last guy that needs to be cutting and welding on something that's gonna turn 3000 rpm under load.

 

[Soundguy]

10' v-wing cutters are available, 10' middle and sidewing cutters are available, 12' batwing cutters are available.

10' semi-mount fixed deck cutters are available ( JD MX10 is a popular one )

10 and 12' fixed deck 3pt mowers are available.

I bought a good JD 1517 15' batwing mower that just needed a lil tlc for 2000$. i see those deals al lteh time. I see you can get a new off brand galvanized cutter inthe 7k$ range NEW. Howse has a 15' cutter available as well.

You could always grab an 8' cutter to make hauling easier, and split the difference from a 10+' unit.

grab a machinery trader catalog.. I think you can buy a prebuilt 10'v, 10' ditchbank side cutter.. or 12' batwing CHEAPER than your fabbed one.. it will look better, and be hyd.. and have preplacement parts availability without any 'kustom' work being applied to it.

soundguy

 

[Raw Dodge]

I built my own using 48" walk behind mowers,it is redneck style,but it works! The ocst of used machines was less than going thru all work of fabbing,also the HP requirements couldnt be met with my slamm tractor to run all the decks off the pto.I built it to tow behind the 1910 but ended up towing it behind the smaller more nimble steiners.4 decks, (2-60")(2-48")16.5 ft cut(about 9" of overlap per deck) ,79HP,and a lot of looks whenever i use it.....

 

[Soundguy]

that and 5 different engines to care for..YUCK!

soundguy

 

[Raw Dodge]

To each his own.I love how my setup performs,you couldnt buy the gearboxes and decks for what the used WB can be bought for,and the commercial walk behinds leave a better finish cut every time.I have under 3K in my setup,and it can do the work of huge dedicated mowers.In 5 minutes i can break it apart and use the WB's easily.I can also unhitch the stiener,trim for a few minutes,and reconnect easily.This summer had record breaking rain,I am unstaffed due to the economy and and overworked.Trying to get more doen with less time and money,that was the reason I built this contraption.Initially i built the small attachment to drag another steiner deck,I have been dragging it for 9 yrs now easily.Thats setup is proven and has thousands of hours on it being puleld by another steiner.Just this summer I added the WBs to it.Remember I do not have a ton of money into this and it give pro quality results,I mow over 50 acres a week with it sometimes,even more,and i am cutting at low heights,and sometimes cutting a lot off.Maintenace on the WBs engines has been a breeze,they are simple to work on,ive spent under an hr all a season working on them,about the same time it would take to grease the driveshaft u joints and check gearbox oil....Here is a few shots of my setup doing its thing,its being pulled by a 20 yr old Steiner ive has since new with in excess of 10000 hrs on it.It gets about 500hrs a year.It runs about 16-20- hrs weekly.For over 7 months a yr.

 

[kennyd]

That and I dont think my L3400 'Bota would effectively turn a 15 ft so I was gonna build an 11ft (+-) to maximize productivity and not destroy my machine.

Your machine is rated at 29 PTO HP correct? Sorry, but I don't see that running a 11' rotary cutter. The "average" HP needed to run a cutter is about 5 HP per foot.

 

[Dirtball]

I have run 2 Acre Ease wings 5 ft for 9 years now with a 5 ft belly mower. 15 ft cut on a 33hp New Holland, to properly turn a 15 ft mower would take a 50-60 hp tractor and a $12,000 mower. My rig is very agile , I spin around trees like ZRT. I can drop one wing off and squeeze thru 10 ft openings, drop the other and and I am a 5ft mower. Kunz engineering makes the Acre Ease= these are not the swisher units you see in the Northern catalog, these are true commercial units. I use the C60K , one tough unit, the cut is beautiful too, cause no fat tires or heavy tractor pushin down the grass. I have a $9200 Toro 52in ZRT to compare and the wings cut nicer. I pull both off the left , so I can swing 10ft under overhanging branches to my left, without having branches hit my head on the tractor. these units have been one of those amazing purchases, where American ingenuity is at it's best. I called the founder and praised him I was so pleased.

 

[Soundguy]

looks like that would be a nightmare to maneuver around an obstacle..?

soundguy

 

[OrangeJbird]

I run a mowing business and I get some ungodly huge pastures that I have to turn down because I don't have an implement that can handle it. I don't want to take a hit cutting 60 acres with a 6ft cutter. Turned that one down 2 weeks ago and decided that a purpose built cutter was in my future.

When I get these, large jobs their usually gopher heaven. I won't spend all day bouncin around on them. I rent a 100hp tractor and 12-16' flail stalk chopper from a dealer. Get's done much faster and is cheaper in the long run. If it's not too bumpy I rent my neighbors tractor and discbine. You can do 60 acres real fast and still charge what you would having had sat on the 5' for 2-3 days.

 

[Raw Dodge]

looks like that would be a nightmare to maneuver around an obstacle..?

soundguy

I mow open areas,1500-3000ft long x 1500-2000 ft widewith maybe 5 trees. I can actually put all 4 mowers thru a 7 ft opening,by turning hard left around a tree,I do it every week.yDo you think a tractor batwing is easy to manuever around obstacles?It literally 20 seconds and i can unhitch any of them.I challenge any tractor batwing to go where I can,and to mow what I mow spending triple the money.I can easily mow 50 acres with a perfect cut in one day, taking breaks,and not rushing.BTW my steiner is only 25HP Kohler Command Pro,and its plenty,even with over 2000hrs on the engine.it,runs like a top.All my mowers are filled with Shaeffers 7000 supreme oil...probably contributes to why the engines are trouble free.

 

[bal0123]

I had a Co-worker once that built a tube style frame and mounted 19,,, 21 inch murry 3.5hp mower decks to it the first row I think was about 10 decks wide and the row behind it had 9 decks that were stagered. He cut a width 18 feet wide and pulled it only with a 12hp craftsman riding lawn tractor, he made some gauge wheels that attaced to the frame. It worked nice, He could mow 5 acers in about 30 minutes. the only bad thing it took him 30 minutes to get all 19 mowers started and running. I wish I had a pic to show yall.