Rotary cutter digging into ground?.

[AlbertC]

I have a 6ft bushog that I run with my nh3930. I have a problem in that the skids are alway gouging the ground up. Sometimes I will be cutting and will look back a wad of grass under the skid on one side and it is scarring up my ground.

Are there any tricks to getting a good cut with a BH. I'll start out and things look ok and then all of a sudden one side is dragging. Maybe I am asking too much of the BH. I am cutting pasture grass (Bahia) and trying to get a nice looking cut but it just seems impossible.

?? On the hydraulic lift arms is it possible for one side to be stronger than the other or will they always lift with the same force on each side.

Thanks

 

[Capricious]

".. On the hydraulic lift arms is it possible for one side to be stronger than the other or will they always lift with the same force on each side...."


I have had very limited experience with tractors, but those i have looked at have both upper arms keyed to a common shaft which is operated by a single cylinder, so both arms would have to lift with the same force.

 

[Deerherd]

The best "trick" for me was getting Top-N-Tilt so I can make adjustments on the fly to keep the skids from digging in. Side hills and up and down hill transitions can all be a little problematic and finding that perfect setting where it never digs in will result in cutting it higher than you would like.

The other thing you may want to check is to see if one or both of your cylinders are "leaking down" which could cause your problem.

Good luck!

 

[k0ua]

A couple of questions. What brand and model number is your tractor.. I can't seem to find a New Holland 3930 model?

Did you level the deck to begin with on a level surface? Take a tape measure and make sure both sides of the deck are level by adjusting the right adjustable lift arm.

Does your tractor have position control? If not, the 3pt arms will always drop over time due to normal leakdown. They should drop equally as noted above by the previous poster as they are keyed to a common shaft. Many tractors do not have position control, and will require "bumping up " the 3pt about every 10 to 15 minutes depending on how leaky your valve is. They all leak, but tractors with position control have a feedback mechanism that allows the valve to automatically open to keep the lift arms at a set position.

 

[bcp]

Your hitch may be slowly lowering as you mow.

Chains are available to limit downward movement. The go from the front of the top link to the implement pins.

Chain Limiter Kit

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ins-kubota-l3800-post3839415.html#post3839415

http://www.ntractorclub.com/howtos/pdfs/Limiter-Chains.pdf

www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/271185-kubota-b3300su-zerco-check-chains.html

Bruce

 

[sdboers]

A bush hog is not a finish mower - so you may be expecting too much out of it.

That being said... While the lift arms will lift in unison - you can lengthen or shorten the height of one of the arms manually to get the machine level.

If the sides of your bush hog are digging in - try raising the overall machine (via lift arms) and then lengthen your top link to sit the rear back down. This will keep the front edge higher off the ground

Sean

 

[jeff9366]

There is a LIFTING ROD on the right side of your Three Point Hitch which will allow you to adjust height of one lifting arm relative to the other.

Do you have POSITION CONTROL on your tractor? Are you using it?

If you do not have POSITION CONTROL you will need to install check chains from your tractor to the front of your rotary cutter. Check chains may appear kind of hinky, but they function very well.

LINK:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ta-b3300su-zerco-check-chains.html?highlight=

The mower front needs to ride on the lift arms of the tractor. The skids are just there for lumps in the ground or accidental contact.

Absolutely right.

 

[bilrus61]

One arm might be lower than the other. Measure them is the easiest way. If one is lower (extended) use the turnbuckle to shorten it level with the other. Raise up the front of the cutter. You might be running the front much lower than the back. Front just needs to be a inch lower than the back. If your mowing just grass/yard/turf you can even mow with the rear lower than the front, <gasp!> It uses more power/fuel that way but if your just cutting foot tall grass it's not a big deal.

The mowe front needs to ride on the lift arms of the tractor. The skids are just there for lumps in the ground or accidental contact. At least that how I use mine.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

something else to look for is to see if your arms are in float or locked. On my JD, I have to rotate a pin with a lobed head on it to get a little bit of side to side play. Basically i get about an inch of up and down play in the arms before it lifts the opposite arm. What that does is it allows my mower to follow the ground a little bit better before it has to pick up the whole machine.

 

[ruffdog]

A local person bought a King Kutter rotary cutter that has that floating feature on both the lower arms. Then he mounted a large castor wheel on each front corner of the cutter so it will roll instead of digging the sod. He loves it but I wish I had a picture of it.

 

[SPYDERLK]

A tractor leans a little more than the side incline its on, or toward a single side depression, because the tires react to the different weight supported. A narrow wheelbase will lean more and a relatively wide bushog will be more likelly to drag.
larry

 

[boggen]

adding to everyone elses comments...

do you have correct ballast (front weight)? a FEL (Front end loader) normally does the job, but if now FEL, then front weights, to help keep front wheels down on the ground, and help offset the rotatory cutter (bush hog brand name) weight.

rotatory cutters can be rather light weight compared to other 3pt hitch stuff, but it is how far they stick out behind the tractor. causing more of a tetter totter effect (kids play ground thing)

set the rear gauge wheel or wheels on rotatory cutter. down a notch or two. to raise deck up some. no need to run it flat on the ground.

===========
a rotatory cutter = not a finishing mower when cutting tall weeds, it is there to cut stuff down, and not to look pretty with the windrow of trash that it leaves behind it. (wind row = bing clumps of grass, row = a row)

 

[Ken45101]

As noted, this isn't a finish mower. If you want a really nice looking cut, you need a finish mower.

Rotary cutters have to be adjusted according to the terrain. More up and down ground means they have to be set up a bit higher. You may be trying to use it for cutting too low, how low do you want your pasture cut? If you have it adjusted for a 6-8" cut on reasonable ground, you shouldn't have problems but if you expect a 2" cut on uneven ground, then this is the wrong tool.

Also, some tractors allow the 3pt to be set up for a little side to side movement on the arms. This can also contribute to digging in.

BTW, a rotary cutter should be set up so that the rear is higher than the front by a couple of inches. It should not be set up perfectly level.

 

[90cummins]

I had the same problem with mine and the mower was level on each side.
I resolved the problem by lowering the rear of the mower so that it was almost level with the ground front to rear.
The rear should be slightly higher than the front to reduce power consumption (cutting the grass twice) however that is your choice if you are limited on power.
90cummins

 

[Spindifferent]

Raise up the front of the cutter. You might be running the front much lower than the back. Front just needs to be a inch lower than the back.

Try this.

 

[giacomo]

You have to set the bush hog so that it there is no slack in the pins to the hydraulic arms on the tractor. So the arms need to be taking the weight of the mower - not just allow it to drag along the ground. Adjust your top link as well, so that it is shortened up a touch, so you are using the arms and not dragging the thing along by the top link.

I use mine on a 70hp Kubota that does have a float setting on the hydraulics, but even with that, you do have to adjust as you are mowing to keep the weight of the bush hog on the hydraulics and not on the field surface.