1st time at my new property & 1st time ever brush-hogging - some lessons learned

[California]

It's fundamental working construction, that the last hours are where everyone is hurried, fatigued, compromising safety. Sooner or later with the inevitable result.

 

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It's fundamental working construction, that the last hours are where everyone is hurried, fatigued, compromising safety. Sooner or later with the inevitable result.

Funny thing happened a couple days ago
I was out with the weed trimmer in high grass, using a blade - the grass is still green but starting to yellow so I'm not too concerned about fire yet
I had gone out with the intention "I'll just do one tank then break and do something else"
well I knew I was approaching the end of the tank and suddenly the blade hits this massive bunch grass and the whole thing kicked hard to the side
no not my boot, but it did hit a poly pipe with lots of water...

Dang if there wasn't like 0.1ml of fuel left in the tank. I was >that close< to being done for the day.
Honestly though I wasn't tired, but I had misjudged where I was trimming and what was in the way if the blade kicked.
At least I'd gotten a tank's worth of work done before the fail!
(It was a quick fix at least! Flipped the switch for that pump, cut the injured part out, put in a new barbed coupling, wiggled it up and down a few times and then shot the clamps, flipped the switch back on... took longer walking to the switch to turn it off and then back on than to fix it)

 

[Deanes]

I’m new. What is a chain or rocker link assembly and how does it work?

He's right. Use chain somewhere in the top link system. You can Replace the entire top link with chain, making the entire system go down and up ditches and rough terrain. Or, I replaced the long braces from the top of the mower's top link area with heavy welded-on chains to the back of the mower. I can still use my adjustable top link as needed, but the mower follows the ups and downs of any terrain. Mowing with slack in those chains gives me the same even cut you get with a pull-type mower.

 

[John_Mc]

Never had a hydraulic top link and don't want one either and they are no good when using any slasher / brush hog, because the brush hog has to articulate when mowing uneven ground.

I use a hydraulic top link all the time with my brush hog, and on uneven terrain. I find it very useful when I need to back up over some brush and lower it down to chop it down to size. However, as with any top link connection, there needs to be flex in it when connecting to the brush hog. My woods Brushbull has a link designed to flex which provides plenty of motion to accomodate uneven terrain. It is designed to be connected to the tractor's manual (threaded) toplink. I just happen to use a hydraulic toplink instead, and just set my toplink length to be somewhere in the middle of the range of motion of that flex-link. (Same as I would if using the original manually adjustable link.)

 

[350c]

Never use a solid or hydraulic top link on a machine with a long wheelbase attachment. Supporting the tractor by the tailwheel and the front wheels (as in crossing a gulley) will eventually lead to some serious breakage (like tractor transmission case cracking, toplink mount broken, etc) . You should understand the mechanics of the inability of 3 supports unable to conform to local terrain. Use a chain or a rocker link assembly. This puts some slack in the 3 axle constraint (front wheels, rear wheels, tailwheel). Rear tractor axle weight usually wins. What are you you willing to sacrifice ?

I do not understand why rotary mower manufacturers do not make smaller trail-type mowers. Trail type mowers exert much less stress on the tractors, result in much less vibration on the tractor, reduce the potential for raising the front end of the tractor and/or overturning, etc. Granted, they may be more difficult to maneuver, but the trade-off is worth it to me. Considering the smaller mowers are used on smaller, lighter tractors, it seems to make sense they would be better and create fewer problems. A 100 HP tractor using a rotary mower is much more able to stand the stress of a 3 point mower, but there is a wide selection of trail type mowers available for them.
Do any of you knowledgeable people on here, and I know there are many, know of any cons to using a trail type mower that I'm not aware of?

 

[Gord Baker]

Saturday I went out to my newly acquired 34 completely raw undeveloped acres and attempted to do some brush hogging. I currently own a relatively newer Kioti CX2510HST 25 hp tractor/loader/backhoe. I have not used it for anything up until this point for doing anything other than some light gardening work at my current house. I realize my tractor is under sized for that type of acreage but it's what I have to work with at the moment.

I bought a 5 foot rotary cutter used last weekend, with a stump jumper. I also realize that 5 foot may be slightly oversized for my tractor, but I opted to go to the 5-foot over the 4-foot and take smaller bites.

For my first attempt, I attempted to clear some area in the woods and quickly discovered that rotary cutters are not meant for uneven terrain. Besides just the shear difficulty of maneuvering with it, I experienced a lot of issues with binding my top link. Only after I got home and watched some more brush hog videos, did I discover going on uneven terrain was kind of a no-no, especially going in and out of valleys/dips/etc.

Other issues I had is that my hydraulic top link quick connect kept popping loose. Not sure why that was happening.
And the other fittings on my top link kept loosening, causing me to loose hydraulic power. I'm assuming all this was because of the binding. I guess I'm pretty lucky I didn't do any major damage to the PTO but it didn't bind up. But you live and learn. Kind of a tractor rookie here. Have some seat time, but not at doing anything more than a little light gardening work for years.

Another problem I had was that the previous owner had put a rubber no flat tire on the rotary cutter wheel. The tire was not a perfect fit and kept slipping off, and I had to fight to get it back on the wheel only to have it pop off again, 3 or 4 times. By the end of the day the wheel was pretty bent up and the fork was kind of leaning within the rear bracket, so I'm going to have to replace the whole assembly, I think.

With all this fighting of the equipment, I underestimated the need for hydration as well. I was working in 90 degree temps - I have not done any significant amount of work in those temperatures in at least 5 years. By 1pm I was rationing my water. By 4pm I think I was in the early stages of heat stroke or something similar. Lesson learned, bring a lot more water than you think you need. Since the AC in my truck doesn't work, bring my 18V cordless fans and plenty of batteries too.

I ended the day brush cutting in a largely level field with about 4 foot of weed growth. Went slow, kept my loader bucket down and curled back. Found several large tree stumps that I thankfully spotted by keeping the bucket low. When the bucket would start to slide up the stump, I was going slow enough that I could back up and change course.

It was a good day, but kind of a rough first day out.
Re-thinking a lot of my preconceived ideas of how I was going to go about building a home here now that I've actually spent a few hours on the ground. We're not building for awhile, so I'm going to continue to get to know my property over the next year or two before breaking any serious ground.

After struggling with mounting the brush hog, I think I'm going to buy a Speeco Quick E-Hitch also. And seriously looking at a PTO Link (quick connect). When it's hot, I really don't want to be struggling with those.

 

[Gord Baker]

34 acres of undeveloped land with humps and stumps???
Stay out of it. Fence it and rent for pasture.

 

[Aggie66]

This might be of interest

 

[Gord Baker]

This might be of interest

If you are new to the property, take a walking stick and walk the property noting locations of Stumps, Rocks, abandoned equipment, ditches etc.
Remember it is a field, NOT a lawn. Cut 5" or higher. When you do the perimeter, cut 12" high and leave bucket low if you have one low to discover Branches and Junk. The unit should be level when operating. Do NOT drag the front of the cutter on the ground. Level with rear wheel and Top Link at proper height.

 

[zzvyb6]

OK. One last time. The hydraulic top link idea is a good one, AS LONG as the valve is in float while mowing. However, there are 3 caveats that go along with it's use:
1) If you raise the implement deck beyond about 30 degrees from the horizontal while the cutter is in heavy use, the driveline will go well beyond the preferred co-linear geometry of the tractor's pto stub and the cutter's input shaft needed for smooth rotation with a double Cardan type shaft. You will get a 2 per rev vibration that might easily break the tractor's transmission or the mower's gearbox. It depends on which components are the flimsiest. From what I've seen, it will be the tractor parts. The higher the angle, the greater the problem. You might address this with a true C.V. joint at the mower, but I doubt that high risk operators would be willing to spend the money for it. For example, I made one for my Kuhn rake/tedder combo hay rake from a small FWD car driveshaft. The rake carrier swings left & right depending on rake or ted, plus up and down for hills, gulleys, and turn-around, so the angle changes are quite large.
2). As mentioned in a previous thread raising the attachment beyond the closed length of your PTO shaft means something has to give. Weak hydraulics might save you, but punching in the tractor's pto stub is the usual victim because these days, the mower constructions are likely more robust than the rice paddy groomers adapted to lawn mowers.
3) The other issue is when the attachment drops into a lower area and the pto shaft pulls completely apart because it's too short at max extension. The end on the tractor is going to whip around, flinging the remaining shaft piece all over the place, probably damaging the shaft, joints, tractor parts and even the operator if they look back after receiving a call on their headphones from a neighbor complaining about the banging noise or the lousy job your mower just started doing. I believe 'decapitation' will be written up as the 'mode of failure' entry in the coroners report.

My 1070 does my haying just fine, runs a NH 479, JD baler, and a NH automatic bale pickup wagon just fine. My 4430 nearly killed me when the neighbor put the 1000 rpm driveshaft from the corn chopper together 180 degrees out of phase. When I turned the corner at the end of the first row. The entire pto shaft came flying thru the cab and over my left shoulder. took out the back AND front 'glass'. Pissed me of because I had just put on a brand new $389 wiper motor on the front windshield. Never found it. Good thing it didn't make it thru the chopper. Cows hate unflavored metal parts. Here's my rebuilt shoulder:

 

[danielk]

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A stout 5 or 6/foot pry bar also makes it easy to shift rear implements back and forth as needed to line them up to mount.

A fence t-post is my fine-adjustment tool. That and a 3lb mini-sledge. The combo is wonderful.

 

[EmeraldCity]

My previous brush hog experience was in grassy fields that were pretty clean. But now I live in central Texas where rocks grow out of the ground. I have ten acres that are flat with a couple flood swales. My concern is hitting rocks. What can I expect if I hit a rock? Does it fire out like a missile; does it damage the blade? My mower has heavy rubber shields on the rear. If I hit a rock, should I just continue or do something? Do you notice more vibration after striking a rock? Most rocks that I miss while walking through would most likely be up to softball size, which means the mower should miss them as cut height is about 5 inches.

Thanks
Rich

 

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My previous brush hog experience was in grassy fields that were pretty clean. But now I live in central Texas where rocks grow out of the ground. I have ten acres that are flat with a couple flood swales. My concern is hitting rocks. What can I expect if I hit a rock? Does it fire out like a missile; does it damage the blade? My mower has heavy rubber shields on the rear. If I hit a rock, should I just continue or do something? Do you notice more vibration after striking a rock? Most rocks that I miss while walking through would most likely be up to softball size, which means the mower should miss them as cut height is about 5 inches.

Thanks
Rich

How big of a rock?
I hit a lot of smaller (up to a few inches) rocks; I look behind me after and if I see a big enough rock I pick it up and put it somewhere else where hopefully I won't hit it (sometimes just chuck it into the pond).

If there's big enough rocks, mow with your bucket skimming the ground best you can so you can deal with them before the cutter does.

 

[Jaygyver]

May be a simple fix, I had the same problem with the binding.......
Be sure and check the linkage, #3 in @BCT's picture, I'm not sure if yours looks similar but mine is set up a little different and can fit two ways. My dealer had mine reversed so it would bind when getting to the bottom or coming UP out of a sharp dip, think of the bottom of a U. Got to looking at it and tried reversing it and all is good now. I have the top link adjusted to where when I lift my mower up slightly it stays fairly flat. I can go thru the ditch's now with no issues. So in my soggy or extremely high areas I can lift it up and still cut a fairly flat swath until the next dry mow or second cut.
The only draw back is when you crest a steepish hill the cutter will lift a little and you'll have a bit of taller grass, until you turn around. I'm not cutting a golf course so not an issue for me.

When I bought my house it was on raw land (but only 5 acres) and ended up getting a 24 hp JD770 with a 5' Sitrex finish mower. If you plan on making your new property look new then I would definitely upgrade sometime to a 35+ hp just if you have a lot of trees you want down or just major work. If you want to keep most of it looking rugged then I would just see how the Kioti works and go from there.

Like it's been mentioned, just bite the bullet and make a couple of pass's first with the cutter raised a bit that way you can find the not so cuttable stuff and can then map out your plan of attack. Hitting the wheels on hidden stumps sucks. Once you get it down to a manageable level then the cutter should be able to keep up.
The previous owner of the cutter may have wanted a smoother "no rut track" behind it hence the rubber tires. Swap them if you're just going to use it in the field, it will definitely save you headaches going back to hard rubber tires.

 

[Hay Dude]

Rocks can certainly bend/break blades. Both times in recent years I bent or broke one, I did it while backing up.

Here’s a bent blade-real bent.

 

[Hay Dude]

And, so what? The OP has an even smaller machine than me, and the guy who said to never used a hydraulic top link for brush hogging has a small JD1070. Some times you bigger farm guys forget that most of us on this site are actually just homeowners.

He’s not a “bigger farmer guy”. He likes to portray himself that way, but he’s not. Like not even close. lol

 

[americium100]

Here’s my mowing rig. I have 5 acres that are uneven, not hilly, but not flat. There are a lot of rocks in some areas. In this picture I haven’t actually used the flail mower yet, that’s why it looks so clean (you can see the PTO shaft isn’t hooked up yet). So far I’ve mowed most of the 5 acres twice. It works well except that I’m on my 3rd set of belts (it uses 3 matched belts). It is very good at finding old poly irrigation pipe and wraps it up fast on the cutter. Usually the first indication that it’s stopped is the smell of burning belts. A couple times I caught it and was able to cut the tubing out and keep going. I have a friction clutch at the PTO shaft for hard stops but the belts seem to be the weak link. But for mowing, it’s a beast. I mow through tall weeds and some small brush at a pretty good clip.

 

[California]

Don't worry too much about hitting rocks with a rotary mower. As noted above, first pass set it high and remove visible rocks. Then subsequently it would be rare random bad luck, if a rock damages it.

In 20+ years of occasionally hitting rocks with my 4 ft rotary mower, there's only one minor nick in the (blunt) leading edge of its blades. It would take many such, before the mower wouldn't cut well. The rotary mower ('shredder') is a crude brute force tool.

 

[Hay Dude]

Don't worry too much about hitting rocks with a rotary mower. As noted above, first pass set it high and remove visible rocks. Then subsequently it would be rare random bad luck, if a rock damages it.

Wish I could agree. I hit a rock a couple years ago and it fractured the blade and threw it so far, I lost track of it. Went through the safety chains like paper. Hitting rocks works out most of the time, but when it doesn’t, look out.

In 20+ years of occasionally hitting rocks with my 4 ft rotary mower, there's only one minor nick in the (blunt) leading edge of its blades. It would take many such, before the mower wouldn't cut well. The rotary mower ('shredder') is a crude brute force tool.

It is, but it must be treated with respect and one must be very careful of their own safety and the safety of others.

 

[ptsg]

I hit rocks all the time... And stumps, stoves, walls, whatever. The list goes on. Just makes a loud banging noise, raise the cutter up, keep moving or move over and lower it back down and cut along. Chains just don't care about any of that.

If I don't know the land I'm cutting and it's tall brush, at last over 2 ft or so, I go in reverse. I let the cutter find all the "treasures", rather than risk damaging the tractor.

Worse case scenario, it shears the shear bolt. An 8.8 grade M8x50 mm bolt is easy to change and much much cheaper than a stump pulling on the suction line an dump all the fluid on the ground or breaking the hydraulic filter housing.