Rotary Cutter A question of how much HP

[jerry shannon]

A question for the experts. I have two tractors. An Oliver 1855 diesel rated at 98 Hp at the PTo. I have a JD 855 compact tractor rated at 19hp at the pto and 23 hp for the tractor.

I am almost too small for the 5' Woods Dixie Cutter rated at 15 hp to 65 hp and too big for the 98 hp Oliver.
I have heard that the Oliver is too much tractor for the 5' mower. My question is if the pto is a 540 what difference is the larger tractor over the smaller John Deere. Can I use the Oliver put idle it down or is it just too much power for that mover? Thanks for clearing it up for me.

 

[J_J]

If you have the same 540 rpm on both tractors, It only takes 10 to 15 HP to turn the the blades, maybe even less. The blade tip speeds would be the same.

The load on the bush hog will make the difference.

You might get into a field where the small HP tractor will just stall, because it is using all the HP the tractor can offer, and the larger HP tractor will just walk right through everything.

More HP, more work potential.



It would depend on what you are trying to cut.

 

[newbury]

<snip>I have heard that the Oliver is too much tractor for the 5' mower. My question is if the pto is a 540 what difference is the larger tractor over the smaller John Deere. Can I use the Oliver put idle it down or is it just too much power for that mover? Thanks for clearing it up for me.

Generally you want a mower that will cover your tracks. The "General rule" is more for buying an implement. Mow the difficult areas the first time with the Oliver and if you don't let it get to thick you can probably use the JD the second time.

 

[jerry shannon]

Makes sense to me newbury and JJ. Thank you. I understand that with 98 hp on the pto the Oliver could run the gearbox into the ground and not ever stall it out. I also know that with just 19 pto hp on my JOhn
Deere it is at the low end or at the minimum needed to allow the mover to do its job. I am not cutting anything major just over green weeds. No thickets, or brush or small trees. Thank you.

 

[MESSMAKER]

19 pto wil power the cutter if your tractor will handle it otherwise. The only time you will struggle is in thick grass going uphill.

 

[Ken45101]

If you run it on the big tractor, you still need to run it at 540 rpm. That won't hurt anything unless you hit something or ground it out, then the extra horsepower might damage the drive line.

The usual recommendation is 5 hp per ft of cutter. You only have 4 hp but that should be enough for most cutting unless you are into tall, thick, lush grass.

The other thing to consider is the weight on the 3pt, will it lighten the front end too much? Especially if you have hills, make sure that you have it in 4wd (for 4 wheel braking) and adequate front weight. I know if I put my 6' cutter on my B2710 and tried to lift it, the front wheels would come off the ground.