Rotary Cutter Acreage per hour question

[irsmun]

I know this will be a subjective question but I have to start somewhere. I recently purchased an 8' rotary cutter. I haven't had the chance to use it but I have advertised its availability. I am trying to base my rate by how long it will take me to cut. I am not one who likes to leave clients with an open ended invoice by saying X $ per hour. I like to say, "I'll do it for X $". I realize there are many variables to consider such as whats being cut, height, obstacles etc. But for the sake of simplicity, on an open field with 2-3' grass and weeds, what is a ballpark on acres per hour to cut with an 8' cutter?

I know this type of question has been asked many times. I am not trying to repeat it. I don't want a formula or anything. I am looking for an answer from experience from those who have used one.

 

[JasG]

IMO your tractor is small for a 8' rotary cutter.

Your best bet is to use the unit yourself and see how long it takes you to cover a certain area. The times will vary greatly based on each machine. A tractor with a higher HP will cover the ground much faster than lower ones. It makes a huge difference.

 

[jenkinsph]

What would do you the most good was if you go out and cut a few acres and see for yourself. No sarcasm intended either, it is just so open ended that I will often try something new and simply learn through practice.

Mathematically you could look at it this way 1 acre 43560 sq ft /8ft width=5445 add 10% for overlap and get 5989 /5280=1.134miles That tells me I could cut almost an acre/hour for each mile/hr I could average ballpark. So 4.5 mph average would be close to 4 acres/hour, so how fast you wan't to go makes a huge difference. Each job can be different the key is to know what the differences are. Seat time helps with this.

 

[Chilly807]

The 5 footer I have will cut roughly 1.5 acres per hour, but that's highly dependent on how rough the fields are. I would think, on average you should be able to cut 2 acres per hour, maybe a little better. That's assuming you have enough power to run the cutter at the maximum comfortable travel speed.

Sean

 

[Degolyerent]

As far as how much you can cut it depends on what gear you will be operating your tractor in and the speed it will be going in mph. Next figure out how much overlap you will have on average. Then deduct the amount of overlap off the width of the cutter( use inches ). Multiply the inches x the speed and divide by 100
Example:
8' wide cutter is 96" overlap is 10" so 96-10= 86"
multiply 86 x the speed of tractor, say 4.5 mph= 387
now divide 387 x 100 = 3.87 acres per hour
That does not include a efficiency factor, an example would be 80% so multiply x .80 = 3.09 acres per hour ( this will factor in some turns etc. )
Actual times will vary depending on situation
John

 

[irsmun]

Again, I understand times will vary. I also cut grass professionally with a commercial zero turn. I've cut enough that I can just look at a yard and give a pretty good estimate on time. But with this I have never used it and don't have a field lying around to go test it out...or I would. So replies that give me your approximate times on your size cutter at least help me get a feel for where I am.

As for the tractor size, I went in to the dealer with the intention of buying both a tractor and this cutter. I was looking a the size down (the 4035) and he said it would run it but he suggested I go up a size so I did since the cutter was a larger and I wanted to do it commercially. Its a dual blade Howse like this. I would think the hardest part about handling this cutter is its weight (about 1400 lbs) not turning the spindles. The funny thing is, the 7' cutter weighed more. My experience tells me its more about knowing your machine and equipment than "is it big enough just to power through". I cut 36" tall fields with my SCAG. Its slow but I can get the job done because I know how to cut it. It certainly isn't designed to mow that.

 

[TripleR]

Someone posted this on another thread; may help, may not: TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

 

[Gary Fowler]

Again, I understand times will vary. I also cut grass professionally with a commercial zero turn. I've cut enough that I can just look at a yard and give a pretty good estimate on time. But with this I have never used it and don't have a field lying around to go test it out...or I would. So replies that give me your approximate times on your size cutter at least help me get a feel for where I am.

As for the tractor size, I went in to the dealer with the intention of buying both a tractor and this cutter. I was looking a the size down (the 4035) and he said it would run it but he suggested I go up a size so I did since the cutter was a larger and I wanted to do it commercially. Its a dual blade Howse like this. I would think the hardest part about handling this cutter is its weight (about 1400 lbs) not turning the spindles.

Except for transporting, half the weight will be on the tail wheel, so it shouldn't be problem when mowing to handle it so I wouldn't worry so much about that. Weeds will cut easily but tall grass is going to slow you down a lot with a bush hog so I would factor in that depending on the work to be down. If tall weeds are to be cut, you can run at about any speed that you can stay in the seat, but tall grass will put you back to 3 MPH or less as the thick edges of a bush hog blade are not efficient when cutting grass like your mowers are and if you go too fast in grass, you will get a bad cut and or stall the engine. I think that you are going to have to experiment with this like your lawnmowing business till you get some experience so you can look at a field and say that will take me x hours. OF course small fields = more turning and overlap so you could go down to 50% efficiency or less with small area and obstacles to go around. Many folks with large acreage will own their own tractors and mowers so I would expect that most of your work might be small lots so be prepared for that.

 

[irsmun]

Someone posted this on another thread; may help, may not: TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

Yep, I used that. Its awesome. I am just trying to get some real world numbers.

 

[Haoleguy]

Irsmun - Clearly depends on what you're cutting and the terrain you're traveling on. I would suggest starting with a conservative number based on a cost per hour you wish to achieve and then charge less if you're faster. For example if you are shooting for $50/hr start with conservative speed with a quality cut you think you can achieve. To go further if you estimate 1 acre/hr and there's 5 acres to do your quote would be $250 for the job and if you finish early, say 4 hrs, you would charge the customer $200. This strategy would allow you to set a cost ceiling for the customer and they could be pleasantly surprised by a lower cost. At the same time you get the chance to gain experience with your setup and what is achievable that benefits both you and your customer.....Gary