adjusting brush hog

[Freds]

After the advice given in another post, I went with a 4 ft. brush hog for my B7500HST. I bought a KK at the new TSC and it cuts through 4 ft. high field grass like butter. My question is, how do you adjust the cutting height? It seems like all the rear wheel is good for is to adjust the angle of the deck. I lowered the front of the deck down to where it was a couple inches off the ground and due to the irregular terrain, did quite a bit of scalping with the blades, plus it was digging in occasionally. Why don't they make brush hogs with wheels on the front like a RFM?

Still learning, but having fun,
Fred

Almost forgot, I have the three point adjusted to lift as high as it can and the BH still drags through the creek I have to cross. I didn't have that problem with my RFM. It lifted up much higher even in the original holes. Is this normal when switching implements or implement brand?

 

[RobS]

Fred, your tractor tires act as the front tires on a brush hog. Use your TPH to set the cutting height you want then level the deck with the tailwheel. Lower rear will cut finer but use more hp, higher rear will allow you to go faster but not as smooth a cut. Hope this helps /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Spencer]

<font color=blue>Almost forgot, I have the three point adjusted to lift as high as it can and the BH still drags through the creek I have to cross</font color=blue>

I'm sure that you already know this but shortening the length of the toplink makes a dramatic difference.

 

[Mosey]

Fred – I have the same problem and have not come up with a good solution either. I have a 5’ KK bush hog and it works great on fairly even terrain. But, if the rear tires of the tractor drop down into a hole or ditch or the front of the tractor goes up on a hump, the front of the mower drops down and leaves gouges if I don’t lift it up some. The same thing happens if I come out at the bottom of a steep hill onto level ground. When I crest over the top of a steep hill, the mower lifts way up in the air and doesn’t cut, so I have to lower it, then be ready to raise it again when the tractor levels off or it will gouge. I guess they don’t put caster wheels on them because they wouldn’t hold up to the abuse of cutting through heavy brush or small trees.

Position control on the 3pt hitch is adequate for level terrain, but just doesn’t do the job on uneven terrain. What we really need is draft control, like they had on the older tractors (Ford 8N, Ferguson, Oliver 550 etc all had this), which was developed primarily for plowing. Draft control automatically adjusts the 3pt hitch to compensate for the angle of the tractor. When the front of the tractor goes up, the 3pt arms go up to keep the plow from digging in deeper. When the front of the tractor goes down, the 3pt arms go down to keep the plow from coming up. When you consider what we pay for these compact diesels, it seems to me like draft control should be standard. I don’t know if any new compact diesels have it or not, but I know my NH TC29D doesn’t. However, I’ll take my hydrostat with live PTO and live hydraulics over the Ford 8N any day!

 

[Freds]

I don't understand how the tractor tires act as the front tires of the BH. When the tractor tires travel into a lower grade than the BH is at, what keeps the front of the BH from dropping down? Do I have too much play in something maybe?
The lifting rods and top link were moved to a different set of holes according to the manual to achieve a greater lifting height (with reduced lifting force). The top link is practically screwed in all the way, also. Maybe the 1/2" or so of exposed threads will make the difference of getting it to raise up a few inches higher. I just didn't expect to make these kind of adjustments when swiching similar attachments (although different makes).

 

[Freds]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about Danny. I thought I was doing something wrong. It's good to read I'm not alone.

 

[rdln]

one thing I think you guys need to realize is that brushhogs are for rough mowing and they mean "rough". And I just looked at KK's webpage and the swaying toplink piece may not be long enough, that feature takes up some slack when the tractor angle changes. But if the tractor is smaller a longer toplink mount may not allow cutter to lift at all. I remember somebody complaining about lift clearance not too long ago and it was suggested to relocate bottom pins to a lower location for more lift.

Also you might try removing swaying feature of toplink and replacing diagonal steel straps to rear of mower with chains but then you also must allow bottom of the bhog's 3pt structure to pivot. That would eleviate the scalping when the tractor's front tires go up but will still lift cutter when tires go down.

 

[Mosey]

Steve - The swaying top link piece is long enough and provides plenty of slack and replacing the diagonal steel straps to rear of mower with chains won’t help because the 2 bottom 3pt arms are what control the height of the front of the mower. All the swaying top link piece or chains do is to allow it to flex so it doesn’t bind up and break something. You made a good point about the bush hog being designed for rough cutting, so that’s why they don’t have the same design as a finish mower. They work much better at higher cutting heights because then the front of the mower has farther to travel down before it bottoms out.

 

[TresCrows]

I am going to weld on some anti scalping rollers like I saw on an estate mower deck. An estate mower is similar to a hog but it has scalping rollers and a higher blade speed. They are kinda rare. Yep, you need to relocate your bottom pins--that will help. Here is a situation also when the Position control is handy--but---now that I have the KK cutter dialed in I leave the PC lever full down--no sacalping except on rough spots. The fellow is right--these things are for "rough" cutting and they will occasionally dig in. I think dual tail wheels would also help.
Drop your pins to the bottom bolt holes, set your tailwheel to the cutting height you want, adjust the top link length to get the front approx level, raise the front for a mulching action, lower the front for easier cutting--level for normal use.
When I get the opportunity this winter I am converting mine to an estate mower--dual tail wheels, front scalping rollers and some nice chains, sharp (er) blades and stuff liem that and might even spray it orange. J

 

[Freds]

JR,
Do you operate the BH with the 3 pt. hooked up to the lower pins, I noticed you still have the upper pins in place? I can see that would solve my lifting problems and allow an easier crossing of my creek. Great advice.
As far as rough cutting, it's not the gouging that concerns me, it's the loss of forward movement and obvious dulling of blades when they bottom out. Not to mention the flying gravel.
I think I'll add an anti-scalp roller, also. It sure couldn't hurt.
Hopefully I'll have less problems with the PHD I bought /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Fred

 

[Mosey]

I also left the original link pins on the top and added some at the bottom. The reason is because if I took the top ones out and moved them to the bottom, then I needed to buy two 7/8" grade 5 bolts, lock washers, and nuts to use in place of them and it turned out to cost about 75 cents more each than a link pin with lock washer and nut. Plus, this way the bush hog can still be used on a larger tractor if need be.

 

[Freds]

Hmmm, without me breaking out the tool box (yet), aren't the holes the same size? Couldn't you replace the top pins with the bolts you take out of the bottom holes if you don't plan on using the BH with a larger tractor?
I guess I'll find out soon enough, but I hate to start the changeover with this thought only to have to drop my tools and head for a tractor store to buy two pins.

Fred

 

[TresCrows]

Fred, I just bought another set of pins and drilled the bolt holes up to that size--yes, I use the lower pins and it will solve almost all of your problems. The upper pins were left in place--just cuz. Notice I also turned the lower pins inward--easier to hook up on tiny tractors like the BX, 7500, 2410, JD4100, 4010 and 4110. Yep, they are tiny tractors for sure.
Whatever those stock upper pins are intended for would not be using a 4 foot cutter--I think some one somewhere is wacko in the design department if they have such a thing--hey--I work on retainer. J

 

[TresCrows]

No, the pin holes are larger--sorry, I think you will need a drill and a 7/8 bit. It is a bit of a chore--but it WILL be worth it. Hey, all the stuff to add scalping rollers is easily available. I have a welder outfit both TIG and that silly MIG. I guess this fall or so I will mod mine.
Who at KK also picked out that disgusting puke yellow color? J

 

[Mosey]

The link pins are 7/8" and the bolts in the bottom are 5/8", so they need to be drilled out if you’re going to move the link pins to those holes. I bought a 7/8" drill bit at TSC, they're $17, but I got 10% off because I bought it during their grand opening (along with a bunch of other stuff including a drill press). It is thick metal, the black bracket is 1/2" thick, so the drilling is not an easy task. I suppose you could use the 5/8" bolts in the top with some flat washers, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Whatever you use, make sure it's grade 5 or better (3 hash marks on the head of the bolt). I was going to drill out the bottom hole and put the pins in the bottom hole like most other people (including my brother) have done, but decided it was a little too low for my tractor, so I just drilled a new hole a couple inches above that. I agree with TresCrows that it's well worth the effort! I can lift the mower plenty high enough now.

 

[djradz]

Mosey, Fred and all. See the attached link. http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin...r=141161&page=6&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=

Although this chain setup is on my finish mower, I have the exact setup, except without the turnbuckles, on my Brush Hog. The chains keep the deck front level with the tractor rear tires and in combination with a floating top link on the mower or brush hog, allow the deck to float. I disagree with the assements of a hog not giving a good level cut. With the blades sharp on our hog, the machine mowes almost as smooth, but not quite, as the mower. There's another post in the Attachments section on this and on kits available for setting this all up. I think they're in the $20 to $40 dollar range, but with the exception of the Woods bracket at the tractor end of the top link, I made this one and the one on my hog from eye-bolts, chain, links and turnbuckles. Give it a try, it's a lot simpler and much more heavy-duty than front casters. The other post on the same subject was somewhere around the same date and subject but I can't find it now. If I do I'll post the link too.

 

[beenthere]

For the benefit of not confusing anyone, draft control is not like you described it. True, it was for plowing, but it worked when the top link was in compression (from a plow running too deep, maybe as a result of the rear wheels spinning deeper into the soil), a spring was compressed, and the control linkage caused the 3pt arms to lift until the compressed spring was released (un-compressed). That in a way was automatic position control. I don't recall any draft control that "knew" what the front end of the tractor was doing relative to the lay of the land. In those days it had to be a mechanical setup, and it worked quite well. I don't mean to sound critical, but want to keep draft control in the right perspective. Seems it is confusing to many people. Not many attachments can benefit from draft control these days, as very few use moldboard plows. I hope this helps.

 

[EdKing]

I use the draft control whole using my box scraper. I can set a pretty agressive angle on the blade and use the draft to keep it from digging in to deep. It's just the ticket for moving a lot of dirt.

 

[beenthere]

Re: adjusting brush hog (draft control)

Sounds like a good use of the draft control. Does yours have a compression spring, and can you adjust it?

I was leveling gravel yesterday, and expect I could have used a draft control, but do not have it on my JD4300.

Sorry to all for deviating from the bush hog subject.

 

[EdKing]

Re: adjusting brush hog (draft control)

<font color=blue>Does yours have a compression spring, and can you adjust it?</font color=blue>

It has a linkage going into the rear end, with a lever next to the posistion control for depth adjust. There is also a plate on the top link attachment point that you flip over to activate the draft control. I just flip the plate over, set the angle on the box blade with the hydraulic top link, and adjust the draft lever until the scraper digs evenly.