Anyone ever use a walk behind brush mower?

[goodoleboy]

Since i dont own a tractor I am Looking at renting a Dr walk behind brush mower. Not a weedeater type but with a rotating balde to cut around the pond and other areas that my riding mower can not reach.

I get the hay baled so this is mainly for around the meadow and creek area where a tractor is unsafe to operate.

Do they bog down in tall grass and brush? Im not going to be cutting any sapplings lager than 1 inch or so.

 

[JackIL]

GOB,

I have used DR Field and Brush Mowers for years with very good luck. I currently have the 17 hp model with the 30 inch deck. You have to pick the gear that provides the best travel speed for the type of material you are cutting, but since there are 5 to choose from it is easy to do. In really tall material the lowest gear is fine. You also may need to make more than one pass to get everything cut. The machine works you hard, but it is still much, much better than doing the job by hand.

JackIL

 

[dmccarty]

GOB,

I have used DR Field and Brush Mowers for years with very good luck. I currently have the 17 hp model with the 30 inch deck. You have to pick the gear that provides the best travel speed for the type of material you are cutting, but since there are 5 to choose from it is easy to do. In really tall material the lowest gear is fine. You also may need to make more than one pass to get everything cut. The machine works you hard, but it is still much, much better than doing the job by hand.

JackIL

I ephasized what Jack said in case you did not quite catch it..

My DR Mower will flat out wear you out.

I have a 17HP 30 inch mower. If the mower can push it down it will cut it up. The only time I have had the mower bog down was when I hit two 3-4 inch stumps by mistake. That stopped the engine. I have only mowed grass material that maybe was 2-3 feet tall. It was not a problem. I have mowed down maybe six saplings that where up to 1 inch diameter and the engine was fine.

I ran the mower, during the last dry spell before the Deluge, for about 2-3 hours clearing a grown over property line. It was in the low 90s I think. I had to stop and come back to the house. I was WHIPPED. I had hit the wall and needed to rest. The good/bad thing about the mower is that its on two wheels that allow the mower to rear backwards to push down saplings. Turning it requires some effort since I have to push down to get the mower off the skids and then turn. The handle bars need another 2-3 inches of height to match me. The new model DR shipped this year has a locking differential that is really handy in thick material. You lock the wheels and it really moves over material. Its almost impossible to turn with the wheels locked of course.

This machine will mow over what it was designed to handle and work you hard in the process. But its a heck of a lot better than using a hand held brush cutter. The line I cleared in 2-3 hours would have taken at least three times longer with a brush cutter. And I would have been bruised and had the shakes as well.

Later,

 

[JazzDad]

I agree with the replies about it working you over. I rented a Billygoat Brush Cutter. Wanting to get my money's worth, I ran that thing 8 hours. I think I would have felt better afterwards if someone had run over me with that beast. I cut some uneven terrain that hadn't been cut or grazed for years. It did the job-- on the pasture and me.

 

[BillyP]

It's one of the few products that will do as or better than advertised.

 

[EastTexFrank]

I have one of the old, old models that I have used for years to do exactly what you describe. It is a very good piece of machinery that'll do work and go where no other piece of equipment can. Like others have said though, it IS a workout. The newer models might be a bit easier but I doubt it. Remember that it doesn't mulch. It just cuts and chops. Three or four hours walking through all that stuff, if your in tall weeds, grass or saplings, will just plumb wear your out. It is a handful to operate but you can get to places that you wouldn't otherwise.

 

[BarryinMN]

I've had the 15hp DR since '02.

I use it to mow slopes and swamp bottoms 4-5' tall grass. The motor does not bog it simply chews saplings throws out rocks etc. Debris is thrown out the front & side. Take a bunch of gas with you as the motor is thirsty.

One thing I do is rubber band down the motor run sense lever so I can walk alongside and steer with one hand, helps to see where I'm walking on steep slopes. Handlebars definitely need to be taller in my case as well. Let the machine power and weight work for you ex. grab both handles and let the mower pull you up hill an axle locker might help it hold a straight line as well. It'll give you a workout plus a bonus of dust, dirt & bugs

The thing has fat tires and will ride on top of the grass mat without sinking in. I stay out of the swamp if it has standing water.

 

[dancer]

I've had the DR 15-HP 26" F&B mower for about 6 years -- probably haven't cut more than 5 acres total in that time, but couldn't have done without it! I cut grass/weeds too thick and tall to walk through (not an exaggeration!) from wet bottom land. I'm one of those people who needs to exercise to maintain health and happiness, and often I look for opportunities to use the DR. Much better than the health club, and no athlete's foot!

My other essential tool -- for clearing my steep hillsides -- is a Lawn Boy Silver Series *two-stroke* self-propelled (rear) walk-behind mower. It doesn't suffer engine oiling problems on slopes -- would run upside-down just fine if you could get fuel (and oil mix) into the engine. Maybe it's not environmentally-friendly but I couldn't do without it either.

 

[Tom_H]

I have the DR Pro wheeled string trimmer, not self-propelled. It is o.k.

I used to have a Troy-Built self propelled sicklebar mower, which is operated much like the DR rough cutter. Running it was like wrestling a bear. I sold it and got a 'Bota BX and a Gearmore 40" HD brush hog.

 

[George2615]

I can't speak for the DR mower but thirty plus years ago my Dad owned two Gravely walk behinds with all the attachments. I used a rotary mower, sickle bar, cultivator, plow, etc. I don't remember anything stopping those tractor. It was really a work horse.