best walk behind brush mower

[kenk4]

I am clearing 10 acres of manzanita and need a small heavy duty mower to fit where my 92hp track loader with mulcher can't fit. I remember as a kid having no guards to get around trees and rocks with a big wheeled mower. All I see are mowers with huge guards. Is there still anything not stupid proof out there ?

 

[2458n]

Open up the tight spots with a bucket or chainsaw. Anything without a guard has the one legged people lining up at the lawyers office.

 

[kenk4]

you're no fun. That's called Darwinism.

 

[joecoin]

Grillo/BCS

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To the forum Ken, from Alabama.

 

[Rustyiron]

I guess you could walk behind them?:laughing:

 

[yellowdogsvc]

Back in the early 90's we used DR brush mowers to clear heavy weeds and small saplings in tight areas. Worked great though it was hard work.

 

[RalphVa]

I second the vote for a Grillo or BCS or a used Gravely. If you get one of these, make sure they have wheel brakes to assist in steering the beasts. Had a DR string trimmer on wheels. It was kinda useless except on level areas because it wasn't self-propelled. Unless you're a big strong guy, you need self propulsion and some help steering the two wheeled beasts. The 12 hp Gravely I had was unusable to me until I found some steering brakes to slap onto it. Then, it could be run with one hand on the steering bar.

Ralph

 

[Code54]

Had a Gravely and the brush mower is very well made and can get close and trim with it.
Some call them the man killer - not because the lack of a guard on the mower, more for the heart attack it cause from fighting it on a hill, or several other reasons......

The newer one also has steering brakes and I would strongly recommend them.

 

[kenk4]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will be keeping my eye out for a good used high end mower since money sadly is an object right now. I just missed a dr for 850.

 

[bajabum]

I have 13 HP DR, works very well, Kicks *** at BOTH ends...

I just upgraded to a 5 foot bush hog for the tractor, but the DR still has the edge for tight work, as well as over the septic leach field.

 

[walter boatwright]

Have you looked at the Peco walk behind tracked mower?

 

[Capricious]

A little late to the conversation, but I have been running a Swisher walk-behind brush cutter for (3) seasons now, and have been happy with it. This is dry rocky soil, not mud. Lots of rocks.

The prices for these machines are up quite a bit from when I bought mine, but I think they are still the cheapest walk-behinds. The have few frills- no electric start, no differential lock, for example. I have not missed either. Hand-starting 11.5 hp isn't that bad, and while the differential lock might help in mud I don't think it would help much when one is hung-up on a rock or stump, which is usually what happens to me.

The skids that the front of the machine rides on are fairly thin gauge steel, and after a couple years they were pretty well beat. I welded some steel angle to the bottoms and that holds up better. I don't think replacement skids would be all that expensive.

The lever that engages the blade drive feels pretty flimsy (plastic). I have not yet broken it, but then I try to be careful with it. The transaxle is "sealed"; I would prefer to be able to change the oil in it. I try to not do a whole lot of gear shifting- put it in one of it's forward gears and leave it there as much as possible.

There is no way to grease the spindle (mandrel) bearings, and after (2) years the bearings were totally shot- loaded-up with grass but no grease. I drilled & tapped the housing for a Zerk, installed new shielded replacement bearings (removed the lower shield of the upper bearing, and upper shield of the lower bearing) and grease after every use.


The clutch is a simple belt tensioner so I don't worry too much about using that to excess. The original belts (2, total) lasted (2) years, the cheap replacements I buy go about a year or a little more. Belts are not too difficult to change out; I have done it "in the field".

The choke handle on the Briggs engine broke off the first day I used the thing (caught on a vine or something) but the choke still works so I have not bothered to replace it.

As is well detailed in the various online reviews of these machines, the wiring for the reverse cut-out is easily ripped out by brush, and the hand grips try to fall off, but these are minor irritations.

I am happy with how it has performed. Money well spent, as far as I am concerned. Have never run a DR or Billy Goat but can't imagine that they would be better (for my use) to the extent that the extra cost would be justified.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Not a walk-behind, but I picked up a 52" Swisher Trail Cutter that I pull with my UTV. Works great. They do make one a little smaller but not sure if these would still be usable in your situation.