Brush Clearing Estimate

[SLOBuds]

Hi. 2nd Post - sorry if I'm in the wrong spot!

For anyone watching in the 'attachments' forum, you'll know that I was asking about the need to clear out brush from my new 10 acre farm. Answer: yes, due to fire hazards. I decided to rent a tractor and give it a shot myself as a training exercise for me. It will be a Kubota L2900, with flail and FEL.

Now, considering that I have NO experience on a tractor, how long do you think it will take me to clear the property?

I have 10 acres of land with rolling hills and flat spots. There are probably 4 acres of flat (or very gentle slope) and 6 acres of moderate slope. I am sure that even the moderate slopes are accessable to me on a tractor. The brush is fairly consistent: weeds that have grown to somewhere between 2' and 4' tall. No saplings. I do have some trees, but they only cover about 25% of the property and almost all of them seem to be spread far enough apart to get a tractor between.

So that's the first question - how much time to finish.

Second question is if anyone could tell me the general technique, what to watch out for, the most efficient way to do it, what shouldn't be done under any circumstances, safety pointers, etc. There will be no one available to give me any kind of on-the-spot training at all! This will be 100% school of hard knocks!

Appreciate your feedback.

 

[MRHURT]

If you think there are things to hit with brush hog lower the bucket to hit these object before the tractor does. on the hills, try going up and down them, instead of across them. should be more stable that way. good luck. my thoughts on time, in one weekend i could mow 10 acres going around trees and other objects

 

[theboman]

Never used a flail so not sure but a good weekend's work with a 4-5' rotary cutter.
Wear your seatbelt and have the ROPS up.
Keep the FELs bucket low to catch things such as stumps.
Be on the lookout for holes that a tire can drop into and cause mucho problems.
Up and down, up and down on the slopes. If you think it's to steep for left and right, it is. It may be a bit slower at times but if you'd break a neck and kill yourself it would never get done.
If it's warming up be aware of bees! I got hit way too many times last summer. Maybe have some benedril just in case.
Use common sense at all times too. A tractor of any size is a powerful tool, but the person in the seat has the control of how it operates.

 

[hazmat]

Good advice so far. Since you are new to both tractoring & the property. Walk it ahead of time to look for hazards: Holes, stumps rocks. Mark them some how, so you aren't surprised.

You should be able to complete the job in a day or 2.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

And, after getting it done, come back and let us know how long it took, whether you had fun, and how soon you will be buying your tractor... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[BILL_K]

Do the flat area first to practice and learn.
Watch out for sunburn.
Take plenty of water and drink it.
Go slow at first at least.

Pick an area and go in a stright line for a distance then turn
right and go about 100 yards then turn right again and go back,
then turn right and go a distance equal to the first turn right
again.
The immportant part is to always work to toward the same direction
on the long distances so that your circle stays the same size verous
geting smaller each time.

I hope this makes sense!
Billk

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[SLOBuds]

Somehow I have a feeling that the most 'fun' part of this project is in the planning! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Just to make sure I have this right (and to FULLY expose my TOTAL ignorance), I take it that the rotary mower or flail is not able to leap small buildings in a single bound. It sounds like they are able to chop brush up to a certain diameter, but all rocks and stumps and cows should be avoided. I'm trying to picture in my mind how I will see all of those rocks when they are now thickly covered by weeds. Same thing with stumps. Is that the purpose of keeping your FEL down low to the ground - to bump into stuff that shouldn't be mowed?

Maybe all of this just becomes obvious once you get in the seat and push the 'go' button.

Thanks again. Great advice!

Re: Purchase. I'm making a list of tasks that we will need to do on a regular basis at the new farm. Then I will post that info on the 'buying' forum, and see what type of opinions come out. We'll be getting a tractor for sure. I'm the type of guy that needs to think about it for awhile.

 

[Bird]

Martin, a rotary mower and a flail mower are two different things. Which are you getting?

 

[SLOBuds]

The rental yard said they would rent a flail, not rotary mower. I tried a couple of searches on flail, and can't exactly tell the difference - except that it sounds like it produces a somewhat more 'finished' appearance. Not sure.

Thanks.

 

[beenthere]

I've read the posts, and have read your posts as well. I don't think you should try this at all, as you should get your tractor experience first, and then add an attachment later after you know how to operate the tractor. Sorry if you disagree. With an attachment such as a flail, or a rotary cutter, there is no way for you to have someone along who can give you instructions and pointers as you proceed. The very fact that you have to ask the questions, is reason for me to suggest you not do it.

For example, if you don't know why the FEL should be down, then just being told it should be down to "find" obstacles is one thing, but it also should be down to keep the center of gravity low when tractoring on a side-hill. It is also down so you can see over it, and see where you are going.

There are too many things you should already know, and they cannot be sufficiently "learned" from a forum such as this, even though there is a vast amount of experience here.

I don't think a flail is very good for brush cutting. It beats things up, it doesn't cut them off. A bit different from a rotary cutter, which will handle brush up to a diameter of 1 - 2".

I suggest you get a tractor and learn how to operate it first, with no attachments. Then advance to the attachment stage and not plan to do 10 acres in one fell swoop with a rental tractor. Hire it done, until you know what you are doing. Plan on maintaining the 10 acres after you have your tractor experience. My 2 cents.