Brush hog converted to finish mower

[EddieWalker]

I have a 72 inch Landpride brush hog that works great. I have no complaints about its performance or the quality of the cut I get from it.

My problem is keeping it even with the changing contour of my fields and paths.

I've been thinking about buying a 72 inch finish mower, but don't want to spend the money for one.

I'm wondering if I could add some removable wheels to the front corners of my deck and loosen my top linkage.

If I did this, wouldn't it follow the contour of my land on its own without me having to constantly adjust the height?

This would really be my main goal. To be able to mow my fields without adjusting the height of the shredder all the time. Quality of finish isn't a concern, nor are rows of cut grass.

Thanks, Eddie

 

[Bird]

I've never seen that done, Eddie, but I sure can't think of any reason it wouldn't work just fine.

 

[have_blue]

I've thought about it, but have never seen or heard of it being done. The wheels would have to be at least 8", and very heavy duty. 2 wheels plus your tail wheel may not work. The tail wheel may have to be removed and 2 rear wheels added to make 4 points.

I have a my 72" Woods RC. I removed my rigid upright braces and replaced them with chains. I keep my blade sharp, and practically finish mow with it. Since I replaced the rigid uprights, I get practically no skid marks or scalping. Of course my land is probably a lot flatter than yours.

 

[btolle]

For about $30 you might want to try a set of limit chains on the cutter.

The chains keep the front of the cutter at the same level in relation to the tractor. I was having a dickens of a time trying to keep the front of the cutter level until I installed the chains. Using them made it a lot easier.

I am cutting an area that is very hilly and uneven and it was a real mess without the chains.

I bought them from Jasper Farm and Ranch Supply in Jasper. They are shown on the invoice as "Zerco #232 Height chain" and cost $26.95. If you can't find them at your local store you might call Matt at Jasper Farm and Ranch (super nice guy) at 409-384-2581. He can either tell you where to get them or maybe sell you a set and ship them to you by UPS.

I found one place on the Internet that listed Zerco at:

Zerco Manufacturing Company
500 North Main
Springfield MO 65806
(417)866-2472
(417)863-9894 fax

I did some searching and found another company that sells limit chains and has a drawing of them on their website Stevens Tractor $29.95 + shipping. You could print out the picture and take it to your local tractor store and ask them if they have them.

I used a long U bolt to attach them to the ROPS bar so I didn't have to drill into the bar.

Bill Tolle

 

[EddieWalker]

Bill,

Thanks for the info on the limit chains. This is something new to me. I saw the picture at Stevens Tractor, but it didn't click in my head how it works.

What do they attach to?

How do they help follow the contour of the land?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[DDT]

I think we would be better off if we swaped my LP 72" rear discharge for yours. I belive both of us would be happyer. I just bought a bigger tractor, so my 5' rotary mower will not cover tracks and I will not use my finish mower on this tractor, too heavy for a yard.

 

[djradz]

I have similar chains on my mower. See attachment. I believe that every brush hog and any mower without front wheels should have them. They work that great!

 

[normde2001]

If you are saying your rotary cutter is rigid and does not move up and down with the contours of the ground then you must not have a flexible, (swivel), connection for the toplink. Some guys use a chain instead of a toplink. The checkchains will not give this flexibility, they only keep the front of the cutter at a pre-determined height and keep the strain off the 3ph.

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have similar chains on my mower. See attachment. I believe that every brush hog and any mower without front wheels should have them. They work that great! )</font>

The chains appear to work just the opposite of gage wheels. Wheels prevent the deck from going closer to the ground when you roll over a hump or dip and you get a constant cutting height. Chains don't do this.

Do you use the chains as a height adjustment instead of the 3 PH lever? I can see where it would be useful to just put the lever all the way down and let the chain length determine the cutting height.

 

[djradz]

The chains do work a lot like gage wheels, except the wheels are those of the tractor - the rear tractor wheels.

Yes, I drop the 3-pt level all the way down, but the chains keep the arms from going all the way. I may be hard to imagine how well this can work, but once you've tried it, you'll never go without. As long as your top link can flex, the system works incredibly. Some mowers come this way. Some brush hogs do also. My mower did and I retrofitted my Woods hog. Many folks, if their equipment didn't, opt for a chain-type three point top link instead of the large turnbuckle one that comes with the tractor, and then put on the check chains.

 

[RalphVa]

I like the use of check chains and a chain in place of the top link. Think I'll combine the systems and post a picture of what I have. It's very tricky to find the rockshaft position to locate the brush hog leading edge at the proper cutting height. Even if you have a rockshaft stopper or want to just mark with a marker where you drop the rockshaft control to, finding that spot is a lot of trial and error. Frankly, I don't fully trust the hydraulics to hold it there either. Whereas, a chain is fool proof, once you get the length right.

TSC sells some large clip "ovals". One end of the oval will accept the 3/4" pin normally used on the top link. Then you can clip both the check chain mid section and chain in place of the top link to this "oval" clip.

Then I can use 2 more of the oval clips in the holes (about 2/3 way out on my draft arms) to attach the check chain ends to.

Attached is a picture of my present runaway chain. All I have to do is buy another oval clip to go on the top link. Basically, the runaway chain can become a check chain by running its mid point up to the top link pin on the tractor.

The chain (to control the cutter's downward movement, to keep the drive shaft from contacting the deck) back to the cutter can be attached to the same oval clip. Another oval clip will attach that chain to the cutter.

For safety, I plan to enclose all the chains inside short lengths of PVC pipe. If they happen to break, it'll lessen their potential impact.

Ralph

 

[Soundguy]

Whatever you do to get it ballanced 9 deck wheels/rollers, chains, etc.. remember to sharpen the blade like a lawnmower blade ( an edge) not a 1/8 flat blunt for shredding rocks and 2" trees.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[jinman]

Eddie, here is the setup I used to use on my old Ford Jubilee. I added the check chains to take a load off my 3PH hydraulics and the toplink chain to let the mower really float on rough terrain. It worked well. Your gauge wheel idea will also work, but you will have to be careful with the location. If they are swivel mounted, you'll have to be careful that they don't swivel forward and hit your rear tires. If they stick out too far from the sides of your cutter, you may find you tend to hit objects when mowing in tight spots.

 

[Volfandt]

Greetings,
I've used chains as height adjusters on a TE20 w/Howse 5' bush hog for approx 15 yrs. I mowed approx 3 fairly flat acres with it and it did a near finish quality cut. (when I kept the blades sharpened regularly). The Howse bush hog has a slot cut in the top link connector which allowed the bush hog to pivot up/down an inch or so, over small hills & dips, with the std rigid top link. Just recently sold both.

A pic of how the chain brackets connected onto the top link connector.

A closeup pic of the chain bracket.

 

[heehaw]

old drag type brush hogs are really cheap around here, you might pick one up and have the wheels to go on each side of the mower..
heehaw