Rotary Cutter Bush hog made by International World Agritech Co.??

[kebo]

I looked at a 5ft bush hog today that I'm thinking about buying. It was made by International World Agritech out of Ohio and the model on it was M502. I Googled that and found some threads here on tractorbynet about that company. It seems that they went out of business but International Technologies (also based in Ohio) bought out the remaining stock of parts etc, and even their phone numbers to help keep their customers business. I think that IT now supports service and parts for the equipment made by them too.

Most all of the posters spoke very highly of the bush hogs made by that now defunct company and said they were very well made but the final fit/finish (not so good paint job) was not the best. That's not really an issue with the bush hog I'm looking at. The unit looks pretty good, was told by the dealer selling it that it was about 4 yrs old. I'm going back tomorrow and the dealer is going to have it hooked up to a tractor so I can look underneath it, and then try it out to see if it vibrates any.

The unit looks fairly heavy duty and even has a slipclutch on it, which usually adds about $80-100 bucks to the value. It seems to be better made than the KK units at tractor supply. I don't really want to go up to the $1400 range to get a Bush Hog or Woods unit. Well, he is asking $500 for this one and I think it's well worth it. What do you all think? Good price? Good piece of equipment? Should I call IT and see if they will support it if I need any parts for it??


PS- Disregard the Woods 5' bush hog listed in my sig below. That was a deal that fell through and I can't figure out how to change it.

 

[bky]

I bought a used 5 ft one a few years back for around that price and yes they are heavy duty and heavy. I use mine on a l245dt (24 hp) and am thinking about selling it as it is used on hills and I have a old howse 4 ft with a bad gear box that I might replace.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

International made a very good, heavy unit...I've got the 7 ft (twin tail wheels) and the 5 ft units. Very good machines. I believe the blades are standard size and can be replaced, if necessary with commercially available blades. If it looks good underneath and the gear box has oil, you should be good to go. BobG in VA

 

[greg_g]

I had an IM500 for my 25hp tractor, then traded it for an IM602 when upgrading to a 45hp tractor. Both good sturdy units. Not pretty - but sturdy. Only issue I took with both was the unvented fill plug on the tranny. When the gear oil got hot, the air inside expanded - but had nowhere to go. On both mine, it chose to push past the lower seal. Once I replace the OE cap with a vented cap and power washed the deck, the mower deck has stayed clean ever since.

//greg//

 

[teg]

To edit a signature... Click on "My Home" above (under the green "v" in the photo), then look to the left side to Edit signature (red circle in photo).

 

[Slippy]

I have their 10' cutter. Very well made, no problems and does a pretty good job cutting.

 

[kebo]

Well, I bought the 5ft IM502 mower yesterday and paid $500 for it. Just got it hooked up today and I think it will do just fine! It seems to be a very well made unit, and heavy like some of you pointed out. It'll be growing season before long here in SC and I'm sure I'll get lots of seat time using it. Below are two pictures of it. One of the mower, and one of the slipclutch. I do have a question about the slipclutch.... How can I know it's not froze up? The disks have been exposed to the elements for who knows how long. Is there way to test it without taking it apart to make sure its not froze up?? Thanks!
Keith

Here's the slipclutch. On closer inpection, it looks a little rusty around the edges

 

[whistlepig]

I had one just like this for 25 years. I beat it to death and it never let me down. The mower body and frame work finally gave up from metal fatigue. You can only weld so much. It's not a very heavy mower in weight. The gearbox, stump jumper, and blades sure seem heavy duty enough though.

 

[Slippy]

Nice mower. You should get good use out of it. Good price too.

Make sure you have the correct oil and amount in those gear boxes and grease everything. I always grease everytime I cut. Make sure you grease that tail wheel everytime you mow.

I think there are different schools of thought on the slip clutch. In a perfect world, you should have a manual that gives the tension for the nuts on the slip clutch. I don't suspect you have that, so here is what I would do: First, losen all the bolts. Then using your fingers, tighten them until the spring starts to come in contact with the flange. Then tighten another 1 & 1/2 turns. Then try it. Usually, if the clutch starts to slip you will notice the grass not being cut, and probably noise coming from the clutch. If you run it too long it will start smoking. You want it tight enough that it will transfer the hp from your tractor to the blade, but if it hits something, the clutch should slip like a shock absorber instead of sending the shock into your drive line into the tractor. If it is not tight enough, turn it another 1/2 a turn and test again. Without the specs, it is just a guessing game.

 

[greg_g]

Kebo

The floating toplink bracket is installed backwards. The plate is suppose to go toward the tractor. For pickup/transport, you tighten the adjustable toplink so that the bracket is vertical. When you're ready to mow, you extend the toplink so that bracket is pointing to the rear at about a 45 degree angle. That permits the front of the mower to float, and avoids pulling the tail wheel up off the ground when the tractor front tires dip lower than the rears.

Unless you reversed the tractor into that photo pose, the rear spindle needs grease. When mowing, the wheel should be trailing in the opposite direction.

Assuming you didn't get the operators pamphlet with the mower, here is the slip clutch spring tension chart. Not knowing its history, I highly recommend you disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust before using. I do mine no less than once a year - always in the spring, before first cut.

//greg//