Mowing Farm Pro 5' Finish Mower

[DavidBradley]

Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

In the deal with the purchase of my 2420, I got a 5' FP finish mower. I have mowed 1 acre twice, (every where else is to muddy) and it seems to work very well. With the exception of the "A" frame assembly. Every time I lift the mower, one or the other of the "A" frame arms bends. Now I am new to tractors period. I have asked a couple of friends who know tractors to check it and see what was wrong. They had no suggestions other than the arms seemed a little bit light for the load. (I can bend them back in shape in vise by hand with no heat applied). Does any one else have this mower? Any Suggestions. I thought about welding a stiffner to each of the arms, but I am a little leary of this, in case something is in a bind, and whatever it is will break if the "A" frame is made stronger. Your help and comments appreciated.

Dave

 

[greg_g]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Every time I lift the mower, one or the other of the "A" frame arms bends. )</font>
I haven't got one of these David, so I'm not quite sure what you're referring to as the "A-frame". Assuming it's the three point hitch lift points, it sounds more like a tractor problem than a mower problem. If one side or another is bending upon lift, it would suggest the tractor's lower lift arms are not working together. Or else the height adjusters are mismatched, to where the load is not being lifted straight up - then overbalances.

You DO have the toplink connected, don't you? Maybe it just needs to be tightened up more.

//greg//

 

[SHIFTY]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

Im not sure if their is a pivit point on top of the "a frame ", This is where the top link connects and it is used to allow the deck to float, Sometimes theise are installed upside down during assemble,Please post a photo of the top mounting point for all to review,another possiballity is that your top link is set too long

 

[SPIKER]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

NOT SURE WHY it is bending when LIFTING, maybe it is bending while mowing and you are not noticing it? reason I asked was one I looked at had/has no real way of leting the deck FLOAT and FOLLOW the terraine if the top link is installed tight... a finish mower needs this to float or else it will lift the mowers wheels up at one point or the other flat opposed to rollong OVER the terraine level. I use mine with NO top link hooked up. (it is import but a bit different from the FP version.) now this is dangerous too... as then you can catch something with the front and drag the mower up off the ground damaging the PTO shaft and possably flipping the mower up onto its front and into the back of the tractor. (I did soemthing nearly that bad but luckly I stopped in time as a frost heave lifted an old stump which I proceeded to catch with the mower.. no major damage but to the belt broke when it fell back down, I was lucky.) Others suggest using a CHAIN and a PIPE as a 3pt mount. this lets the mower roll up and down 3~4" front to back tilt. the pipe limits front down travel while the chain limits back down travel. chain is run THROUGH the pipe and hooks ridged to the upper 3pt mount and to the mower top link mount... what you would see is a pipe with a bit of chain hanging out each end of the pipe use a D ring to hook up to each end... 3~4 links loose hanging is plenty I would suggest 1/4 or 5/16 chain and 2" pipe min. better for 3/8" chain and 2.5" pipe heavy wall.

does you mower have those cheap wheels on it? mine are junk and worst thing on the mower rest is good after replacing the import blades with bigbee gator blades. I have replaced wheels about 3 timess (harbor freight casters are 7~8 bucks for wheel tire combo. and not worth filling becasue it costs 15 to fill one tire. and then the rim breaks. so unless you can weld and FIT the cheap hubs with some blanks then buy GOOD replacements or just opt for the bargain chepies.)


Mark M

 

[DavidBradley]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

Shifty, here is a picture of the mower, the part that is bending is the two black pieces (inverted V) where in the picture the drive shaft (yellow) goes under. When it stops raining, I will try to take some pictures of the actual mower hooked up to the tractor. Also I will check the arms to see if both are coming up even. The "A" frame arms are bending without the tractor moving, that is I have straighten them, re-attached, raised the mower, and they are bent. I talked to customer service today, but was talking to the tractor rep about other issues, and he did not have much info on the mower. Did not get a chance to talk to the implement rep, too many cell phone dead spots where I was. Thanks in advance for yours and others help.

 

[greg_g]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

Not that they couldn't use stouter steel to begin with, but I'd say your problem is not with the mower itself - but with the length at which you have your toplink set. When the mower's on the ground at it's normal operating height, there must be some "play" (slack) in the toplink to permit the mower to "float" through dips and rises in the mowed surface.

//greg//

 

[hammbone77]

Re: Farm Pro 5\' Finish Mower

Do you have any pictures of it?

 

[katoomed00]

Does yours have the horseshoe looking piece between the 2 A frame bars? You install the top link to it and leave slack in it, it will pivot to compensate for all the bouncing around between the tractor and mower. preventing the bars from bending, you will notice the jerking between the tractor and mower much smoother. In fact at times where I have a lot of grass to cut and won't need to lift the mower completely off the ground, I 'll leave the top link off.



http://static.fastline.com/assets/item/085/107/b2d08414-8da7-418f-a691-cac720d21b84.jpg

 

[RonMar]

David by your picture It looks as if your mower design uses a section of chain and a metal strap between the top link attach point and the rear of the mower to allow the deck to flex over terrain. My brush mower uses a similar configuration. I have bent my A frame by hanging the mower up on stumps and such and pulling/twisting the A frame, but not while lifting.

First question for you would be what is the vertical distance between the lower lift pins and the top link attach point on that A frame? This distance should be similar to the distance between where your 3PH lift arms are attached to the tractor and the pin where the top link attaches to the tractor.

Second, how long is your top link? It should be about the same length as the tractor lift arms.

Third, Rigged properly, this mower should NOT stay horizontal when you lift the 3PH. It should lift at the front, and full lift height on the 3PH should just barely get the rear guide wheels in the air. Rigged like this the mower then has the flexibility to angle up and down over terrain for a more even cut when mowing. I could see a situation possibly occurring if you have it rigged to lift level. To do this might require a VERY short top link which might cause you to bind and bend the A frame when lifting.

Pics of the mower attached to the tractor will help us solve this...

 

[Bob Rooks]

WOW! This thread is 13 years old :biggrin:. RIP Greg.