how many hp for cutter

[Debbie Ra]

How many Hp should my tractor have to run a 5' rotary cutter

 

[NSBound]

How many Hp should my tractor have to run a 5' rotary cutter

5 hp per foot seems to be the rule of thumb on here, but you could likely get by with 20-25 hp if the cutting's not too tough.

 

[Debbie Ra]

Thanks

 

[Grandad4]

There is a size/weight element to this, in addition to horsepower. Most people would say a sub-compact tractor (like a Kubota BX series) may have enough horsepower for a 5ft cutter, but the tractor itself is too small and light for a cutter of that size.

 

[lungdoc]

5 hp per foot is a rough rule of thumb but will vary a lot depending on the weight of your cutter and what you are cutting. There are 5 foot cutters that wiegh 3 times more than others - and could outweigh what the hitch can lift. Cutting rough brush is a lot different than cutting grass/hay in a field.

 

[grnspot110]

Just put my OLD JD 5' Gyro mower on the JD 790 (27 HP) today, plenty for weight! I was mowing field edges, mostly brome grass & weeds that hadn't been cut yet this year. No power problems, although it did work it some when I got into some heavy Reed's Canary grass. This is a one day/ year job, so no reason to buy a newer mower when the old Jd was already there! ~~ grnspot110

 

[buck12]

I run a 5' Rhino with a Mahindra 2615 with 26 hp (23 pto hp if I remember correctly). I have cut heavy grass, weeds, and briars/woody vegetation taller than the tractor with no problems. As others have said you must consider hp and weight of the cutter.

 

[CenTex Chris]

Does the 5hp / ft. guideline change for finish mowers? Or should that be the subject of a separate thread. I have a 34hp tractor that delivers 26hp at the PTO. Feels like it cuts through heavy brush nicely with a 5' shredder. Wondering if my finish mower should be 5' or 6' -- not much difference in implement cost; hoping I have the hp for a 6' RFM.

 

[RoyJackson]

Does the 5hp / ft. guideline change for finish mowers? Or should that be the subject of a separate thread. I have a 34hp tractor that delivers 26hp at the PTO. Feels like it cuts through heavy brush nicely with a 5' shredder. Wondering if my finish mower should be 5' or 6' -- not much difference in implement cost; hoping I have the hp for a 6' RFM.

You could easily run a 6' mower with 26 PTO HP. A 5' cutter is also the right size for your Kioti.

There's nothing hard and fast about the 5 HP per foot "rule". My first tractor was 16.5 PTO HP and did a fine job with a 5' cutter. It was slow going though.

 

[mooseracing]

Does the 5hp / ft. guideline change for finish mowers?

I think it is like the brush hogs where we could go on and on.

I think with a finish mower you want more power, not saying 35HP isn't enough for a 5-6ft finish mower but you will notice thick or tall grass, compared to a brush cutter where you will go right through grass that is rubbing the belly of the tractor.

I also want to be able to mow the yard with a little pace, I usually use 3rd low (iirc) is about 2-4mph depending on hills. I don't want to have to crawl.

 

[Soundguy]

ditto what the others said.. the 5hp per foot is a decent rule.. but I have run 5' on 18 pto hp... imho.. the weight is just as important for safety.

soundguy

 

[DK35vince]

Does the 5hp / ft. guideline change for finish mowers? Or should that be the subject of a separate thread. I have a 34hp tractor that delivers 26hp at the PTO. Feels like it cuts through heavy brush nicely with a 5' shredder. Wondering if my finish mower should be 5' or 6' -- not much difference in implement cost; hoping I have the hp for a 6' RFM.

You could easily run a 6' finish mower.
I run a 7' rear finish mower on my 34 HP (28 PTO HP) tractor with no problem at all.

 

[CenTex Chris]

Good deal. Thanks for all of your input guys. Much appreciated!