INFORMATION ON HOOKING UP A BRUSHOG

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

I HAVE BEEN READING THOSE TOPICS IN THIS WEB SITE RELATING TO HOW EVERY BODY HOOKS UP THERE BRUSHOG AND HAVE LEARNED SOME. I HAVE A NORTRAC 254 TRACTOR AND A KINGKUTTER 5 FT. CUTTER.TO BEGIN WITH I HAVE NO REAR TIRE CLEARENCE PROBLEMS AND CAN PICK IT [FRONT FROM GROUND OVER A FOOT IF I WANT,PINS ON OUTSIDE,LOWER ARMS ADJUSTED AS PER MY BLADE.MY QUESTION IS,IF I CAN EXPLAIN IT,HOW DO YOU ALL ADJUST YOUR HEIGHT?I HAVE HEARD MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. FIRST OFF THE BOOK FOR THE TRACTOR REALLY DID NOT ADDRESS THIS,SECOND THE KINGKUTTER BOOK DID NOT GO INTO MUCH DETAIL EITHER. I FIGURED YOU USE FLOAT ON YOUR ADJUSTMENT LEVER,PUSH IT ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND WAS CONFIRMED OF THIS BY A FARM IMPLEMENT DEALER WHO SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. HE SAID HE JUST PUT HER ON FLOAT AND KEPT THE MOWER BASICALLY LEVEL WITH THE REAR WHEEL AND DROVE ON. HE SAID IT MIGHT LEAVE A COUPLE OF LITTLE RUTS HERE AND THERE WHERE THE SIDES OF THE CHANNEL RODE ALONG THE GROUND, BUT NO BIG DEAL ACCORDING TO HIM. I TRIED THIS TODAY AND THE GROUND IS A LITTLE WET, BUT BIG GOUGES AND THE SLIGHTEST RISE YOU SCALPED IT. SO MY NEXT THEORY WAS TO BASICALLY DO WHAT I'VE BEEN READING ON HERE: SET THE FRONT END 2-3 INCHES HIGH WITH THE POSITION CONTROL, MAKE THE REAR END A LITTLE HIGHER THAN THAT. I TRIED THAT WAY AND I DIDN'T DRAG THE GROUND, BUT MOST THE TIME THE REAR WHEEL (REAR WHEEL ON THE CUTTER) WAS OFF THE GROUND AND YOU HAD TO CONTINUALLY TRY, AND I'M SAYING TRY BECAUSE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO DO, ADJUST THE POSITION OF THE BRUSH HOG WITH THE HEIGHT CONTROL LIFT, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. SO, AFTER ALL THIS, MY QUESTION IS: DO YOU THINK I'LL HURT ANYTHING BY DOING IT THE WAY I DID DO IT WHICH WORKED OUT BEAUTIFULLY? THIS WAS ON LIGHT BROOM SAGE GRASS, JUST PLAYING AROUND. I ADJUSTED IT BY PUTTING IT ON FLOAT AND IF YOU DO THIS THE FRONT END OF THE BRUSH HOG WILL HIT THE GROUND. I SOLVED THAT PROBLEM BY ADJUSTING THE TOP LINK OUT (LONGER) WHICH RAISES THE FRONT END OF THE BRUSH HOG WHEN IT IS ON FLOAT. I RAISED THE FRONT END OF THE BRUSH HOG IN THIS MANNER TO ABOUT 1 3/4 INCHES. THE TAIL WHEEL HOLDS THE REAR OF THE MOWER UP, IT'S BASICALLY LEVEL RIGHT NOW, REAR SLIGHTLY HIGHER. THIS WORKED GOOD. MY ONLY CONCERN IS, AFTER READING ABOUT PUTTING CHAINS ON INSTEAD OF USING THE TOP LINK, ETC., BREAKING SOMETHING, MAINLY THE TOP LINK OR TOP LINK CONNECTIONS. BUT AS ONE WAY WON'T WORK, UNLESS YOU WANT TO PLOW THE GROUND, AND ONE WAY FOR SHORT PASTURE GRASS AND WEEDS WOULD BE A PAIN IN THE [censored]. THANK YOU ALL FOR ANY HELP YOU MAY GIVE ME ON THIS, OR JUST OPINIONS.

rdbrumfield · Jan 8, 2003

I have had several different tractors and this float thing on the 3pt is something that I've never heard of.
To keep from tearing up the ground I use the lift arms to regulate height. I also welded on a 4 inch shoe on the front of either side so it wouldn't dig in so bad. If I weren't in rough ground so much I think I would put a wheel up front on both corners.
Does you mower have a link that swivels where it hooks up to the top link? See att. If not, using a chain for a top link is a good idea.
Without the swivel or chain, the tire of the mower is packing the weight of the mower and anytime the tractor goes into over a hump or hole it will affect the mower to a much greater degree.

BillyP · Jan 8, 2003

Adjust your tail wheel where you'll have plenty of ground clearance at the rear of the cutter. With the 3pth control, adjust the front of the cutter so it's about 1" lower than the rear. If you have an adjustable stop on your 3pth control, slide it up to the lever so when you raise and lower the cutter, it'll stop at the right place.

Billy

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

thankyou for the picture,no my new kingkutter did not come with one of those top swivels but after reading some other related topics i am not sure if they work on some situations. i e-mailed kingkutter about thi and havn't heard from them.i may try and call them or a place that sells parts. thankyou richard

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

that is my point, the raising and lowering by using postion control instead of float.now if you were cutting brush and not tall grass and weeds that would pobably be the best way to cut,or if your ground was very flat and even. i guess if you cut it very high you would be high enough tomiss some humps.

BillyP · Jan 8, 2003

The shorter you cut the grass, the better chance of the cutter dragging. You'll just have to play with the adjustments until you get a hiegth you can live with. If you have float control, you don't need to use it with a cutter. Float control is used with ground emplements like plows.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

thanks billy for the infomation,and you are pobably right but.......my main concern was by doing it the way i did today which was on pretty level ground,could i be doing something so wrong that i am lucky i did not break some thing today,if you have never done something before some times that happens.the way i did it worked very well[today],it was almost like that was what the top link was for,after all that is how you adjust the cutting angle of ablade when its on float or do i have that wrong also?also i have some steep hills and by using float all the weight [i think],is on the mower wheel which seems to me like a good idea when mowing up a hill? i am going to mow a trail[i think] on some heavier stuff soon that will tell me a few things and hopefully some things ididn't wan to hear.does anybody use it thi way?or has any body tried it this way? thanks again ,richard

BillyP · Jan 8, 2003

I'm sorry Richard. I got float and draft control mixed up. It's draft control you don't need to use with a cutter. Most CUTs don't have this option anyway

BillyP · Jan 8, 2003

I think I read where your cutter doesn't have the swivel connection where the top link attaches? That is most likely your problem. Try not hooking the top link up at all and see if it still drags. The only real purpose for the top link with a cutter is to raise the back for transport.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

BILLY,ITHINK IF YOU TOOK THE TOP LINK OFF THE BOTTOM FRONT WOULD DRAG BUT I'LL CHECK ON IT. TODAY THERE IS A POSTING CALLED CHECK CHAINS AND ON IT THERE IS AN ATTACHMENT PICTURE OF SOME CHAINS FROM TRACTOR TO PINS ON BRUSHOG WHICH COULD BE WHAT I NEED TO DO THAN I COULD LIFT IT ALSO.THANKS RICHARD

BillyP · Jan 8, 2003

Yes Richard, if you don't have the swivel for the top link, you need one or chains (if you plan on lifting the cutter for transport). As far as the cutter dragging the ground without the top link, the rockshafts will hold the cutter up. The only two adjuctments for heigth are the tail wheel and the rockshafts. The tail wheel adjusts the back (done first), then the 3pth control adjusts the front.

Bird · Jan 9, 2003

Trial and error, Richard, trial and error until you find out what works best for you./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Different rotary cutters have different designs for the top link. I've never used a chain in place of the top link on the tractor, but in 1995, I bought a new Bush Hog Squealer that had a chain from the top of the "A" frame to the rear of the deck (bottom legs of the "A" frame could swivel on those two bolts). That was what allowed basically the same movement as using a chain for a top link on the tractor. I'm not sure I've been able to describe it so you can imagine what it looked like, and Bush Hog no longer uses that system; they now have the two metal straps from the top of the "A" frame to the rear of the deck. My 1999 Bush Hog finish mower had the top link swivel as shown in the picture someone else has posted. And my 1999 Howse 500 rotary cutter had slots instead of round holes for the top link to attach to. The Howse manual recommended using the "float" position on the three point. I tried it; it works, but it seemed to me that puts a considerable compression stress on the tractor's top link as well as the metal braces from the "A" frame to the rear of the deck on the rotary cutter. And I eventually settled for merely adjusting the rear wheel height to what I wanted, then setting the front height level, or slightly lower, with the 3-point hitch, with the top link adjusted so there was no stress or tension in either direction on level ground. And now I'm not at all sure you can understand what I've described without pictures./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

BB_TX · Jan 9, 2003

Like Bird, I use a Howse (6'). I set the rear wheel at the height I wanted and lift the front so that the deck is about level. Most of my pasture is fairly flat and it does a good job. Picture attached.

Bird · Jan 9, 2003

Yep, worked well, and while I don't have a picture of the hookup, I do have this little picture.

Soundguy · Jan 9, 2003

You will probably need to adjust your tail wheel down a bit, and sounds like you may need to lengthen your toplink just a tad if your tail comes off the ground alot. Also, many of these brushcutters have a slightly moveable ( pivotable? ) area for the toplink to connect to.. in other words, it is not a rigid connection.. there is usually 3-4" of play to let the cutter conform to the terain without being stiff against the tractor constantly. This will also help with the tail off the ground problem a bit.

As for cutting, there are many techniques that deal with how the cutter is angled.

Generally rear higher than front gives you a lower cut, while front higher than rear gives you more mulched debri, and less big chunks of material.. possible a better looking cut..

soundguy

djradz · Jan 9, 2003

The attached pic uses the check chains setup in combination with a flexible top link on the cutter. My mower is shown but my brush hog has the exact same setup except without the small turnbuckles for fine adjustment. Note that the top link on the cutter does swivel, much like the picture from rdbrumfield. Others have replaced the tractor top link with a chain, and that's where you've heard some folks get concerned. I know I'm a little bit biased, but after trying all the different methods, none come close to the level cut you get with the check chain setup. No gouging and no constant adjustment. KK does sell many hogs with the flexible link, so see your dealer or just have someone fab one up for you. I guarantee, yes guarantee, you won't be disapointed.

djradz · Jan 9, 2003

I probably should have added that the lower arm control is set all the way down, but as you can see the chains support the front of the deck. This setup keeps the deck riding fairly constant with the rear tractor tires, but without the bouncing, lifting and falling that would occur by using the lower arms by themselves to set level.

WSchubert · Jan 9, 2003

I purchased a brush cutter last fall and looked at the kingkutter. It, like a lot of the less expensive cutters, does not have a swival, but instead has an oval shaped hole the top link attaches to. This does give the top link some room to move, but not nearly as much as the swival.

trailertrash · Jan 9, 2003

here's a little something you might read,some darn good advice in here.

http://www.ytmag.com/articles/artint57.htm

Soundguy · Jan 9, 2003

I'm surprised... I knought a 5' KK just last year and mine came with the swivel... though I did see some blue ones over to the side with the oval cut you mention.

Soundguy