Just bought 70 acres - now what?
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rockyridgefarm
Elite Member
<font color="brown">
Why avoid the single spindle 7' cutter? </font>
Here is my opinion, your mileage may vary!!
The 7' single cutter takes a ton of power to spin it, and it hangs out real far behind the tractor. And its expensive. Once you are paying this much going bigger makes more sense.
An 8' cutter is two 4' side by side. Each takes a lot less anergy to turn than a 7' single and has a much shorter overhang.
Bush Hog makes a 7' dual which is offset to one side (SQ84T). It is a light duty cutter. It has some fans and some that don't like it at all. I decided that if I found one cheap, I'd love it, but at the full price, I was afraid to try it. But it is a cool idea. No one stocks it near me, and if I ordered it, I had to take it.
My 6' medium duty cutter is doing a great job, and with additional support (horses) is keeping up nicely....
Why avoid the single spindle 7' cutter? </font>
Here is my opinion, your mileage may vary!!
The 7' single cutter takes a ton of power to spin it, and it hangs out real far behind the tractor. And its expensive. Once you are paying this much going bigger makes more sense.
An 8' cutter is two 4' side by side. Each takes a lot less anergy to turn than a 7' single and has a much shorter overhang.
Bush Hog makes a 7' dual which is offset to one side (SQ84T). It is a light duty cutter. It has some fans and some that don't like it at all. I decided that if I found one cheap, I'd love it, but at the full price, I was afraid to try it. But it is a cool idea. No one stocks it near me, and if I ordered it, I had to take it.
My 6' medium duty cutter is doing a great job, and with additional support (horses) is keeping up nicely....
HammerFour
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Is there any "rule of thumb" for estimating the acre / hour cut rate by using a cutter of a given width. For example, what is a reasonable cut rate for a 8 ft mower, 10 ft mower, a 15 ft mower, etc? )</font>
I will take a stab at this, I am a fan of figuring out formulas...I can comfortably cut 1 - 2 acres an hour with our 5 foot rotary cutter. The variables are how rough the fields are, and how tall the grass is. In tall grass or weeds on bumpy ground, figure 1 acre an hour, smooth ground with moderate grass 2 acres an hour.
If you go up to the 15 foot rotary cutter size, I guess you can figure on 4 - 6 acres an hour? You will need a 50 hp or better tractor for that 10 footer and 75 hp or better for the 15 footer.
I now some folks who post on here have some experience with the 15 foot batwings, any comments?
I will take a stab at this, I am a fan of figuring out formulas...I can comfortably cut 1 - 2 acres an hour with our 5 foot rotary cutter. The variables are how rough the fields are, and how tall the grass is. In tall grass or weeds on bumpy ground, figure 1 acre an hour, smooth ground with moderate grass 2 acres an hour.
If you go up to the 15 foot rotary cutter size, I guess you can figure on 4 - 6 acres an hour? You will need a 50 hp or better tractor for that 10 footer and 75 hp or better for the 15 footer.
I now some folks who post on here have some experience with the 15 foot batwings, any comments?
rockyridgefarm
Elite Member
One gotcha is that bigger cutters can lose efficiency due to overlap and maneuvering obstacles...
I seem to remember seeing somewhere a 10' pull-behind could be run on only 30 hp. I was told the higher hp on the smaller one was for the 3ph lift capacity. Maybe one of the sales people here can set me straight.
GaryS
Gold Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot , Pinot Noir, and Reisling)</font>
We're building a house on 7ac and want to plant some grapes too. Where do you buy 'em? Got any tips for a novice?
We're building a house on 7ac and want to plant some grapes too. Where do you buy 'em? Got any tips for a novice?
Wannafish
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This formula, to figure acres/hr requires 2 known values.
They are Actual Cutting Width in feet (CW) and MPH you travel.
Acres/hr =MPH/(8.25/CW)
Thus, 5 MPH with a CW of 7.5' (8' allowing a little overlap) would be expressed as :
Acres/hr = 5/(8.25/7.5)
Acres/hr = 4.55
For those of you who haven't helped your kids with math in a while, remember to do the division in the (parenthesis) first /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
They are Actual Cutting Width in feet (CW) and MPH you travel.
Acres/hr =MPH/(8.25/CW)
Thus, 5 MPH with a CW of 7.5' (8' allowing a little overlap) would be expressed as :
Acres/hr = 5/(8.25/7.5)
Acres/hr = 4.55
For those of you who haven't helped your kids with math in a while, remember to do the division in the (parenthesis) first /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
rockyridgefarm
Elite Member
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rockyridgefarm
Elite Member
Any time I do a job, there is a Performance Factor...