King Kutter 5' rough cut opinons?

[kenmac]

I bought a L.M.C. built here in al. They build several models.Light duty cut, med. duty cut & heavy duty cut - slip clutch & without.. I bought the 5 ft.med. duty for around $500.00 a while back .I have had no problems with the cutter .

 

[johnk]

I have a 5' KK and I probably have 30 hours on it. No problems so far and the price was great. I haven't used any of the others so I have nothing to compare to. Works good for me...

 

[Soundguy]

I have a red KK 5' rotary mower.. 40hp gearbox.. I ran it behind a Nh 1920.. which will tote a 6' mower. I used it to cut my 10ac pasture for 4.5ys before i upgraded to a larger mower and tractor. I cut 2" green material many times... I also cut many mole and ant hills, rocks, and burrid lumber.. wound up many feet of 'unused' fencing, and found every horseshow my horse ever threw out int he pasture.

Gearbox is nice and tight.. oem blades still look good. Pto shaft cover is showing some wear, but still works fine.

It's probably sheared a couple boxes of shear bolts in it's life... yoke is holding up good.. no egging at the shear bolt hole...

I paid? about 500$ or so for mine back in 2000 when i bought it. i had one of those % off cupons, and got 0% interest for 6mo by using the tsc credit card. I paid it off in 5 mo.. so no interest..

I got rid of the 1920.. but the 5' kk still sets inthe pasture.. I use it with an old 8n for light pasture maintenance, in places i can't get my 10' or 15' mower... like in corners, and real close to trees and neighbor's fences ( long story.. )

It's no schulte or bushhog.. but then.. it cost 1/2 to 1/3 of those brands too...

Soundguy

Any opinions on this from owners (be used behind a Kubota L3130 HST)? Primarily for maintaining some small pastures but potentially for clearing older growth for new plots so at worst and on rare occasion, it would need to handle 1-2" saplings. Pastures are trash free. Basically, is it worth $650?? I realize that's a good bit less than other brands but I doubt it'll get a lot of use. Tractor Supply Company - ROTARY CUTTERS
Thanks in advance.
Phil

 

[JoeinTX]

I want to add this.

Ultimately, it comes down to who can provide support for you. If you've got a TSC in town and the Northern Tool is 200 miles away, well, that can make the decision for you and vice versa. I have both within 15 mintues so no big deal.

Looking at each:

Howse-
-It was better finished and more uniform. The paint job was better......seemed that more time was put into actually producing it.
-Looking underneath, the blade pan or "stump jumper" was a perfectly machined piece......round, smooth.
-The Howse is lighter, but only around 30 lbs or so. To compare the two side-by-side the KK would seem at first sight to be much heavier than that.
-The top link has a slotted area allowing some play up and down when in use. Simple.
-The Howse is lipped and ready for the all-necessary chain guard installation which is easily bought for install from the company.
-Along these lines, the lipping on the Howse provides diagonal strength. Compare a new Howse and a new KK from the front and it's likely you'll find the KK to sag somewhat. The Howse does not.

KK-
- seemed to have more steel on it and was cheaper new.
-Underneath, the stump jumper was loosely pressed looking like a Coke bottle cap but not uniform.....some edges were higher than the others and looked a little slapped-together.
-The KK is heavier, but not so much as it might look.
-The KK has a swinging top-link attachment which has more pieces and has a tendancy to bind.
-The KK is not lipped.
-This lack of lateral support allows the KK to sag along the middle. It may make no difference in operation, but it was something I noticed while looking at it and the competition.


On top of all, I've received more response from the Howse company in past communications than I have from the KK company.

Once again, all personal experience and others may have a different story to tell, but, I have had zero issue with Howse as a company or the product they offer and will buy from them in the future without any real concern. KK may be just as well, but I know what I've had and am happy with ti...

 

[GEB]

I've been using a 5ft Howse for the last 3 summers.
I have had to cut some heavy stuff 1-2in and it has held up well.
My PTO hp is surely more than rated for the Howse.
I think the 5ft is rated at 35hp or less?
My PTO hp is around 45hp at 2600rpm.
My tractor has 2 PTO speeds 540-1000.
I have been running in the 1000 range at about 1500 rpm's works well for me.
This cuts down on the hp goin to the cutter and is much less wear on my tractor. I would think running at 1500rpm gives me around low 20 PTO hp?
I cant speak for the rest but the Howse was money well spent.
Gene

 

[Soundguy]

For non comercial work.. and light/medium duty work.. I think the economy mowers like howse and KK should do fine. Along with my economy 5' kk.. I have a 10' howse. By far, it is probably the cheapest 10' mower you can get.

I ran it with a 95 hp tractor for a couple years before i relegated it to a smaller 70 hp tractor when I got my 15' mower.

The 10' howse never missed a lick.

Soundguy

 

[johnk]

It seems as though TSC stores are going up all around me. I have 2 within 30miles and they are building a new one about 5 miles from me. Thats not a good thing......At least not for my wife. Everytime I go in one I plunk down money for something...Sure adds to the fun of doing things..

 

[GEB]

TSC I had to travel 65 miles, they just built one 30 miles away
The Farm & Fleet which is 15 miles aint much more than a Wal-mart now days?

 

[johnk]

We used to have Farm and Fleets around about 7 years ago but they were replaced by TSC or so it seems.

 

[CDsdad]

Howse has a good 5' unit from what I've seen with my father's. Have no experience with KK. I have a Bushhog SQ600, cost $200 more than Dad's Howse but is heavier with heavier gearbox and slipclutch also. Might want to look at those also. Mine handles 2" stuff well even though it's pushing it according to specs.

 

[GeauxLSU]

OK, then maybe this should be a new thread but let me ask a more general question.
What is the best 5' rough cut with slip clutch for under $1,000?

Thanks in advance...

 

[bjr]

I use a RZ600 Bushog mowed a old vineyard got some wire tangled up and mowed over some old wood posts wore out a set of blades and sheared a shear bolt. Got the job done though. I think shear bolts work just fine and are cheaper. Just use the non hardened grade two's though. bjr

 

[montanaman]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned about the Howse is that I have been told they use a non-standard drive line. Can't even remember the conversation but I recall someone telling me they had a hard time getting universal joints for it? Seems they use a strange brand and they had to go back to Howse to get them?? If anyone knows more about this, I'd appreciate reading it as I don't want to be stating something that isn't true.

Keep in mind that MOST economy cutters have a drive line made in Europe and a gear box made in China. For that reason, I would look at weight and build quality.

I have a 5' KK because it is something that I don't use that much. I don't think I treat it with any love at all and if I can knock something over with it, I cut it up. That being said, I have yet to snap a shear bolt on it and other than it sitting outside, it is as new. I bought it years back at 30% off when Quality Farm and Fleet was going out.

With the way I feel that I use it pretty rough, it really makes me wonder how other people can bust things up so badly??

My biggest beef about the KK is that it seems to be way out of balance and it shakes a lot. Has been this way from day one so it isn't from by abuse.

Ken

 

[BTDT]

My biggest beef about the KK is that it seems to be way out of balance and it shakes a lot. Has been this way from day one so it isn't from by abuse.


Are your blades free to swivel on the stumpjumper. Sometimes one will bind up, and that will make for a lot of vibration?

 

[DK35vince]

Are your blades free to swivel on the stumpjumper. Sometimes one will bind up, and that will make for a lot of vibration?

My 6' King Kutter would vibrate bad most of the time when I first got the cutter.
That was my problem, the blades were not swinging freely enough on the stump jumper. I oiled the blades several times where they swing on the stumpjumper to free them up.
No problems with vibration since. Once the cutter gets up to speed it smooths right out..