Kubota 2501 bush hog question

[Kyfabco]

I just bought a Bush Hog brand bush hog model 285.
* the bush hog is a 5’ will the 2501 handle this ?
* The 285 bush hog weighs 785 pounds.
Gearbox rated I believe 120hp. My Kubota is far less than that. I assume all 5’ bush hogs will work with the 2501?

 

[dirttoys]

I just bought a Bush Hog brand bush hog model 285.
* the bush hog is a 5’ will the 2501 handle this ?
* The 285 bush hog weighs 785 pounds.
Gearbox rated I believe 120hp. My Kubota is far less than that. I assume all 5’ bush hogs will work with the 2501?

Good heavy gear box, good rule of thumb: 5 PTO horse power per foot of rotary mower.

Best,

ed

 

[RickB]

As long as you have sufficient front ballast (such as a loader) you will be fine. A 285 is a great cutter. We sell several dozen L2501's each year. Every one that sells with a rotary cutter is sold with a 5' unit.

 

[jeff9366]

My Kubota is far less than that. I assume all 5’ bush hogs will work with the 2501?

Heavy duty Bush Hogs 60" wide weigh over 1,000 pounds, which extends far to the rear of the Three Point Hitch. A Bush Hog of 1,000+ pounds may leverage your tractor's front wheels off the ground on even gentle uphill slopes.

Rotary Mowers, like other implements, come in Light Duty, Medium Duty and Heavy Duty models. Generally speaking, there is 150 pounds of weight difference assoicoated with heavier increments. If you carefully study new mower specs, most have Category 3 drive lines. Heavy Duty models have Category 4 drive lines. Dealers often refer to HD Category 4 mowers as "Right-of-Way" Mowers.


25 horsepower will power a Light Duty 5' Rotary Mower
- grass only

35 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 5' Rotary Mower
- grass and brush, even dense brush to 2"



35 horsepower will power a Light Duty 6' Rotary Mower
- grass only

45 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 6' Rotary Mower
- grass and brush, even dense brush to 2"

 

[rademamj1]

For the Kubota 2501, I would only go with light or medium duty 5' rotary cutter. I have a 5' heavy duty cutter weighing 1100lbs, and my CK4010 struggles, especially in the heat of the summer. So I can just imagine a 2501 will be prone to such struggles too.

 

[diesel85]

Yeah, ballast is key. I've used my Woodmaxx FM-62 flail mower which weighs 650lbs without the loader, and I can certainly notice the front a little light. I can still run it without a loader, but I do notice it slightly, more so if I raise it up too quick.

Depending on what you are doing, if you are mowing tall grass with small saplings, you might want to look at a flail mower. They literally pulverize the clippings like a blender, and it distributes the clippings evenly. On some of them you can open the rear baffle to do less mulching if you machine is bogging down if you are cutting very thick grasses.

I just used mine today to mow my field and the machine just does such a nice job. The striping looks very, very nice.

 

[RickB]

My Kubota is far less than that. I assume all 5’ bush hogs will work with the 2501?

Heavy duty Bush Hogs 60" wide weigh over 1,000 pounds, which extends far to the rear of the Three Point Hitch. A Bush Hog of 1,000+ pounds may leverage your tractor's front wheels off the ground on even gentle uphill slopes.


25 horsepower will power a Light Duty 5' Rotary Mower
35 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 5' Rotary Mower

35 horsepower will power a Light Duty 6' Rotary Mower
45 horsepower will power a Heavy Duty 6' Rotary Mower

Above assumes dry 30" tall grass.

A 5' rotary cutter cutting 30" dry grass (your choice) at a given speed will have essentially the same hp demand no matter whether it is a light, medium or heavy duty cutter.
Rotary cutter horsepower requirements are relevant only to the material being cut and the desired travel speed. Light, medium and heavy duty cutters will require different minimum weight tractors, especially minimum front ballast. They don't necessarily require different hp levels to cut the same materials at the same speeds.
The cutter in question weighs 785 lbs and the OP will be fine with it so long as he has a FEL installed. A heavy duty 5' cutter won't extend any further back from the tractor than a light duty 5' cutter.
An L2501 will lift 1900+ Lbs at the draft link ends and nearly 1400 Lbs 24" back from the link ends. The COM of the BH285 will be less than 36" from the draft link balls.

 

[s219]

Should be fine. I run a 6' on my L3200, which is basically the same tractor as you with a little more HP.

 

[jeff9366]

A 5' rotary cutter cutting 30" dry grass (your choice) at a given speed will have essentially the same hp demand no matter whether it is a light, medium or heavy duty cutter.
Rotary cutter horsepower requirements are relevant only to the material being cut and the desired travel speed. Light, medium and heavy duty cutters will require different minimum weight tractors, especially minimum front ballast. They don't necessarily require different hp levels to cut the same materials at the same speeds.

You are correct. I did not have my brain fully engaged when typing.
I revised Post #4.

 

[RickB]

I have yet to field a complaint from any L2501 owner suggesting that their tractor is underpowered running a 5' rotary cutter. I'm sure we have sold nearly 75 L2501's in my time at this dealership.

Since the OP already bought the 285 I hope he reports his experiences with it.