Largest Rotary Cutter used with BX?

[BotaBound]

What is the largest rotary cutter / brush hog have folks used with their BX's..?

I have a friend that has a 'light duty' 60" that I will have access to use with my BX1850... I figure that i would be pushing it but the majority of my field is just tall grasses and thin shrubs...all of it is under 1".

I am not worried about the weight but will i have enough HP to use it..?

Thanks!

 

[Av8r3400]

60" is too much, especially for a BX18xx. 48" would be pushing it if the grass is thick and the brush is 1/4"+ diameter.

Remember, you've only got something like 15 hp at the PTO.

 

[FamilyFarm]

If it is a light weight unit, you might manage to cut with it, but I would not recommend it.
I have the BX22. I have a 4 ft med duty hog, 500 lbs., 45 hp gearbox, 11 ga. thickness. It is a Fred Cain Agri-Cutter model AC-104. It is a perfect match for the BX. I have never had an issue with this combo. It is listed as minimum PTO of 15hp.
The same company makes the model AC-203 that offers a 3ft cut. That is pretty narrow, but goes down to 12hp PTO and weighs only 400 lbs. It appears to be the same durable construction as the one I have - a very tough little cutter.
FWIW,
Terry

 

[Tom_H]

I've heard people say that a LD 60" will work on a BX22, 23, 24, 2200, 2230, or 2350 IF you are cutting just thin hay, no thick grass or saplings.

I have a BX2200 and a HD 40" Gearmore. It is the same width as the tractor (42") and is well suited for manuvering around and between trees on knolls. It cuts saplings up to 2" and grasses up to 8' tall (no exagerating-don't know what it is but it's some wild grass weed that grows by edge of swampy area). The only thing that lugs it down is a really dense broom grass.

I'd recommend you borrow that 60" and try it just so you can get a feel for what your unit can do. That might help you guage how much smaller to go.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Bota,

Unless he has a BX, the PTO shaft maybe too long on the cuttter to use it on the BX, and a new PTO would be needed. You do not want the PTO hitting the rear PTO connection when lifting the cutter.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

weight is the problem, not power. I put a 48" Woods on one and the front end would hop right up off the ground, it was just too heavy. You can use larger sizes, as long as they are light weight.

 

[Highbeam]

On the weight issue... could you not ballast the front end with a loader, a loaded loader, or suitcase weights? Many a tractor has used front end weight to keep the nose down.

So long as you can be certain that the mower will physically attach without hitting anything or sending the PTO shaft up your tractor's hiney, then you have nothing to lose by trying.

I believe that you can use it to mow full width of sparse grasses and am certain that you have enough pto power to mow with a partial overlap.

 

[HomeBrew2]

I'd certainly try it. One thing to be aware of is the PTO engagement on the BX has a hair trigger. If I don't make a real effort to feather the PTO, my 48" hog will literally yank my BX form side to side and badly lug the engine. A little throttle helps but too much is worse. Mine only has 3" x 3/8" blades. The 60" RC may have 4" x 1/2" blades (and obviously ~6" longer) ... that's a lot of mass to get going.
If you get it going ok but you start running out of HP in tall/heavy material, adjust the back so it's 2-3" higher than the front. If you finish mow with it like I do and have the deck about level, don't let the grass get more than ~8" tall and overlap (as noted before).

 

[FamilyFarm]

I made the mistake (in my previous post) of not asking if you have a loader for your tractor. If not, I would not try a larger cutter unless you plan to keep it on the ground at all times just dragging it on the tail wheel. If you have some type of guard on the front of the tractor to mount weights on, you might accomplish getting enough ballast. I have never operated my rotary cutter without the loader attached.
Terry

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

On the weight issue... could you not ballast the front end with a loader, a loaded loader, or suitcase weights? Many a tractor has used front end weight to keep the nose down.

This machine had a loader, and you can't add front weights with it on. Fluid in the front tires would help some.

 

[BotaBound]

Thanks to all for the replies and info.

I do have a FEL that i would use when using the rotary cutter.

I didn't bother getting front weights. I plan on filling the tires and worse case loading some ballast in the FEL if i am still a little light when i use it.

 

[Highbeam]

There you go, 5-80 lb sacks of redimix concrete in the bucket will keep the nose down. I suppose a big scoop of wet sand would do it too.

 

[Av8r3400]

I hope you like your dealer, Botabound. I see a bunch of your money going to them soon to either fix your tractor or replace it.

 

[HomeBrew2]

I hope you like your dealer, Botabound. I see a bunch of your money going to them soon to either fix your tractor or replace it.

Any chance you could quantify or at least qualify the underlying premise of your comment? My curiousity stems from a long list of "things a BX can't do" from folks that don't [currently] own one but, an even longer list of BX owners that have actually done most of those things with many hundreds of hours and no probs. But, one never knows. I think this is new territory. Maybe you have info that could save us BX owners from future probs.

 

[Renob]

My .02.

I have a 60" Bush Hog Razerback light duty rotary cutter that I use with my BX24. and used previously with a BX2230 and an International 300 before that.

It is used to cut an old hay field that is approx. 6 acres. It is fairly smooth rolling land. The tractor does an outstanding job, never bogging in very thick, tall weeds/grasses/brush.

Blades sharp, loader on, no problems.

For this intended use this combo does a great job.

Can a larger, more powerful machine cut Faster, sure.... Would I reccomend this combo to clear rough land of small trees and heavy unknown brush?....Nope.

Can anyone destroy a tractor by being ignorant or foolish? You bet.

That's why this forum is so valuable. You can learn from others expeience.... as long as they actually have that experience.

 

[Av8r3400]

Homebrew - as an owner of a BX2230, I am confident in my statement.

I tried a 60" brush cutter on my tractor. Yes, it would spin. The lack of a clutch peddel to "feather" in the ingagement was a problem, which I believe would have lead to at least premature wear of the PTO mechanism if not failure. Anything larger than 12" high grass would bog the motor (from PTO speed - wide open) and cause much laboring of the tractor, traveling slowly in low range. I don't believe that any heavier material would have been cuttable. That was with 19 PTO hp. A BX18xx has 15 at the most.

Will it work at all? Sure. Will it last long? I doubt it. There is a huge difference between a 48" and a 60" brush cutter. The BX is a very capable little machine, I never said otherwise. This is asking too much of the unit in my opinion.

Similar to the statements like, "My 1/2 ton pickup will haul a 20,000 lb trailer." Sure it will, once or twice.

 

[Renob]

AV8R,

I would never discount your experience as untrue.

I must have a Super Bush Hog or Magnum BX because my experience is the opposite.

I usually wait until the field is "dog high"...which is when I can't see the Chesapeake Bay Retriever anymore, to cut. Always 3' plus. Sometime it is over my head. 6' plus. I certainly don't go fast by any means. Probably set the cruise at 2-3 mph. Never had a problem..

All I can guess.. and thats all that it is... perhaps the cutter you used had dull blades, wasn't set up properly (angle of cutter front to rear), in disrepair or a combination of two or all.

As for engagement of the PTO. I set the RPM at 16-1800, feather the lever and find engagement perhaps a bit more abrupt than the MMM. Never so violent that damage may be done to the tractor.

I don't experience any stress on the machine and would not compare use of this cutter to your "My 1/2 ton pickup will haul a 20,000 lb trailer." analogy.