Mowing MOWING IN HIGH GEAR RANGE

[BILLMAN]

I JUST MOWED FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH MY NEW B7500 AND KK 60" MOWER. WHEN I COME UP THE HILL IN THE BACK OF MY PROPERTY I LOSE A FEW HUNDRED RPM AND GROUND SPEED. SHOULD I BE MOWING IN HIGH RANGE ? (LOW RANGE IS JUST SO SLOW) SHIFT TO LOW RANGE ON THE HILL ? IS IT DETRIMENTAL TO "FEATHER " THE HYDRO PEDAL TO KEEP THE RPM'S UP? AM I MAKING ANY SENSE? OPINIONS APPRECIATED...

B7500 HYDRO
60" 3PT. REAR MOWER

 

[looch]

What exactly do you mean by feathering the hydro pedal? The way I'm interpreting it, it sounds like you have the pedal to the floor all the time. You're supposed to only use as much "pedal" as you need.

 

[BILLMAN]

YOUR RIGHT, I ATTEMPT TO MOW IN HIGH RANGE W/ THE HYDRO PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. BUT, WHEN GOING UP THE HILL, I AM FORCED TO LET UP ON THE PEDAL. EVEN WHEN LETTING UP ON THE PEDAL AND SLOWING CONSIDERABLY I STILL LOSE A FEW HUNDRED RPM'S WHILE GOING UP HILL. MY QUESTION IS.. IS IT OK TO MOW IN HIGH GEAR AND LOSE A FEW HUNDRED RPM'S OR SHOULD I BE IN LOW GEAR. I THINK THE PROBLEM IS THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW A HYDRO WORKS. IF I LUG UP THE HILL AM I CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRACTOR? WEARING A CLUTCH ? I APOLOGIZE FOR MY IGNORANCE BUT, THATS WHY I'M ASKING FOR ADVISE FROM THE EXPERTS. (BY LUGGING, I MEAN LOSING ABOUT 200RPM)

 

[theboman]

How big is this hill?
How tall is the grass?
Are you getting RPMs up to 2400 to begin with? That little mark on the tach is where you should be at minimum.

 

[r0GuE]

A lot of people say that you should mow in low range because the gear (low gear) is bigger than the high gear and therefore you have more surface contact and less wear on the transmission. I have decided to do so based on that advice. However; I must admit, there are sections I could quickly clean up if I had it in high gear. I also have slightly bumpy terrain which causes bucking and the eventual (Bota-Constrictor Seat Belt!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif.
Back off on the hydro peddal until it doesn't lug so bad, or shift to low. (I'd go low)

 

[theboman]

Another thing is to make sure you don't mow with the parking break set. It happens a lot.

 

[chrisjbell]

I mow about 6 acres that has no livestock and is irrigated (I play the "green grass look nice" vs. "then I'll have to mow" game a lot). But in the spring I have no choice and have 3 - 6 foot weeds out there.

I always mow in L, for a number of reasons:

1.) I have lots of steep hills. Hit a bump going faster on flat, and you bounce. Hit a high-side bump on a hill and the faster you're going the more likely it will be that you'll tip.

2.) Long grass bogs down the brush hog. I also find that even when I'm in L that certain types of grass will get "swept", rather than mowed, if I go too fast. Patience helps make for a better looking cut.

3.) OK, I'll admit it. I don't have the horsepower a lot of the time and I get the same symptoms described earlier. The revs will start to drop. Letting them go down a 100 or 200 RPM doesn't seem to hurt, but once they hit a certain point the motor starts to really bog down.

But if you're on flat, have the power, and are happy with the way it turns out, put the pedal down and keep it there. It shouldn't do more than bang things around a bit more.

...Chris

 

[skent]

What size brush hog do you use?

I have a B7300 also and am thinking of getting one - not sure of which size.

 

[MarkV]

Billman,

You cannot think of the Hydro pedal as an accelerator. You need to think of it as a gear selector. As you let up on the pedal you are creating a lower gear ratio and will keep your RPM’s in the range you want. I don’t know if you should mow in low or high range and suspect it depends on what you are mowing. If the majority of your mowing does not lug the engine in high I would think you are OK. Next time you hit that hill, back way off on the Hydro pedal and see if you can’t keep the RPM’s at PTO speed. You will slow down but should be able to keep up the Rev’s.

MarkV

 

[looch]

I agree with MarkV. The hydro pedal is used to vary your speed. Use as much or as little pedal as you need. Do not use the throttle to vary your speed. Set the throttle so that you get the proper RPM for both your engine and the PTO (there's a little mark on the tach for PTO 540).

Did you read your owner's manual? Didn't the dealer give you a basic run-down of the tractor?

 

[chrisjbell]

Hi Steve,

I have a Rhino SE5 (http://www.servis-rhino.com/html/se5.html), which is a 60" cutter. The 7300 handles it quite well. I was just noticing that it is rated to cut material "up to 1 inch" - uh, it'll cut considerably thicker than that. (Don't ask me how I know...)

It works great. I've got some pretty good rocks (most of them are gone now, but I still hit 'em) and it has whacked enough of them that the sides of the deck are bulging out where rocks have pounded them, but it has handled everything I've thrown at it. No repairs (although I should probably get new blades in it), just changed the gear oil a couple of times.

Anyway, I'd recommend a 60" hog. Any bigger and you'll probably have HP issues (and it would be a real pain to get it in to smaller areas), but you might be able to do a 72". It would depend on what you're mowing - if it is flat and you didn't let stuff get too long it would probably be OK (your actual mileage may vary, etc.).

And it is *so* much fun to drop that thing on top of a blackberry bush and watch it go bye-bye!

...Chris

 

[BILLMAN]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I understand now. Today , I was mowing again (ain't life grand) and payed a little closer attention. When ,I go up the hill (approx. 20%) I let of the hydro-pedal and maintain my PTO speed but, lose ground speed. As soon as I crest the hill I'm able to depress the hydro pedal further and pick up ground speed. The comment of "Don't think of the hydro pedal as a gas pedal " kinda made it clear. Thanks again...