Mowing nx4510 rotary cutter question

[Nmw1]

i have a hydro nx4510 was curious about getting a woods 6' 720x and was told it would be too much for my tractor and pretty much argued with by local dealer, what do you guys think? gonna be mowing some medium size brush and general mowing, just wanting a stout cutter incase i may hit something

 

[countrybumpkin]

I ran a 6' foot on my kubota 34 HP for years and wouldn't have been happy with anything less. I think a 6 would be a good choice. What type of stuff are you planning on cutting with it?

 

[Nmw1]

mainly just some up keep of 10 acres that has gotten out of hand, with trees, vines and brush. the first cut may be rough but after that just regular maintenance, i know the 720x is heavy duty and overkill but i want this thing to last forever

 

[Nmw1]

the dealer gave me a hard time and said that my tractors frame is not heavy enough and horsepower to low, that its way overkill, and pretty much was not nice about it, i was in shock and said i'll take my business somewhere else and hung up

 

[Nmw1]

this dealer is not a kioti dealer just a kubota and woods dealer so maybe he doesnt know how stout thses nx's are

 

[N2DFire]

Woods rates the BB720X as HP range of 30 to 120 & weight of roughly 1200 lbs
Kioti specs list the NX4510 HST at 33HP at the PTO, 3PT lift over 3000 lbs, and weight of 3,989 lbs (w/o loaded tires)

My initial thoughts are:
Lift Capacity - got it covered

Horse Power - Within the rated HP requirements though on the low side. Going to have to increase RPM & decrease ground speed to keep the cutter going through the heavy stuff.

Implement weight vs. Tractor weight - Wrangling that monster might make things a little "sporty" in some conditions - like mowing across a hill side or if you had to raise it up going up a significant slope, etc. Granted mowing up & down slope is preferred to going across but here in the "Foothills of the Blue Ridge" that's not an option for us all the time. If you're geography is similar it's something to think about.

Mowing Fodder - you listed trees & brush as some of your mowing fodder. We recently took on reclaiming old pasture land that had gone fallow for several years and had spruce trees in the 3" diameter range along with stumps from previous timber removal and blackberry vines galore. Due to the stumps we ended up hiring a neighbor with a (borrowed) dozer to come over and clear things off for us. If all you have are free standing saplings & brush you might be better off hiring (or renting) a skid steer with a forestry mulcher to do your initial cleaning & then go with a Medium Duty cutter for your following maintenance needs.

The BB72X for example is 11ga (0.1196 inch) instead of 10ga (0.1345 inch) but otherwise identically constructed to the BB720X but still 400lbs lighter (most of that is rotating weight in the cutter head which accounts for the 1.5" vs 3" cutting capacity). So operated w/in the intended design they should have pretty much the same life expectancy. The 72X is probably cheaper too.

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Here's a video if a Forestry Mulcher in action. You can tackle *most* of the same stuff with a RC and tractor but the finished product isn't nearly as nice.

So in a nut shell - you can lift it & spin it just fine - just not sure how easy / safe it will be to get around on your work area.

As I read what you're saying - you're looking to buy what you need to do the initial cutting/clearing & then use it forever to keep it maintained. My thoughts are find the best choice for the lifetime maintenance first, then do the initial clearing work another way if you need to. After all you're only going to cut it the first time once

At the end of the day - it's your money & your choice but for long term use I think you'll be happier with a slightly less wieldy cutter and finding an alternate means of dealing with the "rough stuff" the first time around.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

 

[CobyRupert]

That's a hefty 6' mower (1200#).
Tractordata.com says nx4510 is 4000-4500 lbs, and I believe that's without loaded tires, a cab or FEL.

I run a 7' medium light duty (approx. 1100 pounds) on the back of a tractor that tractordata says is 4634-5475 pounds (but also has additional FEL & loaded tires). You can definitely feel it back there. A big lever. Makes the front end a lot lighter; but only to the point I leave the bucket on the front for counter weight and to knock down brush that I'm mowing, but not to the point that I feel I should add more weight to front of tractor (or put dirt in bucket) . With the FEL totally off, you can easily do wheelies if want to pop the clutch.
Downside of having the bucket on is it makes maneuvering in tighter spaces harder. I have to remind myself that mower is lower than the tractors center of gravity on sidehills and actually helps. It just "feels tippy-er" because the front end is lighter.

How level is your ground?

If tractors weight and 3 pth is such that you can lift it and carry it safely, don't worry about horsepower. Horsepower is only a measure of the speed you can go, not the ability to do the task.

 

[Nmw1]

thanks for the replies, more and likely i'm gonna go with 72x but the extra cutting capacity of 720x would be nice just incase i might get into something heavy just trying to get past all the nasayers out there. i know the tractor can handle it, it had surpassed my expectations so far, the loader is awesome on these tractors i have picked up some heavy trees that my dad said his jd4720 would not have been abe too. who knows i may go with 720x just to see how it does

 

[Nmw1]

some of the ground is not real level, maybe 3 of the acres is wooded and thick brush, going to open it a little with the fel first , its hard to see the dips and slopes but speed wouldnt matter to me going slow would help me get a better cut most of the time anyways

 

[LD1]

Dont let the dealer scare you into buying a light duty cutter and regretting it. The dealer is an idiot.

I am quite amazed at how often threads come up on here. Are dealers really that clueless??? DO they think you need a freakin 8000# tractor and 100+ HP to run a HD 6' cutter???

I ran an 1100# 6' cutter behind a MUCH smaller 2600# / 29 PTO HP kubota for years

I currently have a tractor that has about 8 more HP than you at the PTO, but physically, your NX is heavier and more lift capacity. I run a 1600 pound 8' woods bushhog.

Either the dealer is an idiot that dont know the tractor, or he doesnt stock a 720bb and wants to sell you what he has....which also still makes him an idiot.

 

[Nmw1]

thats kinda what i was thinking LD1, i would hate to buy a light duty and regret it

 

[LD1]

Only think I will say, and perhaps in defense of the dealer, is 1200# of cutter, no front weight, and hills may make for some wheelies.

But not likely.

My 1100# 6' has plenty of front weight on my 300# lighter tractor.

My 1600# cutter makes it light enough you cannot load forward on a deck-over trailer, but when mowing....no issues as the cutter tailwheels are supporting most of the weight.

And worst case....put the loader on and you have plenty of front weight

 

[DieselBound]

I agree with most of what is said here. But, sometimes even with a tail wheel you'll still run into situations where you're dragging the weight more on the skids than the wheel (undulating ground with closely spaced peaks and troughs will do that), which can present a little extra strain. My B7800 has loaded tires and sometimes when I'm dragging my "light duty" 5' rotary around the mower will stop the tractor if it gets into situations like I mention: I either lift the mower up a bit or switch to 4wd, preferring the later because the stupid 3pt quarter-inching valves on these cheap B models takes a lot of work to reposition height with. I'll see how the "new" (recently acquired) Landpride RCR1860 does on the B7800- it's a fair bit heavier mower: got it because I find the quick hitch pin setups easier to deal with (even though I don't use quick hitches anymore); and I figure this mower will have to do some time behind my new NX until I figure out what I really need for it! (would not risk my other mower on the NX)

I have worked my "light duty" cutter really hard: and it's got the same set of blades I bought it with (going on six years now)! It's cleared a lot of land. Only after I blaze some trails am I able to see what nasties are really there, and at that point I will, if I need to, bring in heavy equipment to deal with them. I'll also offer up a point that I don't see anyone bring up, and that's that sometimes it's not a good idea to bring in a lot of equipment and do big scale changes, lest it brings unwanted attention to what you're doing. I'm very glad that I took the slow approach as had I went nuts early on I'd have gotten things wrong: it's beneficial to get to know the land real well; my slow clearing has, I believe, allowed me to make better decisions.

 

[ksbrdmkr]

I like my 7 foot pull mower for the DK 45. Heavy enough to stall the tractor if I run it in the dirt without breaking the mower. picture is 5 foot bluestem and able to mow just fine. Neighbor was talked into a light 6 foot 3 pt kubota and has sheared bolts and had the rear wheel welded twice in two years.

 

[coobie]

I run a 6ft.brush hog model BH26 (1095 lbs)behind my 2012 Dk40 cab tractor and it does fine.By it right the first time and get a heavy duty model cutter if your funds allow you to.I made the mistake the first time of buying a cheaper brush hog and ended up buying a heavy duty one.

 

[rhunt]

The owners manual (page 3-20) for an NX4510 states the following max cutting widths: box blade-84", rear blade-84", rotary cutter-65", grooming mower-72"' landscape rakes-84". Hope this info helps you, Bob

 

[LD1]

Uncommon to find a 65" mower. They come in 60" and 72". (5' and 6')

Seems stupid to limit a 4000# 45hp tractor to the same 5' mowers that the 2500# 25HP N-series fords have mowed with for decades. And those tractors had a steep first gear and only about 800# rear lift.

Tractor MFG being a little conservative. I'd ignore that part of the manual. The kubota MX manual, which includes the MX4700, that is a little lighter, little less lift capacity, and only a few ponies more, is rated for 7' rotary cutter and 1000# max.

I still ignore it with a 1600# 8'

Do what you want, but you are gonna regret a small 5' mower on that tractor.

 

[Nmw1]

yeah I'm using an old 5' right now and it's definitely to small, it pulls it like its not there, i watched a youtube video of the rhino ts12 stealth batwing and it looks like a dk40 pulling it, i called the local rhino dealer out of curiosity about one of those and of course i hear thats to much for your tractor, which I'm not considering one but good to know i guess

 

[Nmw1]

Rhino TS12 Stealth Flex-Wing - YouTube

 

[LD1]

Make your own decisions.

Weather something is too big or too small for your tractor has alot to do with terrain and just what you plan to cut.

Just look at the conditions they were cutting with that TS12. I have do doubt your tractor would preform equally as well.

Cutting brush over 6' tall, or trying to pull that thing up and down hills.....probably not a good match. As I mentioned, I have an 8' mounted cutter. I cut alot of stuff that looks just like that video.....12" pasture grasses. Many times I wish I had a bigger mower.

When it comes to a cutter.....My opinion is simple. Buy the biggest cutter that your tractor can "physically" handle. And by that, I dont mean HP. I mean get the biggest that you can lift or pull around your property. IF you get into an area that you dont have enough HP, you can always slow down (infinitely with a HST), or take a smaller bite.

There is a limit to how fast you can go with a smaller cutter, and you cannot make a smaller cutter take a bigger bite.

Id rather mow wider and at a slower speed, than mow narrow at a faster speed.