PTO speed

[NealW]

What is the best speed to use shredding knee-high grass with MX6 rotary cutter and what is the best gear for the tractor?

 

[nybirdman]

Near 540 RPM's will give the best cut in most cases;tractor slow enough to do a clean cut.
This year in our area with all the rain;I am going slower with higher than normal PTO speeds.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I always mow at 540 RPM, then I adjust the speed to get the cut that I want.

SR

 

[SmallChange]

If it's not clear, your machine has some engine speed for which the PTO will turn at 540. Since the engine probably has a tach and the PTO probably doesn't, you have to find this engine speed somewhere, such as the manual or on a label somewhere. For my machine it's 2510, but yours will probably be somewhat different.

 

[Dftodd]

There should be a marking on the tach for ideal rpm for PTO speed.

On my tractor it's a green area on the tack.

I have to adjust my speed when cutting grass. Brush hogged last weekend at my sister in laws. In some areas I was able to move at a pretty fast clip, in others I would have to slow way down because of the thickness of the grass.

My tractor is a hydrostatic, so I had it in low range and adjusted my speed to meet the conditions.

 

[garry1p]

I always cut at 2500 RPM and low gear. Speed of the tractor varies

 

[TractorTech]

What make/model of tractor? 540 rpm PTO could be 1800 rpm engine speed on an older tractors to 2700 rpm on smaller compacts

 

[rScotty]

If it's not clear, your machine has some engine speed for which the PTO will turn at 540. Since the engine probably has a tach and the PTO probably doesn't, you have to find this engine speed somewhere, such as the manual or on a label somewhere. For my machine it's 2510, but yours will probably be somewhat different.

It doesn’t have a dedicated PTO tach because the rpm proportion is constant for geared pto’s - and near enough to a constant for hydraulic ones.
If we half the engine RPM, that cuts the PTO rpm in half as well. No PTO tach needed.
rScotty

 

[Williy]

Just like SR said set the pto for 540 RPM I have the hydro so usually
run in 2nd but if I want to crawl 1st range. It really depends on your
tractor what gear and speed you want

willy

 

[WM75Guy]

Welcome to TBN. As others have said, there should be some indication of 540 PTO RPMs on the tachometer, either a line or a colored section. Speed will depend on several things, such as how much HP you have, the quality of the cut you want, and what your body can take. My Workmaster 75 has a PTO tach, 2000 engine RPMs gets me 540 PTO RPMs. I mow at 2.4 MPH in mid range 2nd gear. I have had back surgery, any faster and I feel it the next day. The cut looks pretty much like a finish mower cut, especially with my new Land Price RCF2072 cutter.