Rotary cutter for M7040?

[canoetrpr]

The dealer I am working with is suggesting a Land Pride RCR 1872 rotary cutter for this tractor. This just covers the rear width (probably smaller by an inch or so).

All my pasture mowing tends to be quite light. My pastures are REALLY well maintained as I practise rotational grazing. I go in after the cows have been in a paddock and cut down the weeds and grasses that they did not eat.

This cutter's gear box rating just barely covers the M7040 which is 62 HP at the PTO. I believe the cutter is 65 hp.

Is this the right rotary cutter or should I be looking for something either heavier duty or wider? 7 ft perhaps? It would be nice to be able to mow right to the fence line.

 

[tom4018]

I still use a International Agritech 6 footer behind my 7040 in small areas with no problems other than a shear bolt once in a while.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you like to mow then I guess that 72" is fine. Me, I would be looking at something quite a bit wider, 10' at the minimum. I have to many things that need to be done other than to be mowing for hours & hours. One of the pluses to a bigger tractor, you can get stuff done faster if you want too.

 

[tom4018]

If you like to mow then I guess that 72" is fine. Me, I would be looking at something quite a bit wider, 10' at the minimum. I have to many things that need to be done other than to be mowing for hours & hours. One of the pluses to a bigger tractor, you can get stuff done faster if you want too.

I only use the 6 footer for ditches and small lots. I have a 10 foot that use on my pastures.

 

[Chilly807]

The dealer I am working with is suggesting a Land Pride RCR 1872 rotary cutter for this tractor. This just covers the rear width (probably smaller by an inch or so).

Is this the right rotary cutter or should I be looking for something either heavier duty or wider? 7 ft perhaps? It would be nice to be able to mow right to the fence line.

The usual rule of thumb is 5 hp per foot of cutter, I'd be looking for at least an 8 foot cutter if not a 10 or 12. I'd say he has an 1872 in stock but nothing bigger?

The 1872 is a nice cutter, I have the 1860 for my L3400.

Something else to consider, if you're mowing any amount of ground. The engine will work better if it's loaded to at least 75% capacity most of the time. Low load for extended periods will result in carbon buildup and possibly glazed cylinders. The 6 foot cutter can't put much load on the 7040 under normal conditions like you describe.

Sean

 

[canoetrpr]

Chilly807 - I don't think I follow your logic. That rule of thumb as I understood it is meant to provide guidance for minimum horsepower.

In addition if I am running the engine at the appropriate RPMs to achieve PTO speed I can't see how the engine is not being worked appropriately?

In general is there really something wrong with me running the engine at say 1500 RPM when transporting a load in the bucket?

 

[canoetrpr]

If you like to mow then I guess that 72" is fine. Me, I would be looking at something quite a bit wider, 10' at the minimum. I have to many things that need to be done other than to be mowing for hours & hours. One of the pluses to a bigger tractor, you can get stuff done faster if you want too.

To be perfectly honest with you MtnViewRanch, I DO enjoy mowing and I have the luxury of actually not having enough land to mow. The 8-10 acres of pasture that I have is not much for even my current setup of a 5ft cutter with a tractor with 1/2 the HP.

Add to that the fact that I have it split into 5 paddocks and mow one every 5-6 days as soon as I move the cattle out of it to the next paddock.

It would be a different story if I was mowing 30 acres.

 

[canoetrpr]

I only use the 6 footer for ditches and small lots. I have a 10 foot that use on my pastures.

Thanks for posting that. I had not thought about it. I do mow the ditch in front of my house and I think anything much bigger than 6 might not allow that to be possible.

 

[Verticaltrx]

As long as you are over 1000-1200 rpm, run it at whatever rpm you like.

I would be looking for either an 8' 3pt hitch cutter or 10' pull-type, depending on your budget and preferences. Skip the 7' cutters, they are pretty cumbersome an actually take more power than an 8' unit. If you can afford it a 10' pull-type is a real acre-taker. I did about 15ac in 3hrs with ours last weekend, way more than double what I could get done with my 5' unit.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

To be perfectly honest with you MtnViewRanch, I DO enjoy mowing and I have the luxury of actually not having enough land to mow. The 8-10 acres of pasture that I have is not much for even my current setup of a 5ft cutter with a tractor with 1/2 the HP.

Add to that the fact that I have it split into 5 paddocks and mow one every 5-6 days as soon as I move the cattle out of it to the next paddock.

It would be a different story if I was mowing 30 acres.

If you have the time, then have at it. I had been under the impression that you had better things to do, not sure why I thought that, but I did. :confused2: