Rotary cutter preference

[Hay Dude]

I’m not sure the OP could even run the HX-6 without a struggle and the MX would surely rattle bolts loose on his tractor.
If recommending Frontier you might as well tell him to get the exact same model built by the manufacture who makes them for Frontier (either Befco or Woods for their grooming and rotary mowers - depending on the year and model).

The MX‘s will run on a mere 20-25HP and may be more attractive in terms of the OP’s dealer location(s), or financing/pricing (if needed).
Frontier stuff is pretty solid.

I had a Deere MX-8 for 10 years cutting junk way above its’ specs and it was an outstanding mower.

 

[alpha&omega]

The MX‘s will run on a mere 20-25HP and may be more attractive in terms of the OP’s dealer location(s), or financing/pricing (if needed).
Frontier stuff is pretty solid.

I had a Deere MX-8 for 10 years cutting junk way above its’ specs and it was an outstanding mower.

How well is the cut if you’re running them at 20-25hp? Everyone I’ve talked to said they will rattle your teeth loose if you were to try running one on a tractor under 40hp (compact or sub-compact lawn mowers…I mean “tractors”).

 

[LD1]

How well is the cut if you’re running them at 20-25hp? Everyone I’ve talked to said they will rattle your teeth loose if you were to try running one on a tractor under 40hp (compact or sub-compact lawn mowers…I mean “tractors”).

Are you talking about a MX8 speifically? Or just the MX line in general. Like a MX5 or MX6?

You certainly dont need no 40hp+ to run a 5' or 6' cutter in the MX line

 

[Hay Dude]

 

[Hay Dude]

How well is the cut if you’re running them at 20-25hp? Everyone I’ve talked to said they will rattle your teeth loose if you were to try running one on a tractor under 40hp (compact or sub-compact lawn mowers…I mean “tractors”).

You talking Deere/Frontier or rotary cutters in general?
If its a 4-5 foot cutter, would assume cut would be just fine, since thats what the manufacturer suggests for HP.

Who’s “everyone”?

 

[ptsg]

View attachment 745860

Not gonna lie, I've put my brush cutter close to those angles before.

 

[JethroB]

I remember some brand that used a tire attached to the PTO shaft that spun the blades. I suppose that was to eliminate the need for a gear box? Probably no need for a shear pin either.

 

[gckshea]

My Bush Hog BH-6 has been good, though I got their "economy" model. It has pretty thin sheet steel on the deck, and the rubber flap guard on the front has torn free from the bolts that hold it. Also, I have replaced both the bottom shaft and horizontal input shaft seals already...they leaked very quickly. Easy enough to do, but.....

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I remember some brand that used a tire attached to the PTO shaft that spun the blades. I suppose that was to eliminate the need for a gear box? Probably no need for a shear pin either.

Brown

 

[mo1]

How well is the cut if you’re running them at 20-25hp? Everyone I’ve talked to said they will rattle your teeth loose if you were to try running one on a tractor under 40hp (compact or sub-compact lawn mowers…I mean “tractors”).

The cut would be fine. You would just bog down your tractor if you try to run too large of a cutter through too thick of material at too high of a speed. The other thing that can be an issue is these are full 3 point mount cutters and hanging a big heavy one off the back of a tractor may be too much for the tractor to handle safely as in it can still steer and not tip over on hills or when turning with the cutter raised. A cutter shouldn't "rattle your teeth loose" unless something is out of balance, in which case it needs corrected promptly. I am guesstimating that my MX6 takes about 25 PTO HP on average based on the fuel consumption of my tractor when running it. I will also tell you its slip clutch slips at 50 PTO HP or less as my tractor's engine doesn't even load up when the cutter gets plugged up with material, the slip clutch just slips.

 

[mo1]

I remember some brand that used a tire attached to the PTO shaft that spun the blades. I suppose that was to eliminate the need for a gear box? Probably no need for a shear pin either.

That was the FMC Sidewinder. I still see some for sale occasionally around here. The blade spindle essentially had a second blade pan above the blades, and the tire spun the "upper" blade pan. The tire thus took the place of the gear box and the shear pin/slip clutch.

 

[alpha&omega]

The cut would be fine. You would just bog down your tractor if you try to run too large of a cutter through too thick of material at too high of a speed. The other thing that can be an issue is these are full 3 point mount cutters and hanging a big heavy one off the back of a tractor may be too much for the tractor to handle safely as in it can still steer and not tip over on hills or when turning with the cutter raised. A cutter shouldn't "rattle your teeth loose" unless something is out of balance, in which case it needs corrected promptly. I am guesstimating that my MX6 takes about 25 PTO HP on average based on the fuel consumption of my tractor when running it. I will also tell you its slip clutch slips at 50 PTO HP or less as my tractor's engine doesn't even load up when the cutter gets plugged up with material, the slip clutch just slips.

Oh I would definitely recommend a front ballast for anyone running a rear cutter on a tractor that small.

I have an old John Deere Gyramore 227 (serial number 00002). Talk about a tank!

 

[MBTRAC]

I don't worry too much about the brand, just the quality of the implement & the best match for the tractor, 2nd hand often works out better value than new when seeking HD (as the saying goes they sure don't build them like they used to):
- run a no name brand 3ft bush hog that's about 30yrs old on a almost new Kubota BX23s (as good as the BX is I think the bush hog will still outlast it, thanks to annual coating of Penetrol to preserve the steel)
- as per photo run this 7ft defunct brand bush hog purchased c.20yrs ago 2nd hand on this tractor, the implement is super heavy duty weighs upwards of 1.3ton with chain guards fitted.Both heavy duty & used to their limits, but will still be going strong for at least another 30yrs...

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't worry too much about the brand, just the quality of the implement & the best match for the tractor, 2nd hand often works out better value than new when seeking HD (as the saying goes they sure don't build them like they used to):
- run a no name brand 3ft bush hog that's about 30yrs old on a almost new Kubota BX23s (as good as the BX is I think the bush hog will still outlast it, thanks to annual coating of Penetrol to preserve the steel)
- as per photo run this 7ft defunct brand bush hog purchased c.20yrs ago 2nd hand on this tractor, the implement is super heavy duty weighs upwards of 1.3ton with chain guards fitted.Both heavy duty & used to their limits, but will still be going strong for at least another 30yrs...

Look at that little ripper!

 

[Elton67]

i have used woods, landpride, rhino, bushhog, and john deere brushhogs on buddies tractors, my own, or when out working with contractors. they all do the job well, but woods and rhino would be my top 2. i had the least mechanical issues with them and i felt they distributed the debris a lot better than most of the others when cutting pasture grass. of all of them, while a decent cutter, i think land pride would be my last choice only because they seem to nearly always need something fixed whenever you need to use them. its usually something minor, a 5 minute fix so not a big deal but still. i also think they arent built as durable as the rhinos or bushhogs, which are built like tanks. they windrow a lot more than the other cutters too which isnt great if you want a decent looking pasture, however if your just mowing down yearly weeds and light brush growing in the corner of your property i think its a great budget cutter.
id rank them the following:

Rhino
built like a tank, cuts well, not important but looks badass
Woods
sturdy cutter with a great cut, rarely any issues
Bush hog
world renouned cutter for sure, id say it lives up to its name.
John deere
I think the model i used was an hx7- built like a tank and could take anything it could push over
landpride
great budget/light duty cutter, I experienced a lot of minor issues on them but if your handy and your only pulling it out a couple times a year, its not an issue.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've only owned Landpride, and I agree that there have been a lot of times that I had to do something with it before I could use it. The tailwheel has always been an issue. Lately it's been working great, but I'm not going to be surprised if I need to deal with an issue. What I do like about Landpride is how quickly I can get parts for it through Messicks.com.

I'm interested in the heavy duty Rhino 12 foot batwing. I think it's called the 4125. Did you have any problems finding parts for Rhino cutters? Is there a good online source?

 

[cathy liebchen]

I’m still not comfortable with the slip clutch adjustment given the bell shield being in the way. Finger tight plus 3/4 turn? Yeah right. Maybe easy if all was clean shiny and new.

The bell housing has openings in the sides to access the bolts on the slip clutch

 

[SF82]

I actually went with the new Bad Boy 4ft "heavy duty" over the Bush hog from my dealer. Heavier, thicker steel, and slip clutch all around the same price so why not. Also like that they reinforced the back corners which doesn't seem common at all. Time will tell I guess