rotary cutter

[roxynoodle]

I would like to get a rotary cutter and was wondering if anyone had suggestions as to what size would work best for me. I have a 1510D. Pretty sure it would handle a 4' cutter fine, but how about a 5' cutter? There is only a $25 price difference between the 2 sizes and obviously a 5' cutter would get the work done faster. Thanks for any advice/opinions.

 

[Normmm]

What do you plan to cut. The 5' will be ok unless you are cutting thick grass or bruch. The 1510 has plenty of gear ranges to choose from so you can slow it down as much as you need. The other concern is with the weight behind the tractor. If the land is hilly it coukd present handeling/safty problems.

 

[PAB_OH]

I have a GL21 that I have been told has about 19-20 PTO horsepower. I have used a 5' finish mower with no problem even in tall semi-wet grass. I slow down a bit in those conditions. When it's dry and short I can scoot pretty fast and I still end up with a pretty nice looking cut.

The 5' may or may not be faster though, depending on the conditions and if you have to slow it down so as not to bog the engine.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Good luck and let us know what you decide and how it works out.

 

[Soundguy]

As others pointed out, you can no doubt spin up a 5' mower and mow thin stemmy brush, and clip pasture grass on level land with a 5' mower. if it starts getting thick.. take a 4' cut or less.. and downshift.

now.. that said.. sometimes it is better to run 'faster' with a 4' mower.. then 'slower' with a 5' mower.. you can do the math with the cut width, and the gear ranges / ground speed to see how many square feet you are cutting.. so to compair.. pick a gear/ range for 4' and for 5' and compair.. etc.

Weight is the other issue.. for safety.. if the mower wags the machine. or if you have hills.. get some ballast and/or stay with a smaller mower.

I'd be leaning toward a 4' mower and a good speed. I've seen mid 20+ hp engine bog with a 5' mower in heavy stuff.

Soundguy

 

[California]

I still don't know if I should have bought a 5 ft mower.

My neighbor, an experienced (third generation) orchard operator, looked at my YM240 (YM2000 equivalent) and advised 4 ft maximum considering the tractor hp and the hilly terrain.

Most of the time I can run in H3 with this 4 ft Howse. For this field in the picture, with heavy wet grass, there were a few times I bogged down going up the slope and had to use H2 until I reached a corner and started downhill. I soon learned it was easier to take a 3 ft cut going uphill than to stop and shift down.

My comments: If you are cutting heavy stuff like this, then 4 ft maximum. If you are mowing a few inches of grass on level ground then you might try a wider mower. Does your dealer allow exchange if the 5ft is too big?

 

[roxynoodle]

No hills but some of it is pretty thick weeds and brush. I use a 5 ft finish mower on the lawn just fine, but was thinking that maybe on the nasty stuff I should only get a 4 ft rotary cutter. Grass isn't what concerns me. It is thistle and burdock and other big weeds. Thanks for the input you're all giving me so far.

 

[pruntyc]

Most people that use a finish mower, uses a foot less on a rotary mower, so if you use a 5 foot finish a 4 foot rotary would be just right. I only used a 4 foot on my 1700 when I had it. I have a John Deere now, about the same size and I'm still happy with using a 4 foot.

 

[LMTC]

What a tractor WILL do and what it SHOULD do are usually widely variant. We recommend a 42" rotary cutter on a 1510, unless going with a light duty 4', and then only on flat ground. Weight and loss of control as a result are the primary issues. We do not recommend even a light duty 5' on anything smaller than a 2210.

 

[normde2001]

I use a medium/light duty 4' cutter on my YM2000B and before I added 200# suitcase weights on the front it sometimes was too light in the front to turn, especially when going up a slight grade and would do a wheelie in a heartbeat when lifting the cutter. It works fine with the weights, but I certainly would not want a heavier cutter, especially with no FEL.

 

[gary1611]

I mow about 1.5 flat acres with my 155d using a 6ft flail mower.
I use it as a finish cutter. I use it in h1 -h2 it works well. I know its to big for the tractor but its all i have and it works well. I can even cut high grass and small brush in low range taking small cut. It is a mott by alamo flail at a little over 1000 pounds my tractor will not even lift it much. Just a testament to how powerful the yanmar tractors are