Sickle Bar Sickle bar or Rotary mower

Piperflyer · Apr 12, 2007

I need to keep cut 12 acres which was a hay field. Not used for hay anymore. What will do the best job? What do you recommend & the best brand to buy? I'm looking for quality & something that will last. Will be using a 30HP tractor. Thanks

DMF · Apr 12, 2007

Well you could probably run a larger sicklebar than a rotary cutter so you would finish quicker however sicklebars are more dangerous in my opinion. If you don't mind the seat time I'd probably get the biggest rotary cutter my tractor could comfortably handle and have at it...

Farmwithjunk · Apr 12, 2007

Piperflyer said:
I need to keep cut 12 acres which was a hay field. Not used for hay anymore. What will do the best job? What do you recommend & the best brand to buy? I'm looking for quality & something that will last. Will be using a 30HP tractor. Thanks

A sickle bar mower (one that's in good condition) will give you a really nice cut. Problem is, they just lay down the clippings and DON'T grind them up like a bush hog OR a finish mower would. That presents a problem in 2 ways. 1 is obvious. You'll have to LOOK AT the dried clippings as they lay on the ground. 2nd is the fact that sickle bar mowers don't like cutting through downed "crop residue" on the NEXT mowing. If you keep the field mowed, and don't let the clippings get too long, you can get away with a sickle bar. If you go several weeks between cuttings, you might want the rotary cutter.

Sickle bar mowers require next to no HP. 30hp would EASILY handle 7' to 9' bar as far as power required. 30hp would probably be best off with a 5' rotary cutter. Sickle bar mowers are also MUCH more "maintenance intensive" than a rotary mower.

RoyJackson · Apr 12, 2007

I'd look around for the biggest pull behind rotary cutter your Kubota can handle. I'm suggesting pull behind because the HP requirements are less (not much less though) then a 3PH type cutter.

Your B3030 has about 24 PTO HP. You can easily use a 60" cutter, but might get away with an 84" pull behind if your acreage isn't too overgrown and you mow often enough. An 84" cutter would be pushing your tractor hard, I'd think.

Land Pride recommends 20-50 PTO HP for their RCR1872 72" 3PH cutter. They recommend 30 PTO HP for their 96" pull type cutter. Extrapolation would result in about 25 PTO HP requirements for an 84" pull type cutter, however Land Pride doesn't make an 84" unit.
Look at Befco, Howse, King Kutter, Servis-Rhino, Bush Hog and others.

jbrumberg · Apr 12, 2007

Piperflyer:

I agree with Farmwithjunk. Sicklebars also hang up in thick clumps of vegetation. I also agree with DMF as to dangerousness. When I bought my first tractor 20+ years ago my dealer would not sell me one. I believe that you would be best served by a 60" rotary cutter. Jay

DirtHauler · Apr 12, 2007

I just mowed 11 1/2 acres a couple of weekends ago useing a 60" flail mower, took me 15 hrs. with my 30 horse tractor but that was in 2nd gear low range due to the roughness of the feild being plowed the year before, a rotory would be just fine and a little faster.

gordon21 · Apr 12, 2007

I have both a rotary mower and a sickle mower. The only advantage to a sickle mower is that you can mow the sides of a road bank where a rotary could not go. It will easily mow those areas where your tractor would be required to be at a steep angle. A 40 year old working sickle mower will cost you $600+. A brand new 5' rotary mower will cost $700

Unless you need to mow the banks of a road, go with the rotary mower.

Piperflyer · Apr 13, 2007

Thanks Everybody for sharing your thoughts. It looks like the rotary is for me. Do I want a slip clutch or shear pin? I was looking at the Howse medium duty M60C Rotary Mower. What kind of reputation does Howse have for quality & pricing.