Which gear ratio to use?

AlbertC · Jun 3, 2015

I have a new holland 3930 and a six ft. Bushog. this tractor has 4 forward gears and a H/L gear. When cutting I usually use H 1. I have used H 2 but it seems that if I use this gear it seems that the ride is too rough.

Question is this - is there a "correct" gear that I should be using . For example 4L or is it OK to go with the combination of gears that seems to give me the best cut and ride. I am using to cut pasture grass, usually cut every 3-4 weeks, lots of Bahia in with the Bermuda grass.

Thanks

Jay4200 · Jun 3, 2015

Go as fast as you can while still getting an acceptable cut.

joeu235 · Jun 3, 2015

Keep going faster until the front axle breaks and then slow down a little bit

PHPaul · Jun 3, 2015

No, there is no "correct" gear.

You should base your gear selection on three things:

1. Run the engine at full PTO rated speed. Often that's around 2500 RPM.

2. Select a gear that lets you run the engine at PTO speed but keeps ground speed down to where you are comfortable and not bouncing out of the seat.

3. Listen to the engine when you have chosen 1 and 2 above. If it's lugging down due to loading from tall or thick grass or brush, go down a gear.

When bush hogging with my old 750 gear drive, I could run as high as 5th (1st High) on light mowing and smooth ground, or as low as 2nd (2nd Low) in thick stuff and even 1st in really heavy brush.

On some fields, I could mow half the round in 5th and then have to shift down for the other half due to thicker grown and/or rougher ground.

ovrszd · Jun 3, 2015

I'm OCD. I want a nice, even cut. I look like an old man when cutting because I'm just cruising along at a nice easy pace. My Brother on the other hand paced his speed by how rough the field was. When cutting CRP all he did was bend it over. I hated that. Your speed should be based on the end result and what you expect it to look like. No correct answer.

Opti-Mist · Jun 3, 2015

ovrszd said:
I'm OCD. I want a nice, even cut. I look like an old man when cutting because I'm just cruising along at a nice easy pace. My Brother on the other hand paced his speed by how rough the field was. When cutting CRP all he did was bend it over. I hated that. Your speed should be based on the end result and what you expect it to look like. No correct answer.

And that, is the correct answer.