I am a retired mechanic of 40+ yrs. Most problems could have been solved simply by reading the owners manual. Not just tractor or implements, everything you have bought.
If he's wanting to cut a pasture at 2", he might want to look into a flail mower. It'll be sturdier than a finish mower, with only slightly lower quality cut. And flails can tolerate rocks/sticks almost as well as a rotary.
I agree with Keith. After 30 years of bush hogging my pasture I switched to a flail mower. JD25A. Cuts 80 inches wide and looks a lot better than a rotary. One big benefit is a 6 foot rotary cutter is about 9 feet long. A 6 1/2 foot flail is less than 3 feet.
Could always consider mowing twice. First cut high just to knock the big stuff down then go to 6” or so. Otherwise Mike I think you were spot on with your assessment and advice!
Interesting listening to how to set up a brush hog. In other parts of the world, brush hog, topper or slashers don't have the curved back to them. Having the curved back is why you need to have the front lower, rear higher, to allow the grass to get out. Our slashers are open at the back so grass exits easy out the back. We therefore have our slashers set flat and most don't use tail wheels either..i own a slashing business, and I have customers that use me for cutting their acres for a lawn finish, with my 6ft slashers. With having the back open, and slashers set flat, i can cut in both a forward and a rear direction. I can use my 6ft slasher for cutting scrub, weeds and pasture grasses as well as the lawn finish paddocks. There is no need to have multiple implements is your slashers is setup correctly, and sharp. I totally agree with you about grass length.
My first thought was "you've got too much tractor for a 6' cutter" and my second thought was "2 1/2" is too low for bush hog, I don't even mow my yard that low.
I recognize the difference between the rotary cutter and finish mower. However, we don't all have the means or justification to purchase an endless supply of implements for our tractor. After twenty years of mowing the same powerline, roadway, and pond dam areas with a bushhog, I can attest to the almost finish mower quality of cut since I never let the grass get too tall, and I mow those areas frequently. John needs to mow relatively high a time or two and gradually lower the cut to a reasonable level as Mike recommends and I think he will be happy with the results.... or, just buy a finish mower but realize he forfeits the ability to tackle more challenging vegetation.
Merry Christmas Mike! Even after growing up around equipment, hay baling, etc., I never appreciated the technicalities of bush hogging vs. mowing. Now, with my little 25hp 2025R and a bush hog with slip clutch, you've shown the practical setup and maintenance. It gave me the confidence to even cut a PTO shaft and get the rig set right with great results mowing my managed meadow of year-old weeds and woody brush. Thanks for all you're giving and getting back from us land-keepers!
Just watched this video and the slip clutch video from SEVEN years ago. As you stated back then, the annual maintenance requirements of a slip clutch makes a shear bolt system attractive. Thanks for all you do and may you and your family have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
There's an old Tractor Mike video where he and a mowing expert is testing a rotary cutter, a flail mower and a finish mower against each other. If memory serves me right, the flail mower could cut almost as heavy brush as the rotary and produce a finish which approached the finish mower's in quality. Don't take my word for it, watch the video.
Don't have any need for a brush hog in my application. But once again you've made an excellent video with great explanations of what's going on and possible causes. Thank you for all of your well-thought-out videos! I've owned my tractor for about 3 years now and learned so much from your Channel.
Had this problem before on a clutch . Went thru two sets of disk . Set the clutch too proper toque setting and even went tighter second time after it slipped again . Ended up changing the springs . They where bad spec steel . Springs where weak 🤷♂️. Never had a problem after new springs .
My goodness! I never even mow my lawn that low! We have a lot of moles in the fields and if I don't set my bush hog high, I would be spending more time replacing shear bolts than actual mowing time.
Borrowed my neighbor’s MX6 and that was the best small cutter I’ve ever used. Love the curved deck too, makes cleaning off the debris after cutting a piece of cake.
Merry Christmas all! Part of the problem might be the grass. Tall thick tangled grass can be some of the toughest stuff to cut. High revs & slow ground speed would help also first cut at 12” & then go back over at 4” would help.
Merry Christmas Mike. Vernon could use a Woods RDX990 rear mower. The same style blade set up. Only muchlighter bldes and open back to discharge cut grass. Noyhing wrong with wanting a lower finish cut. But he's waiting to long to cut. My brother does the same thing. And thinks he's saving money but only taring up equipment. Mow more often and save on repairs.
2.5” is too short even for a lawn. I cut my lawn at 3.25”. Taller grass will smother out weeds. Cutting higher does not change your mowing schedule. Once a week is fine.
Probably too small a cutter for the tractor. My first guess is he needs a 7' cutter rather than a 6. Bigger cut and mow slower. I took the rear shield off the cutter to allow the grass an easier exit from beneath the cutter. Wish I had the chains like that shown in your vid.
With 70 PTO HP he could even run an 8’ cutter with ease, even up to a 10’ in lighter material pretty easy. But heck you should be able to buy a chain guard kit for your cutter. I really like them. Keep a lot of stuff from flying out
A)do not get a 'slip clutch' on a 'hog'. It needs to pull about 15 horsepower to cut, and shear under 20 HP to save the gears. I gave up on mine and drilled across the clutch and put in a 1/4" bolt that shears when I hit something. (I cut the side off, and use it to cut hay,,, because I only have about one acre.)
Another thing, how fast is he trying to go while running that brush hog? I've seen a lot of people that seem to think for some reason they can run in high gear and wide open and be able to knock down 2 foot tall grass & weeds, all they manage to do is plug up the brush hog and stall the tractor LOL....could be a similar issue here, ground speed too fast for cutting conditions. Brush hogs I don't think were made to be pulled at a high rate of speed while cutting...they're pretty slow and cumbersome to run from what I've seen. Maybe he needs to trade that brush hog for a flail mower instead....trying to cut a field that hasn't been cut in 2 years I imagine the grass is probably several feet high...there's part of the problem, and combine that with trying to cut it down to 2 to 2-1/2 inches in one pass will cause some serious slippage problems in the cutter. Combine that with he's probably trying to go too fast too.
Yup. From my thousands of acres worth of using a rotary cutter 6mph is about the absolute max you can travel and maintain a good cut in light to medium conditions. The thicker the grass and stuff I’m cutting, the slower you go.
Increase pressure on the slip clutch... They can be adjusted. It is too low... brush hogs need 5+ inches. 2 inches you are trying for a golf course and need a gang reel mower.
Another thing... once it starts slipping from overload, the grass isn't being thrown properly and it will bog down more, possibly stopping the blade. The clutch will survive that for about 30 seconds. I can think of a way to make a noisemaker to indicate slipping... but it may not fit in the guard.
@tractor mike I have a john deere rotary cutter 5' How do you grease the back universal joint? can't get the grease fitting on it to grease. please help!
You can buy a simple adapter that goes on the grease gun coupler . It is a narrow long tube with spherical tiny tip that pushes the ball on the grease nipple and sits snug by just pushing little pressure on gun . A baby pistol grip grease gun is great for hard too get nipples .
Bill, I don't know, haven't seen it yet, but I've heard about it from other viewers. Some engineer must hate us! You may have to remove the PTO shaft to get it greased which is a big pain.
Yea... 2.5” is too low for a rotary cutter, especially if cutting in one pass and you want a good cut. Also maybe going too fast? Sounds like he’s got the wrong tool for the job, if he’s trying to cut that low. Get a finish mower or a flail cutter.
