Go BottomBrush hog too big
 | ddford
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2 NY 
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2003-05-16 54966
Just bought a JD 770 that has a 6' JD brush hog. Just concerned that the 6' brush hog may be too big for the tractor? Any thoughts?
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 | plots1
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 563 mo 
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2003-05-16 54969
I have the 790 with a 5 ft. and I don't think I would recommend no larger. I cut about a 1/8 trail through timber with it, beening as wide as tractor made it nice to manuver through. 6ft would be harder to get into some area's as well as about the red line on the machines limit. maybe if you were just cuttin grass that you keep fairly trimed up you would be ok. ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2003-05-16 54972
Hope it's a light one as I wouldn't recommend it. ....
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| Bernie Galgoci
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2003-05-16 54979
Plots, Art, and John Deere all agree: a 6 ft. cutter is too big for the tractor. My handy little booklet from Deere recommends their 413 or 513 cutters for the 770 tractor. They state their 613 (light duty, 6 ft.) and 616 (heavier duty, 6ft.) cutters are too big/heavy for the 770's power. And they say the 770 is too lightweight for even their 516 (heavier duty, 5ft.) model. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-05-16 54989
I don't want to advise someone to do something that manufacturers disapprove of and the rest of the crowd does too, but I think that the 'whole picture' needs to be looked at.
There are two big factor that have to be looked at here.
First is if the unit is too heavy, but never needs to be lifted clear of the ground, only carried in 'operating' position, and will only be operated on fairly flat level ground, is it really too heavy?
Secondly, the original post didn't say what it was to be used for, or how often. One of my clients has an older Case 235 (24 ? hp. Mitsubishi) 2wd unit that runs a 6' bushog to keep the excess property neat. However, it is cut every week, and is very flat and level.
Aside from torque, gears, and all that, our 6' commercial front-deck units only run an 20 or 22 hp gas engine, and will cut more grass and faster than you can imagine.
I can't believe 20 hp (and MUCH more torque) to sharp set of knives on a 6' bushog couldn't handle the task on the right terrain on a regular basis.
Best of luck. ....
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4299 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-05-16 54990
I would say that is just a little to large. You are going to need some serious counter weights unless it is a very light weight cutter. A medium duty cutter that size would weigh around 800 to 1,000 lbs. I would suggest going to a smaller 5 ft. cutter. ....
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| Justaplain
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 5 Fort Miller NY
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2003-05-16 54993
If the grass is heavy, just take a smaller swath and then go the full width where it is lighter. No Brainer! bcs ....
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| ddford
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2 NY
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2003-05-19 55099
Thanks for all the good feedback. I think I will look into trading with somebody that has a 5' and would like to upgrade to a 6'. ....
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| junglejeff
Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 3 Arundel, Maine
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2010-08-15 173141
Would the 516 run on a JD 950 4wd, 28 hp, 23hp at pto? ....
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 | earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2010-08-15 173144
Even thought this post dates back 7 years the info is still good. I'd go back and read Murf's reply. Good info and will probabaly answer your question. Me, I have a 33hp hydro New Holland (27 PTO) with a 5' bush hog and can cut down 3" trees with it. Even in 6' tall weeds it doesn't bog down. ....
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 | greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky 
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2010-08-16 173154
According to Deere, the 950 has 27.3 PTO horsepower. That suggests the engine output is probably somewhere up in the 32hp range, and that the 23hp you state is likely at the drawbar. So applying the 5hp per foot rule, a 4wd 950 should have no trouble handling a 5' rotary cutter under general duty conditions. For other than general duty, perhaps Murf will respond as to whether he still supports his 2003 rationale.
//greg// ....
Link: JD reference list
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2010-08-16 173164
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Quote:
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Aside from torque, gears, and all that, our 6' commercial front-deck units only run an 20 or 22 hp gas engine, and will cut more grass and faster than you can imagine.
I can't believe 20 hp (and MUCH more torque) to sharp set of knives on a 6' bushog couldn't handle the task on the right terrain on a regular basis.Best of luck. [/QUOTE]
Neither physics nor my opinion has changed in 7 years.
Now the key is 'regular basis', I wouldn't want to put a 5' bush-hog on a small tractor like that and tackle a field in late June for the first cut of the season.
Now it's not at all the same, but for years all we used for cutting manicured turf was the venerable National Triplex ride-on 3 gang reel mowers, in both 84" & 96" wide models. The original models were equipped with 1 cylinder Kohler engines. The 7' had a 10hp engine, and the 8' model had a 12hp engine. That works backwards to 1.5hp / foot of cut.
They would cut thick turf that would choke a regular push mower if it was your lawn and do so at 4-5 mph all day long, and throw a rooster tail of cut grass that would blanket the operator too boot! That works out to about 4 acres an hour on open land.
Best of luck. ....
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| junglejeff
Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 3 Arundel, Maine
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2010-08-16 173167
Thanks, Murf for the follow up.
Were you referring to my JD 950 when you wrote, "Now the key is 'regular basis', I wouldn't want to put a 5' bush-hog on a small tractor like that and tackle a field in late June for the first cut of the season." Greg_g wrote, "According to Deere, the 950 has 27.3 PTO horsepower". I need to cut brush and weeds.
=Jeff ....
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2010-08-16 173173
Jeff, as a rule of thumb, you want no less than 5hp / foot of cutter, so 25hp for a 5' cutter, for doing bush-hogging.
Now, that figure goes up if any of the following apply, thick heavy grass, hills, high temperatures, 4x4 over 2WD, hydro drive over gear, etc., etc.
It also depends on the job to some extent, if time isn't an issue, and you can creep along, that's different than a commercial operation where you can't justify long hours to a customer who's paying by the hour.
I've always heard that the 'ideal' was about 7-8hp/foot of cutter, so a 5' cutter would need 35-40hp.
Now, the other issue is the 'ratings' themselves. They are based on a brand new tractor, and you want to believe the test unit was gone over with a microscope before the test by factory tech's.
That tractor is now 20 or 30 years old.
IMHO it will do it, but you won't be the first one to finish.
Best of luck. ....
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