good mowers for TO-30

ben harpo

Member

I'm thinking about buying another mower and would appreciate advice on what to get. I would especially like to hear what other people have run successfully and unsuccessfully.

I want a flail mower and need to make sure I get one suitable for the PTO of a TO-30 (including hp).


I already have a Ford 501 sickle bar mower, and haven't been able to use it yet. The PTO shaft coupling on the mower has a protuberance which hits a ring on the housing of the PTO of the tractor before they are fully linked. I have an overrunning clutch accessory which makes a good connection. Only problem is, that makes the PTO shaft on the mower too long. I can probably cut it down, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
(quoted from post at 02:55:21 09/06/14)
I'm thinking about buying another mower and would appreciate advice on what to get. I would especially like to hear what other people have run successfully and unsuccessfully.

I want a flail mower and need to make sure I get one suitable for the PTO of a TO-30 (including hp).


I already have a Ford 501 sickle bar mower, and haven't been able to use it yet. The PTO shaft coupling on the mower has a protuberance which hits a ring on the housing of the PTO of the tractor before they are fully linked. I have an overrunning clutch accessory which makes a good connection. Only problem is, that makes the PTO shaft on the mower too long. I can probably cut it down, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I can tell you about sickle mowers for the TO-30. You can remove the overun clutch on your pto so you can use the 501 mower. There is no need for the clutch when using a sickle mower because there is nothing to provide momentum which would propel the tractor forward without it. Where you may get into trouble is if you are cutting anything thick your ground speed may be too fast for your cutterbar speed. Ford recommended changing the drive pulley to a 9 inch pulley for 4 speed tractors. Most 501's I ever saw had the 10 1/2 inch pulley. Plus you will have to make you a height limiting chain so you can hold the mower at a constant height when it is lowered since the TO-30 doesn't have position control. If you wanted to buy a more suitable sickle mower for the TO-30 a MF 31 is a very nice mower but can be pricey if in good shape. They are belt driven,have an adjustable sheave to speed up or slow down the sickle speed to match the tractor it is used on,and they are easy to hook up. You will still need a limiting chain for it. The cheapest and best match is either a Ferguson AEO mower or a Dearborn 14-1,14-2,14-15 or 14-16 mower. Of course the AEO mowers were matched to the Ford 9N and the Ferguson TE-20,TO-20,and TO-30. The Dearborn 14-15 and 14-16 came out as Ford offered its new 8N but they mount and work on the Ferguson just fine. Detroit Harvestor built all of the AEO and Dearborn mowers. The Dearborn 14-1 and 14-2 are the same identical mower as the Ferguson AEO mowers,they are just red instead of gray. With any of those mowers you do not need different sized sheaves because they are already matched to the tractor. Height control is controlled by a chain that hooks to the top link on the AEO mowers,and the top link is built in on the Dearborn 14-15 and 14-16 mowers. They even have a transport lock so the mower can not drop while being transported long distances. They only downside to the AEO and Dearborn mowers is they are a little harder to hook up and they have to have special brackets but they are easily found. The AEO mowers and all of the Dearborn mowers use a stabilizer bracket on the right side of the tractor under the axle that has an eye in it. It's needed for the breakaway. They also use the Ferguson top link but it has plates mounted on each side with teeth in them for the height control chain to hook into. The chain is part of the mower. The Dearborn 14-15 and 14-16 also use 9" links on the lift arms that drop the lift arms down so the mower can not be raised to high and tearing up the pto shaft. They also used a special top link bracket that mounts on the long hinged pin on the tractor. I have two Ferguson 6A-EO-A20 mowers and two Dearborn 14-15 mowers and I can hook one up in about 15 mins. They aren't bad once you learn how to properly mount them.
 

Here is the speed chart for a 501 mower
B9974D8B-C9A3-49F2-A243-7783F2944A3D-5011-0000053D0E2D7648_zps2b4f2d21.jpg


The height control chain for the MF 31
EB774CAA-F728-4190-B7DD-88EC907624C3-5011-0000053D46885E98_zpse17a352a.jpg


A shot from the manual of the Ferguson AEO mower
9AAD09B4-8454-4ECC-BA86-D2D0C1E13387-31230-0000317C1383FEE8_zps2e857d1e.jpg


A shot of the top link for the AEO mowers
81CD14AB-AF2E-44A8-BDF8-3C23F2ADB869-31230-0000317C15F8A032_zps999e29c3.jpg


The stabilizer bracket needed for both the AEO mowers and the Dearborn mowers and the drop down links for the Dearborn 14-15 and 14-16 mowers.
1953ED81-A3BB-4B19-8BFA-32BE8E977DE5-27848-0000272BAE94A88C_zpseefd8c19.jpg


The top link bracket for the Dearborn 14-15 and 14-16

FC763255-719C-40DB-9098-46401F6CA463-27848-0000272AFE4ADDD9_zpsc6ee85ea.jpg


Here is my 14-15 on my TO-20
F684F6D6-946B-4F86-ACBB-9530EE972E1C-28256-00002E0AB2D773B1_zps77bcb087.jpg
 
I run a DEARBORN MOWER on my FERGUSON TEA 20. This mower requires the correct extensions in the 3 point lift arms and the correct bracket to attach the breakaway release to. Mower is old and not sure were you would obtain parts. I use mower around buildings to keep a fire guard. Not a great mower on my TEA 20 FREGUSON TRACTOR as I do not have live PTO. When mower in in great running condition it will cut down 1/2 " green willows with ease.
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