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Harry Ferguson Tractors Discussion Forum
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Rotary Cutter - What Gear?

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RoySC

05-06-2007 05:33:00




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When cutting with my ol' TO-20, pulling a 4' rotary cutter, I normally run in 1st gear. Yesterday I got a little behind on time so I took her up to 3rd gear while cutting and she seemed to do a decent job. I'm new at this; just wondering what the more experienced folks have to say about what gear you should run a TO-20 while "bush hogging". I guess it would depend on the height / thickness of what was being cut....thoughts??

Thanks....

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Cass

05-09-2007 00:16:24




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
Well i agree with letting the tractor talk. I gotta say i got about 9 acres of pasture that has growed up over the years, anyways i got a 51 TO 30 5' bush hog and i am cutting small trees/ sapplings that are atleast as tall as the hood. :) got some great power, usually mow in 2nd gear



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John W. Mason

05-08-2007 13:27:28




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
Hello All, I have heard all the gears but have not heard any one say hi or lo range. First season using my TO35 for mowing. As Mike A. (hello stranger) said "let her talk to you". I finish mowed last week using 2nd and 3rd gear, LO range.

John



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gshadel

05-06-2007 18:48:14




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
Roy, I have a 5' cutter, I usually run 2nd gear unless the engine starts bogging down in really thick stuff, then drop down to 1st. I have my deck set pretty low too. I've run around in 3rd gear, but that was usually for touch-up. If 3rd works for you, then that's the right speed! I also have a 4' flail mower, that thing seems to require more power, I run 2nd gear with that, but find I need to drop to 1st gear for anything taller than 10 inches. Roy, you say your new to the bush hogging, make sure your using an over running clutch on your PTO when using the cutter.


George

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John(UK)

05-06-2007 10:42:39




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
Keep the blades sharp and it will make a nicer cut and it won't need as much power to drive it, so you could go faster. PTO speed is 3/4 throttle on that tractor. The engine will tell you if it is working too hard, if it is, change gear.



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mike a. tenn.

05-06-2007 10:01:00




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
roy...i let my tractors "talk" to me. first of all i run about 3/4 throttle, and very very seldon in third gear at this throttle setting while working it, it's really too fast to be safe in my opinion.. but what i mean by letting it "talk" to me is, i can hear by the load on the tractor when i need to lower the gear. if it's humming along just fine and not getting "loaded", that's what gear i'll stay in. if i go thru a thick patch and it logs down, i drop a gear, or even raise the mower if it's still too heavy, and go back over it again. it's like anything else...once you get used to your tractor you can tell what it needs by paying attention to how it sounds and how it's acting.

hope this helps you,
mike
ps...i hope you have a good ORC on your PTO. if you don't know what this is, ask!

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phil(va)

05-06-2007 05:53:56




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 Re: Rotary Cutter - What Gear? in reply to RoySC, 05-06-2007 05:33:00  
Well of course it definitely depends on the thickness, and somewhat the height, of what you are cutting. Normally you should be able to run a 4 ft. cutter in at least second gear, unless it's very thick. I cut some pretty thick fescue yesterday with my 5 ft. cutter and TO-30 in second gear for the most part.



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