Rotary cutter

I have an IH 254 4wd rated at 21 PTO horsepower. The IH 244 is the same tractor with a slightly smaller engine. I think it is rated at 18 PTO horsepower. Your 5' Sidewinder is more than your 244 can carry. I had one and it was just too much weight (Sidewinders are made out of recycled battleship armor I think). I went to a 5' Howse. I do not have any problems lifting or spinning this set up and the price was right. If you have a 244 you should consider a light weight rotary cutter in the 4' or 4 1/2' range. Think 5' is too much for 18 PTO horsepower.

Did you know the IH 244 and 254 were made by Mitsubisi and are very similiar to their line of "grey" tractors? Suggest you take a look at [http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/mitsubishitractors].

E-mail me if you like.

Steve Hansen

I find this mighty curious, as I have been swinging a 5' Woods behind my 18 PTO HP John Deere 750 for 11 years now, with no complaints. I have cut 2 foot high grass, shrubs, bushes and poplar and alder saplings up to 3" with little or no fuss. I mowed commercially for 5 of those 11 years. I haven't torn the transmission down to really inspect things, but I see no signs of excessive wear to the PTO, or any other problems.

I will admit that most saplings took two or three passes to really chowder up, and a bigger tractor would have enabled me to do the job faster, but my point is, it can and has been done with 18 HP.

Not arguing with you, just venturing an opinion. I wonder if diesel vs. gas enters into the question?

Unlike you, I have never hung a 5' rotary cutter on an 18 PTO horsepower tractor and gone hogging. In this matter, your real world experience has more value than my opinion.

When I got my tractor I went to the Net and asked about cutter size. I wanted a 5' because my tractor is a little less than 5' wide and I wanted to be able to cover my wheels when cutting. I was concerned, because all of the manufacture's literature recommended a 4' for my horse power range. Almost half of the people who responded thought 5' was too much for my 21 PTO horsepower IH 254. Finally, I took it down the street to a neighbor's place and hooked up his 5' cutter and tried it out. Based on that experience, I purchased the Sidewinder (from a friend of my fater-in-law sight unseen). It turned out to be too heavy so I traded for the Howse.

Dealer told me that to convert PTO horsepower to total horsepoer add 20%. My IH 254 would be about 25 overall and a JD 750 or IH 244 would be something like 22.

I agree that diesel tractors will pull more than gas tractor of equal horsepower. However, with rotary cutters, the first issue is the ability of the tractor to lift the cutter. Some of the older cutters were very heavy and even a 5' would require a stout tractor. This may be the origin of your 40 horse power folk lore. The second issue is the ability of the tractor to spin the cutter under load. To a point, you can compinsate for horsepower by simply going slow but a load is a load and asking your tractor to do more than it was designed to do invites problems.

In my case, I cut open areas and small "spring" saplings and avoid the bigger stuff.

I think manufactures are conservative in their recommendations but there is a limit to how far you can push it.

My advice to C-Ray was based on my experience with a slightly more capable tractor, advice from others on the Net, and specs in the manufacture's literature.

I guess it all comes down to what works for you. C-Ray's IH 244 will carry a light weight 5' cutter without a problem. How it will perform in the field over time is another matter. I don't think you will find a manufacturer who will recommend a 5' cutter for that size tractor. What does John Deere recommend for your JD 750?

Take what PTO horsepower you want (need), add 20% to it, and that's the engine size you're interested in...

IE if you want 80 PTO HP, go look for a 100 HP tractor.

With a 20 HP tractor, you've probably got about 16 available at the PTO.

My reckoning only ! Also, I count Diesel WORKpower at about 1.25 times a Gas engine HP for HP due to the Torque @ RPM differences.

Pull a gas engine 'down' and it will 'give up' pretty quickly where a diesel will hunker down and resist falling of the torque curve a lot longer.

My JD dealer sold me the Woods, recommended it over the JD equivalent as being more rugged.

My experience matches yours in the area of manufactures hedging their bet when recommending attachments a tad undersized.

I'm comfortable with my setup, but I'm also relatively careful how I use it. A guy in my area has a 35-ish HP Kubota and an the Industrial Strength version of the Woods 5' mower, and has beaten both to death by pushing it too hard. I think he's on his third PTO rebuild now...

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

Paul