Rotary cutter options
- Thread starter MOOTS
- Start date
BigG
Well-known member
Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
I would suggest that you drop the top link when you are mowing and use it as a 2 point hitch. That thing is long from front to back and crossing a ditch or hole could put a lot of strain on the hitch components.
Many happy hours of mowing.
Awesome looking cutter! I like how tall it is. Even the color is nice too.
I will try that. I had to take my pats off to even get the top link hooked up. With no top I could put the pats back on. Once my tnt from Brian shows up, I’ll be golden!
My cutter has a pivot pin near the top link to allow the cutter to articulate about the lift arm pins. It looks like Matt's Bush Hog has the same or a similar feature. Cresting a hill would load up all three connection points but the MX handles the weight with ease.
I've used my cutter a lot and am quite hard on it but the top link heim that I welded on has held up just fine, unlike the factory top link heim that buckled under load.
Thank you. Love it so far. Gonna raise the rear another hole and try that. I’ve already got some bends in the shield thing. Will probably use it as is, till it’s beat up, then add chains.
I have the rear height in "set and forget" mode and trim up the front as needed depending on the conditions and desired finish.
These things get abused for sure, but they can take it. I can weld and fix as needed, but I'm really impressed with the LP I have, and so far only have two small dents in the deck that I couldn't pound flat, even with a 4lb hammer. That's how tough the deck is.
I'm really impressed by how well it cuts too and I've done more cutting this year since buying it than I've done during all the other years combined.
BigG
Well-known member
Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
Even with the movement allowed by the mower when you find a new ditch or hole and the tractor sinks down there is a lot of stress pushing on the top link. If you remove it there is no stress put onto the hitch. With the larger, heavier tractors that could lead to damage. The T n T will still cause stress that is not needed. Replace the top link with a piece of log chain if you want to pick up the mower when you need to back over something.
There is a lot of weight in the tractor and the mower and when it falls into a hole there will be a lot of strain plus the length of the mower will multiply the forces that may be applied.
I got to run my rotary cutter around 8 acres today ... up and back, up and back ... with the occasional break to admire the scenery. I have to go back to tomorrow for about an hour to finish up but it was a fun afternoon for sure. The RCR1884 is an excellent cutter as far as I'm concerned, and the MX is simply outstanding.
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Not meaning to high jack!
I apologize for the possibly dumb question, but what is a “pat”?
I’m following this thread intently because I bent my “A” frames on my older Howse 6’ mower pretty badly.
Both were “smushed down”, lower.
I have new ones ordered, but need to better learn how to adjust the mower to prevent the undue stresses that BigG is warning.
I’m thinking my next mower might be the Everything Attachments mower as I like the idea of Hardox blades.
Many thanks!
@Matt Ellerbee, have you used your cutter a bunch already? I'm loving mine for sure. I finished up at my friend's this morning and am very pleased with the final product. It's not a finish mower but it sure does do a good job with the tall stuff. Amazingly enough, the tractor wasn't even close to overheating despite all the fuzz on the face. Kind of looks like a bee in the last photo. 
I've read through the RCR1884 manual cover to cover and there's nothing mentioned re not connecting the top link. Why even supply a top link connection if it puts stress on the tractor? I would think that the people designing these products would know a fair amount about how to use them. The 1884 has a floating top link for a reason. Just about anything can be abused to the point of failing but if used within the intended design parameters these things should last for years, as should the tractor.
Russell King
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
On the older mowers with no floating links at the top, if you go through a ditch the rear of the mower gets raised and jams the top link tight and forces that joint downwards and collapses the a-frame arms. A similar thing can happen if the tractor goes up a sharp incline from flat ground.
Get your tractor on flat ground and remove the top link then jack up the rear of the mower and see how much that top point moves towards the tractor.
Many Land Pride mowers have an top link that is specifically designed to move. So, if you have fixed top link mower, you might consider running unattached, but if you have a newer Land Pride, I don’t think that is necessary.
BigG
Well-known member
Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
This is a drawing of my Rhino TW96 mower hitch: https://store.germanbliss.com/servis-rhino-tw96-sn15129-current-rotary-mower-hydraulic-offset-parts
As you can plainly see there are only to points to hook up the mower. I was trying to find a better way to explain that 2 points is all that you need to have a safe rotary mower.
This photo shows what happens when you use the top link and the amount of movement allowed to the top link is exceeded. This is on a L3901. All 4 bars that run to the top link where bent. The operator of the tractor, my son's boss, has no clue how he did this to the mower.
BigG
Well-known member
Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
I used it about 4 hours the day I got it. It has since been rainy here in Georgia.@Matt Ellerbee, have you used your cutter a bunch already? I'm loving mine for sure. I finished up at my friend's this morning and am very pleased with the final product. It's not a finish mower but it sure does do a good job with the tall stuff. Amazingly enough, the tractor wasn't even close to overheating despite all the fuzz on the face. Kind of looks like a bee in the last photo.
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@BigG, I'm surprised at how "light" the steel is for the linkage for that cutter. It looks like a cheap, light duty cutter to me. My cutter uses 1/2" plate with a welded flange for the lower link to top link connections. It would take a lot of force to bend such short runs. The two triangulation bars running rearward to the center of the deck are 3/8" plate without any bends so there's no propensity for the steel to move in a particular direction.