Need to mow but leave 8" standing

[chim]

My one BIL has a pasture he wants to maintain and cut to approx. 8" when he mows. He has a nice rotary mower that works OK but it does leave some windrows. He is looking for something like a rear discharge RFM that can be adjusted to leave 8" standing. We looked at my RFM and the tallest it will leave is about 5-1/2". Any ideas? Thank you.

 

[sheepfarmer]

That is about how high my Caroni flail is cutting my pasture It has adjustable skids on it, and then the height of the 3 pt will lift it further. Mine is actually higher than I'd like, but I can't set it lower or the quick hitch will hit the pto shaft. This is one of those impliments that don't work well with a quick hitch, even with a modification to the top link attachment.

 

[Russell King]

I have had no luck finding anything but a shredder that will cut that high.
There are tow behind rough cut mower but they have small engines for use with ATV
Mowing more frequently with shredder helps reduce the windrowing


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[Missouribound]

I have a Land Pride grooming mower that probably gets close to that height if adjusted all the way up. It is a rear discharge as well so no windrows.

 

[Missouribound]

I have a Land Pride grooming mower that probably gets close to that height if adjusted all the way up. It is a rear discharge as well so no windrows.

I took a quick look at the manual and it says max is about 5 1/2". It sure looks higher than that. But the problem I see is that 8" tall grass won't stand up very well and you can't really get a good cut when the grass tends to lay down. I would think a reel type could work but the height still is going to be an issue.

 

[chim]

Thank you for the input. Flails sound interesting. I've been watching some videos of them in action. He may be test driving something from a dealer and I'll check it out. My Land Pride FDR 1672 RFM is set to cut at 4" and there are enough bushings on the wheel assemblies to get another 1-1/2" as Missouribound says.

 

[sdk1968]

ok.. i'll be the dummy to ask the obvious question:

why cant you just raise the implement up to where you want to cut with it & use your lock tab to make sure it stays at that height?

what did i miss?

 

[Missouribound]

but I can't set it lower or the quick hitch will hit the pto shaft. .

I have the same issue with my Land Pride and my quick hitch....it's a real pain in the a**. I just may take it off and leave it attached to the box blade in the mowing season.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

chim,
Why 8" (just curious)???
And yes a fail is the only way to go for that kind of an operation.

 

[chim]

chim,
Why 8" (just curious)???
And yes a fail is the only way to go for that kind of an operation.

I think the 8" is what he wants to maintain for establishing a new meadow.

ok.. i'll be the dummy to ask the obvious question:

why cant you just raise the implement up to where you want to cut with it & use your lock tab to make sure it stays at that height?

what did i miss?

The acreage isn't nice and flat. Suspending the mower on the TPH is a concern because of (A) the heavy mower bouncing on the toplink and stressing the rear housing, and (B) since the land isn't real flat and level, the cut height of the grass will vary as the tractor travels over uneven ground.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I think the 8" is what he wants to maintain for establishing a new meadow.



The acreage isn't nice and flat. Suspending the mower on the TPH is a concern because of (A) the heavy mower bouncing on the toplink and stressing the rear housing, and (B) since the land isn't real flat and level, the cut height of the grass will vary as the tractor travels over uneven ground.

What you need is longer/ taller caster wheel assemblies to hold it off the ground that tall, that should be a fairly cheap and easy fix.

 

[Missouribound]

If you look at the Land Pride grooming mowers, and others I am sure they use a solid shaft with bushing to adjust the height. I believe a good welding shop could extend those shafts so you could add bearings to get the height you desire.
I still wonder if 8" high grass will stand up well enough to provide a good cut but oh well. It might be cheaper to get a good ridiing mower and put larger wheels on it...most of them will cut 4 -5 inches high so large wheels just may do the trick.

 

[sheepfarmer]

If you look at the Land Pride grooming mowers, and others I am sure they use a solid shaft with bushing to adjust the height. I believe a good welding shop could extend those shafts so you could add bearings to get the height you desire.
I still wonder if 8" high grass will stand up well enough to provide a good cut but oh well. It might be cheaper to get a good ridiing mower and put larger wheels on it...most of them will cut 4 -5 inches high so large wheels just may do the trick.

You are right about the cut, at least on my flail with brush blades, it doesn't look all that great when first cut, but oddly enough after a day or so when it stands back up it looks ok. In a pasture one is usually trying to lop off the weeds and even up the parts that get rank because of the manure piles, so the expectations are lower.

 

[Russell King]

I know I want to cut my fields higher to allow the native grasses to survive. Most native grass in my area will die out if routinely cut too short.

The larger wheels on the riding mower is limited by the fenders. I have consider adding riser blocks between the frame and wheel carriages but have not looked at that too hard yet.


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[Tooljunkie]

Sickle mower?
A front mount will be the best for tidy mowing,be it a sickle or a flail.

 

[chim]

Thanks all. He gave me a call last night to see a beast of a deck he's going to be test driving. It's a Woods RD990X if I got the number right. I haven't seen the underside but he said the three "blades" are really something in the order of 3 bush hog type rotors with free-swinging blades. It weighs in at around 1,200# and makes my Land Pride FDR1672 look like a toy. The steel appears to be 3/8" thick most places. Wheels must be at least 4" wide. I'll try to get pictures of it in action.

With regard to raising a finish mower by extending the shafts - I wouldn't try it. Too much leverage on the shaft if it hits something. I've bent mine and they aren't adjusted for max cutting height.

 

[D2Cat]

I wanted to do the same thing, leave more standing grass then usual. Here's what I did.

Had a machine shop do most of the work because my tools wouldn't cut this steel! But put the round hole on the lift pin of the implement (then the lynch pin), both sides, and the same at the top where the toplink connects to the tractor. Use chain to drop in the slots and adjust to height needed.

I'm using a Deutz 6206 and the hyd. drift down. This solves the problem until I can figure why.

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know how big his tractor is but a 8' twin spindle rotary cutter like a Bushhog 3008 won't leave windrows as long as the rear chains are on or at least take the rear bands off.

If he has enough tractor I would suggest looking at a batwing. The outside wings are counter rotating so they don't leave rows either. Need more room to turn a batwing but they will cover some ground in a hurry.

First pic was in my south pasture. Some of the grass was as tall as the front tires and you see how clean it cut.

Second pick is with my 3008. Only pick I could find but your can see how clean it leaves things as well.

 

[Missouribound]

or the quick hitch will hit the pto shaft..

Today, when mowing with my 3 pt grooming mower I noticed the cut wasn't as even as it should have been. It turn out that the quick hitch hampers the pot shaft enough to restrict movement. I took off the quick hitch and re-attached the mower the "old fashioned way" and the cut improved drastically.
I'll leave it for the box blade, rear blade and counterweights.

 

[sheepfarmer]

I looked at my flail the next time I went out in the barn out of curiosity. For additional info for anyone else trying to solve this general problem, the Caroni flail has built into the design about 8 inches of adjustment of both the skids and the roller. I think ideally it rests mostly on the roller as it is pulled by the 3 pt, and the skids act as a backup. Mine is currently set on the second to the highest holes for both the roller and the skids. To change the height you take out 3 bolts on each side.