I have a Kubota L225 tractor,3cyl diesel,24HP. I'm looking at a 4' J-Bar. I'm bushhogging 7 acres of pasture grass. Whats y'all opinion on this piece of equipment?
J-Bar Bushhogs??
- Thread starter jd57
- Start date
ooh... I have 6 acres that I only cut about 5 of them and it takes pretty much all day with a 60" cutter. I can only imagine how long it would take with a 48" one... 
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
Took me about 1 1/2 hours per acre of field with my 4ft howse. That was horse pasture where they chomped down most of the grass. So I was going behind the horses and knocking down the rest of the weeds, and saplings trying to take over.
Got into some real thick grass and weeds at the neighbors, and that took the better part of an hour for the 1/4 acre spot. But that stuff should have been hit two months earlier and was as tall as the tractor
The old bota kicked butt though just dropped it into creeper gear and puttered along It's gonna depend on what exactly your mowing and how thick it is.
Russell King
Well-known member
Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
I have a L185, a bit smaller tractor than yours. A 4 foot mower is all that I want on my tractor due to the unloading of the front end. Even with the 4 foot, I ended up adding weights to the front to help balance back out the tractor. I mow about 3.5 to 4 acres and it takes a good 4 to 6 hours - lots of trees and such to avoid!
For the L225, I think you can use the larger 5 foot - if you have all the suitcase weights that will fit on the front. If you have no weight on front then you will probably need to get them to use the 5 foot mower. You may not have to have any weight for the 4 foot.
For the L225, I think you can use the larger 5 foot - if you have all the suitcase weights that will fit on the front. If you have no weight on front then you will probably need to get them to use the 5 foot mower. You may not have to have any weight for the 4 foot.
With my L2202 and a 4' bush hog, in moderate weeds, I can do 10-15 acres a day. Kinda subjective to site conditions, sometimes you have to gear down to go through heavy stuff. At home, after I fixed the throttle, I did 6-7 acres of cow pasture, in December, in about 4-5 hours, if I recall right.
My pasture is wide open,2 treesto go around. I used my neighbors international 384 w/ a 5' bushhog last fall and took me 6hrs. to cut it. The grass was about 4' high.
Russell, good point on the weights, I don't have them!
Do any of you fellas own or know someone that owns J-Bar brand. I'm wondering if they are good or are they junk.
I compared them with the bushhog brand & the steel gauge is the same thickness (14 gauge)
Russell, good point on the weights, I don't have them!
Do any of you fellas own or know someone that owns J-Bar brand. I'm wondering if they are good or are they junk.
I compared them with the bushhog brand & the steel gauge is the same thickness (14 gauge)
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I have owned a J-Bar cutter and it was a real POS. I guess it would be better than not having anything but if you can afford better it would be money well spent. Don't get me wrong, the people at J-Bar are great. Their facility is only about 30 miles from here so I would love it if the implements they made were quality but there not. I've tried several different implements from them and all were way to light. Bend, break or just plain fall apart, it's going to happen.
If you're just clipping pasture you probably would be fine with a 5' cutter. If nothing else hook it up 2 point so the tractor won't have to pick up so much weight.
If you're just clipping pasture you probably would be fine with a 5' cutter. If nothing else hook it up 2 point so the tractor won't have to pick up so much weight.
Thank-you Bulldog,thats what I wanted to find out. don't mind spending more money to get better quality.
What brand 4' bushhog do you guys recommend?
What brand 4' bushhog do you guys recommend?
We have 2 Hardee 5' tigercubs 40hp gearbox. Hardee is made in Loris SC. I have ran several different brands and my opinion is this is the best mower offered in our area. As far as J-Bar, only looked one day I passes buy the dealers lot, looked and left before the salesman could get out!!
I have Bushhog brand cutters and have had very good luck with them. Don't worry as much about which brand, look at the specs. If you want a high quality cut compare blade tip speed. The faster the speed the better the cut. This is what kills the J-Bar cutters, their tip speed is very slow and they cut like crap.
If I was looking for a 4' cutter:
Bushhog BH14
Land Pride RCR1548
This may fit your needs. I suggest trying to stay with a BTS of 13K or faster. My 5' is around 13K and it cuts well. My 8' is around 15K and it has a higher cut quality than the 5' does. Just a small difference in speed makes a huge difference in the cut quality.
If I was looking for a 4' cutter:
Bushhog BH14
Land Pride RCR1548
This may fit your needs. I suggest trying to stay with a BTS of 13K or faster. My 5' is around 13K and it cuts well. My 8' is around 15K and it has a higher cut quality than the 5' does. Just a small difference in speed makes a huge difference in the cut quality.
Thanks bulldog,helpful info. I have another novice question. My tractor has a "hi" & "low" speed on the PTO, which sould I use when bushhogging?
That 3' difference in diameter is what gives you a faster tip speed. Same math with the same gearbox will give you slower speeds with the 48". The slower you drive the better cut you get too.
I don't recall ever seeing a implement that runs slower than 540 rpm but lots run at faster speeds. So just making a guess the low is 540 which is what you will need to run a cutter.