Last minute Bushhhog question

[Mudball]

Im going to go look at, and possibly buy a 5' Bushhog brand rotary cutter tomorrow morning and I plan on getting him to operate it, then I will look it over and load it if I buy it.
Who knows what Im forgetting. Just wonder if there any special tips to look for.
Thanks

 

[85Hokie]

I take it that it is used? If you can - check the oil in the case, might not be possible to do, ask him if he ever changed it?

Check the blades - they should NOT be sharp, but there should be a constant bevel across, hopefully no huge gouges are large nicks.

Grab the PTO unhooked from the tractor, can you spin it, not going to be easy, but should turn with some effort. Can the pto shaft slide easily - been greased? Does it have play in the uni's? Look at back wheel, if single, look for the play in the axle.
Look at the two lower pins, they nice and straight? Bent link pins tell a story on how much it was (ab)used.

Look at the side wall of the cutter - if straight and true, it was used little, if there are places where it is pucked out or severely bent - then you know how it was used and what it hit!

send pictures and cost!

Offer 20% less and see if he bites.......worse that he can say is no!

 

[Mudball]

I take it that it is used? If you can - check the oil in the case, might not be possible to do, ask him if he ever changed it?

Check the blades - they should NOT be sharp, but there should be a constant bevel across, hopefully no huge gouges are large nicks.

Grab the PTO unhooked from the tractor, can you spin it, not going to be easy, but should turn with some effort. Can the pto shaft slide easily - been greased? Does it have play in the uni's? Look at back wheel, if single, look for the play in the axle.
Look at the two lower pins, they nice and straight? Bent link pins tell a story on how much it was (ab)used.

Look at the side wall of the cutter - if straight and true, it was used little, if there are places where it is pucked out or severely bent - then you know how it was used and what it hit!

send pictures and cost!

Offer 20% less and see if he bites.......worse that he can say is no!

That sounds really great. Thank you very much for all those tips.
Its been several years since I bought a bush hog.

 

[D2Cat]

On a rotary mower with a trail wheel, see if the grease fitting on the upright shaft has had grease. It amazes me how many are neglected.

With a brush mower, take in all the comments and advise, but remember...it can be beat to crap, but as long as the gearbox, u-joints, blades and bearings are in good condition..the dents, dings and bruises just brings the price down, not it's usefulness.

 

[In Utopia]

Might want to have him raise is slightly and engage the PTO and see if there is any excess vibration.
If there is, it could mean blades are stuck and won't fling out or one blade is heavier than the other.

 

[Mudball]

On a rotary mower with a trail wheel, see if the grease fitting on the upright shaft has had grease. It amazes me how many are neglected.

With a brush mower, take in all the comments and advise, but remember...it can be beat to crap, but as long as the gearbox, u-joints, blades and bearings are in good condition..the dents, dings and bruises just brings the price down, not it's usefulness.

That sounds great. Thanks for the help.

 

[Mudball]

Might want to have him raise is slightly and engage the PTO and see if there is any excess vibration.
If there is, it could mean blades are stuck and won't fling out or one blade is heavier than the other.

Thanks Another great idea. He said it had new blades and bolts and yet it looks good in pictures and he said they bought it new so I asked why they went through a set of blades already and he said someone hit a rock and broke a blade ??? I thought they just bend and maybe thats what he meant but my concern is that something else is out of alignment with the frame where the gear box mounts but I think it will vibrate bad if thats the case.
Thanks

 

[85Hokie]

To "break" a blade requires a hellva lot of force!

Those blades ought to be thicker than 1/4"! To break it would be - I am sure I did not want to be on THAT tractor if that happened!

Lat summer - commercial zero turn here at school - the AD ran over a SHOT PUT......I have pictures of THAT 1/4" thick blade - bent down about 60 degrees!!! You should have seen the crop circles left on the soccer field!


This have a stump jumper on it? Large disk that both blades bolt to?

Checking for vibration would be my #1 concern too!

 

[Mudball]

To "break" a blade requires a hellva lot of force!

Those blades ought to be thicker than 1/4"! To break it would be - I am sure I did not want to be on THAT tractor if that happened!

Lat summer - commercial zero turn here at school - the AD ran over a SHOT PUT......I have pictures of THAT 1/4" thick blade - bent down about 60 degrees!!! You should have seen the crop circles left on the soccer field!


This have a stump jumper on it? Large disk that both blades bolt to?

Checking for vibration would be my #1 concern too!

Sorry but I couldnt help but laugh at the mishap on the soccer field. Im glad no one got hurt.
It wasnt until after I read your post that I realized that I didnt ask him if it had a stump jumper so Im not sure. I dont believe it does but I will check. Its a model Bush Hog SQ600.
Thanks

 

[Mudball]

Checking for vibration would be my #1 concern too!

I also considered having him rev up rpm after hook up and engaging the pto and then while pto is still engaged then slow down rpm to I dont know say maybe
1200 to 1400 rpm ??? Too low ? Does that really tell me anything because my main concern is vibration at operating speed...right ?

 

[D2Cat]

This may be of some help to give you some idea of value (at least to others).

http://www.tractorhouse.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&Manu=BUSH+HOG&Mdltxt=SQ600&mdlx=exact

Here's some more opinions.

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=implment&th=81025

 

[Mudball]

This may be of some help to give you some idea of value (at least to others).

http://www.tractorhouse.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&Manu=BUSH+HOG&Mdltxt=SQ600&mdlx=exact

Here's some more opinions.

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=implment&th=81025

I read the links and thanks for that. I bought this one for 450.00 with new blades and bolts.
Just used it for about 1/2 hour before it started getting dark and seemed to work just fine. The gear box looks like its been leaking from the upper side plug and running down for a good while also the blades didnt swivel when I bought it but I havent checked them since I just used it unless they were over tightened which Im not sure will stop them from being free because I believe those bolts are shouldered. Anyway they might be free now. I believe its been sitting a year or two. I will change gear oil asap and recheck everything in next few days.
I must say that I think I am pushing the envelope with this 5 footer. I know all bushhogs vibrate some but you can really feel the momentum on my little L245F. Im beginning to think I might buy either a lighter duty 5' or a heavy duty 4' after Im done clearing the 2 acres which will take quite a while because I have to work around thorned Honeylocust trees.
Thanks again for all the help.