walk-behind brush cutters

[n***@email.com]

I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower.
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.

A real tractor would be overkill, and not maneuverable enough. A typical
lawn mower gets quickly beat up from the uneven terrain, tree fall,
woody brush, etc.

Any suggestions on a good compromise?

Thanks,

[Rich Wellner]

I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower. I
have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown areas,
clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along the drive,
etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around the house and
gardens or cutting a small pasture.

A brush cutter isn't going to do such a nice job on your lawn, but for the
rest we've used a brand called Billy Goat. Worked well enough even though
we kind of abused it. Kept on cutting.

Looks *exactly* like some other brands though, so I don't know if there is
one manufacturer and several re-brands or if there is only one way to make
these things and have them work.

rw2

[Bruce]

I have a 15HP DR Field and Brush Mower
(http://www.countryhomeproducts.com//ProductHome.asp?dept_id=200) and
that might be what you are looking for. The are not cheap but will
power through chest high weeds, brush, and 1-2 inch sapplings. The
machines are self propelled (4 forward speeds, 1 reverse) and can go
just about any where.

I purchased mine last March and I am 100% satisfied. It's great in
areas that are too hard or too dangerous for our tractor/bush hog. I
purchased a hilly 25 acre property last year and much of the original
cleared areas are reverting back to jungle (live in Virginia and
things are growing like crazy this year). The DR has gone a long way
towards converting that jungle back to pasture.

My only regret is not getting the 17HP model since it has a 30"
cutting swath vs the 26" for 15HP models. Keep in mind too that since
you walk behind the DR, you get somewhat of a workout too ...
especially on hills. The machine is realatively easy to handle (my
wife doesn't have any problems) but it can wear you out after 6 hours
in the afternoon sun.

It does a semi decent job cutting yard grass and that that is what I'm
using it for now since my mower is busted. You can't adjust the
cutting height so it leaves the yard looking a little long (4").

I haven't had any problems with mine so far but other posts to this
usenet group and others indicates that the DR is dependable and the
company will stand behind their product.

- Bruce

PS -- Call the company and they will send you a great 1/2 hour video
tape of the DR in action.

PPS -- Forgot I took some photos. Here's a "before" picture of an
overgrown hill:

Loading Image...

and "after":

Loading Image...

Post by n***@email.com
I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower.
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.
A real tractor would be overkill, and not maneuverable enough. A typical
lawn mower gets quickly beat up from the uneven terrain, tree fall,
woody brush, etc.
Any suggestions on a good compromise?
Thanks,

[Rick]

I have the 17 hp model with the 30 inch deck
This unit has been just one problem after another. I had the mower
only 3 days when the differential shattered the spider gears, then The
unit began to get stress cracks in several locations on the deck Oh
the deck pulley also broke but DR knows this is an issue because they
send a spare pulley with the unit and now the skid broke off on the
ejection side. I have seen several others that have broken skids and
DR says they will not cover them on the warranty they claim this is a
were and tear issue. YEA Right My DR is only THREE MONTHS OLD. save
up some extra cash and buy a Brush Blazer

http://www.lawnvac.com/brush_blazer.htm

Post by n***@email.com
I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower.
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.
A real tractor would be overkill, and not maneuverable enough. A typical
lawn mower gets quickly beat up from the uneven terrain, tree fall,
woody brush, etc.
Any suggestions on a good compromise?
Thanks,

[Deb]

Post by n***@email.com
I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind

brush-cutter/mower.

Post by n***@email.com
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out

overgrown

Post by n***@email.com
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing

along

Post by n***@email.com
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.

I only have 5 acres of wooded hills. I went to Sears and got their
high wheel brush cutter. 4 years later the engine is shot. Because
of the design, the oil splashed out every time I went uphill. I
also had problems with the 'adjustable' cutting level. It fell to
the lowest level no matter how tight we tightened the hex screw
holding it.

Now I have a Swisher trail cutter we pull behind the 4 wheeler. It
works great on the open spaces, and the 'stick' whacker can do the
close work. (Except for when I can talk Dad into loaning out his
DR - which works great on the tight spots.) www.swisherinc.com

Deb
--
(in Oregon, the pacific northWET) ;>

[Tom Quackenbush]

Post by n***@email.com
I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower.
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.
A real tractor would be overkill, and not maneuverable enough. A typical
lawn mower gets quickly beat up from the uneven terrain, tree fall,
woody brush, etc.
Any suggestions on a good compromise?
Thanks,

I initially bought a used (ca. 1970) 12 h.p. Gravely walk-behind
tractor, thinking to use it for many of the same tasks as you
describe, but it didn't work out so well. The thing weighs about 600
lbs with the 30" mower deck and has only about 2"- 3" of ground
clearance. That's a bad combination if you're trying to use it in
rough terrain. Holes and ditches will stop it in it's tracks. In my
declining years I find it hard to lift 600 lbs out of a hole (it's
hell getting old <g>). Don't get me wrong, it's a great machine, built
like a tank. and I use it for plowing, snow-blowing, etc., but mowing
broken terrain isn't one of it's strong points.

Two years ago I bought a new 15 h.p. DR brush mower. It weighs about
330 lbs with the mower deck, has much better ground clearance and a
limited slip differential. It works much better (haven't got stuck
yet). One thing I liked about their 13 - 15 -17 h.p. models is the
pressurized oil system - it's pretty hilly here. The 15 h.p. model
will cut down 2" saplings without any trouble.

I have used it to mow my front lawn (I'm using a very loose
definition of "lawn" here), but prefer not to. I have a tiny front
lawn with plenty of obstacles and the DR is just too hard to maneuver.
You _can_ make some pretty tight turns with it if you try, but the
tires will tend to rip up the sod. Also the brush mower deck cuts
pretty high (5" - 6"). DR does have 42" & 46" decks intended for
smooth lawns. They should work much better than the 26" brush deck for
mowing a large lawn.

DR mower model comparison:

http://www.countryhomeproducts.com/twonavbar.asp?dept%5Fid=200&mode=models&sf=fabcomparison1%2Ehtml&mscsid=HT91PX83B81T8MMESAKTV59FRFTG24TB

R,
Tom Q.

[Rick]

On 26 Aug 2003 14:04:44 -0400, ***@email.com wrote:

I have a DR and I like it for cutting paths up very steep hills etc.
However, you may fare better with one of the new string trimmers. I'm
talking about the wheeled kind that use very heavy duty plastic chord
(~7 mm) or larger. I have an attachment for my DR that uses 0.95 cm
chord that wacks through serious tall weeds and small brush. You can
also get them with brush cutter blades, and they are half or less the
cost of a DR.

Thanks for the info, everyone. I've looked into the DR (and requested
their video). But I'm not sure if the DR / BillyGoat / Bachtold brush
cutter is going to be the right machine. Cutting through 2 inch
saplings is not so important. Just something that can cut through
overgrown areas and not get beat up by uneven terrain, rocks, tree fall,
etc.
Maybe a second-hand landscapers walk-behind? (New ones are much too
expensive.)
http://www.troybilt.com/servlet/BrandProductDetail?ID=117&CAT=1&SUB=38
(I saw one for sale, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up.)
Or maybe one of the BCS mowers? (I could use a tiller, too). The 26 inch
rotary brush mower at
http://www.bcsshop.com/mower.htm
looks interesting. Anyone have any experience with one of these?
Thanks,

[John Jacob]

There is only one real walk behind brush hog type mower. A Gravely
convertable with an old style 30" mower. Leave off the front fender.
Install a brush blade, or stack 2 of them with spacers between them.
Dual wheels with chains.
This will clear just about anything. Up to about 3" soft wood trees.
Be careful, using a Gravely this way will wear it out in less than 40
years.
My '69 almost never starts on the first pull anymore.
John

Post by n***@email.com
I'm looking for recommendations for a walk-behind brush-cutter/mower.
I have a small property (about 10 acres) in the southeastern US, mostly
wooded. I'm looking for something capable of clearing out overgrown
areas, clearing the property lines and walking paths, clearing along
the drive, etc. Should also be capable of mowing a bit of lawn around
the house and gardens or cutting a small pasture.
A real tractor would be overkill, and not maneuverable enough. A typical
lawn mower gets quickly beat up from the uneven terrain, tree fall,
woody brush, etc.
Any suggestions on a good compromise?
Thanks,
--
Steve

[Fred Walter]

Or maybe one of the BCS mowers? (I could use a tiller, too). The 26 inch
rotary brush mower at
http://www.bcsshop.com/mower.htm
looks interesting. Anyone have any experience with one of these?

I have the 30" rotary mower, used on an older BCS735 (10hp) 2-wheel tractor.

It works well for me. The BCS735 has a differential lock, so when one wheel
drops into a hole, I lock the differential, and the other wheel grabs
and pulls the machine out.

I have used it in the past to mow down saplings up to almost 1" in diameter.
(Well, knock down is perhaps a better way of describing it - it cuts them
down but doesn't really cut them up because once they are flat on the ground
the blade can't get at them.)

I have a 99 acre farm that is slowly going back to bush.
I like going for walks, and I use this to make a path so that
I'm not walking through 4' high grass/weeds/saplings.

Buy used if you can; BCS equipment is expensive as heck new.

[John Gilmer]

Post by Fred Walter
I have a 99 acre farm that is slowly going back to bush.
I like going for walks, and I use this to make a path so that
I'm not walking through 4' high grass/weeds/saplings.

You might consider just carrying along a pair of "loppers" and a bottle of
brush killer. I have no problem cutting 1.5" "trees" with one "bite."
Once down, I take a few more "bites" and end up with pieces I can toss off
my "trail."

With 99 acres you can arrange a good length "walk." With the loppers you
can work out the upper body as well.

At some point you can just run your regular lawn mower (at max height).

[n***@email.com]

Post by Fred Walter
Buy used if you can; BCS equipment is expensive as heck new.

Thanks for the info. The BCS sounds like it would be a good match for my
mowing and garden tilling needs. I'm keeping an eye out for a used BCS,
but they don't seem to come available too often.

Thanks,

[Fred Walter]

Post by Fred Walter

Or maybe one of the BCS mowers? (I could use a tiller, too).

I have the 30" rotary mower, used on an older BCS735 (10hp) 2-wheel tractor.
It works well for me. The BCS735 has a differential lock, so when one wheel
drops into a hole, I lock the differential, and the other wheel grabs
and pulls the machine out.
I have used it in the past to mow down saplings up to almost 1" in diameter.
(Well, knock down is perhaps a better way of describing it - it cuts them
down but doesn't really cut them up because once they are flat on the ground
the blade can't get at them.)

I recently bought a digital camera and have taken lots of pictures.

BCS photos are at:

http://myfarm.freeyellow.com/bcs/index.htm

I've started playing around with Gravely equipment. Gravely photos are at:

http://myfarm.freeyellow.com/gravely/index.htm

As you can tell in the BCS photos, I'm using an old schoolbus,
with the seats ripped out, as a storage shed for my garden-equipment.

[Tom Quackenbush]

On 20 Oct 2003 15:20:21 -0700, ***@hotmail.com (Fred Walter)
wrote:
<SNIP>

Post by Fred Walter
http://myfarm.freeyellow.com/gravely/index.htm
As you can tell in the BCS photos, I'm using an old schoolbus,
with the seats ripped out, as a storage shed for my garden-equipment.

Nice pictures.

I've got a Commercial 12, too. Mine's yellow, though (1970?), and I
don't have as many attachments as you. Nice machine.


If you're looking for parts & advice to fix yours, you might want to
subscribe to some of the lists Yahoo has for Gravelys:

http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=gravely

R,
Tom Q.

[Eric]

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