could you mow with topper??

eorna

probably a mad idea but was thinking if i set the topper very low could you mow hay or silage with it? did anybody ever tried it??i presume won't work, that's why mowers are not toppers but just curious why wouldn't though.

The Big Fella

One things for sure a topper does not have the rotary speed to cut meadows cleanly. Notice how a mower has a gear box to up the speed of the pto shaft. Most toppers only have 4 cutting points, A 6 foot disc mower has 10 cutting points.

reilig

Personally I use a topper for topping - ie. breaking the top off old grass and cutting the tops off weeds (thistles etc) making sure not to go too low in order to encourage a faster regrowth. Some people swear by a disc mower, but it just does what its name says, it mows. I just want to top my pasture fields so i use a topper. Unfortunately, it will only top meadow. yes, if you drive slow enough and set the topper low enough, it will cut long grass, but it will also chop it to pieces.

DaNiEl1994

we have tried it in a half an acre for hay and what we found was the cutting speed was'nt the problem go in 3rd low and it cut grand its just that it cuts it more than once about twice or four times, we made a few cocks of hay out of it so for a small place ii say try it yourself but really anything over an acre just get a friend or neighbour to give ya a loan of a mower or do it themselves

jeff greene

reilig wrote: »

Personally I use a topper for topping - ie. breaking the top off old grass and cutting the tops off weeds (thistles etc) making sure not to go too low in order to encourage a faster regrowth. Some people swear by a disc mower, but it just does what its name says, it mows. I just want to top my pasture fields so i use a topper. Unfortunately, it will only top meadow. yes, if you drive slow enough and set the topper low enough, it will cut long grass, but it will also chop it to pieces.

A cosmetic job so? :rolleyes:

Not a hope of doing that OP, sorry.

Master and commander

the rotors are not suitable, will not give a clean cut they will scatter the grass all over the place and leave it all in big knots. It will aldo be very slow, whcih means use more fuel which means more expensive. Just use a proper mower.

Plus unless you have a fully offset mower you will be driving over the grass you are wanting to cut and flattening it so the topper wou'nt cut it properly and end up wasting grass. A waste of time this is.

This kind of messing annoys me.

reilig

jeff greene wrote: »

A cosmetic job so? :rolleyes:

What do you mean?

jeff greene

reilig wrote: »

What do you mean?

For topping to be any use its needs to be done at 2.5'', any higher is a waste of time. Leaf will only start growing at the topping height so it needs to be low to have a leafy sward.

reilig

jeff greene wrote: »

For topping to be any use its needs to be done at 2.5'', any higher is a waste of time. Leaf will only start growing at the topping height so it needs to be low to have a leafy sward.

My point exactly. You will be cutting much lower with a disc mower and will end up with a slower regrowth!!

Experts would not recommend going lower than 2.5"

jeff greene

reilig wrote: »

My point exactly. You will be cutting much lower with a disc mower and will end up with a slower regrowth!!

Whats the point of topping?

reilig

jeff greene wrote: »

Whats the point of topping?

You cut away old grass and weeds that are not eaten which allows fresh and new grass to grow

jeff greene

reilig wrote: »

You cut away old grass and weeds that are not eaten which allows fresh and new grass to grow

and at what height? 2.5'' which is low but thats the point.

reilig

jeff greene wrote: »

and at what height? 2.5'' which is low but thats the point.

I didn't disagree with you. 2.5" is fine. However, if you go lower than this, you risk cutting away valuable clover or even removing the cover that clover needs from other grasses in order to establish and grow properly.

snowman707

jeff greene wrote: »

Whats the point of topping?

surely the objective of "topping" is to cut away dead and unpalatable low quality foliage (and weed control of course) not much need for topping on this farm as we rotate the sheep behind the cows but when we do we use a disc mower ,

back to op's query as stated toppers arn't really suitable for mowing

pakalasa

Even though a topper is made of stronger stuff than a mower, you'll do more damage to it cutting heavy crops than you will with a mower. It's not so much the cutting action itself, it's how it clears it from the baldes. Toppers have big wide blades with a long sweep. Mowers have short blades with a short sweep. If that makes sense.

polod

would a good disc mower cut a very heavy lying meadow ? thinking of getting a 8 foot disc mower ........rotary on its last legs

maidhc

reilig wrote: »

My point exactly. You will be cutting much lower with a disc mower and will end up with a slower regrowth!!

Experts would not recommend going lower than 2.5"

Agreed. Mowers and toppers are different machines. We have beef cattle and never top lower than 3-4 inches. Some may call it a "cosmetic job", but it works well for us. It is expensive enough to grow grass rather than scalping the field when it only needs to be topped.

+ you can use a topper for cutting under fences where to do so may damage a mower.

I will also add that not only can you not mower with a topper but that a mower without a conditioner is a waste of time for anything other than hay.

west boy

polod wrote: »

would a good disc mower cut a very heavy lying meadow ? thinking of getting a 8 foot disc mower ........rotary on its last legs

The main manufacturers don't make the rotary mowers as standard any more. Disc is the normal choice. at the end of the day if you set up the mower right you can cut grass cleanly if it is lodged or standing straight.:)

stanflt

jeff greene wrote: »

Whats the point of topping?

wasting diesel is the point:):)

keeping a young lad occupied-or teaching him how to drive

The Big Fella

pakalasa wrote: »

Even though a topper is made of stronger stuff than a mower, you'll do more damage to it cutting heavy crops than you will with a mower. It's not so much the cutting action itself, it's how it clears it from the baldes. Toppers have big wide blades with a long sweep. Mowers have short blades with a short sweep. If that makes sense.

Thats exactly why you cant knock meadows with a topper. Well said pakalasa.;)

20silkcut

How sharp should topper blades be?

Mine are fairly blunt but was told to leave them like that.

pakalasa

The sharper the better. Why would you keep them blunt?
I edge mine with a run of the file every 2 hours or so.

sea12

west boy wrote: »

The main manufacturers don't make the rotary mowers as standard any more. Disc is the normal choice. at the end of the day if you set up the mower right you can cut grass cleanly if it is lodged or standing straight.:)

what do u need to do differently when it is lodged badly. I thought I had mine set up pretty well last weekend but there was still certain areas where it didnt cut it clean. I had shortened the top link to ensure that it was angled in to get under it but was a bit disappointed with it.

Bizzum

pakalasa wrote: »

The sharper the better. Why would you keep them blunt?
I edge mine with a run of the file every 2 hours or so.

I wish I had the patience and commitment to sharpen every two hours, but I agree: they can't be sharp enough!
On the subject of topping, I always leave the headlands 'till last. The headlands are more likely to contain stones, sticks, or sometimes wire etc.
Better to dull the blades when you're nearly finished than when you just start!

Muckit

Bizzum wrote: »

I wish I had the patience and commitment to sharpen every two hours, but I agree: they can't be sharp enough!

It might seem like over kill but the more frequently you do them, the quicker and the easier it is to do them.

An old woodwork lecturer I had in college used always recommend having the oilstone and a leather strop out on the bench at all times. His justification? A quick rub of the chisel or the plane blade every hour made things easier on both man and the tool (or machine).

Any farmer years ago using a scythe would always have a sharpening stone with him. If he didn't he'd know all about it after an hour or so. Just because nowadays it's the machine doing the work, doesn't mean we shouldn't make it easier on it!