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Giant "Weed Eater" Built From Rotary Mower
A pto-powered rotary flail mower can be converted to a giant "weed eater" by replacing the blades with lengths of log chain, according to Wade Turner, a manager of 14,000 acres of pasture land for Canada's Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in Manitoba.
The conversion was necessary to help control poplar,
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Giant "Weed Eater" Built From Rotary Mower MOWERS Mowers (31H) 22-6-1 A pto-powered rotary flail mower can be converted to a giant "weed eater" by replacing the blades with lengths of log chain, according to Wade Turner, a manager of 14,000 acres of pasture land for Canada's Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in Manitoba.
The conversion was necessary to help control poplar, aspen, balsam and willow brush taking over the area, spreading rapidly over pastures. Turner had tried herbicides and a 5-ft. Deere mower to control the brush but found drawbacks with each method. Herbicides acted too slowly and blades on the mower dulled too quickly and broke too often on rocks, costing up to $300 apiece to re-place.
Doug May at the Prairie Agricultural Machin-ery Institute in Portage la Prairie helped solve Turner's problem.
May first tried replacing the blades with cables with weights attached to one end, but the cables frayed after just 12 hours of use.
He then bolted two lengths of log chain in place of the blades. Each piece of chain is made up of six 3/4-in. links. The chains are held in place by two pieces of 1/2-in. thick steel plate. He also attached a wire mesh shield to the back of the tractor to protect the operator from flying debris.
Turner has used the modified mower behind a Hesston 8066 75 hp tractor for two years. He can travel at up to 3 mph. "It's ideal for trees 1 in. and less in dia. but works on trees up to 2 in. in dia. and 12 to 15 ft. high, too, although you really have to slow down," he says. "The chains shatter the crowns of the trees, rather than cutting them off like the blades, preventing shoots from coming out of the root system and regrowing."
Cost to convert the mower was less than $100.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wade Turner, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, R.R. 3, Box 1000B, Bran-don, Manitoba, Canada R7A 5Y3 (ph 204 726-7591) or Doug May, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute, Box 1060, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada R1N 3C5 (ph 204 239-5445).
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