Small crawler tractor cutter conversion - which mower?

[PuG]

Good afternoon, bit of a winter project. So I dug out an abandoned Toselli 78 crawler from the neighbors woods, fully functional. Actually has the slightly more powerful engine than the one advertised below, putting out 35hp maximum on its engine plate, still 2 cylinder.

Wanted to turn it into a clearance mower with mostly non invasive modifications.

Widen the running gear (and a safety bar) which would make it about 97cm instead of 77 (just turn rear sprockets around given they are concave and space the central pivot bar), whilst i'm at it change the leaf suspension at the front to two small cylinders to raise and lower the tractor body to keep the engine slightly more level on steeper slopes.

My question is what mower? I was thinking a mini excavator head like the Deleks ARM 100 which I planned to mount on the front with some arms, cut open the mower mouth/attach a front roller to push down the undergrowth.

Miniexcavator Mulcher Head - 100cm - hydraulic shredder

Digger Flail Shredder Head - DELEKS® - hydraulic brush cutter for mini excavator - 100cm - Made in Italy, 2 years warranty.

www.deleks.fr

The crawler has got a hydraulic pump on the crank of the engine, can't find any information but was going to crack the pipes and pump into a bucket to see the flow rate. Assuming the pump is up-to to it? what do people think of hydraulic mower/cutters like this? 25 L/pm 8bar.. do they stall out easily? The tractor in its lowest gear goes less than 1km p/h, but looking to clear large bramble bushes and broom.

Also working on the assumption hydraulic pumps mounted on the engine is more efficient as you haven't got the transmission loss going to the PTO shaft and a rear mounted pump?

It has got a 540 pto on the rear and can mount rear arms for basic linkage, but its not got a duel stage clutch so PTO stops which shouldn't be a problem with an over run clutch - however it means driving over the bushes first which I don't like doing. Equally could mount a front roller or something to flatten/crush it down but might end up in a tangled mess.

Mower ideas for the rear:

BullMach ERMES 115 F - Broyeur sur tracteur - Série légère

Broyeur sur tracteur série légère BullMach ERMES 115 F - 151 Kg

www.agrieuro.fr

or

BlackStone BV 100 L - Broyeur d'accotement latéral à bras pour tracteur - Série légère

Broyeur d'accotement latéral à bras pour tracteur série légère BlackStone BV 100 L

www.agrieuro.fr

Cheers, James

(yeah it looks ridicules but im sitting on a giant temporary battery, that out of the way you sit right down in the hull 6ft 6 and I do fit )

 

[Wisconsonian]

A flail type like that will leave a cleaner finish, but take more hp than a drum mower. A drum would be my choice, depending on what you're intending to do with the ground after mowing it.

 

[PuG]

A flail type like that will leave a cleaner finish, but take more hp than a drum mower. A drum would be my choice, depending on what you're intending to do with the ground after mowing it.

unfortunately wouldn't be suitable, I think it would bog down and the land in question hasn't been worked in close to 100 years so it might get smashed up.

 

[clbarclay]

Donkey engine mounted on the flail?

37 hp on a 1m wide flail and then powering the rest of the crawler doesn't sound like much. I recal that my hedge trimmer has a 65 hp hydraulic system powering a 1.5m wide head and that is now always enough just topping hedges at 1.5 mph.

 

[Wisconsonian]

A flail is just as vulnerable as a drum to hitting rocks, isn't it? Do you mean it would bog down by getting tangled up? Maybe, but I've never seen it happen with reed canary grass, so I doubt brambles would be an issue. Whatever you use, you'll be backing up regularly.

I wouldn't worry about power loss through the PTO, they're gear drive and made for it, use the rear if it's easier.

 

[clbarclay]

By "clearance mower" I get the impression this is for dealing with overgrown undergrowth. Clearing brambles, bushes, etc?

 

[PuG]

By "clearance mower" I get the impression this is for dealing with overgrown undergrowth. Clearing brambles, bushes, etc?

Yes, exactly. Not grass topping, reason I wanted it front mounted. Flail with a donkey might be an idea, im not sure how practical if its something big sitting up front but will do some googling for ideas. I was thinking alternative like this sitting on the rear:

Groupe hydraulique 12 CV DIESEL SR188 80 LITRES

Moteur 12 CV DIESEL Démarrage electrique + pompe 15.3/7.6 + Accouplement 80L/MN ( Raccords hydrauliques non fournis) MOTEUR GARANTIE 2 ANS

comeo-france.fr

Groupe hydraulique 13CV 80L/min Moteur HONDA Forte Puissance pour fendeuse autonome

Les groupe hydraulique HILOW moteur HONDA sont étudiés pour fonctionner des vérins hydraulique tel que: fendeuse à bois, compacteur, presse,etc. Ce groupe de forte puissance

comeo-france.fr

Dedicated to just running a large flow rate/pressure mulching head on the front.

A flail is just as vulnerable as a drum to hitting rocks, isn't it? Do you mean it would bog down by getting tangled up? Maybe, but I've never seen it happen with reed canary grass, so I doubt brambles would be an issue. Whatever you use, you'll be backing up regularly.

I wouldn't worry about power loss through the PTO, they're gear drive and made for it, use the rear if it's easier.

Do you mean on of these? https://www.agrieuro.fr/gyrobroyeurs-lame-pour-tracteur-c-1451.html

Cheers,