Front-Mount Mower Cuts Around Roadside Culverts

Front-Mount Mower Cuts Around Roadside Culverts HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers 38 “I used to cut the tall grass and weeds around our roadside culverts with a string trimmer but that came to an end when I fell after tripping on a pile of grass and darn near broke my neck ” says retired Minnesota farmer Al Hernke “I got a real scolding from several people so I didn’t trim for 6 weeks and the grass and weeds took off That really irritated me and when nobody offered to cut them I came up with my culvert mower idea ” Hernke uses a 20-in push mower mounted on a small two-wheeled cart The cart had a 4-ft long reach made of 2-in tube steel that he extended to 8 ft so he can push the small mower up and around culverts with his 6-ft zero-turn The mower is attached to the cart with a box frame that Hernke made from 1 1/2-in angle iron A swivel near the carry wheels lets the mower ride up and over obstructions The cart reach attaches to a ball hitch on the front of his mower To move from one location to another he raises the small mower secures it with a chain and tows the cart behind his zero-turn “One little wrinkle I hadn’t thought of when building the cart was that push mowers have a safety handle that has to be held tight for the engine to run ” Hernke says “To solve that problem I shortened the push handle and safety bar by two feet and laid it flat When I start the mower I slide two zip ties across the safety bar to hold it tight to the main handle so the engine runs It works slick as a whistle ” Hernke says the whole setup cost him about $200 most of which was for the 3 5-hp push mower and the hardware to bolt the frame together “I used to weld all sorts of things but now I’ve got a pacemaker and the doctor told me I can’t use a welder anymore because it interferes with the pacemaker operation ” Hernke uses his zero-turn and small mower almost daily during mowing season on nearly 6 miles of ditches which always look like parkland next to the growing crops “We’ve kept them mowed clean for years and I’ll keep it up as long as I can ” Hernke says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Al Hernke Cannon Falls Minn

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