Mowing Brush Effective Ways for Brush Removal
When we have to cut tough grasses or weeds that our lawn mowers can’t deal with, it’s time to use the mowing brush machines which are the ideal choice among the best brush cutter machinery. Tall grasses up to 1 foot high, overgrown weeds, shrubs and small woody plants like stalks and saplings that are generally called brushes congregate in areas that are lacking in clearing maintenance. But with these machines, these can be easily cleared out. 
Brush cutters can be converted into different brush cutting types. You can turn them into bushwhackers or skimmers for softer weeds, use them as brush saw cutters for cutting out hard, woody stems, or turn them into clearing saw cutters for clearing out congregated bunch of grass, shrubs, and overgrowth. They are also available in gasoline-fueled or rechargeable types. Brush cutters used to be agricultural and gardening tools for trimming weeds and tall grasses on ranches, farms, and home backyards. But today, their blades have become more aggressively designed and people use them in clearing out areas on forests, meadows, and hills where the rotary mowers cannot reach. 
Other than the brush cutters, there also other types of brush removal machines that are used in clearing out areas invaded by vegetation and these are the brush mowers and the riding brush mowers. The brush mowers are the tougher versions of the lawn mowers while the riding brush mowers are the lawn tractors’ hardcore counterparts. Below, we will talk about the best uses for brush cutters, brush mowers and the riding brush mowers to let you know which of them could be of better use to you. 
About the Best Brush Cutter Machines
Brush cutters are the best use for areas where there is the overgrowth of weeds, tall and hard grasses including small trees that have about 2 to 4 inches thick stems. They are mainly used for clearing out thick vegetation with growths of mixed shrubs and weeds. You can also use them on hard to reach areas where it’s risky to cut out overgrowth by hand because of the danger of snakes and stinging insects hiding in the brush. So if mowing brush is a problem, you can rely on brush cutters. 
People get confused about brush cutters and line trimmers. Because when they do search for them on the web, they are presented with both of them looking almost the same. Well, these two actually look the same in features and length. However, brush cutters’ engines are a bit bigger and more powerful. The trimmers have smaller engines and are only capable of using thin nylon strings in cutting out overgrown grass and weeds with succulent stems by whacking them. Their nylon strings are so tough it can also mulch soft grass just like what the mulching blades of lawn mowers can do. 
Brush cutters, on the other hand, can also be loaded with nylon strings while their best weapons are their brush blades that can cut overgrowth of hard, stubby plants. They are the more versatile types of grass cutters and are the best brush removal tools for clearing out areas with lots of tall, hardy plants. So the main differences between trimmers and brushcutters are the size of their engines, types of cutting tools, and cutting capabilities. 
Brush Removal with Brush Cutters - The Advantages
There are three different types of power units for the brush cutters:
Gas-powered which comes with two or four-stroke engines. 
Corded electric types that require power from typical home outlets. 
Cordless electric types that are powered by rechargeable batteries
There are also four common types of brush cutter blades and these are the Chisel, Knife, Smasher and Mulching blades. Each type of blade has different shapes but all are toughened to be able to cut hardy plants and weeds. 
There are a number of reasons why brush cutters are preferred by some people. First is their versatility. You can attach a variety of blades to them to cut a variety of tough plant materials. Their blades are also tougher, thicker, and larger; you can rely on them mowing down even small growing trees. Second, they are packed with more power; they can even cut grass up to 8 inches tall and small trees with stems up to 2 inches in diameter. Third, if you can’t use your riding brush cutter to reach under the trees that are full of large roots and rocks you can use brush cutters in these areas. 
And lastly, if you have problems mowing brush on steep slopes, you can use your brush cutter in clearing out these areas by reaching it on foot. You can also choose from their cutter variety like if you want to have a continuous brush cutting near your home you can prefer to use the corded or rechargeable types.
What To Look For When Choosing the Best Brush Cutter?
Here are quick tips to easily see if the brush cutter is worth your purchase
Easy to start. Since these machines are available in gas-powered and electric types, both must have easy start features. Especially if you are a newbie, pulling the cord of a gas-fueled brush cutter requires good timing and patience. 
Powerful engine. This translates to high torque features to produce a rapid acceleration of the rotary blade which is necessary when cutting tough vegetation.
Straight shaft. We don’t usually recommend people buying brush cutters that have angled shafts because these are harder to control and calculate its reach. Their curved neck can also block part of your vision when using the cutter on the ground. We like the straight shaft as you can easily maneuver their rotary heads and can feel the force of the blade going in while trying to drive it into the fibers of stems and branches. So the best brush cutter types for us are the straight pole cutter types.
Handlebars should be relatively angled to the shaft. This is to prevent an imbalance of weight with the engine that puts its load on your arms and back.
Foldability. If you can find a unit with a folding handlebar and adjustable shaft, this is much better for mobility and portability. 
Emission control. Look for a unit with an emission control feature to protect your health and the environment. 
Safety Tips When Using Brush Removal Tools
Any type of brush cutting tool be it a manual brush cutter, a walk-behind brush mower or a riding brush mower could be dangerous if not used properly. On the other hand, the riskiest to use among them are the manual brush cutters. Why? Because their blades are exposed rather than hidden like the other two types of brush cutters. If their blades get to loosen up or break while mowing, the shredded pieces can fly in different directions. Or if the blade hits stones or sticks these can also fly at high speed which might injure you as the operator or someone near. 
Other than these, they are also noisy especially the gas-powered types and the vibration that they create can cause permanent damage to your hands or shoulder. There’s also the possibility of fuel spillage and if you fall in a ravine with a spinning blade, this might spell serious trouble.
So here are some safety tips to make you safe and other people when using brush cutters:
Determine first if the vegetation in the area can be handled by the brush removal machine. If there are a lot of woody shrubs with almost 5 inches thick stems, better choose the right blade for this task. Using the wrong type of blade can have consequences because this could break, bend, or disintegrate once it hits an object that is hard to cut while forcing your machine to cut it. 
Clear the area of any rocks, metal rods, or any hindrance that may damage the blade if these got hit. Hitting these with the blade can disintegrate them and damage your blade.
Learn how your brush cutter operates especially the Stop mode. You need this in case of an emergency.
Check if everything about the machine is in good condition. If the cutting blade is bent or cracked, change it. If it’s dull, sharpen or change it with a sharp blade. 
Make sure the safety harness fits your shoulders and arms and the handles are on the right distance for your hands to hold and control.
Wear the right PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) suitable for outdoor work like gloves, helmet with a visor, safety goggles, cotton gloves for vibration protection, long sleeves shirt, leather steel-capped safety shoes and long denim pants. 
Ready your first-aid kit and it must be with you all along.
Stay at least 10 meters away from other persons who work with you and remind them of flying objects.
Give your engine a break from time to time to avoid overheating and check the oil and fuel always. 
Make sure the cap of your gas cylinder is tightly shut.
Avoid going to slopes if the vegetation is slippery and check the area for holes, ravines, cave-ins and so on before going in. 
Lastly, focus on where you are cutting and where you are going. If if you feel that you may have the chance of falling when going on areas that have lots of deep terrain, avoid these.
Mowing Brush Cutter Types How Do They Perform?
Are you familiar with the walk-behind brush cutters? As we mentioned, these are the toughest counterparts of the lawn mowers and we said toughest counterparts because they are the best mowing brush types that can easily cut wide swaths of woody overgrowth with very minimal bog downs. They can also finish the mowing time more quickly and without much issues of blade dulling.
So how do you recognize the regular lawn mower from a mowing brush cutter? You can easily see the difference between the two with their cutting decks. The cutting deck of an average lawn mower is about 21-inch in diameter while the brush mowing deck of a brush mower ranges from 24 inches to 32 inches in diameter. This means that the brush mowers are equipped with tough, thick blades that are specifically designed to cut solid woody parts of plants. With these features, brush removal should not be a problem for the brush mowers.
Brush cutters are made to work on tougher terrain and can go up against thick and dense materials which the lawn mowers and even the riding mowers would have problems dealing with. They have larger and more powerful engines that could range from 18 to 23 hp. Their tires are usually pneumatic and these are larger, thicker and have more pronounced grips. Their blade spindles as well as their mowing decks are manufactured from heavy-duty steel. Some types even have locking differentials for extra traction and adjustable cutting decks for use on rough terrain.
Riding Brush Cutter The Ultimate Type of Riding Brush Mower for Tough Brush Removal
Now we’ve come to the ultimate forms of machines for mowing brush that are even larger, more heavy-duty built and more powerful and these are the riding brush cutter types. These types of machines can ultimately mow long grass or any brush types or overgrowth even small branches and stems up to 2 inches diameter . They are also ideal for use on slopes and rough terrain and they can be equipped with the optional mulching kit if you want to use them on lawns. 
The best riding brush cutters are also seen to be better than lawn tractors which when chanced upon dense long grass tend to clog its mower decks and can cause bending of blades and burn its belts. With the brush mowers, some of them are equipped with two overlapping thick blades that are ideal for mulching grass. Also, the engines of the mowing brush cutters are more low set. And with wide bodies and low deck features, these make the machines have a low center of gravity thus rendering them to be safer to use on slopes compared to the tractor lawn mowers. 
The engines of the riding brush cutter kinds are also more powerful which is a critical requirement when cutting tall, tougher brush. Lawn tractors have at least 14 hp engines to make them work better even on terrain. But with the riding brush cutter machines, they need at least 18 hp to cut tougher plant materials. These brush cutter mowers are available in gas-fueled and battery-powered. With the rechargeable types, you need at least 12V of power and with at least 18 hp (13.2 kW) cylinder engine.
Example of a Mowing Brush Machine
Here is a good example of a mowing brush machine or simply a brush mower to simply show you and understand how a brush mower looks and works. Check the link –
Billy Goat 26-Inc Outback Brush Mower, 13 HP Honda Engine, Electric Start
This gas-powered walk-behind brush mower machine is loaded with a 13 hp Honda engine so it sure is packed with a powerful torque for tougher cutting and mowing jobs. It also has an enhanced traction control so you can cut up to 6 feet tall grass and saplings with stems up to 3 inches in diameter. Because this machine has a low-formed body, you can use it safely on hillsides and varying terrain. With a 26-inch wide deck, it can cover a good amount of vegetation without feeling the strain on the engine. Starting the engine is also a breeze thanks to its easy electric start system. 
The handles of this machine are also ergonomically designed for comfort to avoid hand fatigue. With a very sturdy build you can instantly feel the machine’s power once the engine starts and goes its way. Moreover, what’s so amazing with this model which comes from the Billy Goat 2600 series is that its blade won’t budge even when it encounters rocks, stumps, or rubber tires. They just keep on turning thanks to the heavy-duty spindle assembly that is sandwiched between the blade and the cutting deck and was reinforced in 4 directions to make it more rigid. Its Kevlar belt also helps absorb shock to protect critical components of the engine from getting damaged. 
So when it comes to searching for the best brush cutter machine with traction control, electric start system, ergonomic handles, and can handle 20-degree slopes, we should say that this can be our best bet. It is basically heavily-duty made which is perfect if you have problems clearing out your ranch, meadows and properties from pesky vegetation which many wild animals love to stay on and damaging your crops. However, the one thing that many people are not happy about is its price which is a bit more expensive than other standard brush mower units of the same caliber. But since this is powered by Honda and tested for durability and efficiency, this can be one of your best investments if you decide to own this unit.
Our Conclusion
Owning a mowing brush unit is essential if you own properties that can get easily overwhelmed by lots of tough vegetation. Some people even prefer these machines more than the garden lawn tractors because they are very versatile and can use them almost in any terrain. 
Especially the riding brush cutter type or simply the riding brush mowers, these are very reliable for clearing out large tracts of lands that have been abandoned for months or years and have become a haven for small pesky wild animals and snakes because of the undergrowth of various types of hardy plants and weeds.
So always remember, when using any of the brush removal tools, wear the appropriate attire including safety shoes because you will be likely to tread on grassy areas where you cannot see the ground and what’s behind those shrubs and tall grasses.
Our next stop are the brush cutting blades which you need to know if you own a brush cutter or planning to buy one. Not all blades may be good enough for your cutting needs so watch out for this article.
