15' versus 20' mower

[Dan in North Houston]

Old batwing mower is on it's last lap, frame is cracked in several places and I'm shopping around for a replacement. My pastures are pretty flat, but do have
some low places where water drains, some terraces to control water flow. My old mower was 13 1/2', so looking at used 15' mowers. I see several 20' mowers which
are a little overkill for what I need, but they appear to be in good condition and the incremental cost is not much over the 15' mowers I've seen. I assume that
the size, extra HP requirements and 1000 pto makes them a little less attractive to the general market. I've got 110 hp and will only be mowing grass and weeds,
so I'm not worried about whether my tractor will handle it.
I realize a 20' unit will not follow the ground as well as a 15' mower, but will there be that much difference? I'm not trying to cut a golf course, but I don't
want something that is scalping the ground all the time. If you have experience of running both 15' and 20' batwing mowers, I'd appreciate your comments.

 

[Janicholson]

Big square fields are happy with 20 ft. Smaller like 10-12 acres are not. Jim

 

[caterpillar guy]

Never used a batwing mower. I don't see why the size or shape would be a big deal and even on terraces I don't we used to cut terraces with 24and 30 foot heads so the same practice would work for them or do the no no and ride the ridge with a section on each side and middle on the top of the ridge with the tractor. I would not think even if dry you would be able to go over terraces from top to bottom or vice versa without high centering sort of with the mower deck.

 

[Steve in IL]

We have a 15 foot batwing, and I too have wondered about getting a 20 foot model. The only real concern I have with the 20 foot mower is there will be a few places where, even folded up, it will not fit. You might want to measure the folded up width. But if you dont have any clearance issues, Id say go for it!

 

[miner09]

Once you run the 20 the 15 will be like running a 5 ft after running the 15. We have both. You will be fine with your tractor. We mow all pasture with the 20. We dont run 1000 rpm.

 

[sandcastle1]

I have used both 15 and 20 foot batwing mowers. Once you start using a 20 foot batwing mower going back to something smaller is disappointing. I have not experienced scalping as a problem, but I was mowing pasture and the mowers are set to cut 6 or 8 inches off the ground. Going thru some gates was the biggest problem that I have experienced. The extra 5 feet of cut makes doing the same field with the two different mowers a noticeable time difference. good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Texasmark]

Nor are humpy fields. I have had to limit my mower width to 6' to prevent scalping......yeah it takes a long time.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Scalp enough times and it will level out.

 

[jddrawbar]

Dan, I would go for whatever you find the best buy on. I don't think the 20' would be any problem. I've been mowing with a 15' for the last week and because I have to go so slow, not much to show for it. My ground is so ruff and uneven a fixed deck over 6' does not work.