finish mower help

[daleiniowa]

I currently mow 6 acres each week with a 60 inch Priefert finish mower with rear discharge and my 8n. Up until 5 years ago I used an old Ford bush hog but with newer homes going up in the area, I needed to make it look better. My challenge is no matter what I do, it leaves windrows and I have to go back the next day with the front of the mower raised and blow the dried grass around. My neighbor is selling a Scag zero turn. Would a zero turn be rougher riding or harder to use than the 8n? Or would a side discharge disperse the grass better and what brand?

 

[Abbby]

I think rear discharge like you have is your best option. Just mow more often

 

[TomIn]

I use a 60 Woods rear discharge finish mower behind my Ford 600 to mow several acres. I switched from a King Kutter side discharge finish
mower about a year ago. Both mowers will windrow when the grass is tall, wet, and/or just plain juicy in the spring. Both mowers had
minimum windrows when the grass was reasonably short and dry. The Woods rear discharge mower has a row of chains in the back (for safety
purposes to knock down any rocks or other objects that may be hit during mowing.) I would think that this contributes so some degree of the
windrowing. Under ideal conditions, I believe that the Woods rear discharge makes a more attractive cut.

The owners manual for the Woods rear discharge states that grass should be mowed at the 540 PTO speed and not slower. I usually mow at a
slower engine speed to reduce the noise level and improve fuel consumption. The manual also states that the grass should be mowed when it is
dry and not too high. This is not very practical during the rainy season, or in very hot weather when I mow in the early morning while the
temperature is cooler. The manual states that if the grass still windrows, the grass should be cut multiple times with the mower raised for
the first cutting and the second cutting should be done at a 90 degree angle to the first cutting. I am not willing to do this for the
majority of the area I mow.

A younger neighbor has mowed my place a few times when my leg problems kept me from mowing. He uses his high end John Deere 60 zero turn
with a suspension seat. He claims that he can mow in about half the time that I take, and the place looks beautiful afterwards---but he has
only mowed during dry summer weather and seems to enjoy mowing when it is too hot for a fat old geezer like me.

If you are mowing a glass smooth area, I doubt that you would notice a difference in the ride. My place is not smooth, and only youth and
larger wheels can make mowing at any reasonable speed tolerable. Youth is no longer available to me, and a professional grade zero turn mower
with bigger wheels and a suspension seat is more than I am willing to spend at my age and physical condition. I also mow trails (for my wife
to walk) through my 100+ acres of land, and I question whether a zero turn mower would be appropriate when the conditions are not ideal.

I would suggest you try to borrow you friends zero turn for an extended test before you invest much money. If I were to buy a zero turn, I
would centainly keep my Ford 600 for other uses, and would probably keep the finish mowers as well since I have room to store them and their
value is not significant.

 

[Tony in SD]

X2

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

I use my 8N with a WOODS 660 Finish Mower to mow 6 acres with, not goof-course sod you understand, just plain cow grass, but when kept trimmed, make the land look
decent. We're in the country dude, so never worry about bagging or raking. I'd mow with discharge to the right then follow next row to cut clippings. Normally you want
to to go the other way and avoid cutting twice. I started with a 5' Brush Hog when I first bought the house and property but would do a lousy job and on turns would
scallop the turf. Best to use STABILIZER BARS to help control swaying on turns and avoid scalloping. Best pull in 2nd Gear. If grass is too high may need to make two
passes or slow to 1st gear. In 1st you will take longer and consume more fuel. Oh, yeah, gotta keep your blades sharp too. They are good for 2 or 3 shapenings but plan
on buying a new set at every season. Installing STABILIZER BARS is done one specific way. Once set up, you don't muck with them and are good for every implement you
want to use. Stabilizer Bars often are referred to as ANTI-SWAY BARS. Not to be confused with STAY BARS. Both are completely different items and have totally different
functions. Stabilizer Bars work well with a back blade too plowing snow or dirt.


FORD 8N TRACTOR w/WOODS 660 MOWER:

NOTE: Stabilizer Bars under fender axles to 3-PT.

8N & BACK BLADE w/STABILIZER BARS:

STABILIZER BARS, AFTERMARKET KIT:

OEM DEARBORN FENDER BRACKETS FOR STABILIZER BARS:

FYI & FWIW: STAY BARS:

FYI: IF MEN COULD VACCUM:

Tim Daley (MI)

 

[Eman85]

6 acres on a zero turn might be like an afternoon visit to hell if the ground is bumpy. I use a King Cutter finish mower which is side discharge and if I let the grass get too high, which I usually do, it leaves windrows. If it's mowed when it should be mowed it does just fine.

 

[daleiniowa]

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply.You have reinforced what Ive always thought. My challenge is when my neighbor expanded our shared pond, I let him spread the the bottom of the pond, good old black dirt, on my ground and I seeded it. The result is parts of the grass grows 2x as fast and 2x as tall. O well looks nice when finished.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 17:45:15 05/18/23) I currently mow 6 acres each week with a 60 inch Priefert finish mower with rear discharge and my 8n. Up until 5 years ago I used an old Ford bush hog but with newer homes going up in the area, I needed to make it look better. My challenge is no matter what I do, it leaves windrows and I have to go back the next day with the front of the mower raised and blow the dried grass around. My neighbor is selling a Scag zero turn. Would a zero turn be rougher riding or harder to use than the 8n? Or would a side discharge disperse the grass better and what brand?

Several neighbors mow way more than 6 acres of "lawn" with zero turns. They are super fast and leave a beautiful cut and no windrows. These farms are immaculately maintained. FWIW all own multiple farm tractors but mow with ZTRs. A good zero turn will have a suspension seat which is considerably more comfortable than an 8N. An el cheapo residentisl box store ZTR not so much.

TOH

This post was edited by TheOldHokie on 05/20/2023 at 07:21 am.

 

[Jim WI]

I used to mow with a King Kutter 6-foot side-discharge finish mower behind a Ford 2N. It would windrow if I let the grass get too high. I mowed about 3.5 acres.

As I got older my knees went bad and I didn't like climbing on the 2N so I replaced it with a residential Toro Timecutter with a 50 inch deck. It bounces more that the 2N on rougher terrain, but it can mow quicker. I think I should have spent more to get a bigger deck and a suspended seat. Not going to buy again until this one wears out.

 

[DennyD]

I mow 3.5 acres with a garden tractor that gets me by okay. I've always been leery of zero-turn mowers--due to safety.

In my immediate area, I know of 2 fatalities from zero-turns; both were guys who owned professional mowing services. One drove had his mower flip and tumble down an incline, killing him. The other was really gruesome--the guy was mowing a ditch on an incline, the mower rolled with him on it, pinning him in a ditch full of water, and he drowned!

Zero-turns are really expensive machines, but considering the price and the speed they travel, the safety really hasn't caught up. Naturally, there are no shortage of safety worries with tractors manufactured during the Truman administration, but I think people get too confident mowing with zero-turns with huge engines that can travel at impractically-high speeds. I don't need to mow at 20 mph.

 

[HFJ]

(quoted from post at 16:15:47 05/20/23) I used to mow with a King Kutter 6-foot side-discharge finish mower behind a Ford 2N. It would windrow if I let the grass get too high. I mowed about 3.5 acres.

As I got older my knees went bad and I didn't like climbing on the 2N so I replaced it with a residential Toro Timecutter with a 50 inch deck. It bounces more that the 2N on rougher terrain, but it can mow quicker. I think I should have spent more to get a bigger deck and a suspended seat. Not going to buy again until this one wears out.

i use a 5 foot King Kutter side discharge on a little under 3 acres. it tends to windrow less than my riding mower. my knees are fine, but my arthritis is becoming less and less of of a fan of maneuvering the riding mower around the obstacles. my back is fine with the status quo... for the moment.

i'm thinking about a ZTR. the stuff about suspension seats and professional models sounds pretty important to me. i'll definitely want to be able to do some test mowing first, as what i mow is nearly all rough clay.

 

[Jim WI]

(quoted from post at 10:48:50 05/21/23) i'm thinking about a ZTR. the stuff about suspension seats and professional models sounds pretty important to me. i'll definitely want to be able to do some test mowing first, as what i mow is nearly all rough clay.

I've kind of got my eye on Bad Boy mowers. They seem to be a reasonable compromise between residential and commercial. But like I said, I'm nowhere near ready to buy yet.

 

[HFJ]

ya, i don't think i'm too close myself. got a friend who mows a lot who has strongly pitched Scag.

 

[ASEguy]

When I researched zero turns last summer, I wanted a retirement mower. I also wanted a heavy duty driveline. I ended up purchasing a Kubota,
which has three lines: 200 series for residential, 400 series which they call prosumer, and 800 series which is their landscaper series. I
settled on the prosumer which has an adjustable air seat because they don't have a suspension. Some do. They do get pricey, but they are not
cheaply made.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 06:39:10 05/22/23) When I researched zero turns last summer, I wanted a retirement mower. I also wanted a heavy duty driveline. I ended up purchasing a Kubota,
which has three lines: 200 series for residential, 400 series which they call prosumer, and 800 series which is their landscaper series. I
settled on the prosumer which has an adjustable air seat because they don't have a suspension. Some do. They do get pricey, but they are not
cheaply made.

I bleed orange and several years ago I decided gas engines were off my list. In the ZTR world that puts you in an entirely different income bracket.

MSRP on an entry level Kubota ZD1011 diesel with 48" deck is $15.5K.

The Full Monty ZD1211 with 72" deck is $28K. What a brute!!!

TOH

This post was edited by TheOldHokie on 05/22/2023 at 04:59 am.

 

[ASEguy]

Those were way too rich for my blood and not needed by me. I ended up with a 48 400 series. Zero percent financing and $1000.00 off last
June. It's like mowing in an EZ chair.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 13:42:55 05/22/23) Those were way too rich for my blood and not needed by me. I ended up with a 48 400 series. Zero percent financing and $1000.00 off last
June. It's like mowing in an EZ chair.

I put MY money into a new and much more general purposev L3901. Its like tractoring in an EZ chair :roll:

TO