finish mowers

[Mike35]

Now, with the other thread going on about riding mowers, it got me thinkin about a new mower for dad's N ('52 side mount). The old Challenger 6 ft. finish mower that we have had for 20+ years is starting to get a bit "growley". Just wanted to see what brands seem to hold up the best AND whether to get a side or rear discharge. I have the mower set at 4.5" at present and it sometimes clumps up a tad with the side discharge. Does the rear discharge seem the spread it out better than the side?

Thanks for any advise

 

[G6 at Snook, TX]

Rear discharge. I have a five foot Frontier (JD) and have had few problems. It is the lighter version, and I might have wished to have gotten the heavier version, but not enough to do anything about it.

 

[NOXJohn]

I have had a 5 foot Coroni finish mower for 20 years mowing 3-4 acres every summer. I replaced the belt twice and paint it every year but no real problems. Like any other piece of equipment it will last a lot longer if maintained properly regardless of the manufacture. Storing it under cover also adds years to it's useful life.

 

[clayton in AL]

Bush Hog makes good equipment but a bit pricey. I have a 5' finish mower and a 6' rotary mower. Both have given good service for many years. The finish mower is side discharge but I removed the rock deflector and it never clogs even in wet grass.
Whatever you get look for lots of grease zerks, the more the better and grease the mower each time you use it. It will last a lot longer.

 

[Jock (OR)]

I bought a Chinese 6' finish mower over the winter and just started using it. Even though it is light duty, it works very well. It cut 6" tall heavy wet grass and did not clog. The old 2N is pretty tired, but had enough power to pull the 72" mower in challenging conditions.

The wider the mower, the flatter the ground needs to be, because it acts like a plane, knocking down the high spots.

Don't expect to get too close to trees, fences, etc., but the rear mount finish mower can work backing up pretty well, which gives you some options cleanig up tight spots. It also swings wide behind you in a turn, the tighter the turn, the further it tracks outside your ground track.

The real payoff is how much ground you cover. I was amazed at how much faster I mowed the 4 1/2 acres vs. our 48" lawn tractor.

My mower is rear discharge and it spreads out the clippings pretty well. Cutting wet, heavy grass it leaves a small windrow off center to the right. Taking a smaller cut, there is no significant windrow. I like it much better than the side discharge units I have used in the past.

 

[D Squared]

I have a Corini side discharge and it does not clump at all. It throws heavy grass out over a large area in a thin layer. Yesterday I used it to "re-mow" some clumps left by my 50" Cub Cadet rider.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 15:45:23 04/15/10) Now, with the other thread going on about riding mowers, it got me thinkin about a new mower for dad's N ('52 side mount). The old Challenger 6 ft. finish mower that we have had for 20+ years is starting to get a bit "growley". Just wanted to see what brands seem to hold up the best AND whether to get a side or rear discharge. I have the mower set at 4.5" at present and it sometimes clumps up a tad with the side discharge. Does the rear discharge seem the spread it out better than the side?

Thanks for any advise

I have a 6' Woods RD7200 - rear discharge mower. I don't know about improving clipping dispersal but it definitly reduces the power needed to spin it. And it mows in tight to obstacles on both sides.

TOH

 

[gahorN]

All you guys are beatin' aroun' the bush.... here's a REAL Finnish mower:
http://www.avanttecno.com/www/index.php?PAGE=58&LANG=2&series=1&pid=46

<joke> actually MADE in Finland<joke> :lol: :lol: :lol: