Three Point Finish Mower Questions

   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #1  

Spaceman

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
49
Location
Ct
Tractor
Kubota B2100
I'm a real newbie at tractoring and attachments. I need to buy a tpm finish mower for my Kubota B2100. What are the good brands? How important is the blade fpm speeds and blade overlap? I'm mowing about 5 acres of my 16.5, so how fast can I travel. Are four wheel models better than two? Whats the largest width I can power with my 19hp pto?
Perusing these discussions, I found I would probably like a rear discharge and use check chains because I need to leave the top link loose. There sure are a lot of knowlegeable tractor guys here, but I couldn't find the answers to the above questions
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #2  
Get a 5 foot.
I really like my Land Pride.
I am using a 72" air tunnel LandPride, behind my B2150 hst.
Many said it was too much mower for it.
I just slow down in taller grass, and it works fine. Mowing isn't a race anyway.
BTW, I did add fuel to my motor so it really is more than 24 hp.
Yes, I added a pyrometer so I don't cook the pistons.
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks Jfox. What do you exactly mean that you added fuel to your tractor? I'm assuming a pyrometer is a temperature measuring device. How does all that stuff work? What model landpride do you own?
Sorry, I am really new at this.
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #4  
Depending on how often you mow will have the biggest bearing on what sized mower you should buy. Finish mowers are meant to be used on a regular basis to maintain the grass, but if you let the grass get too tall, they require allot more power and don't do as good of a job. When sizing rotary cutters, the rule of thumb is one foot of mower for every 5hp at the PTO. With a finish mower, you can add a foot to that without any problems, which means a five foot mower should be fine. Anything bigger might work, but only if you keep it cut on a regular basis and take your time cutting.

I wouldn't worry too much about blade speed and blade overlap. Both have been figured out by the engineers when the put the pully's on the mowers, and to the best of my knowledge, all will be pretty similar. Keeping your RPM's up to the recomended speed is all that really matters. If you get into grass that is too tall, you will either have to speed up the engine RPM's or slow down the speed of your tires.

Cutting speed will either be determined by how tall the grass is compared to your HP and the size of your mower. Another factor is how smooth is the field? My Zero Turn mower is very fast at cutting a lawn, but I can only go about half speed in allot of areas because it's just too rough and beats me up.

Both my finish mower and rotary cutter are Landpride. They are good quality impliments with a long history that's hard to beat. Of the other brands, you'll have to see what's available in your area and then do a specific search to see if there are any problems. There are some that people have complained about, but if that brand isn't sold locally, it doesn't matter.

Be sure to buy something that you can get parts for. Belts, wheels, and blades all wear out. Other things break, but mostly from a mistake on your part. I busted off a spindle on my mower and had to replace it. Having a dealer close buy really helped in figuring what the right parts were and just getting what I needed instead of buying a total kit for twice as much money, when I only needed a few parts.

My mower is a side discharge. I've never seen a rear discharge in actual operation, so I can't comment on them. I like mine, but it does spray allot of material out to the side. I then mow that material again when I make that pass and eventually it all disapears. I've read stories of people claiming that side discharge mowers leave windrows. Mine doesn't, it spreads the grass out evenenly. The longer the grass is when I cut, the thicker the cuttings are. It's just a simple equation of where does it go when it's cut, and how much is actually cut?

Be sure to get four wheels. The beauty of the finish mower is that it rolls over the terain independent of the tractor. Those four wheels make sure you have the smoothest, most even cut that you can get. Mine came with tires that take air. I had allot of flats, so I changed them to solid wheels. If you have a choice, be sure to get solid wheels. Flats are always a terrible way to spend the day, and repeat flats are just plain annoying. My tires were also worn, cracked and in need of replacing. New tires might have cut down on the flats that I was getting, but since I had to buy new tires anyway, I went for the solid ones.

Good luck,
Eddie
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #5  
I really like my Befco finish mower. The landpride mowers seem to be well built too. I would get a mower from a manufacturer that has been around for a while. I had a 6' mower that I bought new for my last tractor about 10 years ago, and within a year of buying it, they went out of business and I couldn't get parts for it. Things that came up that I needed was replacement blades and wheels. Just something to think about.
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #6  
I am a Woods and a Bush Hog fan. I have a rear discharge and it does a fine job. Just do not get a cheapo that is flimsy and can't get parts for.
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #7  
hey welcome to the site, lots of good info here. i have a landpride 5ft air tunnel side discharge mower, and it has been great. it cuts pretty decent, even in tall grass, and has been trouble free. been thinking about going with a 6ft rear discharge, but not sure i would like it as much, after getting some input from this site. if i do buy another, it will be landpride for sure. good luck with whatever you decide. i pull it with a Kubota L3130 and it doesnt even know its back there.
 
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   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions #8  
Hi Spaceman,

My Frontier L1060 is actually a Befco. I have 18 PTO HP to power it. All of Eddie's points are right on the money. I chose a rear discharge because I mow a very rough field in a wet climate. I can get behind in the spring and it handles it very well. Because I mow such a rough field my speed is limited by how much jostling that I can take and how much I want to abuse the equipment. Even with four independent wheels it still wants to nose dive a bit. In my lower bog I have hung up on large tree roots and bent my wheel holders more times than I would like. I can cover about an acre an hour. If it were actually lawn I would just fly!

I have an old 4' JD 403 bush hog. I much prefer to use the RFM. It cuts better and moves faster. Just the other evening I was cutting the neighbors lower acre which has very thick cut grass and I stalled the tractor. In three seasons of mowing I had never clogged the deck up like that before. It was a first.

I abuse my RFM and I pay the price to do it. Considering what I make it do against the time that I spend doing it I am fairly happy with the results. Good luck.
 
   / Three Point Finish Mower Questions
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks everyone for all your advice. Its good to have a source of information with knowledgable folks
 
 
 
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