15ft Mower & Tractor Size?

[MNBobcat]

Hi All,

I've been trying to mow about 15 acres using an old Farmall H and either 2 44" rough cut mowers ganged together or a 9 foot gang of reel mowers. Neither works very well. The reel mowers keep jamming up and mostly just push the grass over. The rough cuts only mow a total of about a 6 foot swath and are too slow.

My level of frustration has gotten to the point where I'm about ready to spend some money to solve this problem.

I found a 15 foot TD-65 mower at the local dealer. The brochure recommends 30 - 50 HP. How is the HP for attachments normally specified? Is that spec for the tractor (engine) rating or are they talking PTO horsepower?

The TD-65 mower is an expensive option. Should I keep considering it or should I be thinking flail mower instead? Right now my field is grass with a lot of weeds. I'll be spraying and overseeding and eventually the field should be mostly grass. I'm using the field for flying and it will need to be fairly smooth.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[Builder]

I think that's a nice price for a unit in that condition. I can't imagine 30HP would be enough azz to run a mower that size.

I'd say go for it if your tractor has enough power. Life's too short to not enjoy cutting the grass and getting it done quickly.

 

[MNBobcat]

Hi Builder,

I'll have to buy a different tractor, too. Which is one of the reasons I'm trying to figure out if I buy this mower how much HP the tractor would need. Then I can get an idea about what I'm looking at for total cost and if I might want to spend the money or not.

 

[Builder]

If you don't mind an open ROPS and no 4WD, I would imagine you could get an older tractor for cheaper now than ever because the used equip market is so soft.

IOW, now is the best time in decades to get deals on equipment.

 

[MarkV]

Normally the rule of thumb for rotary mowers is 5 PTO hp per foot of mower. Depending on what is being mowed you can sometimes get by with a bit less. Heavy damp field grass can be one of the most demanding hp users. Attachments that are PTO driven would normally quote PTO hp needs. It is really hard to believe that mower is rated for 30 PTO hp.

MarkV

 

[newbury]

It is really hard to believe that mower is rated for 30 PTO hp.

MarkV

I agree, but that's what the manual says.

Maybe that's in Canadian Horsepower.

 

[Builder]

It usually takes 30 HP just to run a 7' bushog.

Most guys around here have north of 75PTO HP for a 15' batwing. That's a bushog, maybe a 15' finish mower can run on less, but 30HP is a lot less.

 

[MNBobcat]

The manual says the input PTO is a cat 5 and deck PTO is cat 2. What do the categories mean?

 

[JoeinTX]

The mower you're looking at is not the traditional 15' batwing like those from Rhino or Bush Hot, etc. The 65 is a turf mowing machine like you find at a golf course or, correctly enough, a grass strip. Light decking, lawn mower-esque fixed blades on the spindles. It's a big lawn mower.


I would believe that 30-50hp is perfectly fine running it in ideal conditions. But, do you have ideal conditions? If you're cutting anything more than something like an overgrown yard then there'll be trouble.

From your description of the property, it sounds like it's already rather well maintained for airplane ops. If so, you can probably handle it with a 30-40 PTO HP (meaning roughly 34-45 engine HP) tractor. Your H my turn it okay depending on condition and terrain. It has the weight to do so.


The mower price does seem really good for the condition it's in. I'd buy the mower, try it with the H, and then see if you need a new tractor. As for the PTO thing, simply the shaft you attach to the PTO on the tractor is not the same as that running gear box-to gear box on the mower itself. Not unusual and means nothing to you with regards to tractor.

 

[MNBobcat]

Guess what's sitting in my pole building? I ended up buying it today.

I also borrowed my in-laws John Deere 2010 tractor. The dealer had rented the mower out to someone and it came back with dull blades and bits of plastic and bailing twine wrapped around all of the deck spindles. I spent the evening clearing the spindles of junk, cleaning the deck and greasing it up. They sent home a box of new blades but I'm going to wait to put them on until after the first mowing and the worst of it is behind me.

I got it for $5,200.00 plus tax and that included the new blades and a couple of new shrouds for the PTO shafts. I tried it out for literally only about 5 minutes tonight. Its been pouring rain all evening. I probably won't get to mow tomorrow if its going to be terribly wet. But with the little I tried it, the 2010 didn't seem to have any problems with not having enough power. It mowed beautifully.

The dealer said these mowers are almost bulletproof. He said their spindles last forever.

I noticed that the decks are very heavy gauge metal. Probably somewhere around 3/16 thick. They don't use idler pulleys on the belts. The belts are tensioned by moving the gearbox. There is very little to go wrong with these.

I'm excited to try it out! I think it will make quick work of the mowing. Now I just have to find a decent tractor. I may go to an auction next weekend for a family who is getting out of farming. If I have good luck, there may not be anyone bidding the tractor prices up.