Rear Finish Mower How wide a finishing mower for JD4400

[michaelbisset]

I have 5 acres of grass to cut. I presently have a Muratori 120cm (4ft) flail mower which is good for long grass but the finish is not that close and cutting takes a long time. I want to get a cut similar to playing field quality and have been looking at buying a rear discharge finishing mower with mulching kit.
My tractor is a John Deere 4400 which has a 35hp engine with 29hp at the PTO.
My question relates to whether my tractor is powerful enough to run a 6ft wide mower such as the Sitrex SM180? It says on the manufacturers website that 20-40hp should be adequate.
Website: SITREX SPA - AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY - ITALY
Brochure: http://redigo.gonet.it/core/fileupload.get.php?fileName=../projects/r2sitrex/uploadedfiles/38_FU_53_FU_410_FU_FinishingMowersSM.pdf
What are other peoples experience with similar finishing mowers? Are the manufacturers over optomistic with their recommendations or is my 29hp OK?
My final question relates to the finish. How good a cut can I expect from this type of mower?

Many thanks for your help.

Mike

 

[Army grunt]

Thats a good size , A friend of mine has a 6 ft. mower it cuts great. He does around his house with it
Army grunt

 

[RoyJackson]

I also have a Deere 4400 with 30 PTO HP (my tractor is not HST).
You can easily run a 6' (72") RFM behind your machine. I do (6' Frontier).
You can even go up to 7' (84")...which I had before the 6' mower.

I sold the 7 foot RFM because it was too big to store in my garage....the tractor had no problem operating it.

As far as quality of cut...flat lawn works great. If you have a lot of dips and depressions, a large RFM can span those....looks a bit raggedy. My 7' mower (a BEFCO) had that problem. The 6' Frontier does a nicer job, IMHO. I don't blame the poorer cut on the mower...the problem was with the uneveness of my lawn.
BTW, you will want the anti-scalp roller on any RFM you buy.

 

[devildog1]

you'll have not a problem running the 72" behind your tractor and it will operate it easily. The 72" er is much better then the 84" as Roy pointed out because most lawns are not as level and flat like a golf course, and the 84" will be less forgiven and will scalp an uneven lawn.
DevilDog

 

[michaelbisset]

This is what I finally purchased.
The Fleming FM180 is a rebadged Sitrex. It is 6 foot wide.
Brochure: Brochure:

I still have to fit the mulching kit and the anti scraping roller.
It will be at least another 4 weeks before the grass starts growing so once I use it in earnest I will let you know how well it works.

Mike

 

[elginfarm]

I have a 6 Ft. King Kutter finish mower. I have been using it for the last 2 years behind my JD 4400 E-Hydro. It has worked fine and I am really pleased with its performance. The 4400 has more than enough power for this mower. The mower has an anti-scalp roller and it has the flexible hitch that helps it adjust to the uneven conditions of the 5 acres that I mow. It works much better than the "Bush Hog" style cutter I had been using and the grass looks like a golf course when I am done. Good luck with the new mower.
Eldon

 

[SerialMower]

Bought a Sitrex Finishing Mower 120 ten years ago along with a low hours Hinomoto C144 (aka MF 1010). Have just notched up 550 hrs (due to a very early first cut in 2021!) mowing around 4acres of mostly ungrazed former equine pasture. Both the tractor and the mowing deck have been 100% reliable in that time. The little tractor (14 HP) is right on the limit of what is needed but a sensible cutting height and speed has ensured great performance and endurance from both machines. I occasionally mow the grass wet but this combination is better when dry. I grease the mower regularly and sharpen the blades once a year and adjust the belt tension also annually. About half of the land is cut really short and looks like a nice big quality lawn, the rest is allowed to grow a bit longer for the wildlife. The Sitrex does both admirably due to the range of height adjustment. I thought I might need a topper when I first moved to this property but the mower has proven to be tough enough and fine enough for both purposes.