3pt finish mower vs front mount zero turn mower

[Mosey]

I'm just curious about how a 3pt finish mower deck compares to a front mount zero turn mower deck. My Landpride FDR2572 (6' wide rear discharge) 3pt mower weighs a total of 670 lbs. It's a very heavy duty deck and caster wheels. Are zero turn commercial mower decks as heavy? The ones I've seen look like they are and the caster wheels are wider. Does anybody know what the PTO speed is on a zero turn mower? Do they make brush hog (single blade rotary cutter) type mower decks for zero turn mowers?

 

[alco141]

i have an x mark lazer z (25 hp) and it cuts so fast, my wife now cuts 5 acres in the same time that it took both of us, me on the NH1520 and here on the 18 hp lawn tractor. it does not really have a pto, the motor drives a large belt and hydraulic motors for the wheels. so i dont know what the speed is. it will cut at a faster speed and do a lot of the close in work that is hard to do with a tractor, reverses on a dime. not cheap but cuts fast. it is a single purpose machine, no other attachments except for a bagger.

alex

 

[kokopelli2]

Re: 3pt finish mower vs front mount zero turn mowe

doesnt lexmark offer a V-plow for their ztrs so that you can get some use out of them in the winter?

 

[gmason]

I think the biggest difference is speed and length. I mowed with a 5' on my b2400 and the nose to tail was ~10', I've now got a Wright Sentar and it's not even 4' nose to tail. The blades travel at a much faster speed than the finish mower turned and can mow at 11mph. If your doing a 5ac field then the zero turn probably won't be as important, but you through a few dozen trees on it then...

It used to take me 45minutes to cut my back yard 35y x 45yards with a 22" push mower. Now it takes less than 10 minutes with my 52" Sentar and the cut looks just as good. We've had record amounts of rain this spring and I've been able to use the ztr without digging ruts in most of the yard, becaus of the 6" wide castor wheels on the front.

gary

 

[grainger12002]

Say what you want for mowing the lawn these commercial mowers cant be beat, I also have a zero turn that mows so fast and so even it is amazing,second season with it,mows awesome

 

[Mosey]

Thanks for the info. What I'm thinking about is if it would be possible to mount a ZTR type deck on the front of a CUT and use the mid PTO to power it. I can mow pretty fast with my 6' rear finish mower. I can't turn around as fast as a ZTR, but I can make the turns pretty fast since I have a hydrostat drive. The blade tip speed of my Landpride FDR2572 3pt mower is 18,328 fpm, which is very close to the Landpride LPZ72 ZTR, which is 18,800 fpm. But, I have to drive over the grass first, so I can't go as fast as a ZTR. I've heard of front mounted snow blowers that use the mid PTO, so why couldn't a finish mower or brush hog be mounted on the front in a similar fashion?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It's funny, I've been thinking of the same thing. Using the FEL mount. The only problem would be supporting a jack shaft at the front of the tractor because of the length. It would also have to be balanced well because of the speed that our mid PTO's turn.

Now that you've posted this I may get to work figuring out exactly what it will take to make this happen. I wonder if a standard 540 gear box will stand up to 2000 rpm input, Probably not for long.

 

[Mosey]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I wonder if a standard 540 gear box will stand up to 2000 rpm input, Probably not for long.)</font>

I wouldn't even consider that. It would have to be geared down. As far as mounting it up front, it doesn't have to lift it, just push/pull it. A ZTR can't lift the deck all the way off the ground (I don't think so anyway) and there's really no need to except for cleaning.

 

[Mosey]

I decided to start a new post on this idea of mounting a mower on the front:

Front mounted mower for a CUT - can it be done?

 

[Magnum]

There were several front mounted mowers used on compact tractors through the years. Deutz Allis had a neat setup that could be used as a front or mid mount mower. Case IH had a front mount mower built by Haban in the 80s, that drove off the mid PTO. I think Whites Farm Supply in Canastota NY may still have one in a box. It would likely bolt up to a TC class 2 tractor. I am stopping there tomorrow, will see if it is still around.