IslandTractor
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2005
- Messages
- 17,101
- Location
- Prudence Island, RI
- Tractor
- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
Now that I have finished bush hogging and otherwise clearing an old 3-4 acre pasture, I'd like to get a finish mower to make the mowing task go faster. I have a 21hp tractor (Kioti CK20 HST) and the land is sloped. I mention the slope because I need to be in low HST to climb directly up which is the long direction and the preferred mowing direction (up and down rather than sideways).
As I need to be in low HST range anyway, it seems reasonable to consider a 72" mower instead of a 60". The PTO horsepower is 15.5 however and Kioti's own 72" mower specifies 20 PTO hp. A Caroni 72" mower (same basic design) also specifies 20 PTO hp as the minimum. I understand these are not really precision engineering considerations but rather rule of thumb calculations that are based on cutting lush lawns.
That bring up another factor: this is a pasture not a lawn. The mixed grass is fairly thin and is cut to about 3-4 inches high every couple of weeks May-Sept. The soil is sandy and does not support a luxurious growth of grasses.
Other than mowing slowly (remember I will be in low range anyways) is there any reason not to stretch things a bit and get the 72" rear discharge finish mower? I figure the bigger mower would save me about 15-20% of my mowing time.
As I need to be in low HST range anyway, it seems reasonable to consider a 72" mower instead of a 60". The PTO horsepower is 15.5 however and Kioti's own 72" mower specifies 20 PTO hp. A Caroni 72" mower (same basic design) also specifies 20 PTO hp as the minimum. I understand these are not really precision engineering considerations but rather rule of thumb calculations that are based on cutting lush lawns.
That bring up another factor: this is a pasture not a lawn. The mixed grass is fairly thin and is cut to about 3-4 inches high every couple of weeks May-Sept. The soil is sandy and does not support a luxurious growth of grasses.
Other than mowing slowly (remember I will be in low range anyways) is there any reason not to stretch things a bit and get the 72" rear discharge finish mower? I figure the bigger mower would save me about 15-20% of my mowing time.