Belt for 48" deck

[J_J]

Or, has anyone any experiance with something like this?

Yes, I have a Troybuilt sickle bar mower, but it is only for rough stuff.

 

[J_J]

Just wondering....

Would it be hard to find one of those rotary blade mowers, like you see on a golf course, and fabricate it to a quick attach plate.

I have mostly flat ground.

It sure would be nice not to have to worry about the hydro motor, spindles, bearings, etc. just to mow grass.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Those rotary/reel mowers that you see on Golf courses, are hydraulic driven. There is also the old push reel mower where the wheels turn the blades. I have an old one just rusting away.

 

[J_J]

Here are some pictures of manual and pull behind reel mowere. You probably adapt these to a QC plate.


http://www.promow.com/products/residential_light_commercial_mower.htm

 

[SnowRidge]

Here are some pictures of manual and pull behind reel mowere. You probably adapt these to a QC plate.


ProMow, Inc. ::: Residential/Light Commercial Gang Reel Mower

You should be able to pull the ganged reel mowers behind the PT without any trouble. They only take a few horsepower. Northern Tool has a bunch of them on their web site. I can't imagine why you would want them on the QA.

On the PT mower: I learned the hard way to check mine after every mowing. I raise the mower up as high as it will go, then I grasp each blade firmly and try to rock it. If the bearing is bad, you can feel it. It only takes a few seconds and will save a lot of money.

If you run with a bad bearing, it doesn't take long to destroy the spindle and/or hub.

You can't hear the problem until it is too late. The hand check is the safest way. The bearings aren't that hard to change, and they are readily available at reasonable prices. I order from Skate Bearings in Miami.

 

[J_J]

The QA plate is so you could pick them up and not drag them the complete time you are moving.

 

[SnowRidge]

The QA plate is so you could pick them up and not drag them the complete time you are moving.

Okay.... I don't see how that would gain you a whole lot.

Here's what I would do. I would whack the pin hitch off of the mower and weld on a 2" coupler. That would give me articulation when I towed it behind the PT. I have a receiver adapter for the PT. It takes a 2" ball mount.

If I needed to move it around without mowing, I would just hook it to my existing QA ball mount plate (almost everyone has one), which would let me push it to wherever it needed to be pushed. Every reel mower I have ever seen freewheeled going backwards, so it wouldn't be a problem.

No QA plated needed on the mower.

 

[ldabe]

JJ, yes that is the type I was talking about, the "reel" mower. I do have some acrage that the "sickle" mower would be useful, but I don't know how much (diameter) it could handle with saplings.

Snowridge, the test after each mowing is a very good idea. And I plan to institute it.
Also, the reason I would want the "reel" mower in front is to be able to see what I am mowing and how the mower is doing. If it was behind, if something went wrong, or got caught where it stopped it from turning, you might not know for quite sometime.

I just like things in front. That was one of the big appeals of the PT's to me.

 

[MossRoad]

You probably do not want a reel mower out front. They toss the clippings pretty far up forward and backwards. You will be covered quickly.

I agree that they should be towed behind. And by putting them on a ball hitch, they can swing left-right, up-down and twist independently of the tractor.

Also, many of them do not have the height adjustment that I like.

 

[washita]

why doesnt someone make a flail mower for a pt, probably be best of both worlds, (take the 48" tiller put hammer flails on it increase the rpms roller out front it might just work)

 

[SnowRidge]

why doesnt someone make a flail mower for a pt, probably be best of both worlds, (take the 48" tiller put hammer flails on it increase the rpms roller out front it might just work)

I think Power Trac makes a flail for the big machines.