Just discovered walk behind tractors

[mtn pete]

Hi folks--my wife and I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We recently acquired about 8 acres of hilly land, including a 1/2 mile x 10 strip that needs to be mowed around 3-4 times a year. Up until now we've only had about an acre to take care of, which I do with a walk behind mower.

My wife is a terrific gardener. I literally reap the benefits with fresh lettuce and greens, butter beans, corn, tomatoes, even peanuts. She also has two peach trees and two apple trees. Everything she grows is totally organic.

I retired in 2008. I consider my role as head groundskeeper, plus procurer, cutter, splitter, and stacker of firewood to balance out her magnificent gardening skills. Since we moved here in 1999 we've never had to buy collards or firewood.

Looking forward to "meeting" you all.

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[grsthegreat]

hello from north Idaho. My wife makes sure i don't relax too much either.... ill never retire, cause then ill have to work harder than i do now.

At least when i go to work, i can take it easy.:laughing: :laughing:

 

[mtn pete]

Hope I'm in the right place. We're getting ready to buy a walk behind, like a BCS or Grillo. I see there are no forums for them. Anyway, my basic question right now is whether we need to get a unit with a differential.

I should have mentioned that the payoff for all the work I do is to sit around the woodstove in January, eating peach cobbler. It's true that I'm real busy in retirement--I also do some volunteer work--but I like the kisses I get from my boss now.

 

[DAY]

Welcome! You're in the right church, but the wrong pew Go to Forums, scroll down to Related Equipment, then over to 2 Wheeled Tractors.
Two Wheeled equipment is very big in other parts of the world, not so much here in the USA, where walking is viewed with suspicion, and the smell of diesel in the morning is better than bacon frying:laughing:

 

[zmjc]

I considered walk-behinds for a while, but walk-behind tractors have a painfully low top speed - 3mph or so, I think.

If the mowing areas aren't too hilly, a zero-turn mower will probably be cheaper and much, much faster.

Walk-behinds are probably best for cultivating largish gardens, and for brush-clearing areas that are not accessible to larger tractors. Not for mowing.

- Mike

 

[looknlearn]

I considered walk-behinds for a while, but walk-behind tractors have a painfully low top speed - 3mph or so, I think.

If the mowing areas aren't too hilly, a zero-turn mower will probably be cheaper and much, much faster.

Walk-behinds are probably best for cultivating largish gardens, and for brush-clearing areas that are not accessible to larger tractors. Not for mowing.

- Mike

If you think they are too slow, you haven't seen some of the 2 wheel tractors over in Europe. Even the BCS has a top speed of 8 or so mph.

 

[zmjc]

If you think they are too slow, you haven't seen some of the 2 wheel tractors over in Europe. Even the BCS has a top speed of 8 or so mph.

Not when mowing!

The BCS 853 has a top mowing speed of 2.7 mph.

The 853 has a top speed of 8.3 mph in "transport mode". The 852 doesn't have that gear, so its top transport speed is 2.7 mph.

Specs are here.

- Mike

 

[looknlearn]

Not when mowing!

The BCS 853 has a top mowing speed of 2.7 mph.

The 853 has a top speed of 8.3 mph in "transport mode". The 852 doesn't have that gear, so its top transport speed is 2.7 mph.

Specs are here.

- Mike

Hmmm, that is an awful slow mow speed. To bad they don't give a fast mow speed of something like 6 mph. The thing is a multipurpose machine won't do any one job as well as a single purpose machine but it does do all the jobs to some degree or another.

 

[DAY]

Different tools for different tasks. One of the 2 wheelers even makes a hay baler!

In a lot of countries the "small holdings" are just an acre or, two, and the mowing is done either with a scythe- or sheep!