Mowing Mowing a Family Friend's Field

[eddieirvine]

looks great but you mentioned keeping the bucket lower? You must of forgot to do that ?

 

[Norfolktoad]

Here's the link to the mowing video. It's about a minute and eighteen seconds of incredibly satisfying grass and small tree leveling.

Great satisfaction in mowing tall grass and weeds. Only problem I have when mowing tall nettles, grass and thistles in the UK is the radiator gets blocked with grass seed and thistle down making the tractor run hot. I have to stop and blow the radiator out with the airline.

 

[pumasong]

Great video! I recently did something similar for a neighbour, about half an acre and too overgrown for his belt drive ride on mower.

I took my GR2120 over and did the whole thing with the grass collector removed in about an hour.

It was pretty much all the GR could handle but it managed it without mishap. Not bad for a little machine!

 

[bdhsfz6]

I mow a couple of my fields every year or two, just to keep the invasives from taking over. I used to use a brushog but lately, I've started using the offset flail. It's easier to see what I'm cutting and I'm not rolling over the uncut vegetation with the tractor.

I take the bucket off when finish mowing but leave it on when cutting the fields. That way, I can dig out the occasional woodchuck hole.

 

[eKretz]

I mowed a majorly overgrown 30 acre property some time back with my little JD and a *finish* belly mower. Took me 3 days. It was grown up over my head. Left the loader bucket on for sure, hovered it several inches off the ground. And definitely had the radiator problem. I had to stop every lap around and blow out the radiator or my temp gauge would start to get close to the red.

Never would have done it but for the fact that the guy I did it for had a tree service and traded me the removal of an 80 foot dead oak tree that was directly over my house and the neighbor's house as part of the deal.

 

[EddieWalker]

You mowed 30 acres with a belly mower? WOW!!!!! How long did that take? Did you need new blades when you where done?

 

[jyoutz]

You mowed 30 acres with a belly mower? WOW!!!!! How long did that take? Did you need new blades when you where done?

I cannot imagine doing that

 

[Gord Baker]

Here's the link to the mowing video. It's about a minute and eighteen seconds of incredibly satisfying grass and small tree leveling.

Very nicely done sir.

 

[Striker70]

For improved efficiency if you are using a Land Pride Mower remove the "Lawyer Engineering" rear discharge chute steel strip. This is on there to stop rear discharge from throwing debris backward and forcing it down. What really happens is that it is thrown forward toward you and builds up ahead of the mower and behind you OR if it is dry enough it blows past you while cutting as dust....really tasty there !! Have also had it build up behind the blade and the mower has to climb over it. Discharge strip blocker has about 10 bolts and easily removed and while it is not much better it does tend to allow better discharge......especially if you have 25 HP and a 6 foot mower.

 

[eKretz]

You mowed 30 acres with a belly mower? WOW!!!!! How long did that take? Did you need new blades when you where done?

Yes sir. As I said, it took me at least 3 days. Might have been 4, it was a few years ago. Mowing pretty much from after breakfast until near dusk. I resharpened the blades after this mow, but didn't need to replace them. And the loader bucket down low *did* save me from hitting some pretty gnarly stuff.

Also, I agreed to the trade before I saw the property. The guy had told me that the grass was only a foot or two high. After I saw it I told him he was going to be adding some money to his end and also covering fuel cost.

 

[HAR]

I too have had the radiator blocked by all sorts of crud kicked up by my bush hog. One of my pet peeves with my B7300 is there is no temp gauge, (another is no dash lights). While the radiator vent 'heat whistle' it is very hard to hear over the noise of the tractor and whatever implement I am running. I am training my grandson, who now likes to 'help me' mow the lawn, that during dandelion season to stop frequently and blow the crud off the radiator and screens, etc. I do not know what I would do if it did not have the screens near the radiator. He has really caught on to that, as last time he mowed during dandelion season, he stopped on his own 2 times without being told and blew it out. I am also inline with others in keeping the bucket on and low while mowing. I carry a pry bar and often times pry rocks and get them into the bucket so as not to hit them next time mowing. I also keep my jug of ice water in the bucket. Handy on warm dry days.

 

[Ken1234]

One of the most enjoyable posting I have read. Can relate to almost all of the comments. I have a Bobcat CT230 Compact Tractor with a 5' Bush Hog. I mow about 8 acres of a field which as a fair number of mature camphor and oak trees so not many straight lines to mow. The trees shed branches and I trim suckers once a year. Use to pick them up before mowing - but what the heck I am using a Bush Hog so I just run over them and mulch them, as long as they are not too big. First time I mowed the field, as some said in this post weeds were HIGH, but after a couple of years started getting fewer. Now I mow the first of each month from May- Oct/Nov. Keeps everything down and no more weeds. But as some have also said it is a relaxing time and to see the end result is really enjoyable. I use to detach my FEL for the first few years for mowing but for the past several years - why bother. I now use the FEL to knock down the Golden Orb spider webs which get in the way or push a large branch out of the way. Like most, I keep the FEL down to see where I am going.
BUT yes - a most enjoyable post - Thanks Ken

 

[hodge]

The L2501 is underpowered for a 6' mower, by the numbers (5hp per foot). It'll pull it, as you experienced, but that's why it was dragging down.

 

[Runner]

I cannot imagine doing that

Reminds me of the time I mowed the 4 acre pasture with the JD185 with 38" mower deck. Only happened once before I bought the 2520.

 

[j13smiley]

I can get some small mowers working in large fields ... I cannot understand how calg did 20 acres in an hour

 

[HAR]

Reminds me of the time I mowed the 4 acre pasture with the JD185 with 38" mower deck. Only happened once before I bought the 2520.
View attachment 998283

Love seeing the little guys tackling big jobs! May not be perfect or pretty, but rewarding just the same! Yahooo

 

[Muley Gil]

I finally got the old 8N running again and mowed the neighbor's 3/4 acre Monday. I had mowed about half of it a week ago before my tractor started running rough, so I had to re-mow that part, plus the stuff that was 3' high. Mowed some of my property down by the old fallen down barn yesterday.

 

[Runner]

Love seeing the little guys tackling big jobs! May not be perfect or pretty, but rewarding just the same! Yahooo

Hey who you calling a little guy?

 

[Jaygyver]

Bought a Montgomery Wards 52" riding mower when I built a house on 5 acres, took a couple or three days for the first mow of 3 ish acres. The grass was so high the wife could just barely see my head when mowing.
Thought I could keep up on it but gave up a couple years later and got a JD-770 tractor with a 5' Sitrex finish mower.

 

[Torvy]

Nice job!
I've been wanting to try my new flail mower on something like that.

You'll love it. My flail munched a large section of wild blackberry bushes this spring. Fast, clean and mulched all at once.

(I use hammers, not knives).