Bellon 28 inch heavy duty lawn mower. Any experience?

[anomad]

I have been looking at the 28" single spindle Bellon over at Earth Tools. Lawn Mowers - Earth Tools

I got the little BCS walking tractor used with a nice 26" Del Morino bush hog and a tiller last year. Love it. Thinking about adding that little mower for 3-4 hills I can't get my zero turn or regular tractor on unless conditions are perfect. I have even slid out and made marks in the grass under ideal conditions. I have used a push mower and weed eater on all those areas. Trying to streamline my mowing to make it easier to keep on top of. The tiny bush hog has been great for areas where I don't care what the cut quality looks like. Just make the weeds shorter.

Woud be interested to hear from anyone that has experience with that little mower. Or one like it. Especially on steep hills. Thanks in advance.

 

[leonz]

They are no different than the gravely single spindle mowers other
than the dual swinging mower blades and being lighter in weight.

The BERTA flail mowers weight will aid in the walking tractors stability on hills.

 

[jeepcoma]

How bad a job does the bush hog do? $1500 is a lot for 3-4 hills, I'd probably keep hitting it with the bush hog and not worry too much about quality of cut. Use the push mower from time to time to improve the cut if it matters.

I don't have experience with the Bellon. I have however extensively used the Berta 34" flail, and it's amazingly capable. Unfortunately, it's another $1000 more than the Bellon you're already looking at. It's a lot more flexible than a lawn mower however, as it's also great at clearing undergrowth, mulching cover crops, and pretty much pulverizing anything it touches. If you have other applications you might use it for, it could make sense.

My 2 cents, if you can figure out how to justify a flail mower, it's a far more versatile implement than just a mower attachment. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend any serious money for 3-4 hills.

 

[anomad]

Great points #jeepcoma. Thanks for sharing your experience.

The tiny bush hog cuts my Appalachian weed mix just fine. We have the finest weeds you've ever seen - LOL. I have it set to cut at the lowest height, which is about 4 inches.

The biggest drawback for me with the tiny bush hog is it doesn't have caster wheels. I am happy walking to the mowing areas, but I am dragging the skids all the way or having to lift it or having to put it on a pallet and use the big tractor.

So taking your thoughts into consideration... I just need to figure out a better way to get the little BCS to where I want to mow. I'll ponder on that. Thank you.

 

[jeepcoma]

Transportation, that's quite a different problem!

In addition to the flail mower, I have the Bellon 28” Super-Duty Brush Mower. For me personally, one big advantage over the flail mower, is how much less it weighs! A bit of downward pressure on the handlebars and it's pretty manageable to get and keep it in the air to move around.

Maybe that's not practical for you however...

What's the terrain like between where it's stored and where you need to mow? Maybe some movers or car dollies underneath the deck could work?

I like the pallet fork idea and move it with the bigger tractor, as long as that's not time consuming.

Sometimes it's easier to drag behind than push forward... you could try pulling it in "reverse" to the mow site, a nice advantage of the 2-wheel tractor is that you can walk in both directions.

Similar vein but more complex, if you have a small wagon, you could hook the wagon to the tractor and then put the bush hog on the wagon, and tow it to the mow site...

Trying to think of ideas where you don't even need the caster wheels. None of my implements have them (thinking hard, except the stump grinder) and I've never considered that an omission.

 

[anomad]

My farthest hill is about a half mile from where the BCS sleeps. It's all steep native or gravel Appalachian goodness. I've never put it on a pallet. I am going to try that. I have a trailer too. Never tried it either. It would probably take longer to fool with the trailer than to just walk and wear on the skids.

Cutting my walking paths in the woods around the house is perfect. Keeps the ticks down to have the paths mowed.

 

[anomad]

Where did you source the super duty mower?

I am looking at the 28 inch mower here Lawn Mowers - Earth Tools

 

[jeepcoma]

It's Bellon's version of the bush hog, I got everything from Earth Tools. Brush Mowers - Earth Tools

I also have the Berta flail mower purchased from Earth Tools Flail Mowers - Berta, BCS, Bellon, Green Technik - Earth Tools. I notice there is a caster wheel option - I'll have to look at my two units, but from what I see in the single photo it would not be (easily) adaptable.

 

[anomad]

Nice. Slightly larger version of the 26 inch Del Morino I have. I got my whole package lightly used.