425 or 1430?

BillCroasmun · Aug 17, 2005

Hey guys I am curious to hear how some of you define some of the words in this thread. I am hearing about "tall" grass being hard to mow when wet. I posted this picture recently which I consider tall grass.

I'll mow an acre like this the day after a hard rain with no problems with the 180 so I am assuming if others are having issues with the 425 their grass is taller, thicker, wetter or something?

Not trying to be argumentative here just trying to understand what others are dealing with that gives them problems. I also do not seem to have grass collecting up front like Snowridge. A little bit but nothing like his picture at all.

pequeajim · Aug 17, 2005

I've used the Ventrac bush cutter and it is a very capable unit. It would also bog down in the thick heavy grass that Snowridge shows in his picture, although I don't know if the grass would get caught in the wheels like he has shown. I don't think I have ever seen that before.

Remember, most of these companies sell BUSH cutters. Look at the picture of the VT cut. It is much like the dry weeds that MossRoad is cutting down with his deck in his videos.

While I'm not saying that the VT is not a good cutter, I would second MR's suggestion and get one out on your property and mow for your self.

I'll tell you a few things:

You'll love the VT on hills.
You'll love the VT cut.
You'll be frustrated with the VT FEL capability.
You'll like the VT maneuverability.

You'll like the PT on Hills.
You'll only like the PT cut.
You'll love the PT FEL capability
You'll love the 425 maneuverability.

Jim!

pequeajim · Aug 17, 2005

Man, that is TALL and THICK stuff! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

blackwell · Aug 17, 2005

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifWe use a 425 and 60" mower on about 3.5 acres, only takes 45 minutes to mow heavy grass with rear discharge and have become the envy of the neighborhood on the quality of the cut. Also use the brush cutter to mow grass and weeds on about 10 acres. Some of the lawn and rough is around 20 deg. with no problems with power.
We use the 1430 at another location to mow 8 acres lawn, max slope 25 deg, with great results. I converted a 74" flex deck with side discharge of another brand to the 1430 and used part of a season. The cut was no better than the PT mower, but I threw small rocks thru 3 windows with the side discharge in about 3 months of use, and the guards were in place. One of the rocks threw glass across the kitchen in front of my wife causing her to cut her foot. I went back to the PT rear discharge and sold the flex deck. We also use the brush cutter on the 1430 to cut tall grass and weeds along with small trees. The 1430 is also used for many other chores around the place, this is my favorite machine.
We also use a 180 with finish mower at another location to mow about an acre, nice cut, plenty of power for a small location. We also use several other attachments for the 180.
It seams my experences with all the PT's mowing have been much different than what you describe. I would never own a side discharge mower again, I dont get grass all over me when I mow, or grass tangled in the wheels, I like the simplicity of the PT mower. The articulated machines with front mowers have cut our weed eating in half and all our maintiance staff loves that. PT's are easy to maintain and require very little training to repair.
I would agree if you only want to mow, buy a mower, but if you have many other jobs to do, PT's are handy and a good mower also.
I'm sure the VT is a good machine, but not as versatile as the PT.
Good luck
EB

Charlie_Iliff · Aug 17, 2005

Yep, that's tall. Unfortunately, I sometimes work in "taller" with the 1845. It's been so hot this summer that the PT operator has failed to come to work for almost three weeks. (Cussed myself in the mirror just this morning.) Just did a field with 12-18" tall thick grass, still wet from rain yesterday. It slowed me down. I think my front wheels are fairly standard PT and I've never wrapped one. I've not yet owned a mower that doesn't bog a bit in heavy wet stuff, including 6' bush hog on 50 hp tractor.

Charlie_Iliff · Aug 17, 2005

Looks like PT should come up with a third mower type. 
They did, at least when Sedgewood and I bought our 1845s. It's a 72" rough-cut mower, with 3 spindles, stump jumper and two hinged blades on each like a brush hog. I don't know if they've made it in sizes smaller than the 72 and 96.
It is a good field mower, with brush hog capability, and if you get Sedgewood's custom high-lift thin blades and run the deck low and canted slightly forward, it will do a lawn-quality cut.
Stock, it has a rubber rear skirt. I've never gotten directly hit by clippings, but in dry weather it does put out chaff, as any mower will.

marrt · Aug 17, 2005

Dude, I just got a whole lot of new respect for the 180. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

marrt · Aug 17, 2005

Joel, you seem to be fairly concerned about the quality of the grass cut. I would suggest a ZTR for the best possible cut (personally, I really like the Ferris ZTR’s with 4 wheel suspension). I hear the VT gives a great cut but have no personal experience.

That said, a properly set up 425 (with the front of the deck higher than the rear) is an excellent mower in my opinion. I have a neighbor with a Kubota BX2200 (suspended deck) and another with a B2710 and the 425 cut is far better in my opinion. Much less windrowing. However, on hilly property, with tall grass, and a desire to go fast using the “old style wheel motors”, the 425 could feel a little under powered. I believe this is due to the rather low torque of the gas engine at full RPM, the low torque of the old style wheel motors, and the small motor PT puts on the mower. Nevertheless, it’s still a great mower when patient and when set up correctly.

gooberjkf · Aug 17, 2005

Marrt, you're correct, I am concerned about the mower of the PT. I was concerned after reading a number of the posts on this forum and others about the quality of cut and the various tire problems. That's one of the reasons I decided to drive to Tazewell. Unfortunately, the grass in their field was in horrible shape, so it difficult to really see how it mows in an area that is mowed reguarly. Their field had been allowed to grow to a height of 8-10 inches and had been cut wet a day or two before I arrived on the lowest deck setting, so you can imagine what the field looked like. Scott at PT indicated it was gonna be almost impossible to see how it would cut under those conditions. However, that was the only area available for me to demo the unit. From what I'm reading, perhaps if I had an opportunity to see this in action, or better yet use it, on an area that is mowed reguarly, than I might find that the cut isn't so bad after all.

Is there anyone out there within a reasonable distance that I could visit?

Thanks again,
Joel

cqaigy · Aug 18, 2005

I posted this picture recently which I consider tall grass. 

 I don't mow my grass very often so it gets kinda high, like around 4.5 to 5 feet tall and it's very thick and tough. It's usually wet when it gets that long. With my 422 i can't go full speed because of the terrain but i don't think it would be able to cut at full speed.