5 ACRES AN HOUR? BULL ROAR!!!!

[DK35vince]

Honestly...at the rated top speed, one could mow over 5 acres an hour going in a straight line with no turns and a perfectly smooth lawn....BUT...who really has a lawn that doesn't require turns and is perfectly smooth and level? Anybody who thinks in real life they will even approach 2 acres of mowing an hour is really gullible....

I mow around 7 acres of lawn. Semi rough, small hills and many dozens of trees and things to mow around.
My 35 HP tractor with an 84" RFM takes me around 3 1/4 hours to mow. Averaging just over 2 acres per hour.
I can mow the same lawn with my zero turn. A Hustler Super Z with 72" deck and 35 HP Kawasaki in 2 hours. Averaging 3.5 acres per hour

 

[houstonscott]

How do you factor that the slower you go the better it looks and all the small lose stuff gets a chance to get sucked up ground up and mulched much more completely. The slower you go the more times the blades pass over the same spot. HS.

 

[ray66v]

I have a retired, diesel powered, Toro Reelmaster, golf course fairway mower, with a 96" cut. On a good day, I can do 4 acres an hour with it.

I also have a 60" Landpride zero turn, and it does about 2+ acres an hour.

These are real world figures, on a nice, but not perfectly flat, or smooth, lawn with some trees, and buildings.

 

[houstonscott]

I'm looking for a good cut, good reliable machine. So far GR 2120 has been that machine. HS

 

[Ken45101]

And I real doubts ANY zero turn could do better at cutting than a tractor with a good MMM.

I have a Kubota B2710 with a MMM and a Kubota ZD321 zero turn. Both about the same hp, the 2710 has a bit more.

The zero turn mows much faster on the straight aways and of course is more maneuverable around obstacles. The only place the zero turn loses out is on steep hillsides and rough ground where the tractor's bigger tires give a smoother ride.

Not having front brakes, the zero turn cannot be used at all going down steep hills forward. It has to be backed down. Of course, the tractor has to be in 4wd for braking.

 

[ray66v]

Not having front brakes, the zero turn cannot be used at all going down steep hills forward.

Brakes are sort of available: Tedbrakes.com

 

[DK35vince]

I have a Kubota B2710 with a MMM and a Kubota ZD321 zero turn. Both about the same hp, the 2710 has a bit more.

The zero turn mows much faster on the straight aways and of course is more maneuverable around obstacles. The only place the zero turn loses out is on steep hillsides and rough ground where the tractor's bigger tires give a smoother ride.

I find just the opposite, I feel my zero turn may ride smoother than my tractor.
The zero turns tires may be smaller than my tractor tires. But the sidewalls are much softer on the zero turn and I can run much lower tire pressure (8 PSI) on the zero turn.
Also my Super Z also has suspension seat and I'm running the flex forks on the front casters = smoother ride than the tractor

 

[bcp]

A mower is a single purpose machine for one job, ready to use when you buy it, and not intended for anything else.

When you buy a tractor, you can't do anything with it. The tractor is just a power unit for other machines. A tractor alone is like equipping a woodworking shop by buying an electric motor.

I once heard some say "You have a tractor now, why do you need all those other things?"

Does it make sense to compare a specialty tool to a general purpose tool?

Bruce

 

[LD1]

I think you are making too big of a deal out of it. They aren't lying in any way. It most certainly can now UP TO 5 acres per hour. Like anything, it is just a spec for comparison. It factors speed and width. That's all. How else would you rate one that would keep every mfg on a level playing field??

Similar to how our tractors are rated to lift XXX pounds at the ball ends or pivot pins. Certainly not a real world number. But use full for comparison.

So if mower A advertizes 5/acres per hr, and mower B is 2.5/hr, while you may never attain those numbers, you know mower a will be twice as fast as mower b.

 

[LD1]

I think you are making too big of a deal out of it. They aren't lying in any way. It most certainly can now UP TO 5 acres per hour. Like anything, it is just a spec for comparison. It factors speed and width. That's all. How else would you rate one that would keep every mfg on a level playing field??

Similar to how our tractors are rated to lift XXX pounds at the ball ends or pivot pins. Certainly not a real world number. But use full for comparison.

So if mower A advertizes 5/acres per hr, and mower B is 2.5/hr, while you may never attain those numbers, you know mower a will be twice as fast as mower b.