Mowing 914A Mower Choices

Anonymous Poster · Apr 3, 2001

Hi everybody! My name is Arthur and I am new to this board. I could use your help in deciding which one to order.The 5' side discharge is all I really need(5 1/2) acres, but the rear discharge(6' only) seems to offer advantages. Does anyone have experiences with either? Is the rear discharge a mulcher?Do either make it difficult to mount or dissmount the tractor because of their width? Has anyone ever removed and reinstalled either? Did I ask too many ?'s I really appreciate any and all replys to help me decide. Thanks,
Arthur

RSeymour · Apr 4, 2001

Arthur, I have 5 acres & mow with a 6' rear discharge Land Pride. I have been very happy with it. Land Pride now has mulching blades available for it & I am ordering those today.

In my opinion the rear discharge spreads the clippings more evenly than a side discharge. Also with the rear discharge I do not have to worry about which direction I go around the yard. i.e. mowing towards or away from the clippings.

Blu21 · Apr 4, 2001

Art, I have the 914A side discharge 5',mows great and I dont really have a problem with clipping discharge.The high lift design and speed really cuts it small, unless your cutting real tall stuff.Removal takes me 10 minutes or so,no real big deal for the amount of times I take it off but a loader does help with removal.Tom

dieselpwr · Apr 4, 2001

Arthur

I have a 6' King Kutter finishing mower with side discharge & I like it very well. It is one of the easiest to install & remove of the 3pt attachments I own. I have never had any trouble with clumping or anything like that & have found you can really cover some ground in a hurrry & still get a good cut.

Troy

Bird · Apr 4, 2001

Arthur, as you can see, some prefer the side discharge and some the rear discharge. I'm using a 5' rear discharge and think it's much better for my use, for reasons already mentioned by someone else. When I bought it about a year and half ago, the dealer told me that a couple of years earlier no one wanted the rear discharge; everyone wanted side discharge. He said that has reversed now and he only stocks rear discharge, but would sell me either one for the same price. My opinion is that if you cut the grass frequently and have small clippings, it probably doesn't make a lot of difference, except that I can get closer to fences, trees, and other obstacles with either side of my mower instead of having to keep them on the left side. And if you let the lawn get too deep, as I did before I mowed today, the rear discharge results in less windrowing.

Bird

JATO_RaT · Apr 5, 2001

Arthur, checkout "woodsonline.com", Woods makes perhaps some of the best mowers available in a variety of configurations. The new MX series from John Deere also looks very impressive. They are a rear discharge type which I generally prefer for the reasons Bird stated, Rat...

IndianaPaul · Apr 5, 2001

Just took delivery of a TC45D last week (how I ever go through life without one!). Am considering putting a Bush Hog finish mower on it (RDTH72 rear discharge). Anyone have any experience with the product? Just curious about reliability, etc. Will be cutting about 7 - 8 acres with it. Thanks

Boomerboy · Apr 5, 2001

Art,
Welcome to the NH board. As you can see, there are a lot of reasons for either side or rear discharge. Like all equipment, you will find a way to do what you need to do with the equipment you have. I mow 5 acres with a tc29d and a 914A side discharge. No trouble getting on or off big blue, and removal is quick by removing just 4 pins. Removal from under the tractor is another story. Like all 60" or bigger decks, they pretty much do what they want. I use a chain hoist to lift the front of big blue and roll the 914A out with ease. One advantage I like about the side discharge deck is evident at leaf racking time. The high lift really works well pulling the leaves up and off of the ground, and off to the side. This allows me to blow the little devils to the wind break. Good luck and happy mowing!

kwright · Apr 8, 2001

I've had my (new) 914A rear discharge since last July, and I've been quite happy with it. It's used with a 21D, by the way.

There's been no issues with it, either mechanically or during use so I can recommend it. It cuts clean and leaves virtually no grass line.

The reason I went to a rear discharge is I have a fair number of obstacles to work around on my small hobby farm. I figured that since I was going the new equipment route, the rear discharge might simply be more convienient.

*** REAL horses weigh a ton ***