Anyone mow at night/in the dark?

[Spindifferent]

Hi Folks,

I was thinking about the possibility of mowing at night here in Texas as the summer heat approaches quickly.

Any feedback, opinion, hints and tips, encouragement, discouragement from folks that currently mow at night?

To help brighten the night, was thinking about upgrading the stock headlights on my 2016 X584 to the JD halogens. Anyone using the halogens at night while mowing? I know many of you use the halogens while snow-blowing. No snow weapons needed here in Central Texas.

All feedback is appreciated!

 

[Bird]

When we lived in Navarro County and I had a Kubota B2710 with a 6' brush hog, I did some pasture mowing at night (very early morning before daylight) to avoid the heat of the day. The Kubota's headlights weren't the best in the world, but I was mowing land that I was familiar with so no unexpected surprises or problems.

And now in town, I have, and will in the future I'm sure, mowed the lawn with my Ego battery powered self-propelled walk behind lawnmower with LED headlights.

 

[CCWKen]

Skip the halogens and go LED. Twice the perceived light at half the power requirement. Besides, many lawn tractor charging systems won't handle the extra draw of halogen bulbs. You'd be amazed at the amount of light you can get from a couple of 18 or 27 Watt LED lights.

I've been caught running late into dusk while mowing. It's the part of the lawn that shares space with many Mesquite trees so it can get dark in a hurry and takes longer to mow. I just put new LEDs on my old Woods ZTR but have not tried them yet. It's down for hydraulics at the moment. The old lights were like weak flashlights so anything will be better.

 

[oosik]

I've helped the neighbor harvest his hay at night. Not so much about the heat as getting it cut, dried & bailed while the wx is good. He has massive 50 watt LED's floods mounted on top of the unit I used and they turn night into day.

 

[Thomas]

Just watch out for the critters.

 

[EddieWalker]

I do it all the time. I have a pair of Walmart 50 watt off road lights on my front grill along with the factory headlights to see with. I'm thinking about upgrading to LED's because I've hit so many things with the spotlights that I'm not going to be able to rely on them this year. I only mow the flat, easy areas at night. Never the angles, or in the trails. I'm worried I would get stuck, break something and have to walk back in the dark. Snakes are always a concern for me.

What I like about mowing at night is how cool it is during summer, but also what I see. I've had hogs totally ignore me as I mow past them, one time a group of almost 30 wild hogs walked out into the middle of the field I was mowing and I just drove through the middle of them. They barely moved out of my way!!! I've shot half a dozen hogs that way with my .44 mag pistol. I've seen as many as 4 armadillos out mowing. They also let you get real close to them before jumping out of the way. Coyotes will follow me and I'm guessing eat the rats I disturb while mowing. They are always just at the edge of my headlights when I turn around. I'll see them for a second, then they go back out of the light. Best of all, it's just peaceful and relaxing. Midnight is about the latest I've stayed out mowing, usually it's just a couple of hours after dark.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I mow into the night, nice in the summer.

 

[beenthere]

Bird
Go to the LED's, not the halogen.. good advice from CCW

 

[dannoGT]

I mow at night or it doesn't get done! Tractor runs quiet neighbours don't complain just good quality tractor time!

 

[hawkeye08]

I cut alfalfa as a teenager at night once when we needed to get the hay down due to weather forecasts. Its ok if you know the field is clear and have mowed it before, but if you have problems, be careful, it is easy to miss something in the dark.