Can a Zero Turn mow high weeds in a bumpy pasture?

[plowhog]

One thing that don't concern me is equipment cost because it's all a business write off anyway.

I cannot deduct the cost of equipment, but I do believe purchasing such items is a good investment in these times. Some would throw tomatoes at me for saying that, but every piece of equipment (except for a brand new cab tractor) is now worth more than what I paid for it. And the cab tractor might be close to original price.

I lived through the Carter "stagflation" years of the 80's, which is sort of similar to today. I don't want to touch off a political debate, but I have no problem trading "declining value greenbacks" for equipment that is only getting progressively more expensive.

But -- a $38k diesel mower might blow a hole through all of this ...

 

[WM75Guy]

Your use of common sense is getting in the way of me wanting to have a new piece of equipment!!!!

Good post ....

Go for it, enjoy it while you can. Whether it is money or equipment, you can't take it with you. I have never seen a loaded hearse headed for the cemetery pulling a U-Haul.

 

[arto98607]

The only mower that will do 5 ft weeds is a brush cutter / brush hog and it will not look like a lawn afterwards. I've never had the chance to try out a 48hp Ferris but that's gotta be an awesome machine. But I don't think it'll cut 5 ft high weeds. What does the dealer say about it ? He might know what the capability is.

Brush hog will work in tall grass & weeds, however in my experience flail mower works also good - I think little better, but requires little more maintenance!

I have a John Deere 413 brush hog and 5' Ford 917L Special with side slicer flails.

Have not used the brush hog hardly any since I got the flail mower.

 

[plowhog]

Brush hog will work in tall grass & weeds, however in my experience flail mower works also good - I think little better,

What do you like about the flail vs brush hog?

btw my brush hog is at max limits for my tractor-- 8ft connected to 44hp at the pto. Between the tractor tires and the trailing wheels on the brush hog there are certainly a lot of bumps.

I considered a flail mower some time ago with an articulating side arm so I could also mow the edge of the bank at the pond ...

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Flails chop the biomass finer, leaving a neater cut IMHO

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Once you do it once, you can keep it mowed down with a ZT. I mow my VA lot, about 3 acres of grass with my ZT. It was a hay field previously, now it looks like a park. I mow it once a month, takes about 2 hrs.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Go for it, enjoy it while you can. Whether it is money or equipment, you can't take it with you. I have never seen a loaded hearse headed for the cemetery pulling a U-Haul.

 

[arto98607]

What do you like about the flail vs brush hog?

btw my brush hog is at max limits for my tractor-- 8ft connected to 44hp at the pto. Between the tractor tires and the trailing wheels on the brush hog there are certainly a lot of bumps.

I considered a flail mower some time ago with an articulating side arm so I could also mow the edge of the bank at the pond ...

• No scalping at all when set up right. Uneven forested area is a prime example.
• Chops the tall pasture or field grass finer leaving a nicer look
• Uses less power - comparing 48" JD 413 vs. 60" Ford 917L (side slicer flails).
• Can mow given area faster due to width difference.
• Takes less space to store.

My Ford 1310 tractor has 1L 19 hp engine (12 speed manual transmission) so it's pretty easy to notice the difference in power usage.

 

[JethroB]

• No scalping at all when set up right. Uneven forested area is a prime example.
• Chops the tall pasture or field grass finer leaving a nicer look
• Uses less power - comparing 48" JD 413 vs. 60" Ford 917L (side slicer flails).
• Can mow given area faster due to width difference.
• Takes less space to store.

My Ford 1310 tractor has 1L 19 hp engine (12 speed manual transmission) so it's pretty easy to notice the difference in power usage.

^^^ . I’ll add that I find it’s less ‘jolting’ on me than my bush hog. It rides gracefully on the 6’ wide rear roller close in vs. a small tail wheel dipping into holes & flipping around on turns.

 

[scootr]

The flail mower roller smooths out the gopher mounds nicely