Mowing Flail mower or MidMount mower??

[Nuru]

Well i went and done it. Sold my house in one state, and now moved to another state and will be cutting 1 acre of grass. i have been consulting mower dealers and they seem to indicate that for what I want to do with my 4100 - cur 1 acre of grass in 40 minutes and not have to routinely pick up the grass. I should buy a flail mower at 84 inches, instead of my 54inch MMM. Any advice or suggestions? Some of the area to mow will be sloped, but not steep. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Also
i have a lawn sweeper but I don't think it will be good enough to handle the amounts I am looking at? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[6or7dazeaweek]

Nuru: My JD dealer let me take a cd home which gives a good demo of the Trimax flail mower that they sell. VERY impressive! You can cut under pretty much any conditions...even wet and it gives a great looking cut. There's even a roller underneath that gives the finished area that "striped" look. That being said, I do not own a flail mower, however, that would be my first choice. You can also find flail mowers on the web at:
http://www.loftness.com/const.cfm?cat=con

If you listen to the hype from both manufacturers, the Trimax seems to be the better cutter. I hope that you post on whatever type of flail mower that you get.

 

[Deere_parts]

An 84" flail mower better be able to cut that 1 acre in 10 minutes or I'd take it back.

On the serios side I know nothing about flail mowers.

I would keep the midmount. Cutting 1 acre in 40 minutes should be no problem with the quite capable 4100 and 54" deck. I cut 2 acres of flat ground with thick grass with alot of trees, a few buildings and other obstacles in less than an hour with the 60"deck on my 430 running in low range at 1/2 to 2/3 throttle.

Myself I don't care about the grass clippings but if I were in your shoes and wanted a manicured look and pick the clippings or leaves up I'd seriously consider a power flo or power pak bagging system with hydralic dump to mount on the tractor and take care of everything in one shot......I don't now what else you use this 4100 for so the KISS principle must prevail here or it won't be fun at all.

Give us an idea what else you use this tractor for as others may have a much better idea for you than a bagging system.

 

[deere755]

I have never owned a flail mower, but from what I have seen I would not trade my mmm for one. I cut an acre in about 30 minutes with my 60" mmm. I have a few trees and buildings and a steep hill on the back of my place.

 

[kennyd]

A 84" Flail mower on a 48" wide tractor with 17 pto hp?

This does not sound right to me... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

If anything, I would look to upgrade your MMM to a 60" and get a Cyclone, DR, or AgriFab type collection system.

 

[keeney]

I don't think that the 4100 would have enough power to run the 84" flail through anything very heavy.

Once you get the 1 acre under control, I don't think you will have a problem cutting it in 40 minutes with the 54". I think the 4100 with the 54" deck is rated at something over 2 acres per hour. I know with the 60" deck, its 2.5 acres per hour. Theoretically, that means my 1/2 acre of turf should take me 12 minutes, but is probably closer to 25 minutes.

This illustrates something that should help your situation. As you go from say 1/4 acre up, larger areas can be cut in less time-per-acre because there is a lot less turning and overlapping at the ends of rows and your long straight rows can be more optimally overlapped.

As mentioned, you could upgrade to a 60", but for what you would pay for the new deck, I think you would be better off adding some other piece of equipment.

To avoid needing to "pick up" the clippings, four tactics that work good for me:

1. Mow when the grass is dry.

2. Use somethig to hold the outlet chute up slightly so the clippings blow further out. Take care when mowing not to aim the outlet towards anything that could be harmed by a stray rock.

3. re-mow over any objectionable windrows of clippings at max speed (as is safe depending on slope, conditions, etc) with the deck about 1/2" higher than used to do the original cutting. Depending on the original mowing patterm, you typically only have to go back over every other row.

4. Mow twice as often. Yes, this probably pushed your time up over the implied "per week" of 40 minutes, but it will look a lot better than anything else you could do in a single mowing less often.

 

[RalphVa]

I vote for anything that'll mulch the grass. I've NEVER EVER collected grass cuttings. Use a mulching mower.

Agri Supply has a couple of flail mowers. If you have many shrubs or other items to steer around, the MMM mower is probably easier to do that. They ought to make those items mulchers, for safety if for no other reason.

My Gravely mower always did a better job than my walk-behind regular mulching mower. It wind-rowed less: discharged out the front, like a regular PTO mower discharges out the back. A flail would not windrow at all.

Ralph

 

[strokerduster]

iv'e mowed with an 84" flail behind an ih574 of my FIL's a lot. it IS HEAVY and bulky. got to be careful around trees and shrubs. i think my b3030 with 72" mmm will mow faster and look better. on the other hand, i wouldn't want to use my mmm in the pastures i regularly take the flail........

 

[Nuru]

Thanks for the input, I spoke to TRimax and they indicated that the ir 72" would be the one for my tractor. It is approximately 450 pounds, and can cut most stuff with the PTO output of the 4100. They did indicate the 60" wouild be the most optimum, but I did figure that with the 72" flail and my MMM, I can cut anything. The retail price was steep (over $4k), but I figure i could get it cheaper at a dealer. i will check into it.

 

[Nuru]

Thanks for the input Deere_parts. i use this tractor for:

cutting Grass
Plowing my driveway
Hauling dirt
Digging on occasion
and anything else I can figure it will help
I have the 54" MMM, a 30" Dirt Scoop, a 54" snow blade, and a 46" sweeper.

I have looked at vacuum baggers in the past, but outside of the one JD makes that fits on the tractor, the other ones have you dragging a cart around behind the tractor and that is not too cool with sloped land for me. I did at one point consider the JD unit, but the cost when I checked was way over the mark (4500 or so - way too much, and the noise of two engines kinda stunk too, I also heard that unit had some issues). Anyone here have experience with that unit? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Nuru]

Thanks, i have thought about trading up to a 60"MMM, but snce it cost ~ $2500, then ~ $180 for the mulch kit,, i figured that was close enough to the lowest priced flail mower. Now the 60" does provide more low center of gravity operation due to its 300lbs weight and it position on the tractor and that was a thought /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. but I have heard the flail will give a better look and so I am considering getting one and keeping my 54" or trading it in to slightly cut the cost of the flail. do you pick up the clippings at all? If so do you use the JD bagger for your unit or ?

 

[Nuru]

kennyD, i looked at gettign a rear bagging unit (a drag behind), but I really did not want to drive around sloped hills with that that heavy cart bag unit. Now if i could get a dealer to sell me the 60" with a baggger unit for say $3500, I might go for it, or sell me the JD bagger for the 54" for say $1000 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif (not likely), i would seriously consider that as that is the most convenient way to handle this as far as storage and driving around. But that is why i am askig everyone for their inputs as there is a lot of solid experience in these newsgroups and I have been given very good advice many times. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Nuru]

keeney, i have actuaqlly used the techniques you described at my last house and that took longer that I have time to do thing now, so that is why I am looking at a one shot solution if I can pull it off. From memory, i think JD rates their 54" MMM at 1 acre per hour and the 60" MMM at 1.1 acre per hour. Like I mentioned in other recent posts, I have looked at adding a bagger to my equipment but that it costed too much when I looked at it ($4500), and that stopped me cold, $1000 and yeah that seams reasonable but when I checked (2000, 2001), it was way too high for me! But I have not checked recently.

 

[Nuru]

I have a 54" with a mulch kit, but either i need to get it refurbished or it is a little too slow for the 1 acre, but hey, it could be that I need to do work on my 4100 and the mower deck and then it might be fine.

 

[Nuru]

You know i don't know of the newer 60"+ MMMs on the newer JDs will fit on my 4100? I don't think so but If I could get a mulching 72" on my tractor, that might be one way to look.

 

[orlo]

Hi:

I have a 2305 with a 62" mower and mow 5 acres in less than 1hr 30 mins but most of that is wide open (2900rpm) in high range doing about 9mph. I'm fortunate that the ground is dead level smooth, and long (A 900'+ run then I turn) for the most part.

I don't bag every time but when I do I pull a 6hp Cyclone rake behind the mower. It sucks up everything but I need to empty the (300gal?) bag 6-10 times (or more) per mowing and emptying can take a while if the grass is damp, etc. for 1-2 acres it would probably be perfect and for leaves it's great. They have a mount adapter that fits on the 3 point hitch. DR (Out of Vermont) sells a hard side unit now that would probably empty a lot easier.

I basically try to mow often enough that I Probably only bag every month to 2 months. Except for leaves.

I've also looked at the Mat Coll/Dump kit (Not avail yet for the 2305) but the price seems very high - The ability to dump from the seat sounds like a great feature though.

I may try the mulch kit if it's not too much or long term a Flail mower may be an option for me.

 

[Nuru]

orlo, this is quite interesting. i got off the line with a dealer today and the 2305 and the 2520 came up, as on occassion i think about trading mine in. He advised me that the 3 bag collection units ($2175) and the Hydraulic Dump Collection units ($4900) are still available for the 4100. His advice also wa to stick wit the 54" deck as he stated that you get more scalping with the wider decks on slopes and uneven surfaces. So for instance if I get a wider deck such as a 72" flail, I may run into more issues with maintenance with it and with the wider mower decks, more scuffs. Your situation seems to allow for a flail with no problem as it is flat. This property has sloes. However if they grade it fairly smooth, then I don't have the issue I might have if they don't. Iwill ask for a smooth grade as much as possible, and see how far they go for me. The price of the 3-bagger is not outside of my range, the Hydraulic unit is a little rich for me, but, man it would be convenient! - maybe I find a used unit? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Does anyone have an idea how fast you can go with a flail mower? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[joes_427_vette]

I have a 6' flail mower that I bought used for a couple hundred. The gearbox was run out of oil so I replaced it with one from a hay conditioner. I haven't got the ratio fast enough but for 5" or less grass it shreads it like no tomorrow. It appeared to cut and disperse the clippings alot finer than the mmm. The roller goes full length so no scalping involved. Most of where I cut is pretty smooth. I want to gear it up the 3-1 it was origionally ( approx 1650 rpm ) at the cutter and it will work just fine with the 4110. It seems to cover ground at an amazing rate plus a faster than mowing speed. If you can find one at a reasonable price you won't be disappointed.

 

[bigpete]

Sheesh, Nuru. A flail mower for 1 acre of finish mowing? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Your 54" deck is the perfect size. I can't imagine a 4100 with a 54" deck taking more than 45 minutes at a leisurely pace.

Get a new set of blades and keep it scraped. If you mow with high RPMs, mow high, and mow once a week, you should have no problems at all. If you are having problems, check your belt tension and sharpen your blades. If you want to send me the cash you are about to lay out, I'll keep it for a year and send it all back to you with a few extra bucks just in time for next Christmas /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[bigpete]

I've never picked up grass on my <4 acres of turf with my 60" and mulching kit. I aerate once a year. Mowing takes me just under two hours with the 4110.