Mowing Has anyone run a 90" mower with a JD 3520

[wippster]

I have seen 3520 pulling 3 offset 72" buhler RFM's. @ at minimum 4.5 MPH

 

[Johnagain]

7.5 MPH? Holy cow that's flying. Does it actualy give a satisfactory cut?

Most of the places that I cut are pastures with a few cows or horses on them. I cut at theat speed at the 5in setting and it looks better than the brush cutter finish but it's not as good as a yard that is cut weekly. My customers like the new finish that the RFM gives the pastures and I don't think they would want to go back to the field being cut with a rotary mower as I was doing before.

If I change the height of the cut to about 3 inches then I have to slow down to 4-5 mph. It just starts to bog down. Most people would use a rotary cutter in the places I use the RFM, but I still only cut grass with mine no brush.

I did make one modifcation to the mower deck and that was to cut off about 1in of the skirting in the front to allow the blades to be lower than the front of the deck so the grass doesn't bend over as far so it cuts easier and doesn't leave lots of spikes standing.

 

[DHAUG]

Thank you for all of the input, I am trying to find the best deal on the 90" mower right now. Do you think this mower is going to scalp my rolling hills? My 72"mmm gets the grass a little short in some places, but it does not scalp. As always, any advice is helpful and I thank you in advance.
Dan

 

[Nuru]

Thank you for all of the input, I am trying to find the best deal on the 90" mower right now. Do you think this mower is going to scalp my rolling hills? My 72"mmm gets the grass a little short in some places, but it does not scalp. As always, any advice is helpful and I thank you in advance.
Dan

i would also like to know that too, as I am thinking of a larger mower for the rear like a LP84 or a 90" rear deck.

 

[radman1]

I just purchased a rhino 84" RM rear discharge. Replaced my previous rhino 72" side discharge. My JD 3720 had no power issues with either mower. Plenty of power. Little to no drag on the mower in grass 6-10" tall. The 84" does a better job with less tire marks and skips. Faster blade tip? Sharper blades? I think the rear discharge lets the grass out faster and therefore does a better job of mowing with less skips and cleaner cut. I had considered a 100" rhino but cost was considerably higher. The 84" was last years model and he wanted to move it. The 84" was $1950 and the trade in on the 72" was $1250. Paid difference of $700. I actually bought the 72" used on a farm auction earlier this year for $850.
The 84" seems to run quieter. I don't think rhino makes a side discharge any more.

 

[Nuru]

So for those of you experienced with rear discharge mowers, doesn't that make it more difficult to recut the clippings into smaller clippings than a side discharge mower?

 

[radman1]

So for those of you experienced with rear discharge mowers, doesn't that make it more difficult to recut the clippings into smaller clippings than a side discharge mower?

I hadn't considered the size of the clippings before. In my relatively limited experience, the rear discharge does a better job of spreading out the clippings over a larger area. With my KK and rhino side discharges, the grass is not spread as widely and in heavy grass, I would raise the side discharge shoot to get better spread. In heavy grass, it will clump at this discharge shoot and occassionally plug the opening.

 

[Nuru]

I hadn't considered the size of the clippings before. In my relatively limited experience, the rear discharge does a better job of spreading out the clippings over a larger area. With my KK and rhino side discharges, the grass is not spread as widely and in heavy grass, I would raise the side discharge shoot to get better spread. In heavy grass, it will clump at this discharge shoot and occassionally plug the opening.

hmm, I did look at the pics of the LP 84 and 90" and i did not consider that it was spreading the grass over a wider swath than the side discharge units. so I can see that it might not be an issue. Thanks for opening my eyeballs on that perspective! So the rear discharge version do a much better job of spreading the grass clippings, very good.