If You Were To Get A New 6 Ft Finish Mower - What Would You get?

[OzarkChris]

I 'm wondering why if someone owns a tractor their yard is so rough.
Our yard was very rough when we first moved here.
I've spent a lot of time smoothing up our 8 acre lawn with the tractor.
Still has a few slightly rough spots, but night and day smooth compared to what it was.

My "yard"/pasture/etc is full of limestone, clay (very much like a rock when dry!), granite & other assorted "rocks" (which I must say I grow very well - must have a lime colored thumb! ). Most of these rock type structures are actually part of the bedrock so unless you are into pit mining, you probably aren't ever going to get rid of them.

As long as it's smooth enough to not mess up the hay saws, tedder & baler, it's smooth enough for me - but still pretty rough.

 

[SwingOak]

I bought a King Kutter 6ft rear discharge finish mower a couple of years ago, and it does a fine job mowing. I use it mostly to maintain horse pastures, it does a better job mulching and spreading out the clippings than a rotary mower. I've only burned up the belt once, and that's because I was mowing very tall and wet grass in an old hay field, which it is not meant to do.

King Kutter is the same company as Taylor-Way, with all the same products, just different model numbers and paint color options. Made in the USA, relatively inexpensive. Just make sure you read the signs and labels all over it (and in the manual) that say it's shipped without oil in the gearbox and bearings need to be greased and belt tightened before using.

 

[duffer]

... when the mower was about 6 months old, it started "SCREAMING"!
The selling dealer went out of business, I took it to the next closest dealer.

The service rep turned the pto shaft by hand, and said "some noise is to be expected",,

The owners manual says the spindles CAN NOT be rebuilt, simply replace the entire assembly,,
Yea, right,,

I installed two new TIMKIN made in France bearings,, after removing the made in China bearings.

The mower is quiet,, now,,,

Had a similar issue with my 7' rear discharge mower (gets used a LOT). mowed 10 acres of grass for 4 years, at least once a week.
Anyway, mower started to scream so loud I used ear protection. Checked into replacing the spindle assemblies and they were half the price of the whole mower.

Bought 6 Timkin bearings, replaced them on all 3 spindles, and now I can't hear the mower run at all !! Cost me $50 for the bearings, and some elbow grease.

 

[Otgaugres]

Good choice. I love my 4520z. I’ve got a 72” finish mower for it that i’ve yet to try out. The tough cut deck is an amazing tool.

Update…ran the Ventrac 72” side discharge finish mower deck yesterday. Without question the best finish mower I’ve used. Excellent cut quality, no clumping ( and I was cutting tall, thick grass) and virtually no scalping. The large rear roller creates beautiful striping. Maneuverability doesn’t compare to a zero turn so that’s the downside. For comparison, I run multiple Scags, all with the 60” Velocity deck. In the past I’ve had a 72” Woods, side discharge, PTO driven rear deck, and a couple Woods Mowing Machines which were front mounted deck ZTR’s. Actually the Mowing Machines had very good cut quality but traction was terrible…they could get stuck in wet grass Lol.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Update…ran the Ventrac 72” side discharge finish mower deck yesterday. Without question the best finish mower I’ve used. Woods Mowing Machines which were front mounted deck ZTR’s. Actually the Mowing Machines had very good cut quality but traction was terrible…they could get stuck in wet grass Lol.

Put the right tires on those mowing machines, and traction is quite good.

Personally, the problem I see with those Ventrac's is, I keep tractors a long time, and the old Ventra's I see have waaay to many problems piling up. The just aren't reliable enough for me to buy one.

SR

 

[Otgaugres]

Put the right tires on those mowing machines, and traction is quite good.

Personally, the problem I see with those Ventrac's is, I keep tractors a long time, and the old Ventra's I see have waaay to many problems piling up. The just aren't reliable enough for me to buy one.

SR

Well, I hope that doesn't prove to be a problem. I'm impressed with the build quality and robustness of mine so far. Very impressed with the build quality of the implements. I love the Kubota gas engine too..it seems to have tons of power, but it's a thirsty devil.

 

[Jaeger]

I've run the Land Pride FDR1672 for years. It's durable and material wise same construction as the 2572 (only difference is the gearbox) I tried the solids and air filled tires w slime and they're terrible on my rough ground. Ended up with laminated rubber gauge wheels like my brush hog has. I change the gearbox fluid every other year w/ AMSOIL, sharpen the blades 2x a year and watch the belt tension. Solid piece of equipment and can handle the pto of the 5030.

 

[Hughman]

I've run the Land Pride FDR1672 for years. It's durable and material wise same construction as the 2572 (only difference is the gearbox) I tried the solids and air filled tires w slime and they're terrible on my rough ground. Ended up with laminated rubber gauge wheels like my brush hog has. I change the gearbox fluid every other year w/ AMSOIL, sharpen the blades 2x a year and watch the belt tension. Solid piece of equipment and can handle the pto of the 5030.

Same one that I have. Excellent machine

 

[sixdogs]

There's a lot of good options in these 78 replies and it's hard to go wrong with a any of the high end brand names mentioned. A three point rear mower made by someone that makes a lot of them and has a good name will likely mow great. Woods, Land Pride, Bush Hog, etc.

I've used them for decades and if I were to buy one today it would be either a new or older Woods mower. The newer ones are great but the ones 10 or 20 years old are made the same but with much thicker steel and those seem to mow better. If you were a Nigerian prince with money no object, buy a new one.

But I think the hidden gem is something like my Woods RD8400 (7'). I bought it new in 03? and took excellent care of it. Greased the wheels every time I used it. Even so, I'm going to sell it for $1600 and that's a far cry from the $5000 of a new one. Used ones, even if in sterling condition, bring less. My back forces the sale but not for that, I'd never sell. It's a great return for the $$. Sharpen and balance the blades frequently and mow high, like 4" or ma better look

That's my opinion.

 

[DKCDKC]

I hate spending money but wanted to get a finishing mower for the 4+ acres along and beside the beginning of my long driveway - former pasture. A rotary cutter works, but the area looks rough and I wanted a better look. Finally found an old Howse 5 foot finish mower for $300. It had flat tires, but remarkably little rust. It had been sitting under a farm tree for at least 10 years. Darn thing is heavy as the dickens but, amazingly, the belts are intact and have survived about 8 hours use so far. Surprisingly, I find that parts for this old mower are still available. They may cost a bit, but I can stand that better than paying thousands for a new one.