Knowing what you know now, which mower would you buy?

[CADplans]

At full power, this machine cuts the 6 acres in about 70 minutes work with a grass height of 8 inches. No damage to the field anywhere.

261,360 square feet of grass cut with a 5 foot mowing deck in 70 minutes by a machine that can go 6MPH,, max,,?? That must be the new math,,,?

 

[BoylermanCT]

261,360 square feet of grass cut with a 5 foot mowing deck in 70 minutes by a machine that can go 6MPH,, max,,?? That must be the new math,,,?

The Gravely will go 6 mph in reverse. It goes 13 forward. He never said he was mowing in reverse! My zero turn will mow 6 acres an hour, not that unusual for a commercial machine.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah I have one big planned unit development (PUD) where I mow 25 acres in a full day with my ZD331,,, and there are a lot of trees to go around.
I farm hay on their open space and thought it would be a good idea to ask HOA president if I can bid on their lawn mowing. They took me right on board. Its a great customer. I get hay, mowing and hopefully next year, snow plowing from them. :dance1:

 

[rademamj1]

I am probably mowing at 12 to 14 mph, extremely flat field area, but there are a few tractor ruts that do cause slow down. The point I am trying to make, is that I bought the rotary cutter to maintain this field, and the zero turn mower is the best choice of equipment for me in its efficiency in mowing.

Anyway, zero turns are the way to go for efficient mowing. Buying used commercial zero turns is often a better choice, than purchasing a new residential rated zero turn. For me, the Kubota ZD326 and ZD331 is my ultimate wish to own some day. But even used, these machines run $8000 to $12,000.

But nearly all zero turns manufactured today are of high quality and reliable equipment, and most any choice of brand will do the job the OP presented in his original post. I think the fastest zero turn is the Scag Cheetah rated at 16mph mowing speed. Now that's incredible. Theoretically, the Cheetah can mow 11.6 acres per hour.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I am probably mowing at 12 to 14 mph, extremely flat field area, but there are a few tractor ruts that do cause slow down. The point I am trying to make, is that I bought the rotary cutter to maintain this field, and the zero turn mower is the best choice of equipment for me in its efficiency in mowing.

Anyway, zero turns are the way to go for efficient mowing. Buying used commercial zero turns is often a better choice, than purchasing a new residential rated zero turn. For me, the Kubota ZD326 and ZD331 is my ultimate wish to own some day. But even used, these machines run $8000 to $12,000.

But nearly all zero turns manufactured today are of high quality and reliable equipment, and most any choice of brand will do the job the OP presented in his original post. I think the fastest zero turn is the Scag Cheetah rated at 16mph mowing speed. Now that's incredible. Theoretically, the Cheetah can mow 11.6 acres per hour.

Completely agree. I started bush hogging my field once a year. Then twice a year. Finally I got it under control and mowed weekly with my lawn tractor. Then upgraded to a new residential zero turn and cut the time in half. Then upgraded to a used commercial zero turn and cut it in half again. I would have saved some money had I gone with the zero turn from the beginning, but I couldn't get myself to spend that kind of money when I grew up with a Craftsman tractor. Now I realize it is money very well spent!