MMM or Rear Finish

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...a 7ft. rear finish mower with a 33 horse tractor...</font color=blue>

It all depends on what "horses" you're talking...

On PTO driven implements, talk PTO hp...

On ground engaging implements, talk Drawbar hp...

Gross/Net "Engine" horsepower is basically meaningless as you don't know what the "losses" are... you need a "reference point" to base from...

I tried both a 5' and 6' KK finish mower on my Satoh 22 PTO hp unit... with normal grass cutting the 6' worked fine, but would certainly bog down with "higher grass"... the 5' worked very good up to 8-12", but the 4' "Brush hog" worked the field mowing the best and fastest... and for a field... looked almost as good as the finish mowing...

Back to your original ?... best bet is to try the 7' finish mower prior to purchase... with 33 PTO hp, there wouldn't be any problem.. in fact down to 30 PTO hp for 7' should be fine...

But... you know everything in life has these "grey areas" you sometimes have to sort out... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Henry]

I've got a 5' MMM on my JD 790 and am perfectly happy with it. I've got a lot of trees to mow around, so the manuverability of a MMM was real important to me. I've got to agree with the Rear Finish guys.... removing my MMM is a little tricky. Now that I've pulled the MMM off & on a few times I can get the job done in about 10 minutes, but I get real dirty and need good flat spot to make it easy to roll-out from under the tractor.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The horsepower I am talking about is PTO , not wet grass or tall grass , just my weekly lawn maintenance. Maybe I am confused with what a finish mower is, I just want to mow my lawn in 7ft. passes and I have never let it get over maybe 5in. long , which I only take off 2 or 3in. a week. I am not sure what scallping is either, could someone explain this? Thanks

 

[EdKing]

Scalping is when the blades hit the ground and actually cut below taking dirt and grass, leaving a brown dirt spot in your lawn.

Ed King

 

[frank_f15]

my vote goes for the 3pt finish mower, i would imagine u are not using the tc33 to cut your lawn? i use a 5ft befco finish behind my b2400(24hp) and have no problem with field grass at all, so i beleive u could go at least 6ft, if u wanted. depending on what u need to cut.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

can I use a 33horse to cut my lawn?

 

[frank_f15]

you probably could cut your lawn, depending on the size of your lawn and the weight of the tractor and conditions of the ground, these are all thing U have to determine. if your lawn is large and straight the 33 will work but if it is small and lots of obstacles, not worth the hassle.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks, I am planning my yard now, and I did'nt realize when I bought my tractor I could mow my lawn with it. First I was going with a small lawn -but if I can cut it 7ft. at a time then.... My thought was to get a set of turf tires to use in the summer, it is a questionable expence for me but I think it will be worth it , if I can cut that much at a time. My dream for my property is quite a bit different than my time for it. Any hints about design from anyone that cuts their lawn with a finish mower?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[djradz]

A 6 foot finish mower seems more appropriate to me behind a class II TC 33 tractor, but I'm sure you'll be successful with a 7-foot deck as well. I used a 6' behind a 28 horse Ford 1720 and am still using it behind my NH TC40D. Probably could go up to 7', but I like the way the 6' follows and does not stick out too far beyond the wheel width. Make sure whatever you get either has 4 caster wheels or else the front is supported by chains tied up to the tractor near the top link connection point. In all cases, the mower top link has to have some type of floating/toggle mechanism so it can give as you go up or down irregularities in the terrain or more drastic hills and valleys. Good luck!

 

[JCooper]

The only real use I see in a MMM is if your land has alot of trees. If not, then I wouldn't even consider a MMM. And sometimes there's those hard spots to get to that you can back in with a 3pt. hitch mower to cut. Heck, I'm just partial to the 3pt. configurations as opposed to the MMM because the MMM looks like a riding lawn mover. I gotta look good while I'm mowing!!