Mowing hay field

[bland]

Moved out of town to a small place this spring and have a 2 acre hay field that used to be cut and baled by a neighbor who quit doing this and have not been successful in finding anyone to bale it this year. In looking at my choices, I consider purchase of an older tractor and brush hog to cut it now and keep it down in future years or get it mowed and just cut it as more yard in the future. My question concerns what damage I might do by just mowing it with my present mower. I have a JD 425 AWS with 54" deck. I have mowed some of it already and the 425 will cut it without complaining as long as I don't get in a hurry. But I wonder if I might be overworking it to the extent of hurting something. It does not get hot at all and the only time it actually bogs down is if clippings get built up in deck. I don't know enough about the 425 to know if I might harm the pto, tranny, or mower deck by cutting this real high stuff. Any insight appreciated. Thanks

 

[mwood]

The 425 was designed to work. You are right to monitor the temp and not let it bog down too much, but other than that the only real perminant harm you will do is hit a rock or a stump (you may dull the blades some). It might be wise to cut it at the highest setting first being very careful. Then walk the area and see what you uncover. This will minimize the chance of picking up rocks.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi...


You're good to go as-is... plenty of machine...

Keep the blades sharp... fresh engine oil(filter) & other fluids... check 'em often... clean air filter/screen... consider keeping the deck's deflector's chute up for easier grass discharge... mow when it's cooler/dryer...


Same hayfield situation as you this spring... 2 1/2 acres... 24-30" tall...
...cut it with a 1985 Gravely garden tractor... 2 cylinder 19HP air cooled... took 2 passes to get it all cut off...
...been mowing it weekly and looks like lawn already...


Dave...

 

[bland]

Thanks for the insite - I usually tend to abuse my Deere's, but didn't want to overdoo it on the 425. (Too expensive to replace frequently.) My neighbor was cutting some of the same stuff with a small ford and brush hog last weekend and I believe my 425 did it as easily as his rig did, but was still uneasy about possibly damaging something. Thanks again.

 

[JDgreen227]

I did a lot of 3 foot tall grass cutting with a 318 for about 6 years as I enlarged my yard a little every time I mowed, and my JD never flinched. Use a bungee to keep the chute deflector up and mow only half the width of the deck at a time, that will keep the discharge opening from plugging up.

I don't know if your machine is liquid cooled but my JD was not, so I did most of the hard cutting late in the evening when it was cooler. Mine had the cooling fan at the rear of the engine and it sucked in chaff all the time, keeping the cooling screens, radiators, etc. is very important to engine life. Also, I changed the oil and filter more frequently than recommended because I thought my use was "severe service".

 

[Glenn9643]

I'm not familiar with the JD 425 but it's probably similar to our JD 455. The 455 is 23HP diesel with 60" deck. We've got twenty acres and I usually mow about five and bush-hog the rest, trying to keep it all cut pretty short. If your ground isn't too rough your 425 will do the job with no problem. Once you get the grass under control you can run over it pretty quickly. The 455 has a sceen over the radiator at the air intake that can be removed to cleaning. The side panel screened areas and air intake screen will clog up fairly often if I'm cutting tall grass like you describe. As I cut I try to keep the trash brushed off the screened areas and after cutting I blow the radiator and engine area out thoroughly with compressed air. I also use compressed air to clean the accumulated clippings off the deck and from around the belts and pulleys. Water won't remove all the grass and dirt and will cause rust on the deck, and I've been told that it will cause trash to accumulate on the radiator and stop the air flow through it.

edit: JDGreen227...
I must have been typing as you were posting. My post ended up with about the same advise...

 

[beenthere]

It's built to do that job. I mowed a neighbor's tree field that was 13 acres, and he had it get away from him. Some (most) of the weeds were 6 to 8' tall (not exagerating either) but not heavy grass there, and the 425 cut it all down (not woody stems).

When the deck fills up, just stop, shut off the deck, and power back up. The sludge will belch itself out and you can go on.

I regularly (especially this summer) mow the thick grass at 8-10 inches high, and whereas the cut isn't a manicured look on the first pass, it does mow it a a pretty good clip. I now have an X485 which is a little bigger than the 425, but with the 54" deck. You won't hurt anything, IMO.

Just keep the grass buildup cleaned off the intake screens. The 425 has an excellent air cleaning system with the pre-intake air cleaning screens on the side panels. Easy to wipe clean while mowing with a brush of the hand.

 

[bland]

Thanks for the encouragement and the info so far guys. I sometimes wonder more all the time based on my experiences and input so far from forum just what is the real advantage to so called compact tractors or older fords etc. as it seems as the jd 4xx and X4xx series will do almost everything the compacts will. I had a neighbor in town who used a 455 with fel and worked it to death for years with no apparent ill effect.