Mowing Mowing on slopes

[pequeajim]

I am in Lancaster County, PA (central). Is this 25 degrees at any angle, like going up and down a slope?

Man, I have to get out and measure my slopes!!

I noticed on your web site that you have to greese every 8 hours? Is this the case with the newer 425 as well? Seem like a bit of effort?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="blue"> I wonder what the lift capability of the slip scoop is compared to a 425?
</font>

I honestly don't know and will plead ignorance but I will tell you that I've learned a lot about FELs over the past year and am generally surprised by the vast differences in capacities of the units on what many people might consider to be similar size tractors. I would tend to think that a slab of concrete is more than either a 4200 or a PT425 is going to easily lift, for that matter I think it would be a challenge for either CUT I use and both of those have break out ratings of over 1000#. Concrete is heavy stuff and concrete walkways are basically stuck to the ground as if they are glued to the dirt. I think you might be asking a bit too much of the machines (either the Ventrac or the PT425) if you think that you will be able to easily lift " <font color="blue"> some sidewalk slabs </font>"

By the way there are 2 different scoops for the Ventrac, one is designed for digging.

 

[MossRoad]

Greasing every 8 hours is no problem. It takes about 10-15 minutes and gives me a reason to inspect the machine often. I think this will make the machine last longer, as I will be more likely to notice any small problems before they become big ones.

 

[pequeajim]

Some good points. Yep, I knew about the different scoops for the Ventrac, actually three if you include the slip scoop, the execvation and then the front end loader.

Maybe I was asking too much from the Ventrac. I really do like the PTs ability to get the load up in the air like a FE loader. Plus, I could really use the little hoe for some mild shaping around a stream that I have.

The comments that I have heard about the PT is that the hydraulic system is overly heavy duty for the size of the tractor. THe Ventrac does not give me that impression.

 

[MossRoad]

I cut up a concrete slab a couple years ago at a little league. I had four pieces that were about 4 feet by 3 feet by 6 inches thick. I was able to leverage them out of the ground with the forks using the curl motion of the FEL, but was not able to lift them. I was able to skid them on the forks to where I wanted them and I was able to flip them over, but the rear of the tractor would come off the ground if I tried to lift them.

At our school I was able to pop out of the ground and carry away some large chunks of concrete that were about 2 feet long, 18 inches wide and 18 inches deep. That's 4.5 cubic feet of concrete. That's somewhere around 650 pounds, as best I can guess. Not bad for a machine that weighs about 1300 pounds. Not too many tractors with a 48" wheel base can lift half their weight. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[pequeajim]

I looked at the Ventrac website and even their front end loader only has a 500lb capacity. That makes sense with what I see that my 4200 can do. I have moved some pretty big logs, but it does not have the versitility that the PT seems to have.

Of course, there are always tradeoffs with any two tractors. I expect that the VT mows a bit better, but the PT is a better worker with it's attachments. Also, it looks like the attachments that mean the most to me are quite a bit cheaper from PT?

 

[MossRoad]

The Ventracs are sweet machines. I have never seen one in person, and have never seen the quality of the cut on the finish mower. I am very satisfied with the quality of the cut that I get from the finish mower on our PT425. I think the Ventrac will out mow the PT on steep hills. Don't know about flat land. The Ventrac has an automatic weight transfer system. The PT 425 has a manual one... you reach over and pull back on the joystick until the mower lifts off the ground, which adds the weight of the mower hanging off of 4 foot long levers to the front tires of the tractor. If the mower weighs 200 pounds, think about how much it weighs on the end of the lift arms. In effect you can instantly add 3 or 4 hundred pounds of weight to the front tires for traction. Not only does the mower weight go onto the front tires, but the rear of the tractor becomes lighter and that weight has to go onto the front tires, too.

These little articulated tractors, the PTs and the Ventracs and Stieners and all the rest, are really amazing machines.

Well, my sleep disorder has just caught up with me, and I have to get up in 5 hours. Keep asking those questions. Bob is a wealth of knowledge and has experience with tractors of many shapes and sizes. TBN in general has about a bazillion folks that are all willing to share knowlege with you.

So, how do you like your first day on TBN? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Talk to you all tomorrow(or the next day). Goodnight, TBN.

David G.

 

[pequeajim]

Does the mower "float" on the 425?

 

[Schultz]

In one of the post that I read someone inquired about weight transfer on the 425 and they mentioned PT charged somthing like $650 for it. It was off of the 18series I think. This might be somthing to call and talk to PT about.

Tim

 

[MuncyBob]

FYI...the mower does float on both the 425 and 422...and I would suspect it floats on all PT's. The joystick control for the front end hyrdaulics is simply pushed forward all the way and the mower is then floating. If you do any large amount of mowing on a regular basis you will need to clean out the wheel motor wells as the rear discharge of the grass clippings accumulates there...esp. in the driver side wheel(at least on the 422)...but the mower does mulch the grass well so a leaf blower will get most of the stuff out for you.