Mowing Speed Kubota L2501

[goeduck]

In my area there are plenty of farmers that will cut 7 acres for free to take the hay if you have good grass. If you do this you might want to maintain only the perimeter 10’ or so to keep it looking sharp.

 

[Milo]

......Maybe a 5' bush hog for when I let grass get to high and a 6' finish mower for extra speed when conditions allow is the way to go. I'm thinking the L2501 might be undersized.

My B2650 makes about the same power as an L2501 and it runs a 72" mower or 5' rotary cutter just fine.

IMO the previous owner of our property simply had too much cleared land as a yard, he spent most of a day every week mowing it all with a 60" ZTR. So I let about 1/3 of it grow as field for wildlife and ground nesting birds mowing it (along with two other small fields) once in mid Summer. Even after reducing the yard, and using my tractor and 72" mid mount deck, I was spending a lot of hours mowing so I bit the bullet and bought a 60" ZTR (Ferris Z2100). The 60" ZTR probably mows in 2/3 of the time it takes with the tractor even with it's larger deck. Yeah it's two machines which I hoped to avoid but having two cuts the hours down on both.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I agree with Milo. For regular mowing, get a zero turn mower. I used to mow my field once a year with my bushhog. Took 8 hours to mow as it was 3-4 feet tall and did not look that great when done. Next year I mowed the field twice, when it was 1-2 feet tall. Went faster and looked better, but still took 4 hours. Then I switched to mowing the field weekly with my lawn tractor. Took 2.5 hours and looked awesome. Finally bit the bullet on a zero turn, and can now mow the field in an hour. I am looking at upgrading my zero turn so I can bring the mowing time down to 40 minutes or less. My free time is a precious commodity, so I want to get the mowing done as quickly as possible.

 

[Atchuuu]

Kindly post a LINK to your mowing calculator.

Don't know how accurate it is but this is what I used Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour

 

[Atchuuu]

You guys have been a big help. I was told that the tractor, being larger and with a bigger deck, would run pretty close to the residential grade Exmark I have and be smoother due to weight and size. So I figured if the Exmark too X time to mow then I could simply use the difference in deck size to calculate approx how long it would take with a tractor. (30 percent larger deck should be 30 percent less cutting time) Seems my thinking is way off.

I realize that keeping 10 acres cleared doesn't always make sense but the previous owner has kept it this way since 2000 and it is really beautiful. I would hate to let it get out of control and grow wild again since so much work has been put into it.

 

[saxnbees]

I will take a slightly different look at this situation....

Why does everyone look at 10 acres of perfectly green well cut grass and say it is beautiful? OK. It may look really nice but it is basically a desert when it comes to natural wildlife other than providing some food for deer, ground hogs, and rabbits. Animals can't nest there because you are cutting it all the time. And since you are cutting it there will be little or no wild flowers to support natural pollinators. I don't know if you have followed this in recent history, but our natural pollinators are in severe stress due to over development and destruction of their habitat. Pollinators are extremely important to our environment and support roughly 30% of our food supply if not more. Personally, I think it is time for all of us to reconsider how we interface with our environment.

On my property, I basically have two fairly large fields. One I let a local farmer cut for hay. The other I let grow wild and cut one time a year in the fall after the frost has killed off the last of the flowering plants. That provides natural forage and habitat for all kinds of insects and animals and yet the area remains a field. If you were to add up the time to cut once vs. cutting multiple times during the year, I bet you would at least break even if not do better. And at the same time, you are improving your natural environment.

You could always make the field more attractive by spreading wild flower seeds that are local to your area.

 

[4570Man]

You guys have been a big help. I was told that the tractor, being larger and with a bigger deck, would run pretty close to the residential grade Exmark I have and be smoother due to weight and size. So I figured if the Exmark too X time to mow then I could simply use the difference in deck size to calculate approx how long it would take with a tractor. (30 percent larger deck should be 30 percent less cutting time) Seems my thinking is way off.

I realize that keeping 10 acres cleared doesn't always make sense but the previous owner has kept it this way since 2000 and it is really beautiful. I would hate to let it get out of control and grow wild again since so much work has been put into it.

A L2501 isn’t going to mow faster than a commercial ZTR as long as the conditions are within what the ZTR can handle. Have you looked at the Ferris ZTRs? I never coughed up the cash but after test driving one it’s the only ZTR I’d ever buy assuming I didn’t get a killer deal on something else.

 

[smstonypoint]

Don't know how accurate it is but this is what I used Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour

Theoretical field capacity (acres/hour) is calculated as width (feet)*average ground speed (mph)/8.25. This assumes 100% efficiency and does not allow for overlap, turning, refueling, etc.

The linked calculator assumes 90% efficiency. That's too high IMO. https://www.exmark.com/Exmark-Advantage/Mower-Productivity-Chart assumes 80% efficiency and is more in line with real-world situations.

A quick-and-dirty calculation for actual capacity (acres/hour) = width (feet)*average ground speed (mph)/10 assumes 82.5% efficiency.

For reference purposes, here's a listing of estimated efficiency factors for various machines from http://caes2.caes.uga.edu/engineering/handbook/documents/capacity.pdf.

Steve

 

[jeff9366]

STEVE: You post THE BEST, MOST USEFUL, RELIABLE STUFF ~~~~~~

 

[Atchuuu]

Theoretical field capacity (acres/hour) is calculated as width (feet)*average ground speed (mph)/8.25. This assumes 100% efficiency and does not allow for overlap, turning, refueling, etc.

The linked calculator assumes 90% efficiency. That's too high IMO. https://www.exmark.com/Exmark-Advantage/Mower-Productivity-Chart assumes 80% efficiency and is more in line with real-world situations.

Steve

Thank you Steve. I used the calculator as a reference. Then I went out and mowed with the Exmark. Every time the blades were spinning and I was actually cutting I turned the timer on. When I stopped, for fuel, water, etc, I turned it off. It was exactly 5 hrs 12 minutes. Then I went to Findmylotsize.com and used this to calculate the exact (as close as possible) number of acres I just cut. This is a great tool for those of you not familiar with that website. Using the two variables I had, time and acreage cut, I was able to determine the approximate speed.

I planned the cut to use the minimum number of cuts and kept overlap to a minimum but was able to run WOT because the grass was not that high. Ant hills and ruts from previous owners tractor slowed me down and it was not a comfortable, easy, ride. My goal was to find out how fast it could be done then adjust my deck size and tractor HP to match the speed I want to get it done in.

I like the tractor idea since it will do things a ZT will not and I already have a small ZT to use around trees and barn. I am not discounting any opinions and not trying to steer the thread toward a predetermined conclusion/decision. Simply want to find a method that will allow me to cut as fast as possible at a realistic price for a homeowner, not ag, tractor.

There is always the possibility that after doing all the math that hiring the job out 4-5 times a year makes the most sense.