Pls Recommend Mowing Solution for 10 Acre Rural Residential

[bartjoebob]

Become a goat farm...

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I keep reading these replies and they state that a zero turn can run 10 to 14 mph. And they probably can. But most yards are not golf course greens smooth either.

Even if it is that smooth that you could run at that speed would you want to? The concentration that is required to travel at that speed for hours at a time must be very taxing on you as an operator.

Mowing to me is enjoyment. I mowed a cattle ranch here in Florida that totaled 16000 acres. Much of the land was covered in trees, swamp and a river. It was the best job ever. Ride around in an a/c cab with a 15 foot bat wing while drinking a Mountain Dew and eating for 12 hours per day.

I agree with this^^

I keep hearing guys telling us how "fast" they can work over a field (mowing, tilling, whatever) and I keep wondering where all these mythical-smooth-as-glass-table fields are? I've certainly never been on one. The fields I mow would have tossed you off the seat or out of the cab if you even thought about mowing them that fast.

I'd love to invite a few of these "high speed racers" out to one of "my"* fields, just to video the hilarity *(fields I mow for others for $). I'd offer to split any proceeds from You-Tube royalties, as I'm sure that would become a highly watched episode. Maybe a Bennie Hill soundtrack in the background? Or, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On from Jerry Lee Lewis?

 

[Spike56]

I agree with this^^

I keep hearing guys telling us how "fast" they can work over a field (mowing, tilling, whatever) and I keep wondering where all these mythical-smooth-as-glass-table fields are? I've certainly never been on one. The fields I mow would have tossed you off the seat or out of the cab if you even thought about mowing them that fast.

I'd love to invite a few of these "high speed racers" out to one of "my"* fields, just to video the hilarity *(fields I mow for others for $). I'd offer to split any proceeds from You-Tube royalties, as I'm sure that would become a highly watched episode. Maybe a Bennie Hill soundtrack in the background? Or, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On from Jerry Lee Lewis?

I also agree. Have read people saying things like "I mow 4-5 acres in 2 hours"... such as that. I mow about 2.5 acres with my ZTR. Yes I have some trees and buildings to go around, but this process takes me about 4 hours. Not only the bumps but too high a travel speed does not get some of the stems. Perhaps I mow a little too slow ? But, at least for me, I cannot even approach the times others quote for mowing. Again I have many obstacles to maneuver by / around, but even on areas that are clear, I just cant run as fast as others state.

 

[BnRidge]

Width in ft x mph x .1 = acres per hour approximately.
ft x mph x .1 = ac/hr

brush mower here is 42"
3.5ft , 4mph = 1.4ac/hr
zeroturn deere 935f, 72"
6ft, 4mph = 2.4ac/hr

Total 7ac, takes about 4hrs. I figure, if I take the 935f out of the barn, run around for 1-1/2hrs, then put it away, keeps plenty of finish cut lawn to look at. And rough cut the remainder once a year. Overall it all seems like a reasonable compromise as far as looks, time and cost.
I also would doubt speeds that are much faster. I have seen dixie chopper zeroturns racing faster, but they also roll the places like a soccer field too.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I'm mowing about exactly what you are, except mine is hilly and smoother than a pasture but certainly rougher than a typical "lawn".

I mowed it for 12 years with a Case DX45 and a Del Morino 3-point, 5-spindle finish mower, 93" inches wide, it was a good machine and very affordable considering I'd put the quality on-par with a Woods. I'm now using a BEFCO 110" 3-spindle, 3-point, which is about the largest single-deck you can get (I didn't want bat-wing, mainly because of expence). Even with my hilly terrain it doesn't leave many "scalp-lines". A 45hp hydrostatic-drive tractor wouldn't pull the BEFCO up much of a hill though, so now I'm using 74hp of geardrive. I think my 46hp Yanmar geardrive would pull it too. The 110" inches is a surprisingly noticeable time-improvement over the 93".

I'm cutting with a Land Pride 84" 3pt mower now but have been eying that BEFCO 110". Wow, the price took a jump up recently, it's almost $10K now!

Did you notice any difference in cut quality when you went from the 93" to the 110"? I was a bit disappointed in the finish cut when I switched from a BEFCO 72" to the 84" Land Pride.

 

[jeff9366]

Ventrac or Steiner. Ventrac is a division of Toro.

VIDEO:

95" Ventrac deck mowing at 4-mph = 3-1/2 acres per hour

 

[mudking]

I'm cutting with a Land Pride 84" 3pt mower now but have been eying that BEFCO 110". Wow, the price took a jump up recently, it's almost $10K now!

Did you notice any difference in cut quality when you went from the 93" to the 110"? I was a bit disappointed in the finish cut when I switched from a BEFCO 72" to the 84" Land Pride.

My BEFCO C70-110 cuts fine, but being only 3 blade it's more likely to leave an un-cut crescent-sliver on tight-ish turns than the Del Morino five-spindle did. The BEFCO cuts as well as the Del Morino did (or better probably because of higher tip speed than the Del Morino's smaller-diameter blades). I have an article squirreled away somewhere on how to raise the tip speed on the BEFCO with a pulley change that supposedly won't over-stress the bearings and isn't drastic enough to require re-sized belts. The guy who wrote it was looking for golf-course quality cuts, I suppose. I haven't found the BEFCO cut quality wanting for my purposes though. I cut all my "lawn" with my BEFCO, even around the house, only trimming around landscaping with a 35-year-old Honda 30" single-blade mid-engine rider/bagger. No weed-whacking needed because of the shape of the landscaping.

Price increase indeed... I paid $7600 even for my C70-110 in mid-June of 2019. That included the adders of pneumatic tires (worth it IMO on rough ground, but have a spare: I think it's the same tire and rim running on most ZT front-casters now) and mine also has the "anti-scalp roller" on front.


Edit to add: Except for slowing when backing or in tight or rougher places, I'm mowing at 6.3 mph probably 75% of the job, on a 2wd NH TN75D which has a 83.9" wheelbase.

Good luck!

 

[Buzzard7]

They will if you have enough of them.

 

[LD1]

Suspension seat...my yard isnt super rough....and always mowed as fast as the cut would allow. But there were areas that were pretty painful. Suspension seat and ~8psi in the rear tires makes a world of difference.

Dad recently got a JD2023 with belly mower from a neighbor that moved. Good handly little machine....but it is alot rougher riding than my ZTR.

I have no issues at all mowing my yard at full speed on the ZTR, and even better with the seat.

I Just mowed yesterday. In the above picture I posted of my property, it took 1:03 to mow everything inside the fence and around the pond. It took 1:02 to mow everything outside the fence, and around the shop and garden.

So YES, thats 5 acres in 2:05

If I stripe it the other direction, it takes a tad longer because the stripes are the short distance.

 

[G31]

I have neighbors on all sides with ZT mowers, with one having a tractor and ZT. He does the bulk of the yard with the tractor and goes around the house with the ZT. All of the neighbors with the ZTs mow at roughly tractor mid-range speeds or slower, and get done in similar or slower times than I do on my LS with 72” cutter at mid speed. The pro mower who does the front property (about half the size of mine) takes several hours on a ZT, because he goes maybe 4-5 mph to get a good cut while avoiding hitting the uneven spots at high speed. The big tires on my tractor don’t care about those spots in my field, so I get done much faster. We all have the same basic landscape, as it was a giant property that was cut up and sold at some point in the past.

Come to think of it, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone run a ZT at 10+ mph anywhere. It may be possible on a soccer field or a golf course, or someone’s HOA neighborhood with perfect yards, but it’s just not something that seems to be done on a pasture, field, highway median, school grounds, or anywhere else you have less than perfect conditions. At least in my observation.

Now I will concede that a small SCUT is probably not going to perform anywhere near ZT efficiency, even with a 60” deck. I had a little BX for a while, and it just won’t compete. However, I get to cut in the AC in the Florida summers on my cabbed LS, while all of my neighbors suffer! (I know, I know…not funny. But it really is worth having AC and sun protection when it’s in the high 90s with close to 90% humidity.)