Rear Finish Mower Pull behind Mowers

[Rich F]

Looking for ideas as the best way to approach.I have 3 acres of grass that I keep mowed.Using a Kubota BX 1500 with a 54" mid mount mower.My lot is 155' wide & 600+' deep.On average it is taking me 2.5-3 hrs to cut the grass.I have a large wide open area with few trees or obstacles.I am looking to reduce the amount of time I am spending cutting the grass.As I am doing it approx every 3-4 days to keep it maintained.(I have a high water table that keeps the grass green & growing)
Looked @ pull behind mowers with the offset hitch to widen the cut.However most have their own engines.Which is another engine to maintain.Is there an offset that will run off of the PTO? Or am I better off with the pull behind? Not sure which way to proceed.But need to reduce the amount of time spent cutting.

 

[KennyG]

I don't think there are any PTO offset mowers. Even if there was, isn't the BX1500 only a 15 HP tractor? I don't think you would have enough power to run a mid mount and a rear mower. Options would be a powered tow behind or just investing in a good zero turn (which you probably don't want to do.)

 

[bcp]

If I had to mow that long twice a week, I would plant something other than grass, that didn't have to be mowed often, on most of it.

Bruce

 

[jenkinsph]

I would agree with the self powered mower as the cheapest way to reduce your mowing time. The BX1500 is a nice machine but with only 10 hp available at the pto it is already maxed out with a 54" deck.

Maintaining a second engine isn't that time consuming or costly compared to a new major upgrade in equipment.

 

[easygo]

Exactly what they said. The BX is maxed out as it is.
A few years back there was a post by a guy who was pulling two of those self powered decks behind his tractor. He was maintaining 20(+-) acres.

 

[bp fick]

Agree with guys above. First, I'd dang sure find something else to do beside grow grass and then have to spend my life mowing it all and burning $4 fuel with small equipment. Yuk.

That said, and besides which, you didn't ask our opinion of land use management,

So, if you're determined to mow, then change needs to be embraced. Bigger tractor, pull behinds, etc. Go for it.

 

[clemsonfor]

Using your numbers you have closer to 2 acres, but why mow it that often? Why not just let it get taller? You dont have the PTO power like others said. Heres a thought, chemical mowing. It is low doses of herbicide that are sprayed, like glyphosate that will keep grass short. This has to be done in an area where you dont mind some yellowing though. Another type of chenical keeps grass in its younger stages and slows the growth down and is a chemical that they use on military bases to keep the bahaila (SP) stalks low and the grass lower.

 

[jenkinsph]

Looking for ideas as the best way to approach.I have 3 acres of grass that I keep mowed.Using a Kubota BX 1500 with a 54" mid mount mower.My lot is 155' wide & 600+' deep.On average it is taking me 2.5-3 hrs to cut the grass.I have a large wide open area with few trees or obstacles.I am looking to reduce the amount of time I am spending cutting the grass.As I am doing it approx every 3-4 days to keep it maintained.(I have a high water table that keeps the grass green & growing)
Looked @ pull behind mowers with the offset hitch to widen the cut.However most have their own engines.Which is another engine to maintain.Is there an offset that will run off of the PTO? Or am I better off with the pull behind? Not sure which way to proceed.But need to reduce the amount of time spent cutting.

Running the numbers based on your dimensions 93,000 square feet using a 54" mower deck and allowing for a 6 inch overlap means you would travel approximately 4.4 miles each time you cut the lawn. If it takes you almost 3 hours to travel the 4.4 to 5 miles then it appears you are moving too slow, somewhere around 2 mph. I can mow my own lawn which is open for the most part at about 6 mph since it is fairly smooth. Even using my older L130 mower with fading transmission I can mow at about 3 mph with a good cut.

In a nutshell it seems you are moving too slow.