What cutting deck do I want??

[beenthere]

Gary
+1

 

[jbudimlya]

Thanks Gary, my fields are not grass....they are "whatever" grows in this high desert area.....and my current tractor can not run flat out and handle the load ( even with very sharp blades); in addition, the ground is not even and it's a bit uncomfortable to go too fast when cutting with my current 400 lbs. machine. My hope is that the JD 445 with it's larger tires and more weight will be a bit smoother and be able to handle the load when the stuff gets tough cutting. I am prepared to buy a new 54" deck for $1600 if I believe; 1) that the tractor will do the job (yes), 2) that it is in good enough shape to last 5+ years without high maintenance levels, and 3) that it will cut somewhat faster then the current tractor.....and of course, the added 47" snow thrower seems to be making the plowing of my 250 ft. driveway a lot easier then the JD 28" hand snow thrower that I have been using. So far, for 2 snowfalls, the 47" snow thrower has worked fine. I do have experience with a B series Kubota with a 60" belly mower deck that I had in the New England area......and I expect that the JD is not going to be as good as the Kubota was....I am just hoping that it is better than the Husqvarna that I have.
All of your thoughts are appreciated.....thx

That is a very long time to mow just 4 acres even with a 48" mower. You must have tons of obstacles to mow around. I can mow 6 acres in around 2 hours with my Ferris 54" zero turn and I have over 50 trees to mow around. You should be able to do 4 acres in 3-4 hours easily with that 445 and 48" deck. Try it before you spend a couple of grand on a new deck.

 

[beenthere]

I think you will be very happy with the performance of the 54" deck on the 445.

I can mow very thick grass that is 8-10" high and get through it even when very juicy. Usually doesn't clog up in the deck, but find that stopping, turning the deck off, and then back on it will throw out that slug (cough it up) without digging anything out by hand.

I will be very surprised if you are disappointed in your purchase. And would expect a good many more than 5 years from this machine.

I use a heavy lawn roller early in the spring as soon as the frost goes out to roll the lawn. Helps to flatten out the effects of winter freezing and makes for smoother mowing.

Talking about mowing fast, reminds me of my son home for a while and wanting to mow the 8 acres of lawn. He asked how fast to run it, and thinking he was asking for engine rpm I said "run it "wide open". I meant wide open throttle. I could see him running wide open throttle and as fast as the ground speed would go as well. I asked him when he finished why he was driving so fast as it really wasn't that smooth. His answer was "you said wide open"

 

[Flying MXZ]

My dad has a 445 with the 60" deck and 2200+ hours only mowing. He complains a bit about an uneven cut but he is pretty fussy - it looks fine to me. In my opinion it has plenty of power for the 60" deck.

 

[fadzaev2]

I had a 54" deck on my 425, and my neighbor has a 60" on his.....he's had his since 1996, and it's been fine for him....still runs fine....mows a bout 3 acres. 54" was fine for me, but I moved up to an X734 with a 60" deck recently.