Smooth top mowers, better?

[BGigHarbor]

My dealer claims that they pretty much only carry smooth top mowers because they have found that since folks aren't very good about cleaning off the debris/grass the ridged ones tend to rust out on top much faster.

Is a smooth top rear rotary mower that much an advantage in the long run?

Seems like the other ones (not flattop) would be quite a bit stronger.

 

[94BULLITT]

Water drains off the smooth ones.

 

[Sysop]

The couple smooth topped I've seen have had good bracing and rigidity, it's just hidden better.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I finally drilled some holes to let the water drain out of the deck of my mower. Of course, this also requires that I clean off the deck so the water can get to the holes...

 

[BGigHarbor]

Some newer lawn tractors have hose fittings right in the deck to help clean out grass,etc from underneath too

 

[Sysop]

Some newer lawn tractors have hose fittings right in the deck to help clean out grass,etc from underneath too

I've often wondered if manufacturers added those in hopes our decks would rust out faster.

 

[BGigHarbor]

While at the dealer today finalizing some details on some simple mods to my new l5460 I wandered around looking at stuff.

Man, these mowers look freaking huge stood up. I seriously did not want to knock one over looking at it. The pic doesn't show it, but these are monoliths...

Thought pics might be interesting to some as they show differences in blades, stump jumper, etc

Med duty smooth top (the dealer only stocks smooth in med duty).

Bottom med duty

Bottom light duty



(chains)

(rubber)

 

[xring100]

The leaf blower cleans the crap of the top of my BH27 in seconds my buddies old king kutter was difficult because it was not flat. Besides water draining and easy cleaning they are just more aesthetically appealing. I believe the BH20 medium duty series stump jumper is more solid like the lower picture.

 

[BGigHarbor]

Nice mower.

Yeah, middle picture the LP 27, lower the 20 (both 72).

In comparing directly, the med duty (27) is alot more mower although a lot more money too. I might not buy one till spring, but at this point leaning towards the med duty (rcf2772)

The dealer doesn't stock the heavy duty one. Man that HD one must be heavy, the med duty one is over 1000lbs in the 72 inch.

 

[xring100]

Nice mower.

Yeah, middle picture the 27, lower the 20 (both 72).

In comparing directly, the med duty (27) is alot more mower although a lot more money too. I might not buy one till spring, but at this point leaning towards the med duty (rcf2772)

The dealer doesn't stock the heavy duty one. Man that HD one must be heavy, the med duty one is over 1000lbs in the 72 inch.

thanks sorry i should have said mine is a bush hog bh27 which is 7' / 84" model
My other choice would have been the land pride 2784 both models were built really well and rated at 3" capacity
The BH was about $250 cheaper than the landpride and it saved me another 110 mile round trip out to rosy brothers to get the land pride, after i was told they had one in stock only to arrive and find they didn't have a single medium duty 7' in stock of any model or brand. 2 hours wasted so i went with my local dealer flint new holland for the Bush hog

Congrats on the new tractor also

 

[BGigHarbor]

7 ft rotary seems huge to me. I don't think my dealer stocks a 7 ft either.

But with a bigger tractor like yours, esp if flattish, I guess bigger is faster.

 

[jeff9366]

So, Gig, what width are you considering?

Narrower than tires for maneuverability? (Especially in reverse.)

Same width as tires, general purpose.

Twelve inches wider than tires for mowing edges?

 

[BGigHarbor]

So, Gig, what width are you considering?

Narrower than tires for maneuverability? (Especially in reverse.)

Same width as tires, general purpose.

Twelve inches wider than tires for mowing edges?

I am leaning towards 6 ft, same width as tires. Like the med duty LP which I think is around 1000lbs.

I like the idea of wider so easier to mow to edges, but 7 ft seems too big for my tractor. And most of what I will need to mow is not flat.

But that is a good question, one I am still wondering about.

 

[jeff9366]

Six foot Rotatry Cutter behind L5460 would be a good match in power and width. That is width I would choose, had I a L5460. You can cut a lot of area quickly with this matched pair.

Bear in mind Rotary Cutters are used in reverse some. When maneuvering in reverse, looking over one shoulder, the R/C will seem like a ponderous beast back there.

 

[BGigHarbor]

And I plan to back into stands of vegetation occasionally to mow down blackberries and small brush on the edge of places I can't drive through (side of road, etc) or because it's on the edge of a slope (down not up).

So a 7 footer seems kind of scary in those circumstances.

I am new to the game so want to stay reasonably conservative, but I know myself well enough to know I'll push things abit after awhile.

Luckily I can get by without a mower until spring now that I hired some bigger machines to do the first knockdowns.

 

[xring100]

I think your idea of a 6 footer is sound as it is about the same width as the tractor.

The 7 foot overall is about 4" wider on each side than my rear tires this is nice because i can actually mow up next to trees. My buddies 5 footer cuts 6 -9" narrower than his jd 2040 i used to use this to mow my field with this. I would never want another mower that much narrower than the tractor.

I believe TripleR uses a landpride 2672 on his L5*40 and considers this size a perfect match.

I would not consider a 7' medium duty on your tractor unless your all field with few objects to mow around. I barely have enough front weight without my loader.

 

[94BULLITT]

My neighbor has a 7' Woods. He keeps telling my that the 4240 won't turn it. We are going to find out someday.

 

[ishiboo]

This thread makes me wonder... I was looking at a 6' for my L3650 (~33 pto HP) for light cutting, I thought for mowing it would be plenty but maybe not? I just have some ditches/etc., no major brush.