Rear mount finish mowers

[BWSwede]

I have spent several hours over the last couple of evenings looking into the pros and cons of rear discharge and side discharge finish mowers. I will be operating it on two different properties. The smaller of the two properties will require a higher than normal percentage of mowing in reverse. I have no concern about wind rows, grass clumps left behind, striping, or blowing leaves.

A rear discharge is appealing for the obvious reason that I would not have to plan my "route" as much since it throws the clippings out the back instead of to the side.

The mower I am looking to get will be 72" wide and be run on a 70 horse power pto.

My question:

Can a rear mount, rear discharge mower, mow in reverse on short grass that gets mowed weekly during the growing season without clogging up, burning up the belt, or causing other undesirable problems?

TIA,
BWSwede

 

[RjCorazza]

I have never had an issue backing up while cutting with my 84" rear discharge, but I haven't gone more than maybe 25' or so. Rather than discharging (forcefully) mine really just lays the clippings out the rear.

 

[houser52]

I've had a rear mount Bush Hog TM5 finish mower/rear discharge for the past 30+ years. I mowed my yard with it for years before I had a riding lawnmower.

I also mowed ball fields, barn yards, pastures, tall grass short grass and everything in between. I've mowed in reverse a lot over the years and I've never had a problem with it clogging or belt problems but I've not used it as a brush hog either.

I still have it and use it a few times a month.

 

[4570Man]

My rear discharge finish mower does better mowing in reverse than any of my side discharge decks.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I modified my 72" Farm King mower from a side discharge to a rear discharge. It wasn't hard to do and it cut my lawn mowing time by about an hour on a 2.5 acre lawn.

 

[DK35vince]

I mow in reverse all the time with my 84" rear discharge, never an issue.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I mow in reverse with my Woods also.

My question is why pick a 72" wide mower for a tractor with 70 pto hp?

 

[Bigfoot62]

My question:

Can a rear mount, rear discharge mower, mow in reverse on short grass that gets mowed weekly during the growing season without clogging up, burning up the belt, or causing other undesirable problems?

TIA,
BWSwede

You'll be fine. I mow in reverse with my 6' Howse all the time.

The only caution I would mention to you is, that with 70HP, you will have to be careful in deep grass or you'll burn up the belts - and probably won't even notice until you make a round and see that your mower isn't cutting. I'm running my mower with a 35HP tractor and I've smoked the belts on it.

 

[Creamer]

I mow in reverse with my Woods also.

My question is why pick a 72" wide mower for a tractor with 70 pto hp?

I had the same question - that is just a little overkill. But even more important is the weight of the tractor driving over what you are going to mow and not having the grass standing straight up when you cut it. It just will not look very even the next day.

 

[BWSwede]

Thanks guys for sharing all your first hand experience and for addressing my specific question.

I realize my tractor is a little overkill to mow the larger areas of my lawn but since I already have it I thought I would put it to one more use. I will also be using the tractor to mow the roads and trails on the family's 65 acre forest.

The weight of the tractor will be an issue not only to laying down the grass (if you saw my lawn you would see that I have bigger fish to fry than worrying about an uneven cut) but actually sinking down into the turf during spring. After spring is when I'll be able to use the machine on the lawn as we get virtually no rain from July 1st to the end of September. During this time the clay based soil turns hard enough to drive a semi on it. I also don't have any irrigation lines I need to worry about crushing.

I had not thought about the possibility of burning up belts with too much power, but I can see it happening if I am not careful. I have watched people on YouTube run their tractor mounted snowblowers into deep areas only to see the rpm's drop to where they have to back off the hydro pedal or push in the drive clutch until the rev's are back up again. When I run my 7' front mount blower into deep snow (30") I can hear the governor kick it and do its job but I never see the rpm's drop.

I thought about getting a 72" mower because my lawn is hilly and that a 84" might be cumbersome in the tighter areas and to trailer. Now I am thinking that an 84" might not scalp that much more than a 72". Can someone please let me know if the scalp roller (?) at the front of the deck is height adjustable. The nice thing about an 84" is that it will be about 4" wider than the tractor and will require less trim work in the end with my riding mower. I did a quick look on Craigslist and unfortunately there are a lot more 72" units for sale than there are 84". And there seems to be a substantial price jump for a used 84".

One more question, how much port/starboard tilt does a rear mount finish mower typically have? Is this something that is adjustable?

Thanks again for all the great information. I eagerly look forward to reading additional replies.

BWSwede

 

[TnFarm]

If you have quite a bit to mow I would check out a Bush Hog ATH-900. This is a 90" mower and may be overkill but they are top notch. I've been using one for well over 20 years without any problems. I've replaced the belt a few times over the years and had a non greaseable idler pulley go out once or twice but other than that it has been bullet proof. This is a side discharge mower and I actually prefer a side discharge for finish mowing.

 

[The Fred]

Landpride mowers use a belt made of Kevlar, not sure about others.

I mow with a 72" rear discharge and also use it for brushing up to 2" saplings( I know stupid right). I just replaced the original belt this Spring as a maintenance ( yup 16 years old), it still worked fine and the number of times it would get caught up in brush and squeal with little damage to the belt intrigues me.You might check deck clearance against your rear tires. Mine rubs on the tires if I use it behind the Kubota L3940 with the 3PH all the way down.

Regards, Fred

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

I am also concerned with the excess power. I have an 84" Woods and with my old 35 hp tractor I would break the shear bolts on a pulley once every one or two years. Now that I have a 60 HP I am shearing them 2 or 3 times a year..

I have a feeling that I will eventually be upgrading to a 90" since they are rated for more power. (Also 2x the price)

FYI I mow a ton in reverse, no issues, except it does tend to put more strain on things.


Orange sheave was the original, no more room for shear bolts. I drilled and tapped a bunch of new holes in the new sheave so I don't have to take the belt off in order to put a new set of bolts in.

 

[kebo]

I modified my 72" Farm King mower from a side discharge to a rear discharge. It wasn't hard to do and it cut my lawn mowing time by about an hour on a 2.5 acre lawn.

Do you have before and after pic's of the mod? I would like to see how it was done.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . .

One more question, how much port/starboard tilt does a rear mount finish mower typically have? Is this something that is adjustable?

. . . .

Why would you want left-to-right or right-to-left tilt?

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

There are pivots plates that the end links connect to so that the deck can articulate left /right independent from the tractor.

Also the center anti scalp roller is height adjustable at least on my Woods.

 

[countrybumpkin]

So about how many acres a hour can a 6 foot cover if its fairly smooth and not letting it get to tall, maybe cutting up to 3 inches or less each mowing? Been looking at 14-15 foot folding but a good used ones hard to come by.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

I can mow my neighbors 6 acre yard an hour and 15 to an hour and a half with my 7' mower.
My 5 acre yard is more like two and a half hours due to all our trees.

Those figures are probably more for cutting 2" and maybe some thicker / taller 3".

 

[Will_C]

I can mow a rough 3 acres, no obstacles, in about an hour and a half with a 60" RFM. It doesn't master whether I am cutting 2 inches or 6.

Will

 

[BWSwede]

Thanks guys for answering my specific questions. I have started looking for an 84" rear discharge based on your guys comments. Before I make a purchase though I am going to walk the tight spaces in my yard with a tape measure to make sure I am not biting off more than I can chew.

Pappy: I asked about the left/right tilt because I was trying to determine if there are provisions for the mower deck to follow the ground instead of following the tractor as it tilts left and right over uneven ground.


Thanks again for all the replies. I really appreciate it.

BWSwede