SCUT Mowing - Ground Speed?

[WM75Guy]

I would keep the ZTR. I finish mow about 2 acres and pasture mow the remaining 12 acres. The 60" ZTR makes the tractor look like it is standing still. It cut my finish mowing time in half.

I have a 6' finish mower for yard work and use a 6' cutter on the Boomer 8N for pasture work. My Boomer 8N has a speedometer. Any faster than 3 MPH on the tractor and my back can't take it. Mowing about 4 MPH on the ZTR plus the maneuverability makes all the difference in the world. Plus the finished look is much better and there is much less weed eater work with the ZTR.

 

[chim]

I don't know what ground speed it is, but as fast as comfortable for me and the tractor. Real life at my place:

2+ acres, Cub LoBoy 154 with 5' MMM = 1.25-1.5 hours

2+ acres, Ford 1210 with 5' RFM = 1.25-1.5 hours

2+ acres, Kubota B7500 with 5' RFM = 1.25-1.5 hours

Then we added to the yard and went with a larger tractor and deck:

3-1/4 acres, Kubota L3200 with 6' RFM = under 1.5 hours

Width made more of a difference in time than I'd have thought. With any of the 5' decks, it took a little over 40 minutes an acre. The 6' deck reduced the time to about 25 minutes an acre. I really like having a tractor because it isn't a one trick pony. I can put the loader on in a couple minutes, or any number of other attachments. Some people make blanket statements that a ZT will cut mowing time in half. It would take a pretty big / quick ZT to do my place at a rate of 12 minutes an acre.

 

[DK35vince]

I don't know what ground speed it is, but as fast as comfortable for me and the tractor. Real life at my place:

2+ acres, Cub LoBoy 154 with 5' MMM = 1.25-1.5 hours

2+ acres, Ford 1210 with 5' RFM = 1.25-1.5 hours

2+ acres, Kubota B7500 with 5' RFM = 1.25-1.5 hours

Then we added to the yard and went with a larger tractor and deck:

3-1/4 acres, Kubota L3200 with 6' RFM = under 1.5 hours

Width made more of a difference in time than I'd have thought. With any of the 5' decks, it took a little over 40 minutes an acre. The 6' deck reduced the time to about 25 minutes an acre. I really like having a tractor because it isn't a one trick pony. I can put the loader on in a couple minutes, or any number of other attachments. Some people make blanket statements that a ZT will cut mowing time in half. It would take a pretty big / quick ZT to do my place at a rate of 12 minutes an acre.

I can tell you my 35 HP, 72" zero turn (Hustler Super Z) will mow circles around my 35 HP tractor with an 84" rear finish mower.
I mow 8 acres of lawn with many dozens of trees .
Kioti DK 35 Tractor with 84" rear finish mower takes me 3 1/4 hours to mow.
I can mow the same area with my 35 HP , 72" zero turn in around 2 hours. The freaking thing will mow.
If I didn't have to hold it back for all the bumpy areas I could mow it faster than that.

 

[RjCorazza]

I agree that ztr mowers cutting mowing time by half is likely an overstatement in most conditions. It’s also easy to over estimate ground speed when using the various mowing calculators. Last season using the John Deere gps app I only averaged 4.0 mph on the (10) 2 acre lots I mow with a zero turn mower. I generally use the tractor for my property when it’s hot outside and I want to be in the cab listening to Abba.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

This is just my personal opinion. I have a separate tractor and mower, I don’t like having a one tractor does all tool.

My mower is a JD455 22hp diesel with 60in MMM, I put a 3pt on it, it’s got nice wide tires (much bigger than scut tires) and is lower to the the ground than a SCUT. It will mow around 8.5mph forward I believe, I put a revised reverse pedal on it so I can mow over 5mph in reverse, good for chopping leaves.

Before the 455 I bought a few Husqvarna garden tractors and used them for a few years with great results, Husqvarna makes a great little mower.

I rented a stump grinder for all my stumps, found a few peeps to go halves on and even ground a neighbors few stumps for $100 so in the end the rental fee wasn’t much.

I absolutely do not like zero turns, I have only mowed with smaller ones but the ones I used beat me to death, any hill was dangerous and the front end came up a few times because the folded down rops grabbed a tree branch. I prefer to mow with a tractor, I’m used to it, I can safely mow grades, with garden tractors I can even do lots of lighter work with it.

My tractor just does tractor work, it’s way bigger than I would ever want to mow with but it’s good at tractor work.

I mow around 2 acres and it takes me about 1.5-2.5 hours with trees to mow around, I’m not in any rush usually, I’m not pushing the limits of my mower and some times I mow 1/2 acre of my neighbors on either side just because, those days I usually have ear buds in and a beer in my hand just enjoying the evening lol.

 

[fatjay]

I have 2 acres and have had many mowers over the years.

Cub cadet 120 w/42" deck - 2hr
Cub loboy 154 w/60" deck - 1.5hr - I have a lot of obsticles and low tree's which made this impractical
Craftsman LT2000 w/42" deck - 2.5 hours
Kubota b8200 w/60" RFM - 1.5hr - Same as the loboy, it just wasn't practical.

And then
Kubota ZD21 ZTR w/60" deck - 30min

Obsticales are the biggest thing that slow me down. 2nd gear on those mowers is reasonable, 3rd gear it's just not happening when mowing. ZTR makes the obsticles a thing of the past. I'm mowing at probably higher speed than 3rd gear on those other tractors. The wide stance and low center of gravity makes it possible to mow at those speeds, especially with the suspension in the seat, it's adjusted so I'm in a constant state of float. When I'm done with my yard, I head down the road to my parents and mow theirs now, it's so quick.

Also of note, if you have anything to mow around at all, any low tree's, rear finish mower is a pain. It's fixed, if you turn left it swings out way to the right. And if you lose your hat by smacking your head on a tree? Mower will promptly eat it up.

The scut sounds like fun, but it's a pain to mow with a FEL on the front and hoe on the back. They're a pain to take off and put on. Maybe look at a second hand machine, skip the MMM, and keep the ztr?

 

[ovrszd]

That's impressive, mowing 2 acres in 30 minutes with a 60" deck!!!!!

 

[DK35vince]

I'm not exactly sure why, but my zero turn with flex forks, suspension seat and 7-8 PSI in the tires rides quite a bit better than my tractor with r-4 tires. And night and day better than my garden tractor.
If I tried to mow with my tractor at the speeds I mow at with the zero turn I would shake a kidney loose.
It can still get rough in the bumps if I try pushing to hard, but I'm generally mowing at considerably higher speeds than I would ever try through those rough areas with the tractor

 

[jhasafety1]

I bought one of the first Mahindra Max 28xl which is 28hp tractor, 60"MMM, fel and backhoe which served me well for 5 years as my do all tractor. 2017 bought a different house with more trees and about 2 acres to mow. Quickly learned that I really disliked changing out equipment to do a project and then having to remove them to mow. Bought a zero turn and life was good, I could mow in half the time and didn't have to keep changing out equipment. Follow the advice you have been given and keep zero turn and get a tractor and fel. I find I use my back hoe maybe 4 times a year but man it's great to hook it up and get the job done. Backhoes just don't make much sense because of cost and amount of use. But most things I do don't make much sense.

 

[waycoolmarine]

are you looking at new ? cost on a 60" midmount mower is crazy - probably what your 52" zero turn is worth - just my 2cents keep the zero turn and if you think you will use the hoe a lot get the tractor and the hoe

 

[smstonypoint]

That's impressive, mowing 2 acres in 30 minutes with a 60" deck!!!!!

Assuming 82.5% efficiency, that works out to an average ground speed of 8 mph. There's no way I could average that speed on my bumpy lawn.

Steve

 

[ovrszd]

Me neither.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I did the math using a mowing calculator, I average around 3.5mph mowing my property. It’s too hilly and too many obstacles to be able to mow any faster.

But the name of the game is to cut grass, not spend time in the Garage with repairs.

1.9 acres per hour with 60in deck.

 

[fatjay]

That's impressive, mowing 2 acres in 30 minutes with a 60" deck!!!!!

Full speed, it's amazing. It's so enjoyable, I'm looking for stuff to mow when I'm done. Sips fuel, too. Keep in mind the house is on the lot, driveway, pool, tree's.

Lawn rollers are great, suspension is great. My lawn was bumpy but it's been getting better.

 

[Phillip w]

That's impressive, mowing 2 acres in 30 minutes with a 60" deck!!!!!

Pop the popcorn, i want to see this show.

 

[mikester]

Hi. New to the forum.

I'm thinking about getting a SCUT for the loader and backhoe, but I can only make it work financially if I sell my ZTR and the ATV I'm using for snowplowing/utility. This means I'll need to mow with the SCUT (I'd get a 60" MMM).

I mow 2.2 acres of average lawn (not a golf course, not a pasture) every week. Currently, I'm using a 52" Toro ZTR. It's a commercial-grade unit, and I'd guess I mow at 7-8 MPH. My whole yard takes me 1.5 - 2 hours to mow. I don't have many trees or obstacles, but I do have over 1000' of fence that I mow along.

Mowing is 80+% of what I'll be using the tractor for, and I don't want to add more time to my weekend routine. However, I'm having a hard time getting a sense of SCUT mowing ground speeds. One dealer is telling me my 2 hour job will take 3-4 with a SCUT, and one is telling me that I can mow just as fast as I do on the ZTR (basically, top speed of the tractor), and the only time I'll loose is turning around. I did my own quick math and figured the SCUT will add 15 minutes to my routine, but I don't know if my assumptions are right.

Can anyone who mows with a SCUT talk about how fast you're able to reasonably go?

Thanks!

"A machine that does a little of everything does nothing exceptionally well."

Same applies to politicians....in order to be something for everyone they are nothing to no one.

 

[ovrszd]

Full speed, it's amazing. It's so enjoyable, I'm looking for stuff to mow when I'm done. Sips fuel, too. Keep in mind the house is on the lot, driveway, pool, tree's.

Lawn rollers are great, suspension is great. My lawn was bumpy but it's been getting better.

So you aren't mowing 2 acres. You own 2 acres? Maybe mowing half? Remember, your property description goes to the middle of the road??

 

[Tx Jim]

Remember, your property description goes to the middle of the road??

Depends on where one lives. Where I live which is Texas one owns(pays property taxes) to the middle of county roads but to the fence line on state/federal highways. I know because my property is on both type roads.

 

[Grandad4]

Here's a question for ZTR fans who get their mowing done quicker. The ZTR's advantages for trimming around obstacles are obvious. But if you figure you're going faster over open ground too, either the quality of cut is being sacrificed by going so fast or your mowing deck runs at much higher rpm's to keep up with the higher ground speed. Or maybe you mow more often so the grass isn't so heavy. I honestly want to know. At my place, the grass is heavy and going too fast means either disharge clumping or poor cut quality.

 

[ovrszd]

Depends on where one lives. Where I live which is Texas one owns(pays property taxes) to the middle of county roads but to the fence line on state/federal highways. I know because my property is on both type roads.

Yep, that's how it is here as well.

On a small property such as 2 acres it's a considerable percentage if you have 500ft frontage on a county road.