Rear finish mower options

[slckeys]

So a quick backstory on why I'm here... Few weeks ago my current rear finish mower gearbox decided to blow up on me and quit working. It's an older Bobcat branded one. Parts and gearbox no longer available. A correct replacement with the proper gear ratio and direction is $1100 best I could locate. It's older, used weekly with it's quirks. Looking at used in other brands as an option especially for parts availability down the road.

I found 2 used Mahindra branded finish mowers. Both 7' width. Curious if anyone knows who makes them? Quality? General reliability even. Also found a Befco brand 7' finish mower. Same questions. I read the Mahindra ones may be rebranded Kodiak? I can't find much info on those mowers myself.

There are more options in the 6' range, but I'd like to try and stick with 7' unless there is a significant argument otherwise. Anything... Info, quality, personal experience on either brand is greatly appreciated. Thinking about scrap price for the current one to offset a little cost maybe.

Thank you all for the help in advance!

 

[slckeys]

Also located a bush hog brand if anyone has input on that as well. Thank you.

 

[workinonit]

I have a 21 foot batwing FM with 3 of those 7' Befco mowers you mentioned. I really like them. Never had an issue. I do have all of my 12 wheels foam filled. Mine is a Frontier branded Befco.

 

[slckeys]

Good to know. Thank you. I see they came with either solid or air filled tires depending how it was ordered originally.

 

[RjCorazza]

Air filled tires gave me nothing but problems on my 7’ Befco mower. I replaced them with solid tires several years ago.

 

[slckeys]

Yeah, I got rid of the air filled ones on my current mower. I'd do the same with the next. So that's 2 positive for the Befco. The most expensive one I'm debating of course

 

[old and tired]

I have Bush Hog RDTH72, It's a tank and has served me 18 years and I bought it used. Had to fit a couple of bent things and weld up a few broken things before I ran it.... But other than grease and changing the oil a couple of times... works flawlessly all this time.

Oh, did have to replace the belt twice so far... and a new set of blades, too.

 

[slckeys]

Thank you for the input on the bush hog experience. I am going to try and look at both the bush hog and Befco. I think the Mahindra one is out because I can't find definitive info for finding parts down the road if problems arise.

 

[loggin]

Thank you for the input on the bush hog experience. I am going to try and look at both the bush hog and Befco. I think the Mahindra one is out because I can't find definitive info for finding parts down the road if problems arise.

I would say stick to the manufacturers that have been around for many years, they tend to have the best parts support. Landpride is another one to consider.

 

[slckeys]

I would say stick to the manufacturers that have been around for many years, they tend to have the best parts support. Landpride is another one to consider.

This is exactly why I'm thinking about unloading/scrapping the Bobcat branded one in favor of either the Befco or the Bush Hog brand.

Both are about 2 hours from me in complete opposite directions though. Similar in price, but the Befco one says it's only a year old and he's unloading it this year for some reason. They are shaped differently and the wheels are at different locations in reference to one another. Bush Hog seems to have them inward, while the Befco has them pushed towards the edges of looks.

Probably can't go wrong with either one, just wanted some feedback before dropping good money on another expense. Hoping now chime in with thoughts. And I do very much appreciate everyone who's answered so far. Mahindra model is out because no opinions or even solid manufacturer info for parts.

 

[Halftrack]

Got to add my 2 cents. I've had 5, 6, 7 and 7.5 ft rotary finish mowers along with a handful of flails.

Probably the best overall rotary was a Kioti/Phoenix/Simca 6' with air tires. Rated the best because even in extremely heavy grass, with the full width rear discharge, it spread the clippings evenly, no scalping and never had a tire issue in 5 years (put up on blocks every winteŕ).

Neighbor had the Kioti/P/S 7' model which was built like a tank and just as heavy. Due to that weight, a common issue was bending of the deck brackets where the wheel tubes attach. A lot of these have been beefed-up in this area. His had large solid tires.

Another neighbor had a 7' Woods, again, built like a tank. It had the small air tires and he couldn't finish a mowing without tire issues.

My current big finish mower is a 7.5' (230) Sitrex 5 blade with the hard tires. The 5 blade does an excellent finish cut and pulls less hp than the above 2 7 footers. It does leave 2 windrows of clippings in heavy mowing. With the wheels mounted within 6" of the outside edges , it is a flat area mower. Anything less and it will scalp. I have a barely noticeable ridge at one end of the strip, that I have to keep the wheels on or scalp.

Suggestions: max 7 to 7.5' for a single deck, otherwise a trifold (lots of tires, blades,etc)

 

[slckeys]

I've got hills, but not hills that twist the deck side to side if that makes sense. There are areas where the edge digs in, and I'm thinking with wheels pushed farther out, might relieve that issue. I wish I could add pictures, but the app won't let me anymore for some reason.

 

[aesanders]

Got to add my 2 cents. I've had 5, 6, 7 and 7.5 ft rotary finish mowers along with a handful of flails.

Probably the best overall rotary was a Kioti/Phoenix/Simca 6' with air tires. Rated the best because even in extremely heavy grass, with the full width rear discharge, it spread the clippings evenly, no scalping and never had a tire issue in 5 years (put up on blocks every winteŕ).

Neighbor had the Kioti/P/S 7' model which was built like a tank and just as heavy. Due to that weight, a common issue was bending of the deck brackets where the wheel tubes attach. A lot of these have been beefed-up in this area. His had large solid tires.

Another neighbor had a 7' Woods, again, built like a tank. It had the small air tires and he couldn't finish a mowing without tire issues.

My current big finish mower is a 7.5' (230) Sitrex 5 blade with the hard tires. The 5 blade does an excellent finish cut and pulls less hp than the above 2 7 footers. It does leave 2 windrows of clippings in heavy mowing. With the wheels mounted within 6" of the outside edges , it is a flat area mower. Anything less and it will scalp. I have a barely noticeable ridge at one end of the strip, that I have to keep the wheels on or scalp.

Suggestions: max 7 to 7.5' for a single deck, otherwise a trifold (lots of tires, blades,etc)

How did the flails compare to your finish mowers.

 

[John0829]

How did the flails compare to your finish mowers.

I have a Mott fine cut flail that does a fair job but there is no way it will match the cut of the LandPride 2572 finish mower I sold to my neighbor. That is why I am looking to purchase another finish mower and sell the Mott. I do like that the flail uses less power but to get the cut to look good I either have to cut twice or mow at half the speed I could with the finish mower.

 

[Halftrack]

I agree completely with John0829 above. A flail will not develope the suction to lift the grass depressed by the tires compared to a rotary with just moderate lift blades. Although, the shorter you cut, the less noticeable the tracks.

Comments on different models:

Ford model 917 with cultivator sweep type blades- the sweeps may developed little more lift than side cutter blades, but even with sharpened sweep type blades, the feet per second blade speed is low and does not give a clean cut and injures the grass. Also power hungry in heavy or tall grass.

New Holland model 918H- my present flail with side cutter blades. Mainly used for roadside mowing for safety reasons, able to shred just about anything and lower power requirements in thick, heavy grass and weeds. I can close the discharge door and it does a decent job of shredding leaves.

Mathews Company Lawn Genie flail pickup mower- originally bought for leaf collection and removal (no longer responsible for that property). Probably the best flail finish mower because along with the 2 piece sweep type blades, the rotor had swinging baffles which created substantial air flow to lift the grass, grass clippings and leaves into the hopper. The hopper was huge and collection was a "remain in the seat" operation. It also had a diverted valve to block the hopper and discharge out the rear.

I know there are opposing views on flails but let's not hijack this thread just to repeat comments made in the let's talk flails circus.

 

[sandman2234]

I would consider replacing the gearbox over replacing the mower. Way too many gearboxes sitting on rusted out decks, for me to buy a new one.
Wish I knew where the original poster was located, I need a bigger deck, and don't have an issue putting a gearbox on a deck!
I am actually looking at reversing the direction of a front mount deck, to run behind a tractor!
David from jax

 

[slckeys]

I would consider replacing the gearbox over replacing the mower. Way too many gearboxes sitting on rusted out decks, for me to buy a new one.
Wish I knew where the original poster was located, I need a bigger deck, and don't have an issue putting a gearbox on a deck!
I am actually looking at reversing the direction of a front mount deck, to run behind a tractor!
David from jax

Trust me, I'd much rather replace the gearbox over replacing the mower. But to find an exact match is $1200 nearly, and that's the only one I've found. Yes, that's cheaper than another used mower. But then what if I have issues with other NLA parts?

I've spent hours over weeks looking for one that is counter clockwise in/clockwise out, 1:2.83 gear ratio, keyed output shaft with a 1 1/4 diameter. I'm up in PA if you want to drive that far I have found one that is close to the specs that I might try, at a third of the $1200 cost. But no responses on in stock from the company yet.

And today I mowed 4 acres (left another couple untouched) with my 38 inch deck... That got old fast, so I'm trying to get this resolved sooner than later. But I agree, gearbox is the cheaper route until there's another issue? I had another thread I started looking for help finding a gearbox, but that got few responses, and I followed up on the one that did respond. Either not in stock or they don't have parts either.

So yeah, open to all thoughts and opinions. Greatly appreciate each and every one.

 

[dieselscout80]

I agree completely with John0829 above. A flail will not develope the suction to lift the grass depressed by the tires compared to a rotary with just moderate lift blades. Although, the shorter you cut, the less noticeable the tracks.

Comments on different models:

Ford model 917 with cultivator sweep type blades- the sweeps may developed little more lift than side cutter blades, but even with sharpened sweep type blades, the feet per second blade speed is low and does not give a clean cut and injures the grass. Also power hungry in heavy or tall grass.

New Holland model 918H- my present flail with side cutter blades. Mainly used for roadside mowing for safety reasons, able to shred just about anything and lower power requirements in thick, heavy grass and weeds. I can close the discharge door and it does a decent job of shredding leaves.

Mathews Company Lawn Genie flail pickup mower- originally bought for leaf collection and removal (no longer responsible for that property). Probably the best flail finish mower because along with the 2 piece sweep type blades, the rotor had swinging baffles which created substantial air flow to lift the grass, grass clippings and leaves into the hopper. The hopper was huge and collection was a "remain in the seat" operation. It also had a diverted valve to block the hopper and discharge out the rear.

I know there are opposing views on flails but let's not hijack this thread just to repeat comments made in the let's talk flails circus.

Can you post some pictures of Mathews that show how it creates suction?

 

[workinonit]

Mathews Lawn Genie. That's a new one on me. Never seen nor heard of one of those before. Looks like a knife flail with some sort of bagging attachment.

I have a Maschio Tigre 300, 10' flail that is running hammers. Pretty amazing cut. It's just not wide enough for me to use all the time so I use if to keep my garden perimeter maintained. I still use my 21' FM for my grass. I've never had any issues with anything I own not cutting well behind my tractor. Of course i run ag tires which don't mash grass down as badly and I cut my grass really short.

 

[mikester]

I found 2 used Mahindra branded finish mowers. Both 7' width. Curious if anyone knows who makes them? Quality? General reliability even. Also found a Befco brand 7' finish mower. Same questions. I read the Mahindra ones may be rebranded Kodiak? I can't find much info on those mowers myself.

Buy both of them, now you have spare parts...assuming parts aren't made by hand filing and are interchangeable.