My Big Lawn Mower!

[RjCorazza]

I've thought of doing that too, but haven't yet, no need to stop until cleaning up the "corners" ...

I prefer to do the "NASCAR Laps" as in just go around the edge, then work my way in, but with the tail swing of a 3pt attachment, the 90° or sharper corners get messed up ... But I don't like to get the grass packed down in the same "ruts" all the time, plus it keeps the neighbors guessing ...

I've seen in my travels some of the commercial guys who do zigzags, or long sweeping "waves" ...

I've tried sharp zigzags, but they don't look that good to my eye. Here's a wave I did several years ago that I'm due to try again:

 

[diesel85]

You must be old. Get a set of good BT ear muffs or ear pods and connect to your phone... Not only do you get better sound, you can listen to exactly what you want to.

Right now I use ear pods on my open station. Cuts the noise and can listen to whatever I want.

My buddy who has a MX tractor has a bluetooth radio and has it paired up with his cell phone and listens to satellite radio.

 

[anomad]

Looks really nice!

Next tractor I get will be a cab tractor with A/C, heat, and a radio. Getting too old to be out in the elements for hours at a time. Not to mention practically dumping gallons of DEET on myself each summer. Probably ain't good for my health either.

I didn't think a cab would be as mind blowing for comfort as it is. I haven't hooked up the finish mower to it yet, only the bush hog and box blade. I'm afraid if I start doing my routine mowing in conditioned air I will be forever ruined! And as much as I like the 6 foot finish mower I can run circles around it on a 52 inch SCAG V-ride-2. 37 HP and a 52 inch deck has really good power.

When you are shopping make sure it is a good cab. I have a Kioti CK3510 and I'd say it is a budget cab. It isn't sealed well at all and loud enough to require hearing protection unless you are just running down to check the mail at low rpm. The AC is also just ok and it doesn't have any windows you can open for ventilation. You have to open the doors. I'm not disappointed, but for the extra money a cab costs I will be researching more for my next one.

 

[diesel85]

I didn't think a cab would be as mind blowing for comfort as it is. I haven't hooked up the finish mower to it yet, only the bush hog and box blade. I'm afraid if I start doing my routine mowing in conditioned air I will be forever ruined! And as much as I like the 6 foot finish mower I can run circles around it on a 52 inch SCAG V-ride-2. 37 HP and a 52 inch deck has really good power.

When you are shopping make sure it is a good cab. I have a Kioti CK3510 and I'd say it is a budget cab. It isn't sealed well at all and loud enough to require hearing protection unless you are just running down to check the mail at low rpm. The AC is also just ok and it doesn't have any windows you can open for ventilation. You have to open the doors. I'm not disappointed, but for the extra money a cab costs I will be researching more for my next one.

I'm forever a Kubota guy. Mostly because of ease of finding parts. Some of these other brand tractors like to hide parts lists, or after 5 years, parts are obsolete.

It's is frankly amazing that I can go down to my local Kubota shop and get parts for my 24 year old BX, and most of the time they have them in stock. Or if ordering is required, I get them that same week. I've heard horror stories from other brands.

I'm one of those that keep my machine for a long time. Very long time.

As far as a zero turn on my property. I tested a few and the ruts and bumps were destroying not only the machine but my back. I even tested one of those Ferris three wheelers and the stupid back wheel caught on a rut and the handle bars twisted violently and I sprained my right arm.

My little BX takes a beating mowing the lawn, but it is what it is. But hey, it's been holding up for all these years, hence why I'm a loyal Kubota fan.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

And as much as I like the 6 foot finish mower I can run circles around it on a 52 inch SCAG V-ride-2. 37 HP and a 52 inch deck has really good power.

As I mentioned back in post #38 (I had to go back to look!) I mowed the front 6 acres in 1.7 hours with this 90" finish mower ... When I was using my commercial 60" Z-turn Z960M it was usually 2 - 2.25 hours, but it rougher on my back, and no A/C, plus the 31 HP Kawasaki engine is a premium gas hog! Takes about 6 gallons to mow that, the Kubota uses less than half that of off-road diesel which is cheaper than the the 91 octane 100% gas! (no ethanol!)

Hot, dusty, bugs bite me even at 10 mph, gotta wear long sleeve shirt to keep more sun off me ...

But my current situation is I'm quite often gone for 3-4 weeks, and it gets high ... I'm still curious how this new to me 90" rear finish mower will do with a situation like this ... ?

It great for buzzing the 1.5 acres around the house though ...

And I do the ditch up by the road with it too ...

I do need to wear ear plugs (don't need/want to listen to music) running the John Deere, but the Kubota's cab doesn't require anything ... It does have a radio in it, but I've never even turned it on ...

 

[dnw64]

I do need to wear ear plugs (don't need/want to listen to music) ...

You need to discover podcasts...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I don't like distractions ... The noise maker (stereo) in my pickup and this Kenworth have never been used by me ... Just the hum of the engine is OK with me!

 

[anomad]

I don't like distractions ... The noise maker (stereo) in my pickup and this Kenworth have never been used by me ... Just the hum of the engine is OK with me!

I've only used my radio to realize only one speaker works. LOL. Many little things have been like that with this kioti. It's not like my Kubota in terms of build quality.

 

[dnw64]

I'm forever a Kubota guy. Mostly because of ease of finding parts. Some of these other brand tractors like to hide parts lists, or after 5 years, parts are obsolete.

I've not had experience with other brands, but have been impressed that I have had no trouble getting any parts for my 20 year old Kubota. Everything from snowblower gearbox to lower rear window glass and seal.

 

[diesel85]

I don't like distractions ... The noise maker (stereo) in my pickup and this Kenworth have never been used by me ... Just the hum of the engine is OK with me!

I love listening to my diesel truck. Especially at idle.

 

[dnw64]

I love listening to my diesel truck. Especially at idle.

I love listening to my Godzilla 7.3 with a true dual catback. Especially at cold start and when just getting into it a little.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Got home again today, decide before I mowed to sharpen the blades, and had raised them back up to 5" ...

There are two blades per spindle, and have a flange or shoulder so they can spin loose kinda like a brush hog ... The blades looked like I had hit more rocks than I thought!

Then I "fixed" the PTO shaft guards!

Now I can SEE!

After a couple of burgers on the grill, I went out to mow ... Just as it started to rain!

Grass was 15" - 17" tall ...

I got to try out my wipers!

I heard a big noise and turned around, another ROCK! So much for the sharpening of blades!

I've mowed this field many times, this was probably only the 4th time though with this mower ... I hit it with the leading edge of the mower, and it kicked it up for the blades to hack at it! ( You can see the orange paint!)

The back wasn't quite as squirrelly with the extra 130 Lbs of liquid I added, and the front was still digging up grass if I turned real sharp, even going slow ... So I went up to the barn and added 495 Lbs to the front, in addition to the 100 Lbs of liquid in each front tire already had in them ... !

Now it's steers, and doesn't plow/scuff up the grass!

I'm not sure if it was because of the extra weight on the front, or the 3/4" of rain we got, but those back R1's can make a mess real FAST!

I'm gonna add another 130 Lbs of water to each, that will bring them up to the half way mark, then I'll test them to see how they go, currently at 10 PSI.

But I had the time, and figured it was better to mow in the rain, then wait another 2 weeks until my regular scheduled time off, will need to mow then too!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

The front was getting tall and ugly ... Some places were over 2' tall! I wasn't sure how the finish mower would do!

I slowed down to about 3.7 - 4.0 mph, still had some popups, but not bad!

I did a circular pattern today, starting in the center, I got the idea from another ... To keep the neighbors guessing if I really did loose my mind!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Got the rest out back this afternoon ... Since it had less time to grow it wasn't as high, could mow 5+ mph ...

 

[tacticalturnip]

I love listening to my Godzilla 7.3 with a true dual catback. Especially at cold start and when just getting into it a little.

I get along well enough with my 6.2, particularly when I let it breathe- I can't imagine how much get up and go the 7.3 has- particularly when unladen.

That's a beautiful engine. Though I am anxious about the idea of the 10 speed transmission- the old 6 speed is really solid.

 

[anomad]

I went with a wavy pattern on my last mow, in the area everyone can see from the road. Probably from the same motivation. It looks really good. Also sharpened my blades for the SCAG today. I need to stay on top of blade sharpening more religiously.

And on Ford V8's to help detour Shawn's thread... LOL! Mama just rented a 20 foot uhaul to move a family member back to California. It had the 7.3 and sounded great with the super long exhaust pipe. It also got 10 mpg average (according to the dash) on the long trip. It had 2400 miles on the clock when she left and well over 5000 when she got to California. That seems like pretty fair mileage for a large moving truck loaded to the gills.

 

[dnw64]

I get along well enough with my 6.2, particularly when I let it breathe- I can't imagine how much get up and go the 7.3 has- particularly when unladen.

That's a beautiful engine. Though I am anxious about the idea of the 10 speed transmission- the old 6 speed is really solid.

Well up through the 2024s, they put the 10R140 in the 7.3s, changed to the 10R100 for '25 and up. The 10R140 was designed for the diesel, and is rated for 1400 Newton-meters, or 1050 lb/ft. The stock 7.3 has a bit less than half that, so I wouldn't be too worried even after adding a Whipple Supercharger (which I am thinking of doing before I start doing long trips out west, hauling my 10k Airstream). Ten gears makes towing soooo nice!