1445 v 1430 (v 2430 v 2425)

EldoNixon · Sep 9, 2003

Anyone use the 1445 with the 72" mower or 1430 with the 60" commercial mower? How's the cut quality? speed with which you can travel? power through long grass? maneuverability?

How about the 2430 and 2425? Are they less stable? How tall are they? How maneuverable?

I demo'd a Ventrac 4200 VXD this weekend and fell in love with it for mowing. The 72" deck is unbelievable. But for the price I'd pay for that it looks like I could get one heck of a PT. And it would have a much better loader. But I have to finish mow a lot and in a lot of tight spots, so I don't want to lose the maneuverability that I enjoyed with the ventrac. But I am sold on horsepower. It had 31 HP and it sure felt strong.

Thanks for your input. After my demo, I'm really excited about the idea of articulated tractors.

Bob999 · Sep 10, 2003

I have an 1845 with the PT 72" finish mower. I believe that the mower deck is the same as the one used on the 1445--but with a different quick mount plate. In any event you could verify that with PT.

I found the cut quality good. I have one complaint about the mower deck--inadequate scalp control. There is only one antiscalp roller on the front of the mower and none on the rear. I have subsequently purchased an articulated deck that has excellent scalp control--but not quite as good cutting as the PT deck.

Charlie_Iliff · Sep 10, 2003

Sedgewood (John Coxon) and I have the "rough-cut" versions of the 72" mower for the 1845. That is the 72" deck with three stump jumpers with two short swinging blades on each. With Blades that John cut and drilled, and some fiddling with deck height and cant, I got to the point my cut quality was acceptable for a lawn. Because the size was a bit clumsy for really tight areas, however, I've gone to an Exmark 48" walk-behind for the lawn and dedicated the PT to pastures (with a 58" wing mower)
Although I haven't driven it, I suspect the Ventrac with 72" deck is also a bit much for close quarters, as is the Jacobsen front mower we have. For lawns, the 425 probably is a bit better than the bigger machines. For big areas, the 72" deck does a nice job.

EldoNixon · Sep 10, 2003

Sorry to hear that about the scalping. The Vent trac has a antiscalp wheel that goes the entire width of the deck. It works amazingly well. I couldn't get it to scalp--even on areas where I normally scalp with my current 60" suspended deck.
As for manueverablitiy, I was surprised at where I could get the ventrac. I could actually get everywhere that I could get with my lawn tractor and then some. But it is shorter than the PT.
How long is the 1845? I can't find it in the literature or on the web site. I found that I can fit the 72" mower into all of my pathways. No fences or gates to worry about.
Just worry about weight. And I don't think that I have a real appreciation for just how big the 1845 is. I'm probably getting power-hungry. I'd probably be better off with a 1430 or 425. I just like the idea of the 72" deck.

Charlie_Iliff · Sep 11, 2003

Mapquest has you an hour and nine minutes from East Chatham, where Sedgewood - John Coxon - just rebuilt his 1845. (I really think he did it just to make it better than mine.) I don't think any description or dimensions can compete with a look, and demonstration. The rebuild has been a lonely task, so I suspect John would welcome a visit from someone interested in his machine.
As I noted before, I have a Jacobsen 72" front mower. It has well placed anti-scalp rollers, and rear steering on a short wheelbase, so it's a bit more maneuverable than the 1845. Even with that, however, fences, trees, flower beds, hose reels, etc. finally drove me to a smaller walk-behind. The perfect combination for me would have been an 1850 and a 425, but for that money, I could hace hired Bubenberg to come down from Pa. and cut the place - a few times, anyway.

EldoNixon · Sep 11, 2003

Wow! I'll have to send him an email. I hadn't noticed that he's so close.
I've become obssessed with finding the ultimate in performance in a small package. Fortunately my main problem in terms of manueverablility is vertical more than horizontal--i.e. I have a lot of low branches but I've been planning my landscaping products to allow room for the width of a tractor. Now I may not be able to turn around once I'm in there, but I can get to the areas I need to know as long as I back up the same way I came in. The idea of 45HP has me drooling. The ventrac was much shorter, and thus more manueverable, but I found it to be a disadvantage while using the Loader. To me it felt rather unstable with just a bucket full of dirt. As great as it is as a mower, I think that the PT would be better as an all around performer. I probably shouldn't go larger than the 1430, but its tempting. I think that I'm looking hard at the 1845 with single wheels. It appears as thouh it uses the same attachement plate as the 1430. It doesn't show some of the options as being available for the 1845 (like the mini-hoe and snowblower.) I wonder if you could use them. It appears as though the pto pump capacity is higher on the 1845. Could I use just a lower engine RPM to compensate?

Charlie_Iliff · Sep 11, 2003

It doesn't show some of the options as being available for the 1845 (like the mini-hoe and snowblower.) I wonder if you could use them. It appears as though the pto pump capacity is higher on the 1845. Could I use just a lower engine RPM to compensate?

Sedgewood damaged a mini-hoe on his 1845, but did it with a home-made thumb. I have a Lackender hoe which is a bit beefier. If you search for the name Lackender, either in this forum or the modifications thread on PTs, it should turn up.
Yes the pto has more flow. I don't know enough to be sure, but certainly the flow is proportional to engine rpm, so slowing it down should protect the motor. I haven't asked, but I'll bet PT will sell you a snow blower for the 1845.

Bob999 · Sep 11, 2003

I purchased the mini hoe from PT for my 1845 when I purchased it in the spring even though it was not on the price sheet. There is no flow issue with this attachment--it operates from the auxillary PTO.

Last year PT listed a snow blower for the 1845 on the price sheet but it has now disappeared.

Unless you need the extra stability of the 1845--which comes primarily from the dual wheels/ and or want the extra safety of the brake tender system/ and or really need a 72" mower--I suspect that you would find that the 1430 is quite adequate. For moving dirt either machine is likely to be traction limited rather than power limited. The extra power in the 1845 becomes necessary when you combine the 72" mower deck with steep slopes.

Of course the 3 cylinder 1845 runs "smoother" than the 2 cylinder 1430.

EldoNixon · Sep 11, 2003

I don't have steep slopes, but I want a 72" deck. Could the 1430 run the 72" deck? How much bigger is the 1845?

Sedgewood · Sep 12, 2003

EldoNixon: I don't have steep slopes, but I want a 72" deck. Could the 1430 run the 72" deck? 

Maybe. If you are mowing lawns. No high stuff. No steep hills. Mowing takes serious horsepower. Anyone know if the 1430's 12gpm PTO is sufficient for the 72" mower? The 1845 has a 15gpm PTO.

How much bigger is the 1845?

Not too much bigger - in fact when I was at the factory with Bubenberg and Charlie last fall demo-ing the minihoe on the 1430, I really couldn't sense much size difference tough there is some. The 1430 is 53" wide vs 58" for the 1845. 65" wheelbase vs 66". 52" inside turning radius vs 59". 2560 lbs vs 3315. Height is about the same at 72".

Come on down and demo my 1845,
Sedgewood