25hp primarily for mowing?

[hiddentacocatneddih]

If you are going to use it to pull engines and stuff id go a lot bigger.

My buddy has a 25hp mahindra and at my grandma's we have a JD 755, similar size. While on paper they say they can lift a respectable amount, I wouldn't pull more than a predator 212 with them

We loaded bags of lime in the mahindra and at about 8-10 80lb bags it became too light in the rear with the backhoe on to move very far

I have a mahindra 485 50hp and I've picked up old motors for the neighbor fully dressed and even with a trans without much worry


Plus I wouldn't want to mow with that small of a tractor. Your ground speed would have to be so slow. I run a 5 ft rotary and 84 inch finish mower on mine with 50 HP and can typically run ~4-6 mph.

 

[dodge man]

If you are doing a lot of end loader work the larger frame 25hp tractors aren’t a bad choice. When you are doing pto work such as mowing, that low horsepower is going to hold you back. I’d just take my chances on the DPF and get something bigger if I were you.

 

[EddieWalker]

Going off of your comment of mowing 15 acres, I think 25 hp is going to limit you to a small mower, and I wonder how many acres per hour you will be able to mow with such a small tractor. In my opinion, mowing is fun when you first get the land, but by the second year, it's a chore that the sooner you can get it done, the more time you have to do fun things.

Will you be able to mow 2 acres an hour with a 25hp tractor? If so, it's an 8 hour job to get it mowed if you spend half an hour filling up with fuel, looking over everything before you start.

My first tractor was 37 hp and I mowed with a 6 foot rotary cutter. For me, that was just too small and took too long. I have that cutter on a 65hp tractor and I can mow twice as fast because I have so much more power, and I can drive twice as fast. And it's still painfully slow. I just bought a 70 hp tractor with a 12 foot batwing, and that gets things done so much faster that I'm amazed at what I can get done in such a short amount of time.

I also wanted to avoid DEF and REGEN. The amount of smog on tractors under 75hp varies with the different brands. Massey doesn't have DEF or REGEN on their 70 hp tractor, the 4707, so that's what I bought. It's not what you're looking for, but there are a lot of other options out there with more then 25hp that don't use DEF or have REGEN. You can also get a ten foot batwing that only needs 35 hp to pull it, but I think that' borderline. Tractor time with Tim has a bunch of videos pulling a ten foot batwing that show what it can do with lower hp.

 

[big bubba]

OP: recommend purchasing land 1st before choosing a new tractor. keeping in mind, 25hp is about the same as a zero turn mower. can't imagine mowing 15-20 acres with a machine that size. regards,

 

[Jaybr]

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely won't purchase a tractor until I purchase the land, and I hate mowing, wife does most of it at the current house. The cab will make the mowing chore more bearable for me which is why I'm even considering a new tractor. The CK35 I have now would do everything I want to do, and at a reasonable pace; I also like the size for maneuvering around the property. It pulls a 5' rotary no problem and I've lifted motors with it with no issue. If a 25hp version will pull the same size mower at the same speed I'd be perfectly happy with it, but it sounds like that may not be the case. My understanding, although maybe wrong, is that you can run a larger flail mower than a rotary with the same HP, thus my original question about 5' & 6' flail mowers. I also used to mow my lawn with a 6' finish mower on the current tractor and it didn't break a sweat. I though the requirements for a flail where closer to a finish mower than a rotary cutter?

I do understand the HST will rob some power compared to the shuttle shift I have now also.

 

[chim]

My experience with 4 different diesel tractors here over the last 34 years with RFM's (not flails). I had a gasoline 2WD 14HP Cub 154 that did fine with a 5' belly mower. All below are 4WD with hydrostatic trans, filled rear tires and I mow without the FEL attached. HP listed is engine HP:

A 16HP can handle a LIGHT 5' RFM.
A 21HP can handle a heavier 5' RFM, has its hands full on uphill.
A 32HP can handle a heavier 6' RFM, may need to gear down on hills.
A 42HP w/ cab and A/C can handle a 90" RFM.

When I replaced the 32HP the thought was add 5HP for a larger deck and another 5HP for the A/C and it worked out. The 21 and 32 HP were new, and the 42 HP was bought used with 977 hours on it to avoid the DPF issues.

 

[2manyrocks]

The height and thickness of the vegetation can also affect how much you can cut at once. If you put off mowing until it gets 4-5' tall, you might have to slow down a lot to cut it, and that could make you dislike mowing that much more.

 

[WinterDeere]

The CK35 I have now would do everything I want to do, and at a reasonable pace; I also like the size for maneuvering around the property. It pulls a 5' rotary no problem and I've lifted motors with it with no issue.

I upgraded from an old Deere 855 (size of current series-2xxx) to a 3033R (series-3, 33hp) in 2019, and also had concerns over maneuverability in tight spaces, as my primary use of the machine is moving logs around in a tight area where I process large volumes of firewood. But in researching it, I was really pleasantly surprised to see the way today's tractors have shorter wheelbases and tighter turning radii than their predecessors, per horsepower and "frame size". My 3033R, despite being quite a bit larger than the old 855, turns around in about the same space.

If I were mowing the sort of acreage you are, I'd not want to be spending 8 hours doing it with a 60 inch mower... which is where you'll be limited under 30 hp. A cabbed Deere 3046R (series-3, 46 hp), or the competing size model in your favorite color (orange, blue, red), would be a nice compromise of size, maneuverability, and horsepower. I actually looked at buying that model, but could get the 3033R quicker and cheaper, and really had no need for the added horsepower when using the machine only for moving logs, plowing snow, and spreading fertilizer.

 

[2manyrocks]

Suggest you calculate the time required to mow 15 acres with 5', 6', 7' cutters at a ground speed of maybe 4-5mph. Most fields are rough enough that it's difficult to mow any faster than 4-5mph meaning that the time required to mow depends mostly on cutting width, and cutting width is mostly a matter of having enough HP.

There are a variety of mowing time calculators on line.

 

[arrow]

Hey folks, it's been a long time since I posted anything here.

4 years ago, we moved to the coast and sold our house on 37 acres about 100 miles inland. We are now considering moving back and looking at acreage. Most of the places we're looking at seem to be setup for horses, so lots of open pasture. Front runner right now is 20 acres with probably 15 of it in fenced pasture.

I have a 2006 Kioti CK35 gear model with loader and backhoe, also have a rotary cutter, box blade, straight blade, rake, and 6' grademaster I used on the driveway. I kept the Kioti when we moved but let my son keep it with the understanding it would be available if I needed it. It has gone into ill repair and is need of a clutch currently.

If (when) we move, I plan to purchase a new tractor with a cab and HST and it would be primarily used for mowing the pasture, probably purchase a loader, grapple, pallet forks, and flail mower with the tractor. Other uses for the tractor would be gravel driveway maintenance a couple times a year, clearing the occasional few inches of snow, moving any trees that fall, and lifting heavy (5-600lb) items in the shop. (think pulling an engine out of a project vehicle). I'd like your thoughts on a smaller tracto for this type work, knowing I have the ck35 available when I need to dig a hole or something like that. The CK 2520 is the same size/weight/ lift capacity of my CK35, is it strong enough for a 60" flail mower? 72"? I'm not brand loyal to Kioti so would also look at the cab offering from other manufacturers.

I'm thinking 25hp if it's enough for my uses so I can avoid the emmisions crap.

If you’re mowing that much acreage, l would want nothing less than a wide mower. Flails are slow.
I would get a used JD in the 5000 series with an 8 to 10 foot brush hog.
That brand is plentiful.
All you need is a 2wd w/ o a loader. Fix up the kioti. Used 2015 John Deere 5055E #A2313667 for sale
If you can find a 2wd, it’d be much cheaper.