Field Mowing Pattern - Side Discharge

[tshep]

So, currently 'cutting in' the perimeter, as non-discharge side allows, then counter clockwise in shrinking perimeter. I wanna' go the 9 miles an hour.
Problem is the corner radius does not work, pass to pass. Even a wide swept corner eventually becomes too tight a radius to cut., This leads to either K turns, 270's, or wide-swinging that leaves what becomes 'lobes to be cleaned up every few passes.

On 'paper', I think a short interior pass, K turned to another, and again eventually becomes a radiused rectangle for speed later in the day.

Like hdbikercouple suggested: Mowing - Efficient mowing pattern? anyone familiar?

BX23, 54 belly mower, right side discharge

 

[bmaverick]

Like hdbikercouple suggested: Mowing - Efficient mowing pattern? anyone familiar?

That will not last long with a tractor, wastes fuel. For a zero-turn it's great.

Now, the Zamboni pattern works really well. This is what they do to resurface a hockey rink. Method still applies to mowing a field.

See this thread.

let's discuss the best way to mow a field...

I recently purchased land with two large fields. I'm getting ready to mow with a 15 foot wing brush mower (a new model 100hp JD 5 series) and maybe a sickle mower at some point for hay. both fields are long rolling hills. What's the best mowing pattern? - outline the filed and spit it? just...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[MossRoad]

The only problem with the Zamboni method is you have to know how far across you have to travel before turning up or down the field, or you'll leave either a wide or narrow strip that will have to be gone over again. I'm fortunate in that my machine at full steering lock makes an almost perfect turn to leave a strip that is exactly as wide as my mower deck covers nicely. You can figure out how far to travel across the field before turning by seat of the pants experience. I leave the ends and perimeters for last, as you're going to go over most of them while cutting the field anyway, so then you can see the little spots you've missed. Then, in your case, you only have to back into each corner once or twice and you're done. The rest of the day was spent moving forward, no backing. Better use of time.

 

[oosik]

What the hay are we doing here - field art or mowing your meadow? It takes more time/fuel to try to be perfect. Just mow the damn field and be done with it.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Am I the only one who leaves round(ish) corners?

 

[oosik]

NO - I round the corners on the meadow I mow. I mow in an ever tightening spiral. From the outside to the center. One time clockwise - next time counterclockwise.

Your field must be "pool table smooth" if you plan on/want to go 9 MPH. I would be thrown out of the seat - long before I hit 5 MPH.

 

[tshep]

That will not last long with a tractor, wastes fuel. For a zero-turn it's great.

I didn't get that (I did read the other thread). What wouldn't last and why?

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Varies depending on what I'm cutting and with what, but when I'm on the GR with the belly mower, it's like this... if I can explain it w/out a drawing:

Two or three passes around the perimeter chucking the grass into the uncut area. Enough of a cut border for what I'm going to do next: slightly less that a deck width into the uncut area - leaving a strip uncut - I cut the length of the field. Then turn left and cut back the other direction, again leaving an uncut strip slightly narrower than the deck. Back at the beginning I now cut the first uncut strip. Then at the bottom turn into the uncut area and leave another strip. Rinse and repeat. In a rectangular field there's no "corner" issue and the cut strips are all the same length. Works fine on my non-rectangular lawn too.

One issue if the grass is heavy/tall is that the discharge may pile it on the next area to be cut and that can build up with multiple passes. I find that lifting the discharge chute a bit (I have a line on it for that and other reasons) can help when cutting into the uncut area.

Does that make any sense at all?

Z.

 

[GeneV]

What the hay are we doing here - field art or mowing your meadow? It takes more time/fuel to try to be perfect. Just mow the damn field and be done with it.

Yeh, I give it only a little thought, not much. Where I have lots of trees, I mow around them in increasingly larger circles, and then hit the spots between the circles. By the road, I mow with the discharge away from it toward my lawn, so that I don't have to go back to blow all the clippings back (I like to keep my side of the road tidy, that's how I roll). Open areas, I start at the outer edge and go in rectangles, round and round, into one small rectangle in the center.

I don't use a discharge shoot, so the clippings fly out in a wide pattern and don't build up much, unless I've let the grass go to long.

 

[tshep]

Zoltan, that made a lot of sense. Perimeter cuts, then with skinny Zamboni design. That gets the turns in the precut and minimizes recut of (wide) Zamboni. And does not require the precise guess of full 1/2 Zamboni.

Still has the waste of Zamboni though - may be the minimum.

All - other than an increasing spiral, what fixes radius creep without precut corners?

 

[workinonit]

First off, I can't beleive I'm reading a thread on mowing patterns. Second, where did the phrase Zamboni pattern come from? That method of making plowing passes in a field was being done here in the south before a Zamboni was ever thought of. It's pretty much how plowing, discing, mowing , bush hogging and cultivating is done.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I can't wait to see the cost-benefit analysis related to the potential fuel savings resulting from this study. Now would be a good time to apply for a government grant to investigate this properly since they're looking for infrastructure projects to fund.

 

[Username Taken]

Put a mulch kit on it

 

[CH4Ohio]

At work they would form a committee to develop recommendations around this. We would pull in people from several states to be sure we had representation from every region. Only those who had never cut grass before would be selected so they didn't come with preconceived notions of how this should be done. After months of travel-intensive meetings that rotated from office to office (to be sure we're "inclusive" in our locations and give everyone a chance to travel), our high-priced consultants that we hired to facilitate the team's discussions would wrap it all up in 100-slide PowerPoint presentation and we'd meet with company execs at some swanky resort to make the final pitch. The "money slide" at the end of the presentation would likely recommend that we reorganize our mowing operations, offer severance packages to everyone that mows, just terminate those that don't take the package, and refer this problem to our Supply Chain group asking them to outsource this work to the lowest bidder.

Supply Chain would then form a committee . . .

 

[CH4Ohio]

Hope you got a lump sum retirement package from your Sears Management job

Lee Iacacca (who saved Chrysler one time) said, "When we were at generic motors, if somebody saw a snake, we'd call in experts from around the world for advice, form a workers committee, have an Executive meeting followed by a Board meeting and a conference with the Union Execs then at some point, form a referendum and have a vote on it. Here at Chrysler, if somebody sees a snake, we just kill it."

Actually, I DID! And damn glad too. (Not Sears though.)


10-4 on the snake solution too! Sometimes you can just over-analyze a situation.

 

[repete]

(Watch as people explode... )

How would you mow an isosceles shaped field with a 20% difference in side lengths in the dark?

 

[MossRoad]

(Watch as people explode... )

How would you mow an isosceles shaped field with a 20% difference in side lengths in the dark?

 

[Tinhack]

I've always cut my fields using the "Zamboni pattern"--After doing the perimeter and corners. Have done that even before knowing what a Zamboni pattern was. Being a shooter, I've always had a good sense of distance and depth perception but I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab with a compass App. The step-overs are not a problem. I tried a farming app but it took too long to set up all the individual areas for mowing. Way too complicated for what I needed.

Cutting through the wooded area is another subject all together. That always looks like a drunken sailor cut it.

 

[MoKelly]

What the hay are we doing here - field art or mowing your meadow? It takes more time/fuel to try to be perfect. Just mow the damn field and be done with it.

Yep. That is what I try to do.

Just get er done as they say.

After all, it grows back and you can do it all over again - and again - and, well, you get the idea.

MoKelly