Mowing Let's talk fiinsh mower.

Bartley · Jun 14, 2005

Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

After 50 hrs on my 3830, and 200 hrs mowing my lawn with my riding mower, I want a finishing mower. I known nothing about them, other than they are bigger than my 38 inch cut on my mower.

Tell me what makes a good finish mower. Brands, 2 wheel with chains, 4 wheels, whatever. After looking a some used ones, really used ones, I think I will be buying a new one. There is not that much money difference.

How big should I get? The book states my tractor is 62 inches wide, but its hard for me to get my 6ft woods brush hog very close to anything.

Like I said it will only be used for light yard mowing. I do have rolling hills in my back yard, nothing that would overturn me, but its not smooth flat ground. Its about 2.5 acres total.

Thanks

Bartley

Ronster · Jun 14, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I bought a Cub 7234 about 9 years ago. I soon added a 72" Woods RM660 rear mount finish mower. The quality of the cut is very good. It's easy on and easy off. Easy to lube and sharpen the blades. Rear mount mowers are nice in that you can back up under overhanging trees and shrubs to trim closer . The mid mount mower is more expensive, harder to access for routine maint. and harder to take on and off. They are nicer for trimming close to obsticles, and I think they have a little better finish cut because the grass is mashed down only by the front tires before the mower deck cuts the grass whereas the rear mount mower has to cut grass that's been ran over by both the front and rear tires. Most modern decks have a pretty good suction that will pull the grass up straight as the blades cut it.
One thing to remember about width; the wider the mower deck, the more prone it is to scalping on uneven terrain. You can raise the cutting height a little to help, and also by running the anti scalping wheels over the higher spots ,you'll soon figure out the best way to tackle your yard.

"That's all I've got to say about that" /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif.

teddydo · Jun 14, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Bartly, that's a smart idea you have there I think. I have a six foot king kutter that I pull behind my 4330. I like to get done and do something else so I got away from lawn mowers. Luck be yours.......teddy

CaptainU · Jun 14, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Howdy,
I have a 72 inch Land Pride that I pull behind a 3430 and it gives me a very nice cut. I also got tired of cutting lawn. Now my wife cuts with the 54 inch John Deere around the house and I cut the field. Wish I could get her to use the weedeater.

ku4ns · Jun 14, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I got tired of the disposable mowers and used my 6ft Bushhog brand finishing mower on my front yard and it looked like a golf course. I couldn't be happier unless the mower was remote control and I could stay out of the sun. I have two Kubota's, a M5700 and L2800. I just bought the L2800 this past weekend and use the 6 ft mower and don't have to worry about field lines or my septic tank (weight) like I did before with the M5700. John

ku4ns · Jun 14, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I should have told you in my earlier post that my Bushhog finishing mower has four wheels, which I think makes for a better cut because the mower maintains a fixed distance from the ground. Hope this helps. John

equipman · Jun 15, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Bartley
Not to hijack your thread, but we just sold a couple of 23 &1/2 feet wide finish mowers and man are they impressive to look at. They are going to a sod farm and will be pulled by Kubota M6800 tractors. On your tractor, generally you can take a finish mower that is a foot wider than your field mower. You could probably go with a 72' deck to get outside your tires.
Lewis

Bartley · Jun 15, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Thanks for the info guys, are there any brands, or types, I want to stay away from? Or for that fact, something I need to make sure they have, or can do?

Bartley

EastTexFrank · Jun 15, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I must admit that I am partial to Befco equipment but there are other good manufacturers out there. I pull a 5' behind my B2400. You will have no problem with either a 5' or 6', depending on what you have to mow between ... not a problem, get the 72". I also prefer a rear discharge because you can trim close to stuff from either side. I added a mulching kit because I hate to see windrows and hate to pick up or bag grass. It does slow down the rate at which you mow but to me it's worth it. I think you can get a mid-mount mower for the 3830 but my preference is for the rear mount just because it is easier to put on and take off as I also use my tractor on some pretty rough pastures that would possibly beat up a mid mount.

If you decide on a rear mount mower, take a look at the grease point for the middle blade spindle. Sometimes it is placed where it is really awkward to get at for routine service. All rear finishing mowers that I have seen come with 4 gauge wheels and the better ones have chains at the back.

These are just some of my thoughts on finishing mowers; remember they are worth what you paid for them.

OhioGuy · Jun 16, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I have a Cub 5252 with a MMM (60") and a Ford 1220 with a Woods RM59. I mow the two acres around the house with the Cub and MMM. I can get within an inch of trees, walks, whatever with the MMM.

The Woods RFM does a better job on taller grass and I think cuts as well overall as the MMM. I mow some paths though the woods and a couple acres toward the rear of the property with it. I think if I were willing to do a little manual trimming around the house with a push mower, the RFM would work fine there also.

There might be some logic? to using a garden tractor for the lawn mowing duties, that would keep a lot of hours off a much more expensive piece of equipment. I find myself using both tractors for a lot of jobs I'm doing.

I found my RM59 on Ebay for $350, it's an old one but does a great job cutting and is really well built. I've seen a number of 6 footers on Ebay going for $400 to $600, but they are always out of driving distance. If you find one fairly local, you can always go to inspect or at a minimum take a good look before you hand over the money.

One last important detail, the ride on the bigger tractors are sooo much better than a garden tractor, especially when you hit a real dry spell and the ground gets rock hard!

Good Luck!

KennyV · Jun 16, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Bartley:
I now have a Land Pride 84” rear discharge, grooming mower, on the back of my L4200. All I can say is WOW… What a machine /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. KennyV.

jackl · Jun 16, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I have Kubota B7510 with a 60" Bush hog side discharge finish mower and my lawn looks better when I mow with it than with my Cub Cadet and its mid mount 42" mower. The Bush Hog is easy to grease, attach/detach and modify the cutting height by adjusting the spacers on the 4 caster spindles. In fact, the height can be changed in 2 minutes with no tools. I use it on my 1.5 acres of lawn, around my fruit orchard and in the fields which I mow less frequently. I think its a fantastic piece of equipment.

gduff · Jun 18, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

You might want to check the outside width of your rear tires. The book gives the minimum tread width. Depending on the type of tires and where you have them set you can calculate your outside tire width. For example my L3830hst has r4's and the tires are set at the middle position. The centerline tread width is 54.3 plus the width of the tire is 17.5" making the outside width 71.8". (See page 62 in your manual.) This would explain why it is hard to get close to anything with a 6' rotary cutter.
I have a woods RD7200 3ph finish mower, which works well for me. I like the rear discharge, which spreads the clippings more evenly over the width of the cut. It has 4 gauge wheels, chains, and the anti-scalp roller. (I think the roller was optional, but the dealer recommended it if the area being mowed isn't entirely level.) If you don't have many obstacles to mow around you might want to check out a wider unit. Sometimes I wish I went with the 84" unit, but I am happy with it overall.

TonyV · Jun 18, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Yeah, Kenny.....I have a Land Pride FDR16 Series 72" rear mount finish mower. I've only used it once....in the rain...and the L3400/mower combo didn't care. It did a great job, rain and all, but of course we're talkin' brand spankin' new sharp blades. Normally I wouldn't cut the grass when it was wet, but hey, they just delivered the tractor and a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. Overall the cut was way better than my 42" side discharge on the garden tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

...Tony

philc · Jun 19, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Bartley, I have an L3830, too, with an 84" Befco finish mower. Use it to take care of about 14 acres in total, 11.5 pasture/swale and 2.5 lawn (with the help of a garden tractor, push mower and string trimmer...). Does an excellent job, but being in Florida, the land is pretty much flat.

frank_f15 · Jun 19, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I use a Befco 60" RFM for keeping my fields cut and find it to be an extremly well built unit. Very easy to work on wheres as my old unit was PIA just to adjust the belts.

Bartley · Jun 20, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Wow, I just check the price of a 7 footer, to a 6 footer. That extra foot cost almost $1000. Now that makes a person think about how much the foot is worth.

Bartley

ncengr · Jun 21, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

I have used a 5' Sitrex behind my B2710 for about 3 years and it has a great cut. This is an Italian made mower (very similar to Caroni), is generally priced lower than some of the others, parts are available (Agri-Supply carries virtually all parts), and does a good job. Other brands are probably very good also. I am sold on RFM and would not go back to a MMM.

Scrounger · Jun 21, 2005

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Have you looked at the Midwest finish mowers? I was admiring one that a neighbor purchased and if I needed a big one it is one I'd be going to. www.midwestequipment.net Check them out.

jcmseven · Apr 4, 2006

Re: Let\'s talk fiinsh mower.

Bartley,

I echo the thoughts about the Woods and Befco brands. I find them to be the top of the heap in RFM's. That said, a lot of companies make really nice mowers and the prices are highly variable. The single MOST important thing to quality of cut with a RFM is the blade speed. Because these mowers operate behind the tractor, the tractor wheels run over the grass before cutting. To give a nice cut the mower must be able to suction up the grass and cut it. Most higher quality RFM's have between a 14,000 and 18,000 fpm blade speed. The higher this number is, the better. Most manufacturers know this, and thus, list it in the specs. I have had both the high end and lower end of this range: a Woods RFM with a 16,750 fpm speed and a Befco with a 14,200 fpm speed. By far, the Woods mowed better, but Befco makes a mower with a higher speed. This just means a cleaner cut quality and the ability to mow a little faster. Also take advantage of the extra antiscalp rollers. They are not always included in the price, but most dealers would throw them in if you buy a nice RFM. I have heard testimonials from many brands, but I have never personally heard anyone not happy with a Woods, Befco or LandPride RFM, so those would be at the top of my list (in fact I just ordered a new Frontier--JOHN DEERE branded-- RFM for my new tractor). It is made by Woods, and is consistent with their new Premium line. I expect it to cut really well.

John M