Mowing 2 acres

[mn_voyageur]

I have read about the different types of mowers but I am looking to cut a large flat area. If the grass lays over, the sickle bar won't cut it. The BCS finishing mower is 38". The other mowers are even narrower. Currently, I am paying someone else to mow it.

I noticed the other day that although he has a 3 pt hitch, he is not actually lifting the mower, other than loading it onto his trailer. Since his finishing mower is not being supported by the tractor, I would think that the 853 could drag it around the field. I certainly could use the exercise.

The field needs to be cut to control the field mice population. Although they remain in the field during the summer, they relocate during the winter and the wife does not appreciate their company.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey,

You're looking to get a finish mower bigger'n the 38 inch mower? How big? I think your best bet to to talk to Joel about something that would mount up directly or talk to Oldmech about making you a gravely adapter. Here's a 50 inch Gravely deck for a walk-behind on eBay - gravely walkbehind 50" deck - eBay (item 150335731475 end time Apr-05-09 15:21:28 PDT) I don't know how much bigger they made 'em, but I doubt you want to go much bigger'n this one..



I have the 38 inch mower for my BCS 850. I used it a little bit on a 715 last year, but haven't had an opportunity to use it yet this year on the 850. I think it'll do everything i want to do with it. Of course, I'm only doing a half acre lot with a house on it.

 

[mn_voyageur]

farmerboybill

Belated Congratulations. Watch out, they grow up fast!

I missed the mower deck posting.

I'll send OldMech a message and ask him to offer an opinion. With my diesel engine, I would think that spinning the blades would not be a problem. Stabilizing the deck might be another story. And safety is another question. Would hate to kick a rock or try tossing a blade with me at ground level.

How much of a bank angle can you cut with the 38" mower? I have 500' of ditch bank along the state road. (Close to 1,000' if you count down and back.) Right now, I pay someone to weedwack, because it is too steep and wet for a riding mower. (We get plenty of rain, with an already high water table.)

Also, do you know the width between the wheels on your 850?

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey,

My biggest concern is the fact that it doesn't pivot at the connection like the sickle mowers and brush mowers. With the rigid connection, I don't know how it would do going over rough or sloped terrain. I've been meaning to talk to Joel about it, but haven't. Perhaps there's an adapter that would give me 15 degrees of flex like the other mowers.

The wheel width is whatever you wanna make it. Right now, mine are 26 inches center to center (32 at the widest), but I have the 5 total inch fixed axle extensions, some custom made 9 inch total extensions, and trailer rims instead of the stock offset rims. I think the total width standard is 22 inches for my machine with stock offset rims. Your 853 should be the same.

I posted some pics of my custom made adapters. They're sized to fit the BCS hub on the inside and trailer rims on the outside. I welded the round stock for free weights right on the extensions, allowing me to use the other ones on my 730.

 

[oldmech]

Hi! Voyageur! Two acres 80k sq ft. I cut grass on my neighboor land 32K ft (About 3-4 hr) two times by year I use my 30 in. Gravely rotary mower because Grass is very high( more 12 in.) and very deep. My 10 hp diesel work very hard in first gear with the 30 in. At home I use (weekly) my homemade 42 in. two blades finnish mower in second gear. You know More large = more power or less speed always power is the limit . May be you can use a 31 in. BCS brush mower in two or third speed for 10-12 hrs total. Personnal I like walk behind for 1-2 hours for more I take my one wheel sulky. I dont think a more large mower can make more large area. The brush mower can be use for grass or brush etc. I use mine for clean my garden in fall . I mow 6 Ft corn (impressive) beans etc.. Powerfull implement. The finnish mower make a better job for grass. The best is two but I will take the Brush first. Good luck ! Oldmech

 

[mn_voyageur]

I forgot that the bigger the deck, the slower I would have to go. Maybe the 38" BCS Finishing Mower is what I should look at. I will figure out the angle of my ditch bank this weekend. I could justify the 38" BCS if I can mow the bank safely.

If I do a good job on the garden, maybe my wife will let me buy the bush hog in the fall!

Mark

 

[oldmech]

Hi! For your bank. Can you walk on EASY Are you confortable. For incline or angle Small engine can go to 20 -25 degre . More are risky for oil lubrication. Some years ago I work on camping ground near a river. Very dangerous if too incline ! If too wet. I remember. Good luck Oldmech

 

[mn_voyageur]

That is something to remember. With the mower in front of me, I would be less likely to get into the blades.

As for the angle, I will measure the bank this weekend and then call Joel.

There is about 150' of steep bank. Then a drain tile and from there it is significantly less.

 

[FlaDon]

Hey,

You're looking to get a finish mower bigger'n the 38 inch mower? How big? I think your best bet to to talk to Joel about something that would mount up directly or talk to Oldmech about making you a gravely adapter. Here's a 50 inch Gravely deck for a walk-behind on eBay - gravely walkbehind 50" deck - eBay (item 150335731475 end time Apr-05-09 15:21:28 PDT) I don't know how much bigger they made 'em, but I doubt you want to go much bigger'n this one..



I have the 38 inch mower for my BCS 850. I used it a little bit on a 715 last year, but haven't had an opportunity to use it yet this year on the 850. I think it'll do everything i want to do with it. Of course, I'm only doing a half acre lot with a house on it.

The largest Gravely offically sold for a 2-wheeler was a 60" 3 blade deck. But if you had the guts to operate one, you could get a 72" and change the gearbox over to the same as a 40/50/60 inch deck. The 2-wheeler would need steering brakes and duals plus you'd need the kind of rare 16 HP models.

 

[mn_voyageur]

What would it take to connect a Gravely deck to a BCS?

This is making me ask again as to whether you could connect a 60" deck made for a standard tractor. As I stated in my original post, they are only lifting them to load and unload. Otherwise they are supported by the four wheels.

 

[milkman]

mn voyageur, sure wish you lived closer to me, I have a 40in. mower that I bought with my 735 that I don't use since I got my BX. I also have the mowing sulky and would like to trade them for a sickle. Joel is supposed to be keeping an eye out for a used sickle so we can work up a trade.

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I think for two acres you need 40 in. mower and sulky.This is the best for you.
But For FUN I make a plan for PULL a finish mower from a two wheels tractor. .
So you have a mower and a sulky in same time.
You need a 1 3/8 PTO adapter. You must verify ROTATION Mower vs BCS. If you can find a 1000rpm mower.
60 in. mower can need 20 HP engine. but with a Lower ground speed can work. Good Luck! Oldmech

 

[mn_voyageur]

Correct me, if I am wrong, but most of the finish mowers that I have seen are 4 wheeled. So, the tractor is not supporting anything.

Additionally, I have seen several 60" finishing decks that claim to need only a 15 HP tractor.

I still am looking at the 38" deck, primarily to cut the ditch bank along the state road. The ditch is easy to walk along, just a bit too steep to drive a CUT.

Is there a trick to measuring the angle of a ditch bank? Coach Doheny was my Geometry and Trig teacher in high school. I could brush off the cobwebs and calculate the complementary angle of a right triangle.

(Math was great, especially during football season!)

 

[2manyrocks]

Fast and easy way to measure the angle of the ditch is to take a digital level and put it on top of a 2x4x8 laying on the ditch bank.

More difficult way is to pick a low reference point and a high reference point and then measure the difference in height over the distance between the two points and then do the calculations. It would be the same as calculating the rise/run of a roof and then figuring the angle.

 

[mn_voyageur]

When you mentioned the digital level on a 2x4, I remembered that I have a dial protractor.

Maybe I should keep my woodworking and garden tools together.

 

[2manyrocks]

The protactor should work with no problem.

I pulled out my acreage chart because I started wondering how long it would take to cut 2 acres with a 30" deck. If you assume 3 mph and the full cut each time, it's slightly over 2 hours, but slowing down for the real world and having to overlap each pass, I'm guessing closer to 2 1/2 hours. Having to slow down for tall grass will eat up more time.

A 38 inch deck--maybe reduce it by 20-30 minutes roughly estimated.

 

[js5020]

Haha,,, I just ran some numbers on this,,, paper calculations came out to .75 acres per hour @ 3mph and a 30" deck,, I was interested in the miles walked per acre and came up with 3.3 miles per acre. I cut the entire place (close to 4 acres) every now and then just for the heck of it, and you wont see me out walkin the roads for exercise.

 

[mn_voyageur]

How did you calculate the miles walked?

 

[js5020]

Actually I found a site that had the distances walked when the oldtimers used horse plows and they stated a man walked 9.9 miles an acre using a 10" bottom so divided by 3, course both assume a full cut which I know dont happen in the real world but close enough for me.

 

[FlaDon]

What would it take to connect a Gravely deck to a BCS?

This is making me ask again as to whether you could connect a 60" deck made for a standard tractor. As I stated in my original post, they are only lifting them to load and unload. Otherwise they are supported by the four wheels.

BCS PTO turns the wrong way, as far as I know, to connect to a Gravely deck. A standard 60" Gravely deck just requires the Gravely Conversion kit for the Center Mount 60" and uses a QH setup.