need suggestion on implement

[magyarbacsi]

I have 9 acres of which only about 4 that needs to be "manicured". Up to now a brush hog finish was ok but wife keeps insisting on better finish. It is a recriational property that mainly gets used in the summer a lot. In winter, nothing grows anyway. So I need info on a good brand, US made, 6' finish mower and a post hole digger, auger. This will be mounted on a 5525 Mahindra or 165 Massey. Both around 55 tractpr hp.

 

[Soundguy]

Those tractors you mention will tote alot more than a 6' finish mower.

The mahindra is what? 45pto hp, and the MF'er is about 52 pto hp.

Have you considered putting a edge on your brush hog? A hog with an edge on it will cut a pretty darn looking lawn, as compaired the the 1/8" flat that a hog normally uses to smash thru brush.

soundguy

 

[Surgeon]

OK. I have got to display my ignorance. What is an edge?

 

[2manyrocks]

I think he means sharpen your cutting blades or go buy a new set. If you leave a lot of plant stalks standing, sharper blades and/or reducing your ground speed may help.

Plus, it's kind of a pain to have both a rotary cutter and a finish mower around taking up space if all you really need is just the rotary cutter.

 

[Soundguy]

Yep.. 'xactly what I meant. A hog normally has a small 1/8 or 1/16 flat blunt edge on it's blade so that it smashes thru brush, and is not as damaged by rocks and debri.

A finish mower has a 'sharp' blade like a lawnmower.. a real 'edge' like a knife. They make a nicer looking cut. A hog with a sharp blade will cut almost as good as a finish mower.. just usually won't cut as close to the ground.. on the flip side.. hitting rocks and such with a sharp blade will nick it badly.

soundguy

 

[magyarbacsi]

Sounduy, I have tried that. Of the 9 acres, only about 3-4 are smooth and clear enough to use a close cut, but does not pass inspection by the boss. She has this aversion to grass taller than 1". I have to hand it to her, one can walk barefoot on her "lawn" and can almost play golf if one wanted to. I dont. Then after brushing the rest of the field, the edge is ground smooth from small limbs and an occasional hard object.

So what I want to do is to use the mower on the smaller clear area and get it down small enough where the riding mower can take over for her. She almost got hurt/killed once using my tractor so I wont let her ride it again.I'm too busy to constantly finish mow. I still have to maintain the finish on the log home, constantly leveling and smoothing, brushing other sections, building additional out buildings and this is done when we go there to "get away". I do enjoy a hard days work where you can at the end of the day look and see progress.

If the grass is to soft and tall, the hog just swirls it and flattens it instead of cutting. So dual or triple blades rotating in different directions is what's needed, thus a finish mower.

 

[cperky]

Have you given any thought to buying a zero turn mower? They are alot of fun and not as rough on the lawn as a mid sized tractor. I know I will probably get a tongue lashing for suggesting this but it may be a good option for you.

 

[xlr82v2]

I agree with cperky... that may be your best bet. I run a 6' FM on my 3525, and it is a bit of a "bull in a china store" with it, especially with the FEL attached... take the FEL off and it is much better though. Your 5525 is physically even bigger, and wouldn't be much fun at all (read that "PITA") to use with a "small" 6' FM.

The ZTR's are enough fun that if you teach your wife how to operate it, you may never have to worry about mowing grass again! On the down side of that, you may never get to run the ZTR!

FWIW, in my opinoin, a well manicured lawn cut to 2 1/2" - 3" usually looks much fuller and nicer than a lawn kept cut at 1"... and is probably healthier and hardier as well. But, depends on what kind of grass also. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[dangerdoc]

Have you given any thought to buying a zero turn mower? They are alot of fun and not as rough on the lawn as a mid sized tractor. I know I will probably get a tongue lashing for suggesting this but it may be a good option for you.

Nothing wrong with using the right tool for the job.

I use a bush hog, finish mower and ZTR. As I beat the land into submission, I use the tractor mounted tools less and the ZTR more and more.

Although I am considering getting rid of the finish mower and bush hog and replacing both with a big flail mower.