PT 180 Info

[Persistent]

Hey..new to the forum.
I have been lurking for a long time and now I'm seriously considering the purchase of a new PT180.
I realize everyone here says go bigger BUT... this is alot more than what I was considering.
Currently have a GT 20hp with 50inch deck and 2stage snowthrower. I need to finish mow 2acres
all flat with trees and the usual yard stuff. I also 3 to 4 times a year mow a 2 acre pasture.
We get lots of drifting snow regularly 2feet deep across the 150' driveway. I know the pt180
doesnt have a snowblower but I wouldnt buy the $3,200 blower anyway. Im very mechanical and can weld
so I was going to eventually modify my current 2stage blower to work with the 180. Its a smaller craftsman 42"? blower.

So....I was just going to buy another GT like the husqvarna GT with the kawasaki engine. And keep doing things the way I have been.
But I could really use a small loader bucket. We have 2 horses and a small barn that I built 3years ago. I have been cleaning stalls
and moving manure with my GT, a shovel and a large cart, its getting a bit old.

I searched and searched and could not find anyones personal experiences with the PT180.
Could it handle what I want to do??? I really cant spend more than the PT180.
Any info or help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[MossRoad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[deerseeker001]

Welcome from Wisconsin

 

[ponytug]

We have something larger than the 180, and the maneuverability of the PTs is great for horse & cattle chores. My wife loves that it can do all the heavy lifting. Think of it as a powered wheelbarrow.

If you are handy with a welder, adding a snowblower shouldn't be an issue.

I have never used the 180, so I can't comment. If you have any slopes, I would get a ROPS..

All the best,

Peter

 

[SpringHollow]

Perhaps go larger but used to keep your costs down?

Ken

 

[Persistent]

Hey guys thanks.. My yard is mostly flat.
Im curious if anyone ever mowed with a 180 and the 48inch deck?
Does it have enough power? What if the grass is a bit high?

 

[stray]

Many on here will disagree with me on this. But I say don't buy a PT to mow with. It only does an OK job. I have a 48" deck and I don't use it and I won't use it so I can give you a good deal on one if you decide to go that way. Now all the other stuff you can do with that PT is great. I just mow with something or anything else. I guess this will ruffle some feathers.

 

[ernemats]

Welcome. I live just over the mountain from you near Ligonier and I have a pt 422 and a pt 1845.. If you want to check them out let me know. I don't know much about the 180 but I guess it is not too different from the 422.

 

[MossRoad]

Many on here will disagree with me on this. But I say don't buy a PT to mow with. It only does an OK job. I have a 48" deck and I don't use it and I won't use it so I can give you a good deal on one if you decide to go that way. Now all the other stuff you can do with that PT is great. I just mow with something or anything else. I guess this will ruffle some feathers.

Them's fightin' words!!! unch:

Hahaha

My 425 does an good job with the 60" deck. Power Trac specifically told me the 422 would not run the 60" deck well at all. To me, that means the 422 may run the 48" deck O.K. and the 180 would definitely not run a 48" deck well.

As for quality of cut, if I keep the blades sharp, it does a good job. NOT a great job. But a good and very acceptable job. I do not have a show lawn. And thick grass will bog it down, so I have to cut more often. Also, with the rear discharge deck, the clippings tend to make a windrow out the right side. And it also throws a lot of clippings right-to-left across the front of the tractor, which deposits in the opening on the inside of the left front wheel motor. That windrow on the right side is a problem if you like to stripe your lawn, as on the return trip, you'll double the windrow. The only way to avoid it in thick grass is to mow in the same direction on each pass, which means you cannot strip the lawn.

Anyhow, there's some videos of my mower in action. Click on my little tractor icon in my signature and follow the video links.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a before picture of my lawn.


And here's an after picture. It's an acceptable job for an average lawn, but definitely not show quality.

 

[SpringHollow]

If limited resources, I would much rather have a PT that mows reasonably well vs a great mower that does not do all of the other things. But then I have never used fertilizer nor weed killer either. Fertilizer just makes one have to mow more often. I like my seat time but for getting things done, not mowing. Now bush hogging, that is different. There is a good sense of accomplishment when doing that work.

It normally takes about 60 - 90 minutes to cut our lawn with a push mower. When the grass gets real long as is typical in the Spring, it takes about 5 minutes to mow it with the 8' bush hog on the PT. It takes that long because of all of the cutting in around trees etc. But the result is only okay because my ground is not smooth and level. With 8' of width, it does not follow all of the ups and downs real well. But it gets the grass cut to a reasonable length. When the grass is that tall, it would take many hours with the push mower.

Ken

 

[Persistent]

Thanks guys for the replies.
I was afraid the 18hp might not be enough to use the 48" deck well.
I really dont want to go any smaller of a deck...I guess I could look at the 45" deck...but I would rather speed up my mowing time not slow it down.

ernemats....hey thats great. I'll have to PM you and get some directions.
I would like to look at that 422 you have. Do you mow with it? How does it do around here?
I know last year we had so much rain I was mowing every 4-5days to keep up with it.

 

[J_J]

No one has mentioned the 2000 psi relief setting on the 180.

The 180 requires about 11 HP to develop the 8 GPM's at 2000 psi.

That means that the PTO pump displacement is about .5 cu in.

I believe the hyd motors on the 48 in deck are about 3 cu in.

So 8 GPM into a 3 cu in hyd motor, will run it at 616 rpm, and the torque will be about 955 in lbs.

You might get away with a 44 in deck from a lawn tractor and mount a hyd motor on it.

If you went to a 8 GPM pump with 3000 psi, you could run the 48 in deck. That pump will require about 16 HP.

Or just keep the regular lawn mower you have now.

Sharp blades is the answer to a good clean cut.

The 180 PTO has 8 GPM at 2000 psi.

The 422 PTO has 8 GPM at 2500 psi.

The 425 PTO has 8 GPM at 2500 psi.

Have you considered a used 425 with attachments.

http://www.power-trac.com/usedPTs.htm

 

[ernemats]

I mow some with it but I mostly use the pt 1845 to mow as it has a 72" deck compared to the 48" deck on the 422 and also where we mow is mostly hill side and . For the 422 I have the 48" finish mower, the mini hoe, fertilizer spreader, small bucket and also have it set up to use with a log splitter. As j j said check out the used power tracs on power tracs web site, also sometimes you see them on ebay .

 

[J_J]

You could also take this unit to the field/lawn and sit on your 180 and control this mower by remote control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWHCoIJ8HaE

 

[KMA]

If the two main uses for the PT180 would be mowing and snowblowing, then I'd suggest considering something else. I have a PT422 with a transplanted EH72FI engine (25-28HP or so), and even with the added horsepower it is barely enough to power a 42" single stage snowblower I converted to use a hydraulic motor. It works pretty well, but in deep and/or heavy snow I have to go very slow. I don't think the PT180 would work well enough for anything more than a few inches and you'd be better of with a walk behind blower. On a side note: we got 14" of snow the other day and having my PT snowblower was a godsend... I have to clear a 400' driveway and mostly use my ATV with plow, so the snowblower helped reduce the amount of snow that needed to be pushed. :thumbsup:

For mowing, I have the 48" finish deck and it does okay. It does clump up in thick grass due to the deck design mostly. In general it works faster than a typical homeowner's ride on mower, but you might be better off spending the money on a prosumer or used professional ZTR and get much, much better results in less time. You can get a lot of mower for $5-6k. I shaved 30-45 min off of my mowing time after switching to my Ferris 61" ZTR, along with getting better results. In other words, most PT422 owners seem to wish they had more power, which is why I think you see very few recommendations for the PT180. If you were doing light work with the bucket (e.g. moving mulch), then it would be a nice solution.

Good luck!

 

[cqaigy2]

You could also take this unit to the field/lawn and sit on your 180 and control this mower by remote control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWHCoIJ8HaE

That looks like it would be fun to mow with.

 

[KMA]

You could also take this unit to the field/lawn and sit on your 180 and control this mower by remote control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWHCoIJ8HaE

That looks like it would be fun to mow with.

Wow, that is really cool! Looks like that model has been replaced with the TREX... not sure of price but definitely over $10k I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76n_Ey0ERSw

Here's another companies products I found poking around... (sorry for going way off topic)

Commercial Grade Remote Control Slope Mowers

 

[BobRip]

The nice thing about the PT is you can easily adjust the speed with a little more or less pedal pressure if your mower bogs down. I think this would make the horsepower a little less critical. I own a 422. I don't see a lot of comments from 418 owners. Is this a real rare machine?

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. I don't think there are many out there.
There's a used 422 on PT's website. It looks pretty rough. Says it has a rebuilt Robin. It does have the twin steering cylinders. I think he wants $4500. Wonder how much TLC it would need. The hoses are probably original.

Anyhow, I'd be leery of expecting too much out of the 180.