Mowing PT425 Finish Mower Pics

[MossRoad]

Several people have asked about the mower on my PT425, so here are some pictures. I've only used it for 20 minutes on my yard, that's all it took to finish it. A little less than an acre, very flat with few trees. The grass wasn't long enough, but I just wanted to see how it felt. I did notice that on VERY tight turns, the rear gauge wheel would slide sideways, because it does not pivot. I solved it by lifting up an inch or so and then floating the deck again after I turned around. Mowing with the front mount mower is SO much easier than mowing with my riding mower.

The first picture is from the side.

 

[MossRoad]

This picture is from the front.

 

[MossRoad]

This picture shows the mower lifted to full height by the lift arms. I wouldn't run the mower in this position /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Scott_F]

<font color=blue>I did notice that on VERY tight turns, the rear gauge wheel would slide sideways</font color=blue>

David,
Maybe some of those rounded anti-scalp wheels would do the trick? I know I've seen them in a catalog somewhere/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

Looks great though, I'm jealous. I spent two and a half hours mowing the onions and dandelions on our new lot Sat. (and that doesn't include the parts that were freshly seeded around the house). Looks like it will be about a three hour job with the old JD garden tractor when I start cutting all of it/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif Unfortunately, since we're totally house poor now, the PowerTrac purchase might have to wait a little while /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Scott

 

[pajoube]

Looks like you could tilt it back and have perfect access for cleaning the underside.
PJ

 

[kcook]

Great photo's! I like being able to clean or change blades easily! Thanks for posting!

KCook

 

[MossRoad]

That is as far as it tips up. Here's an explenation why.

If you look at the first picture from the side, you can see that the quick attach plate is already tilted back as far as it can go and the mower is still flush with the ground. That is because the mower swings front to rear from that hanger that the quick attach connects to. If I was to mow with the quick attach plate in that position, I might find it hitting the end of travel when approaching (or leaving, I'm not sure) an incline.

To compensate for this, I had to adjust the quick attach angle with the dump function so that the mower's hanger was in the center of its travel. This allowed for the maximum travel in the mower on uneven terrain.

 

[MossRoad]

As far as cleaning underneath or changing the blades, I'm too chicken(sensible) to get under there. All it would take is for someone to bump the joystick or a faulty valve and I'd be squished like a bug. This thing weighs over 200 pounds for sure. I did lift up my brush hog like that and sprayed it out with a garden hose, but I did not get anywhere near going under it. I imagine that you could make a steel brace and some brackets to pin it in on the tractor frame and the lift arms for safety, but I wouldn't do that either.

These implements attach and detach so easily that if I need to change blades, I'll probably detach it and use the forks to tip it up against a wood post or tree, then safety chain it so it can't tip on me.

 

[kcook]

It is better to be safe than sorry! I would rig up something under a tree to hold up the mower/brush hog so it would not fall! Come-a-long or a chain fall!

KCook

 

[MossRoad]

Of course, chaining it to a tree we could end up like this.