RFM for "Lawn grass only"?

[Yota_85]

Hey all, I've looked at a couple 6' & 7' RFM for my Kioti DK35se. One is a Countyline from TSC and one's a KingKuttter from Northern Tool. Both are around $1600 and rear discharge.

Thing is, they both have a label on them stating "for lawn grass only".
What's up with that?
And what is "lawn grass" anyway? I have a neighbor with regularly 6" tall "lawn grass". Guess he cuts it when he has the motivation. (walk behind mower)

I'm cutting some taller grass in a field. Very thin at maybe 17" tall (more like thin hay), and thicker (think overgrown lawn, like my neighbor) and green at about 8-9" tall.

I'm leaning towards the RFM over a 6' light duty rotary cutter due to:
A. Less overhang at the rear of the tractor
B. I'm really only mowing GRASS here. (I did this at one time, several years ago with a 10HP Craftsman 38" rider. Took a long time, as was hard on my.....everything.)
C. It's a little bumpy, but looks quite nice when mowed. With no front anti-scalp wheels in front of a rotary cutter, I'm afraid it'll dig-into the field in places.

Though the only upside I can think of with going with the rotary cutter is not have to worry so much in avoiding the rocks....oh, and price. (cheaper)

Thanks for any input.

 

[wushaw]

Lawn grass only just means no saplings, brush or 6' tall thick stalk weeds since it is more refined than a rotary cutter.

 

[Sportsman762]

I have a woods 5' rfm that I use to mow my fields with. It was bought when we had horses and did a better job keeping up with the mowing. I frequently mow 24" grass with it. The down side is that this is not made for mowing that tall of grass. We would have to replace the belt yearly at $100 a pop. It gives the fields a nice lawn like look though. last year I did a good job of keeping up with the grass and did not burn up the belt. This winter we bought and refurbished a 5' brush hog and will use it from now on whenever the grass gets to high. If I had to buy just one I would choose the Brush hog because it is cheaper to run overall.

 

[greg_g]

I have an 84" finish mower that I use regularly for pasture maintenance. About the only time it can't handle the load, is the first lush cut in the spring. For that I use a 72" rotary cutter. For the rest of the season, the finish mower handles it just fine. Be advised however, that you have to be a lot more conscientious about keeping the FM blades sharp - than you have to with the RC.

//greg//

 

[Will_C]

I am mowing a 10 acre parcel where I plan to build some day. 3-4 acres I have to mow with a rotary cutter due to the terrain. The rest I can use my finish mower for, if I can cut it every 2-3 weeks. Any longer period of time, I use the rotary cutter.

Will

 

[RoyJackson]

Although several members do use their RFM for mowing fields, I do understand the necessity of the "Lawn Grass Only" sticker...just to reduce undue warranty claims. Not every tractor owner is on TBN and I'm sure some (enough for the manfacturers to apply that stcker) do try to use them as rotary cutters.

 

[savageactor7]

We have a RFM and have on occasion cut 3ft fields of golden rod...but that application requires low gear and many passes and adjusting the height of the deck.

That warning is a polite way of saying this isn't a brush hog imo.

We have a 72" Woods RM 600 and before I resharpen the blades we cut the high areas like swaleholes, trails and those areas other than lawns that require occasional attention so they won't go native again.

 

[have_blue]

I'm leaning towards the RFM over a 6' light duty rotary cutter

If you really think about it, a RFM is nothing more than a riding mower deck pulled behind a tractor. RFM's are just like riding mowers in construction too: Some are lighter duty, some heavier. You still wouldn't want to mow knee high grass even with a heavy duty mower like an eXMark or Grasshopper.

I have both a 6' rotary cutter and a 6' RFM, and prefer the rotary cutter for field mowing. If I keep the blades sharp, it mows nearly as smoothly as the RFM. I've relegated my RFM to mowing only my bermudagrass lanes, which I crop very low. The only advantages to the RFM are, it's a little easier on the tractor, and easier to get into tight areas.

 

[Yota_85]

Thanks for all the input.
Wonder if I can mount some sort of caster on each side of the front corner of a rotary cutter, to prevent the skids from digging into the ground. On even ground especially.

 

[devildog1]

Yes you can do that, I mounted some 6" or 8" wheels from TSC on my John Deere. Differently worked better then without, but you still can not turn sharp.That's why I went to a Woods Rear Finishing mower with a center anti-skid roller, It does not scrape lawn.
DevilDog

 

[easygo]

I mow two acres with a finish mower and don't worry about the grass looking like a golf course. The mower handles 8-10 thick grass OK but I go slower. In the Fall I mow about a half an acre of my neighbor's field. There the grass is about knee deep and thick. It still works but I have to go VERY slow. I do this to collect the grass and give my compost pile an extra boost in the late Fall.