The Advice We Give
- Thread starter chim
- Start date
- Views: 5128
metalbender
Veteran Member
Golf courses use gang reel type mowers. Best cutting of all. Also very labor intensive to sharpen and adjust. They don't do well on dirty surfaces, as in one hr mowing and ten hrs sharpening. Large mowers were developed for efficient work. Would be pretty comical to see someone trying to mow a golf course with a little gas push mower.
Industrial Toys
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
- Messages
- 16,742
- Location
- Ontario Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota R510 Wheel Loader + Cab and backhoe, JD 6200 Open Station, Cushman 6150, 4x4, ten foot 56 hp Kubota diesel hydraulic wing mower, Steiner 430 Diesel Max, Kawasaki Diesel Mule, JD 4x2 Electric Gator
NIce cut, but you can see where the wheels flattened the grass. That will spring up and look like someone went to bed with wet hair. lol
crashz
Veteran Member
IT has a good point. I was motivated to mow my 2 acres of grass this year with my 21" Husky. It was mostly for the exercise, partly for the bagger and a little to see how long it would take. It took forever! A full Saturday to mow, bag, dump the bag and keep mowing.
But it looked great. Really clean looking and very manicured. Honestly, I wish I had the time to do it like this.
But it looked great. Really clean looking and very manicured. Honestly, I wish I had the time to do it like this.
Industrial Toys
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
- Messages
- 16,742
- Location
- Ontario Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota R510 Wheel Loader + Cab and backhoe, JD 6200 Open Station, Cushman 6150, 4x4, ten foot 56 hp Kubota diesel hydraulic wing mower, Steiner 430 Diesel Max, Kawasaki Diesel Mule, JD 4x2 Electric Gator
As a tall, lanky, lazy teenager, I remember having to cut our fairly small yard with the biggest, steel decked mower, Craftsman made, was like being sentenced to Devils Island.
I think we all tend to give advice based on our own experiences, kind of make sense. Only problem is my situation is different then then my neighbors etc. Problem with tools is often times you need more than one, you need a framing hammer, a finish nailer, and sledge. Only problem is when it comes to tractors money is a factor for most people. Also I may need a tractor for snow removal and may used it very little mowing, and the next guy might be the opposite, which would dictate a totally different purchase.
Often times we hear buy as most as you can or as big as you can. Somewhat sound advice but its also easier to spend other peoples money. Really what it comes down to what you need it to do and what you can afford. End of the day a 20 hp tractor can do more than no tractor at all. I also have a buddy who has probably 150 in tractor, skid steers etc, yeah he can do his own work pride thing I guess. But between purchase price and maint, he could probably have saved 80% of that and either rented or hired it out, but as always tell him, if spending more money and doing it yourself is more fun, go for it.
Often times we hear buy as most as you can or as big as you can. Somewhat sound advice but its also easier to spend other peoples money. Really what it comes down to what you need it to do and what you can afford. End of the day a 20 hp tractor can do more than no tractor at all. I also have a buddy who has probably 150 in tractor, skid steers etc, yeah he can do his own work pride thing I guess. But between purchase price and maint, he could probably have saved 80% of that and either rented or hired it out, but as always tell him, if spending more money and doing it yourself is more fun, go for it.
jjp8182
Platinum Member
Let's not forget the environmental/weather considerations. Granted if there's someone that wants to come push mow an acre or so of my property in the middle of an Alabama summer for free let me know so I can save a few cents (maybe a dollar) on diesel. 
Even as a relatively "young" individual (by some standards) I've learned there are some things that just don't make sense to do.
On my place, I've used:
- a push mower which can be dang near deadly in the middle of summer, especially if you're trying to get done in a timely manner (can any one say heatstroke?)
- big-box tractor-looking riding mowers, where I went through enough to learn those didn't hold up to the heat all that well either (even when properly maintained), plus they would get stuck in the ditches where it'd be muddy/swampy until early/mid summer.
- a used zero-turn for a few years as well, did a fairly decent job until it too died (middle of summer) though it would frequently get stuck in the same places as the other small mowers which meant having to mow some areas with a string trimmer (which I wouldn't recommended doing unless conditions force it).
...and so I bought and use my tractor which has already survived more hours of operation on my property than any of the prior mowers (actually it might be getting close to as many hours of use as all it'd predecessors combined). ...which to me implies water-cooled engines and equipment built for durability & reparability will likely be the cheaper option long-term (even if it costs a lot more up front). Part of the reason why I bought the tractor was because all the air-cooled mowers were dying at a rate that it was costing me ~$1000/year (not including time, gas, routine maintenance, or parts) to mow a fraction of my property.
.....oh, and the tractor has yet to get stuck (even when the ditches are wetter/muddier) when mowing anywhere on my property. So as I've said before there are different tools for different situations and methods, and everyone needs to figure out what works best for them in their situation.
Even as a relatively "young" individual (by some standards) I've learned there are some things that just don't make sense to do.
On my place, I've used:
- a push mower which can be dang near deadly in the middle of summer, especially if you're trying to get done in a timely manner (can any one say heatstroke?)
- big-box tractor-looking riding mowers, where I went through enough to learn those didn't hold up to the heat all that well either (even when properly maintained), plus they would get stuck in the ditches where it'd be muddy/swampy until early/mid summer.
- a used zero-turn for a few years as well, did a fairly decent job until it too died (middle of summer) though it would frequently get stuck in the same places as the other small mowers which meant having to mow some areas with a string trimmer (which I wouldn't recommended doing unless conditions force it).
...and so I bought and use my tractor which has already survived more hours of operation on my property than any of the prior mowers (actually it might be getting close to as many hours of use as all it'd predecessors combined). ...which to me implies water-cooled engines and equipment built for durability & reparability will likely be the cheaper option long-term (even if it costs a lot more up front). Part of the reason why I bought the tractor was because all the air-cooled mowers were dying at a rate that it was costing me ~$1000/year (not including time, gas, routine maintenance, or parts) to mow a fraction of my property.
.....oh, and the tractor has yet to get stuck (even when the ditches are wetter/muddier) when mowing anywhere on my property. So as I've said before there are different tools for different situations and methods, and everyone needs to figure out what works best for them in their situation.
My advice is do your research and buy the largest tractor you can afford that is not so big it won't fit where you are trying to use it. A zero turn mower is hard to beat, but same as the tractor buy what makes financial sense that does the best job as quickly as possible! Bottom line is do your research and make your decision on what you have learned. If someone doesn't like your decision tell them you'll do it thier way as long as they are paying for it! Bahahaha