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How Much Grass Do You Mow?


leeave96

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Don't know if this is the right form for this topic - moderators please move it if I'm off topic here - thanks!

I mentioned in an earlier post, Dream Tractor, that I've got a lot of mowing chores these days - mostly at a camp. I mowed the other day for 2 hrs with a 42 inch deck tractor and only got half of the mowing done!

I'm thinking about a Legacy with a 60 inch deck, however...

I can't complain, my Dad mowed this property for years with a 38 inch deck. My problem is mostly time - there ain't enough hours in the day!

Having said that - I'm curious as to how much mowing/acreage you mow with your Simplicity and how much time you spend and how many years you've been doing it!

I do know this - my Landlord DLX with the 50 inch deck is much faster than the 42 inch deck tractor I have. I should think a 60 inch deck would be even better. Interested in your experience with lots of mowing.

Thanks!

Bill

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I've got about 5 acres that I mow. I'm currently using a Sunstar with a 60" deck. If I do it all at once, it takes a pretty good chunk out of a Saturday. That includes mowing with the Sunstar, then using a push mower to get up underneath several trees, then edging around the house, garage, etc, etc, etc. But, I seldom do it all at once. Instead I'll do one section on an afternoon after work, another section on another afternoon, and then mow the rest and do all the edging and stuff on Saturday or Sunday.

Frankly, were it not for the fact that I also have to push snow in the winter, I'd get rid of the tractor and buy a zero turn. My neighbor has one, and I've used it a few times just to try it out. I can mow my yard much, much faster with it. In my opinion, for mowing the zero turn design is hands-down superior to the tractor design. In fact, if I ever come across a zero turn for a good price, the Sunstar is going to start spending all summer in the shed.

btw, is the area you mow really flat? You'll get a lot of scalping with the 60" deck if it's not.

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quote:Originally posted by huffy

is the area you mow really flat? You'll get a lot of scalping with the 60" deck if it's not.


id="quote">
id="quote">It's funny you mention this. Most all of the area where I live is hilly, bumpy and hardly ever level, however this property is relatively flat! There are a few rises here and there, but gradual transitions.I hear you in the zero turn, but I'm like my Dad - after all these years with a round steering wheel in my hands, I just can't (or don't want to) get use to the levers on a zero turn. My brother OTOH, loves a zero turn.Thanks!Bill
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We have about 1 acre I mow with my Agco 1920 (sunstar), with many trees and turns and 2 ditches at the edge of the highway. It can take a couple hours without going crazy with the 48" deck, or little over an hour with the 60" deck. From 87-07 We used to cut with Dad's 917H and 48" deck and it would take 3-4 hours, but the power steering and faster speed of the Agco cuts that about in half. My Aunt next door has 3 or 4 acres and if I cut all of that and our own, it takes about 5 hours or so with the 48" deck , or around 3 with the 60"

I don't do any trimming of any kind, if the mower deck wont reach it, it gets sprayed!

Many people think I'm crazy, but I typically only mow at about full speed. The machine can handle it, the ground is relatively smooth and I haven't had any issues doing so.

I myself would never own a zero turn, I cant imagine a machine that all I can do is cut grass with. My Agco has the tires reversed for stability cutting our ditches, and with the independent brakes and 60" deck, I can swing right around and take another pass.

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I mow about an acre of grass.

Zero turn or large decks are great as long as you have the area for them. Zero turns work best on smooth lawns. The more trees and the like in the area to be mowed the faster a zero turn will be.

The problem is most homeowners don't need a zero turn. But since zero turns are the "hot" item right now every one wants one.

Rick........

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quote:The problem is most homeowners don't need a zero turn. But since zero turns are the "hot" item right now every one wants one.id="quote">
id="quote">

LOL, this is true. But, most homeowners don't need a lot of the stuff they buy. Most of the people that live in the city where I work have lawns so small they could easily be cut with just a reel mower. But, instead they go out and buy big the biggest self-propelled push mower they can find. Some even have riding mowers. On top of that they've got big backpack blowers and a myriad of other stuff. It's comical.

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At one time I mowed for the church down the street they have 2 1/2 acres with 2 acres flat and open but rough. The 616 with the 60" took about 2 hours including the drive down and back and about 4 gal of gas. The trimming was extra and if I mowed someone else would do that. Zero turns are good till you only have one arm you can use then that steering wheel looks real nice.

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Heck guys, I mow my lot, which is 90 X 150 feet, minus the house and back shed. I use my frankenstein 616 with 32 inch deck most of the time, in low gear it takes about 45 minutes. Other times I use the stick steer wonderboy with 32 inch deck, takes half the time. Then once in a great while, I use the Allis B206E with 26 inch deck, again about 45 minutes in low gear. I can't use the Allis T816 with 48 inch deck, I don't have a big enough yard to turn it around!

Steve

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I mow 3+ every week with a 2010 and a B-110. I'm mowing tomorrow. If I cut it before its too long it takes a couple of hours. I never mow it before it gets too long.

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Dad now uses a 61" Ferris Commercial mower. It takes him 1-3/4 to 2 hours to mow the 3-1/4 acres. Not all of it is grass as there are two sheds, a gravel road, a house and a garden but there are no wooded areas. (in other words a lot of obstacles) When I mowed with a 42" deck it was easily a 4 + hour job, even in 3rd gear. When I moved up to a hydro Landlord with the 50" deck I could cut the time down to about 3 hours more or less for the whole yard. The fuel tank is large and I don't have to stop to refuel. With an FDT I would be stopping to fill the tank at least twice. I can spend a good 15-20 minutes alone cutting the road ditch, regardless of which machine I use.

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quote:Originally posted by Chris727

Dad now uses a 61" Ferris Commercial mower. It takes him 1-3/4 to 2 hours to mow the 3-1/4 acres. Not all of it is grass as there are two sheds, a gravel road, a house and a garden but there are no wooded areas. (in other words a lot of obstacles) When I mowed with a 42" deck it was easily a 4 + hour job, even in 3rd gear. When I moved up to a hydro Landlord with the 50" deck I could cut the time down to about 3 hours more or less for the whole yard. The fuel tank is large and I don't have to stop to refuel. With an FDT I would be stopping to fill the tank at least twice. I can spend a good 15-20 minutes alone cutting the road ditch, regardless of which machine I use.


id="quote">
id="quote">Not to take my own thread off topic, but the Simplicity Legacy now offers as a deck option a 61 inch fab'd deck. Supposedly it's from the Ferris zero turn mowers. What's your opinion of that deck and have you used a 60 inch deck like was on a Legacy or Sunstar?
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Originally posted by leeave96
quote:
id="quote">The deck is very heavily constructed. I don't feel it stripes as good as a true Simplicity deck but part of that is because the deck is suspended and not riding on the ground. It has a rubber flap for a stripe kit. On the legacy the deck would ride on the ground and float so it will function altoghether differently than the ZT deck. I have never used the older type 60" deck.
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According to my GPS, I mow 6.37 miles at least once a week. That's with my old 314 9HP Landlord in 2nd gear. Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 acres, I'm guessing. Takes about 3 hours and generally only 1 tank of gasoline. I will run out if I start the close-in edging trimming around the trees. Got a 35 years newer 22 HP 48" Wheel Horse that does the same area in 2 hours maybe 2.5, if I don't rush it. And, The cut is never as nice as my stripes.

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We have a one acre yard, and I figure with the house, drive, rear patio/deck, other patio area, flower beds, etc., I have maybe a half acre to mow. Probably more like 1/3. It takes me 25 minutes with the 48" 7118 if I'm trying to just get it cut, and maybe 35 minutes with a clean slow cut and patterned stripes.

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I mow about 2.25 acres weekly with a 42" deck. It's broken up over two adjacent properties with some trees and two smaller back yards and bigger front yards. A lot of stopping and turning and backing. It takes, with about 4 breaks and refueling, about 5.5 to 6 hours. Most of it is in 2nd gear on a three speed. I wear my shooting ear protectors over my Walkman MP3 player and it makes it much more pleasurable. I can sing and no one can hear me over the tractor, I think. :D

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I mow about 1.25 acres with the old Landlord 101. Takes about 2.5 Hours in 2nd gear. I had a 712s with a 48" deck, and it took about the same time. I have a 1/4 acre in garden, and 48 apple trees to mow around, so that slows me down a bit. The old foot draggers are a little nimbler than the RBT's. I have a 7012H Landlord in the barn that I should throw a mower deck on the see how it does...

Dave

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I have .43 acres & with the house on it there is less to mow, but mostly it's on a side hill but not too steep. It takes me about an hour & a half with just the tractor. For 11 years I've been using a 1963 Simplicity Broadmoor with a 32" deck in 1st gear high range. Seems slow to some but it's my relax time where I just watch the scenery ( green trees & blue sky ) & enjoy a couple of beers. :)

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Hi. I generally mow 3 to 5 out of 21 total (about 15 acres in pasture and hay field). The 3 to 5 includes two homes, numerous outbuildings, a family cemetery, and way too many trees and shrubs. Over the years, I've done this with everything from a B10 (new at the time) to an AC720. Average mowing time ranged from 8 to 12 hours with the B10 to about 4 to 5 with the 720. Last year the 720 broke down at the worst time, and in desperation I let a Toro timecutter zero turn follow me home from Home Depot. I know this is sacrelige, but I was desperate and simplicity dealers are scarce around here. With a 50" deck, the zero turn cut the time to 2 to 3 hours. If time is your main concern, buy a zero turn. They can't do anything else, but man can they cut grass.

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My bro in law has a Toro Timecutter with a 50" deck. I have to use it when he is out of town, on his yard, since that is also my mother in law's yard. I HATE that lawnmower. It is top heavy, as the operator sits far too high off the ground. It might be great on a flat surface, but not in that yard.

I have a 93 Dixon mechanical ZTR, 30" deck, that I can cut his yard with in about 3/4 of the time I can with the Toro. The Dixon has better balance, I am lower to the ground, and the Dixon responds far easier and better than the hydro drive on the Toro. I quit using my mowers in that yard because of weed seeds that I was bringing home to my yard.

My Landlord is even faster than the Dixon in the yard.

One thing about big box store lawnmowers that most don't think about until it is too late, is the mulching deck that is on them. If you let the grass grow too tall, it has to be cut several times to get it cut once. By that, I mean that the mulching deck simply will not cut all of the grass in one pass, maybe not even two or three passes, no matter how slow you try to go on the first attempt. Mulching decks are made to cut grass that doesn't need cut.

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At my old place it was just over an acre with a 48 inch deck on a sovereign. I edged everything but the retaining walls. It would take 45 minutes at full speed and about 10 minutes every other time with the weed wacker. If I did it on and angle with reverse stripes it would take a little over an hour. Rough weeks at work got the reverse stripes, too much going on and it was quick.

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I mow 5 acres a week i use my 7016 hydro or a 7010 hi/lo either way i use 42 inch deck and pull a 60 inch swisher to the side, cutting about 100 inch swath, with no trees and not trimming the edges, it takes 1hour and 50 min to cut 5 acres

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Mowing my lawn is my primary use for my Simplicities. I have a 1.2 acre mostly level lot which has about .75 acre of lawn. I have a 42" deck on my Broadmoor II 6011 and also a 42" on my 3410 Landlord. Two hours is my average time each go-round. Interestingly the 3410 is faster than the newer 6011. Both have three speed transmissions. Irregular shaping due to landscape features require my using a walk behind Honda for about 15 minutes. I have a bagger on the Honda's 20" deck, but I prefer to let the clippings fly with the tractors. I do not mind yard work and I've posted many fotos of my striped lawn here on the forum. I do the work as a hobby and as a way to get me off the couch. I cannot imagine caring for my property without a SimpletrACtor.

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