Jump to content

Recommended Posts

i used to make fun of hte guys at work who all day all they would talk about is mowing grass, now here i am, talking about mowing grass....

 

my conundrum is this:  im cheap.  i have almost 4 acres, including the house and driveway foot print.... im in the desert.  nota lotta thick grass, but i need to mow it more often than i do.  i dont want to spend thousands on all the tractor upkeep etc.  been mowing it by hand, but at 22" per pass, thats just not fast enough.... it works, just too slow.  ive trained for a couple half marathons, so walking back and forth for long distances isnt a problem, its the width....

 

ive googled it a bit, and the widest i saw was like 27-29....

soooooooo that leads me to less trodden ground, rolling your own....

anyone done anything like that? maybe a couple 22's spaced 19" apart, so you skip a pass back and forth?? common engine,  belted together?

Edited by saltydecimator
Link to post
Share on other sites

If all you're doing is mowing, then a zero turn is what you want. I'm on just over 5 acres and about 4 is grass. I can cut it in 2hrs with my 72" JD 797. 

High lift mulching blades help it look good too. Little too no clippings left on top. 

Edited by Mullet Man
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

You NEED a riding mower.

If you have $$$$ zero turn mowers rock.

A good rider will work, and yes you can pull a swing mower or 2. A friend of mine had 20 acres to mow, so Booger would scrounge old push mowers, and made a rig to tow 2,3,or4 (depending on how many would start!) of them behind his tractor. He could get his place mowed in no time!

 Find a 36" lawn tractor with a bad motor. For $450 you can buy an INDUSTRIAL rated replacement motor. ONE WITH AN OIL FILTER! The motors with a filter last for ever, they have an oil pump. The cheap motors are splash oiled and are shit, they do not last.

I am running a 2008 mower with a new engine 2 years ago, it is a grass eating bitch!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

I had an old neighbor that pulled two push mowers behind his rider. He just made up a spreader bar to keep them where he wanted. Looked hillbilly as fuck but it worked. 

 

You can find zero turns for a song these days. They've become so popular, they're everywhere for sale used.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, Mullet Man said:

If all you're doing is mowing, then a zero turn is what you want. I'm on just over 5 acres and about 4 is grass. I can cut it in 2hrs with my 72" JD 797. 

High lift mulching blades help it look good too. Little too no clippings left on top. 

Another vote  for 0 turn ,  money well spent.

Think of the time and energy you will have for other things? You cannot put a price on that.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The wife came to me with pictures of flower shelfs that you put on a any flower patio.

"Can you make them ?' she asked  I said " yes no problem, Why?"

"Well we could start a business making them and selling them on ebay".

Just retired and now,she want to start a business.

YOT is this a business  or does someone rent the land and does  all the work? 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Get you a small tractor and a vintage square bailer like this.... 

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/grd/d/john-deere-square-baler-14t/6650255859.html

Till up your land and seed with alfalfa or whatever tends to do best in your area. 

Depending on moisture a square bail weighs about 55lbs. Gotta be able to move them.  

You can lease out your land too. That's not uncommon. 

Edited by Mullet Man
Link to post
Share on other sites

i don't have any particular info on that specific model. All i can say is if you can find one and it's priced right, always go for the dealer models, if possible. The ones sold at Lowes, Home Depot and Farm and Fleet (the "big box store" brands) etc. etc. etc., just are built to last like the dealer models are. A little research will tell ya where any make/model was sold from.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't go too small.  Have you considered an older used but good baby farm tractor?  Perhaps with just some towed gang pulled reel mowers?  Lots of times in farm country the older smaller equipment becomes available cheap.  Why take all day when it can be mowed in just one hour?

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

as far as paying folks, i dont like too many folks around... they tell their friends etc and wham bam thank you pam you robbed.  quasi irrational but you get the idea...

 

found a Ariens 46" 20hp for $350 up west of Fort Collins... so stoked!!!!

 

it has a gap in the cutting pattern, on either side.  maybe where tires pushing stuff down?  how electricity work on these things, can i bolt on some led lights etc to replace the factory refrigerator bulbs?

Link to post
Share on other sites

ah right.  so, they can be used for night mowing or is that not a thing?  i have 2 young kids and so that kinda limints my time outta the house during non sleeping hours...

 

i am really stoked about this....  got it from guy who ran over buncha rocks, on the Rocky Mountains, getting an uneven cut, but its pasture grass, and its like 3 feet tall.  manual says blade mandrel? how annoying are those things to mess with?  or the blades, which i gonna change from the mulching ones back to the cutting only style, which are new (and prob never hit rocks)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Mandrels are a BITCH!  Buy NEW mandrels, as you will seldom be able to remove one without snapping off the bolts. Use anti-seeze liberally on the bolt threads of the new one.

 

PS Always keep the old belt for the blades, new belts will not  slip, and cause damage when you hit something. Nice worn , old belts slip enough to let the blades survive when you hit a rock or a dog toy.

Edited by G O B
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...