To small?

[sgtsampay 117]

Hi all. So, as many of you all know, I have a nice newly restored tractor and a 42in RD and a 48in SD deck to go with it.

Now, I plan to mow some large estates with it this year, as I run a small lawn care/snow removal for the past 5 years.

Anyway, I have at least one 2 acre yard and mabye another 2 yards that are the same size. I will be using the 42rd for them at first since my trailer can;t hold the 48in but once I can get it, I will be using the 48in.

Now, my question is, is this to much for those size decks? I know the tractor can handle it..

I don;t want to go to a zero turn as those cost a lot of money and can only mow. With this tractor, I can mow, till, snowblow, pull trailers, etc.

So, any input would be great!

[SousaKerry 500]

When I was a growing up we mowed over 4 acres with an old Alice Chalmers B110 and about a 42 or so inch deck. This included all around the farm buildings the 3 acre raspberry patch and anything else dad said to mow that was to tight for the 60" field mower behind the Ford 960.

Today dad (err farm hands) mow all this with a pair of Kubota diesels with 48" decks. last year he asked me what he should get to replace the Kubota's cause they were getting too expensive to maintain(ya know them Jap parts are expensive) I told him he should get a 520H but for some reason he didn't want to get one.

Not sure if he didn't like the fact that they haven't made them for a few years, or he was scared of the onan motor problems. I don't know guess I'll have to keep working on him about the brand thing.

[tarcoleo 119]

Bobby-

With two "C" WH tractors with either 11 hp or 13 hp Honda engines, both with 48" decks, I can mow my two acres of grass with either machine in under two hours.

Hope this helps, Tom in RI

[IthacaJeff 151]

Bobby:

I mow the 2 ac "lawn" with a 48" deck in a bit over 2 hours. (We've just planted

a bunch of trees so the next time will take a lot longer!), but I've got other 2 ac

or so of "yard" that gets mowed about 1/3 of the time. I just started mowing the

"lawn" in 3rd gear to go faster, but I'm not sure of the cut yet (the lawn is new

grass). The yard cannot be mowed that fast (too bumpy). I really want a bigger

deck, and if I had the yards you have to mow, I'd get a bigger deck, or a tow

behind (which is one thing I'm looking for).

So, the point is how much time do you want to spend mowing? I don't mind,

but my back hurts afterward, and I've got a large family that I would rather

spend time with (yes, the boys will mow, but only during the summer).

Jeff in Enfield NY

[mr.pipes 4]

I'm no expert on commercial mowers or the lawn care industry. However I am pretty sure there is a good reason most companies use zero-turns riders, stand ons and walk behinds. Your time is worth something right. If this is something you plan on doing as a source of income for a while it might make sense to look into something more productive. I am aware they are not cheap but you could buy used or finance through a local dealer. If you are just doing it for enjoyment and you have plenty of free time, keep using a garden tractor.

[sgtsampay 117]

yeah I jsut do it as a hobby job and for fun. Not a real source of income. I also like using the tractor, as it super fun.

Now i was really wandering if using a 42in RD would be ok for that much grass. Thats really what I was wandering...

[mr.pipes 4]

Is your concern wear and tear?

[sgtsampay 117]

Yeah more or less. Like can it stand up to that much abuse if i of corse take care of it by greasing and cleaning, and keeping the blades sharp.

[tarcoleo 119]

Widen the trailer, use the 48", have fun. I "wander" how noisy the diesel is.

Your stacks look great.

Tom in RI

[puddlejumper 67]

Since you say you are doing it for seat time then drop to a 32 inch deck. But last year a guy that is in the business told me he bids figures everything at 60 dollars a hour. That is the reason for the zero turns and big rideons time is money. However you slice it. Or mow it in this case.

[mr.pipes 4]

Yeah more or less. Like can it stand up to that much abuse if i of corse take care of it by greasing and cleaning, and keeping the blades sharp.

Recently I was looking for parts for my 42" and 48"decks. The info I got on partstree.com shows that they both use the same spindles, bearings ect. The only real difference is the width so they should be able to handle the same amount of duty.

[sgtsampay 117]

Ah, I c. great news to hear that they can handle it. Great.

The diesel IMHO is a little quiter than the old Kohler singles. Its also smother than a Kohler single at high speed. Now this is my observation, as my nieghbor thinks it much louder than his Kohler single. lOL.

I really love how the diesel uses so little fuel and never bogs down. Like, when tilling, I never heard it lower RPM and I even tried to bog it down and nothing. I can't wait to see it in tall grass, in 2nd gear, going up hill. HEHE. That same hill/grass would work my 11HP a lot with a 36inRD. So we will see.

[dcrage 621]

Bob

While I don't have either the 42" or 48", I can't imagine that just mowing is going to 'hurt' that 48" -- I have overloaded by 37" for 20 years now and the only thing I have replaced is the belt and I finally had to replace a pulley on the deck (It split in two after 20 years of use) -- And I was cutting 3-4 ft tall, heavy fescue in my Dad's yard -- And then every fall I chop and bag huge amounts of oak leaves on my yard -- A normal yard just isn't going to tax one of those -- (Now, I am assuming the 48" is the same 'quality' as my 37" and I have never heard anybody say otherwise)

[Duff 206]

I agree with Dave - I use my 37" as a brush hog and it's going strong!

Duff :thumbs:

[gwgdog66 23]

I mow my family's 4+ acres of lawn on the 40 acre Horse ranch with my C-160 with a 42"rear discharge, and use my C-100 with 42" side discharge deck once a week when there is rain, and every other week when there isn't rain.

It takes about 4 hrs (2 hrs on each tractor) to get it done 2nd gear on the flats and 1st gear on the hilly area's.

Both decks hold up very well. I have to sharpen the blades once a season, and average replacing them every third season. Belts and spindles are holding up very good. I'm religious about greasing spindles, cleaning the dead grass off the underside of the decks and chaff off of the belt area. The air hose gets taken to each after every use.

I think your 42" RD will do a very good job for you.

[dpm2000bolt 0]

yeah I jsut do it as a hobby job and for fun. Not a real source of income. I also like using the tractor, as it super fun.

Now i was really wandering if using a 42in RD would be ok for that much grass. Thats really what I was wandering...

you can use it but you are not getting the 6" extra that the 48" will cut so that relates to more time to do the property I have a 36" RD that I only use to cut down very tall grass or when I use the Lawn sweeper I have 1 1/4 acre.

[Forest Road 594]

A friend of mine has been using a 42" RD for 30 years. It has all sorts of holes in it. I sold him a 2001 312-8 last year and found a used 42" RD for him. He prefers the RD because he can get up close to anything. And the RD drops the clippings much more evenly across the back of the machine. As opposed to a what always end up being a pile to the right side.

Also w/ the RD he runs a lawn sweeper from time to time and it easily picks up the majority of the grass.

[sgtsampay 117]

Wow, you guys are alsome. Now i feel like me asking my little 42in rd to mow that much grass isn't isn't asking to much of it. Thanks guys!

Also, the 48in for now will be left at the farm down on the cost that has to mow 3 acres. LOL. So, it will be getting used also. Now once i get a bigger trailer, I will be using he 48in mower. Until then it will have an easy life.

[mavfreak 11]

I just for the first time mowed my yard with a Horse. I have a MTD lawn tractor with a 46" deck and it takes about 2 hours to cut 1.6 acres. Now today I mowed with my C161 with a 40" deck and it took about the same time. One reason is I could go a little faster on the horse but I couldn't get as close to some things witch leaves more push mowing. Also something else is I think it would have been even faster but the turning radius on the horse is no were near what the MTD is. On another note the 40" deck cut so nice compared to the larger deck no scalping!

[sgtsampay 117]

Yeah, I also think my 42in deck cuts nice but I think it may be cutting to low to the ground. I have it all the way up on the back end, but it stills cuts kinda low.

How do I properly adjust it?

[shorts 182]

the 42 rd will give you the best looking cut, the narrow deck follows the lawn better with less scalping, the rear discharge clears the clippings out of the deck better in tall heavy wet grass better allowing for more ground speed to help make up for the narrower cut width, about 15%

keep your spindles greased, the blades sharp and the deck clean top and bottom you will still be cutting grass with that unit until you get old and grey

my 12 hp toro has been swinging a 60"rd deck for the 10 years that I've owned it on 2 sets of belts, 2 flat idler pulleys and a new float in the carb when it doesnt get the fuel system winterized properly, someday that deck is going to be a front mount on a c160

[sgtsampay 117]

Thansk guys for everything. Today was the first day of using the 42er on the tractor. Wow, it really makes a ncie cut once the deck is leveled...

It also never made the diesel bog down at all. It was alsome. On top of that, with about 1 1/2 of mowing time at full trottle, I used about a 3 of a gallon of diesel. Thats my favorite part. This new diesel is so easy on fuel. Its alsome! I think gave the tractor and mower deck a nice bath and then put them to bed till next week. Thansk again all.