dixie chopper speed

[David Gretzmier]

ERIC and all you dixie chopper freaks- We are looking at buying a new city slicker chopper ( our first chopper) in a week or so, and the literature says this thing will mow at 8mph and transport at 10. what has slowed down these machines? I remember looking at chopper literature 2 years ago and they used to advertise 15mph as the top end on some and 13 on others. What gives? are they slower, different pumps? the only one listed as faster than 10 is the turbo diesel, and it is rated at 13. I know you can only mow as fast as the terrain and thickness of turf will allow, but have they slowed these things, or do they publish a slower speed for government regulation reasons?
I also heard they have the maximum legal blade tip speed when leaving the factory is 19000 ft. per second. I assume that is at 3400-3600 rpm. what are you guys running as far as rpm on your machines, and does it mean your tip speed and graound speed are breaking some kind of safety law? what kind of ground speed will these things actuallly run/mow at, given a faster rpm? will it damage the engine to go over 3600, given all the stuff dixie puts on these things? will it damage the pumps or wheel motors? We are mowing close to 20 acres in this one subdivision that is pretty open, so maximum performance is what I'm going for.
Also Eric and others- will the 25 horse 72" handle your double blade theory, and can you mow faster/better with it, or do you need more horsepower? in thick tall grass, do you have to take off one blade to not burn the belts? finally - tell me about the quality of cut compared to a grasshopper midmount . I've heard the dixie cut is a bit rougher. what do you guys do about bagging leaves? thanks in advance for the replies. Dave g :confused:

[AndrewLawn]

As far as I knew Dixie Choppers would cut at 14 mph...might be wrong though.

[HOMER]

I own a City Slicker. It will run and cut at 10mph when conditions are right. No it won't cut 24" tall overgrown grass at 10mph, maybe at 8 though. If all you intend to mow is overgrown then you would be better off going with the 2 20 hp model that will mow at 13-14 and never bog down. I use mine on a daily basis, it hasn't been put through anything yet it couldn't mow. I have my rpm's set at 3560 on this one with blades engaged, my 50" Flatlander mows at over 3800 rpms and hasn't hurt it a bit. As for a clean cut..........I haven't seen one do a better job yet either. If this property is going to be maintained regularly it will do the job without any problems. I raced a 60" Lazer and beat it from the start and pulled away from it. I mowed over 65,000 sq ft in 30 minutes last year and it was pretty rough terrain.

There might be better out there so I'm not gonna toot my horn too loud, I have been very pleased with mine and will buy another one when the need arises. It is most definately the ticket for hillsides too, I don't think it will turn over.

[TLS]

There are better machines out there for your needs, but you are asking about Dixies so here goes. Dont know about current models, but my 97 Flatlander was clocked by my Moms digital speedo at 14-15 mph at 3790 rpm and 8 psi in the rear tires. On a select few lawns, I could cut full on. People used to stand and watch me! The flatlanders used smaller displacement wheel motors to get this speed. Bad for hills! The newer ones went with the larger displacement (slower) motors but upped the tire diameter and came out with 10 mph. Dont know much about the 13 figure, maybe ERIC knows the details. The diesels use different pumps.

As for the 25 powering the 72", you are, like Homer said, not going to go very fast in long grass. My 25 sometimes had trouble with 60"s. If you really want 72" go with the diesel or turbin' twin. There are other manufacturers that offer 72" gas powered and diesel machines, so make sure you persue all avenues.

[John DiMartino]

Dave,I habe a 2000 60" Dixie with a 25hp kohler,it does 10 mph.The 25 city slicker should be ok with 25,but like homer said,don expect to cut overgrown grass wide open.The slicker is probably your best bang for the buck,all things considered.As for cut,my 60 does good,but cant handle wet grass for long,and will plug up,and need to be cleaned if you mow in the wet.My RPM's are set to 3810-20 peak,but I only run it that high about 1/2 the time,I leave it at 3600 most of the time,where it burns less fuel,and seems happier/quieter.

[Eric ELM]

As far as I know, the fastest Chopper out there is the 72" with the 50hp diesel and the 72" with the twin engine at 15 mph. They slow down the City Slicker since it has a smaller motor and also the 26 hp Yanmar on the 72" is slower. Normal Choppers go 10 mph, but my diesel 60" has the 3" taller tires, so it goes 12 mph. The Flatlander goes 13 mph, but I'm not sure what the diesel Flatlander runs at. I can't keep up with all this.

I set my rpms at 3850 and I have for many years on the old Chopper. I only run them at full speed if I am in tall thick grass and need the extra rpm's. I run the rpm's at around 3600 to 3700 while mowing.

I think Homer answered your question on the 25 hp on a 72".

[JLC]

How did you get your literature. I filled out the information request on the DC web page months ago...no response. I figure they must not want to sell their machines that bad.

[oneEXMARKfan]

Hmmmm...........Don't know JLC....... Dixie sent my literature a few weeks after I requested it on thier web site.

[Eric ELM]

I got my brochures at my dealer. They should have plenty of it there.

[weve]

The original Dixie Flatlanders went 15 MPH when they used the straight dump valves in the hydro pumps. When they went to the by-pass dump valves they lost a little speed but the steering was smoother. I'm not sure how fast my Flatlander diesel goes. It's quite a bit faster than the City Slicker diesel that I drove yesterday. I can get most any where in this small town in less than four minutes. I also didn't know how smooth the ride on a Dixie was until I demoed another brand zero turn yesterday. It was the roughest ride I ever had on a mower. I don't know how one could mow all day on a mower with a ride that rough.

[David Gretzmier]

I got the literature from the mechanic that sells choppers here. Ok- it seems I can go close to 3800rpm with blades engaged, and do no pump or engine damage. It looks like these things go 10mph. That seems to be the top speed of most mid-mounts out there. I'd of course love the big diesel, but our price on the slicker is 8500, and were looking at close to 13500 for the diesel. what blades are you guys running on these- gators, high lift, what? do any of you use an aftermarket bagger for leaves?
have any of you done any repairs? since I come from a grasshopper background, I find it difficult to believe NOTHING breaks on these things. what have you guys repaired/replaced, and was it difficult to get parts and or do the repair?
Also- could I put the 25" tires on the slicker like you use eric- or is that what comes on it? would that give me more travel/mowing speed? we maintain most of our properties weekly, with a few open lots in the above 20 acre complex ev. 2 weeks. This thing will cut 2 weeks of turf in one pass with sharp blades at 8-10 mph? Dave g

[Eric ELM]

I don't pick up leaves, I just put on double gators and Magic Mulchers and mulch the heck out of them.

Dixie Choppers can and will break, but not as often as other mowers I've had. In the past 3,355 hours on my oldest Chopper, I've replaced the bearings in one spindle, replaced the intake manifold gasket and modules, muffler, belts, tires and other normal wear things. It has never failed to finish a days mowing though.

I think all the 72" models have the 25" tires on them, but I'm not possitive on this.

RPM's should not affect the hydro system. They run the 150 HP Jet engine on 2 Choppers that has to turn tripple the rpm's that the Kohlers will run. From what I could see on them, everything else is stock except the jet engine.

As far as parts go, I can always get parts. My dealer also has a lawn biz, so he stocks them for his Choppers. ;)

[David Gretzmier]

Eric- I appreciate the info. Magic mulchers- is that the chain thing dixe sells? have you had any problems mulching oak leaves with all the acid in them? Also- it sounds like you really want one of those 150hp jet choppers. wonder what the blade tip speed on that baby is? Dave g

[Richard Martin]

Originally posted by David Gretzmier
what blades are you guys running on these- gators, high lift, what? do any of you use an aftermarket bagger for leaves?
have any of you done any repairs? since I come from a grasshopper background, I find it difficult to believe NOTHING breaks on these things. what have you guys repaired/replaced, and was it difficult to get parts and or do the repair?
This thing will cut 2 weeks of turf in one pass with sharp blades at 8-10 mph? Dave g

I am using double blades, the factory blade on the bottom and Gator Magnums on the top. Before I bought my DC my local Gravely dealer made it a point to point out that the Gravely was a finish cut mower and the DC was not. A friend of mine has the 260Z Gravely w/25 Koh and my DC cuts circles around the 260Z and leaves a better finish cut. We ran the two mowers side-by-side on the same peice of property to see which one cut better.

I've had my DC since the beginning of the season and nothing has broken down. I did replace the 2 plastic fittings that come out of the top of the T-Gearbox with brass fittings just as a precautionary measure with the approval of Dixie Chopper.

Mine will cut 2 weeks worth of grass in one pass.

[HOMER]

2 weeks of growth should be no problem for the 72. Yes it has the tall tires, yes it is smoother than my 50 and triple smooth compared to my Scag.

Not bashing anything but when I go to my dealer I see red in the shop, not stainless steel. I have had real good luck with mine and don't mind saying so.:p

[MOW ED]

Eric,
Isn't there someone form Dixie Chopper that monitors this site?

With all the specific questions it sure would be nice if an engineer or designer from the company was listening with his/her eyes:eek:

I'm still gathering info aboout different mowers. Sorry to go sideways of your topic Dave, just tryin to help.

[Ricky]

I have a 60" diesel. I have 3 properties that I cut once a month totaling about 7.5 ac. I use single high lift blades on these and can mow almost wide open, cutting at 4.5"-5". What slows me down mostly is the rough terrain. The mower can handle the tall grass but I bounce around too much. If it wasn't for the large atv type tires it would be very rough. These people have opted to use me instead of a bush hog and a heavy tractor. It doesn't rut and also looks better, although the cut isn't as nice as one that is cut every week or two. You can cut every two weeks or more with doubles with no problem at all. The doubles will not leave the grass piled up. :)