acres/Hr.

[1grnlwn]

Does anyone else get irritated when a manufacturer says a mower will mow 5 acres/Hr. or even 7? I realize that they are just taking top speed and multiplying it by deck width. Has anyone tried to mow this fast? I mowed 3 acres/Hr once and cut a baseball in half. Never saw it. Imagine the skidmarks there would be at the end of each row. I wonder sometimes if people are mowing the grass or just laying it down. God forbid somebody would quote a job at these rates. What your fastest? What is your norm?:cool:

[Lawn-Scapes]

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19754&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

[mowingmachine]

I know of a guy who claimed to be able to cut 10 acres/hour on one of his properties. It was a wide open property with nothing to mow around. He was using a Great Dane Surfer and a 60" tow behind off to the side. He said he was running 10 miles/hour most of the time. I would have liked to have seen it.

mowingmachine

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Exmark rates theirs at 100% and 80%. I get close to their 80% on a 60" deck. Bout 6 acres an hr.

LGF:blob1:

[Scag48]

On a good day, when conditions are good and I'm feeling like I'm not spacin' out, I can mow about an 1 acre an hour with a 44" deck with trees and hills to go around.

[lee b]

I have one commercial property that has a nice open flat 7.5 acres. Usually takes 1.5 hours, can't run wide open because the bahia grass is tough. That's about the best I can do all my other properties are too rough or have too many obstacles to run wide open. I run a M665, the brochure says it'll cut 5.5 acres per hour, under perfect conditions that would be easy.

[1grnlwn]

sorry Lee,

What is a M655? How wide. HP?

[Eric ELM]

Since Lee isn't on the boards right now, it is a John Deere ZTR and I think it is a 60" cut with a 25 HP engine.

Kees did make the ZTR, JD made the deck, but now I think it will be Great Dane making the ZTR for them since they bought Great Dane.

This might not be exact, but close. :)

[lee b]

Eric, you're exactly right.

[Flex-Deck]

to LAWNGODFATHER - Do you realize that to mow 6 acres per hour with a 60" deck requires a speed of 9.9 mph, and it would require absolutely no overlap (full 60" swath must be taken at all times, and there can be absolutely no allowance for any reorienting your mower, turning around or anything. It must be mowing new grass every second for the entire hour.

[lawrence stone]

Stone's point of view of acreage per hour:

Since my 6 year old 62" and 10 year 52" Toro with stand sulkies (true zero turn mowers) have been long since deprecated my costs are only fuel, oil, tires, and parts.

If I were to go out and buy a new ZTR with tax and financing I would be looking at $10k. Which means the new ztr would cost about $12 per hour to own and operate.

So if I buy a laborer at $12 gross to operate one of the walk behinds and I operate the other I have at least the same amount of production as one man on a 60-62" ztr.

So don't laugh when you see me pulling my antiques around.
My production is better at the same cost with much better trimming capabilities.

[Evan528]

Why do you feel that a 62inch walk behind has any better trimming capability as my 62inch ztr? Besides the fact that the walkbehind can cut hills my ztr cant.... My z can trim just as close to a mulched bed or house as any mow out there!

[lawrence stone]

Originally posted by Evan528
Why do you feel that a 62inch walk behind has any better trimming capability as my 62inch ztr? Besides the fact that the walkbehind can cut hills my ztr cant.... My z can trim just as close to a mulched bed or house as any mow out there!

Because the 62" WB has a 20" deck offset.

But actually I would be using a 52" WB with a 14" deck offset as the "trimming" mower.

The 62" deck is a full 115 lbs. more in weight than the 52" therefore the 52" has much better steering response.

The 62" in best used in just wide open fairly level areas.

[lee b]

Lawrence, won't you continually have to pay your helper, where as the ztr, when paid for, will no longer have the same cost per hour? Also, the ztr will allow you, by yourself, to handle twice as much work or get done twice as fast. Financially, based on your own statement , it only makes good sense to buy a ztr.

[lawrence stone]

Originally posted by lee blount
Lawrence, won't you continually have to pay your helper, where as the ztr, when paid for, will no longer have the same cost per hour?

Your logic is flawed for after 3000 hours you will have to buy a new ztr or deal with the breakdowns.

My gear drives just need some minmual driveline maintenance in the spring. Each machine will on average use about $100 of new belts, bearings, shafts, and couplers per season. It costs in parts about $135 to completely refurbish the driveline. That is new wheel belts, eng to trans belt, and new bearings, shafts and couplers. If you replace everything in the spring on the front line machines gear drives can be reliable all season.

Plus I have two other spare machines another 52" Kohler twin ($900) and a 44" one lunger ($600).

Because of the complexity of the hydro ztr you will have to replace them every so often. My gear drives will last another
20 years. A new 16Hp engine is only $530.

Plus gear drive Toro’s have great drive control and feel and will not rip up the turf when turning.

[mrgreenjeans]

:alien: My philosophy on this subject has changed over the last couple years. Now, I would much rather spend the money on the machines than to hire more help. At least I know that when I go to the garage in the morning, my mower will be there. I cannot say the same for hired help. I also know that if I am the one operating the machine and something breaks there is only one person to blame and I don't have to wonder if abuse was a factor. I would much rather take my chances with equipment than with people. It seems my mowers give me fewer headaches.

[paul]

Stone they got you on this one,
payroll and equipment costs
$320 pay per 40Hrs@8 per hr
$ 19.84 SS wages
$ 4.64 Medicare
$ 18.40 work comp
$ 33.00 fuel
$ 0.10 rebuild cost
395.98 weeky costs
X 32=$12,671.36


ZTR costs
$114.29 replacement cost
$ 99.00 fuel
$121.88 payments per weekly cuts
$335.17 total
X 32 weeks cutting
10725.44

Money a head with a ztr
and that not counting load up time or travel time with smaller machines that 100% cutting time worked out.

[Mark]

It all depends on the smoothness of the acer. I have a open acer i do that takes me 1hr to cut on a 62" Z-Master you have to cut at a speed of around 3mph it is full of tire ruts, then ive got the real smooth ones that you can cut at full speed,so you have to evaluate the property before you can ever know how much you can cut in a hour. Marks Mowing Service

[plow kid]

on average around 2 acres a hour with a helper trimming & edging & blowing 1 acre a hour solo, just wide open mowing in a field I could probably do 3-4/hour
You guys that can do 6-7 acres a hour good for you!
http://members.aol.com/ncls484/smilies/disgust.gif

[David Gretzmier]

The Cost of a mower is one side , the revenue it produces is another. If you have the right yards, a 60" ztr or bigger mower generates much more than the $25 difference. a 44"-52" walk will do about an acre an hour. I can do 2 acres per hour in my sleep, 4 is very doable on flats and smooth on a 60"ztr. on a 2 acre yard you are looking at 40 bucks an acre. 40 per hour is good on a walk, but I'll take the 80+ revenue on a ztr on the biggies anyday. DAveg

[Flex-Deck]

Acres per Hour? I mow a grass airport - 3200 ft long x 100 ft wide with 12 landing lites on each side (Approx. 7.5 acres). Neat because you put the pedal to the metal for 3200 feet turn once at each end. Also mow a 1 acre cemetary with 258 stones. Guess which one takes the longest.

[Flex-Deck]

Right - I mow an airstrip - grass - 3200 ft long by 100 ft. wide with only 12 lights on each side to go around, and can average 5 acres/hr. I also do a cemetary with 258 stones (1 acre) that takes over an hour.

[brentsawyer]

I just bought a 52" Turf Tiger and set logs in the street and timed going around them at 100' and 50'. At 100' I figured 2.1 acres/hr with 48" cutting at my normal spring/summer mowing speed. At 50' with 48" cutting I measured 1.75 acres/hr at my normal speed. These are times that I will apply to all my mowing. There will also be an adjustment for difficulty. These are a bit off of what I have heard of 2.3 acres/hour but I will go with them and feel much safer .

[Randy Scott]

brent, have you seen this chart yet on the eXmark website. It should give you somewhat of an idea on what machines should be able to produce, obviously depending on conditions.


http://www.exmark.com/productivity.htm