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Mower that can handle long wet grass, on a budget :)

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Gater123456

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I mow my paddocks every 2 weeks, on a Husky Z246. Looking for a semi-budget minded ride on (pref zero turn) that can handle a neglected lawn.
Wet ground, grows fast, really should be cut very 5-6 days. It’s a foot tall in 2 weeks when I can manage to get to it. Been super wet here lately and it’s now up to 18”, almost not possible but doing it painfully slow, bogging down, I need something stronger.
A 50hp tractor with brush mower was used for years but the ground is a bit soft so causes ruts.
Also not impressed with the side discharge on this unit- it leaves thick strips of clippings. I am aware I’m asking too much of this husky!
Any ideas on a tough little zero turn? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
My recommendation:
Sharpen the blades, then set the cut height to the highest setting.
You might remove that black plastic chute covering your discharge as well, open up the path.

At the same rate if you're too busy to cut it maybe hire someone, there's nothing that can be done once it gets past a certain stage, if you can't get to it before that your mower will struggle.
 
#4 ·
if your dead set on getting a new zero turn i reccomend checking out toros titan max. if you find the dirt monkey on youube you will see hil test the machine in extreme conditions only a brush mower could take. it did very well.

whatever mower you choose i highly reccomend getting oregon gator blades for the mower, as they are meant to grind up and shred everything. they will chew up that grass into fine pieces easily. for 18" grass get the g5s, or the g6s if your mower can handle them.
also make sure you cut the grass maybe at 4-5 inches if your cutting off a foot of grass so its eaiser on the machine and the grass
 
#6 ·
Agree that you're hopes are a bit unrealistic, zero turns are made to cut grass 5" or less. Yes, we've all done more with them on occassion but IMO, no mower will adequately do what you want. I agree that you'd be better off saving your money and hiring out someone weekly. Our Deere mowers cut wet grass better than anyone's IMO but even cutting 6" wet grass they clump and clog...ZTs are just not made to do what you want them to. Also, what is your idea of "semi-budget"?
 
#8 ·
Just so we all understand

you can go on you tube and find people that will shoot guns submerged in mud, water and even frozen in a block of ice
They’ll do other extreme things with cars as well

it doesn’t mean these things are SUPPOSED to be operated like that
They’re called torture tests for a reason
Trying to operate ANY finish mower under regular circumstances like that will lead to disappointment

seriously a ztr will mow 6-9 inches of grass easily , especially if you’re only purposefully cutting it at a 3-4” height
The time it takes to do it twice a month is FAR longer than it takes to do it weekly.

buy a used commercial mower like a grasshopper or scag
Do it weekly
Stop making up excuses

OR invest in a brush hog
 
#9 ·
Something smaller, but big enough to run a PTO mounted brush mower. A used Kubota BX23, lighter and most likely won't rut like a big 50hp tractor will. 4WD (Just in case) and many accessories available for it, not to mention diesel powered and absolutely sips fuel. You can find these used, (at least in the midwest) with low hours as many homeowners bought these with a loader and backhoe and only ended up using it to grade a drive a few times and dig some holes for their tomato plants. I've seen these for around 10 to 12K, though you'd still likely need to get the brush mower...although, you didn't say how big the brush mower is you currently have...if not too big you might be able to use that with the BX23.
 
#12 ·
I do rural mowing on the wet side of Hawaii Island, primarily using a Turf Tiger 2. Normally I try to mow every 2 weeks, a little more frequently during summer when everything grows more quickly. What I mow can hardly be called grass. A few days ago I got to an area that had not been mowed for maybe 3 weeks due to daily rain that had made the surface too slippery to mow without sliding into things causing damage. There were patches that had growth 24" tall, average was probably a little over 12". I raised the deck a bit -- to the 4-1/4 hole -- and had no trouble getting through it. A Turf Tiger could do what you ask, but whether it would be a "budget" solution only you can decide.

I can see where a 50 hp tractor could be too heavy for your soft ground. I have a Kubota B7800 on which I recently replaced my brush hog with a flail mower.. It has the advantage of being relatively light weight (an advantage until one needs the traction that comes with the weight of an ag tractor), and with 29 hp it has enough power. I run R4 tires to handle soft soil better while having reasonable traction. Unfortunately Kubota has generally downgraded its B series since I bought mine, but if you can find an older B7800 or B2910 you might find it is a solution, although much slower than the Turf Tiger.

Since these are paddocks you are mowing, maybe your solution is more livestock to eat the vegetation so you don't need to mow it at all.
 
#14 ·
AlohaMowing said:
I do rural mowing on the wet side of Hawaii Island, primarily using a Turf Tiger 2. Normally I try to mow every 2 weeks, a little more frequently during summer when everything grows more quickly. What I mow can hardly be called grass. A few days ago I got to an area that had not been mowed for maybe 3 weeks due to daily rain that had made the surface too slippery to mow without sliding into things causing damage. There were patches that had growth 24" tall, average was probably a little over 12". I raised the deck a bit -- to the 4-1/4 hole -- and had no trouble getting through it. A Turf Tiger could do what you ask, but whether it would be a "budget" solution only you can decide.

I can see where a 50 hp tractor could be too heavy for your soft ground. I have a Kubota B7800 on which I recently replaced my brush hog with a flail mower.. It has the advantage of being relatively light weight (an advantage until one needs the traction that comes with the weight of an ag tractor), and with 29 hp it has enough power. I run R4 tires to handle soft soil better while having reasonable traction. Unfortunately Kubota has generally downgraded its B series since I bought mine, but if you can find an older B7800 or B2910 you might find it is a solution, although much slower than the Turf Tiger.

Since these are paddocks you are mowing, maybe your solution is more livestock to eat the vegetation so you don't need to mow it at all.
Click to expand...
Turf tiger is both heavy and expensive
Can’t even recall last time I heard of someone selling a used one
Seems like people just keep them permanently
 
#18 ·
TPendagast said:
It’s a paddock
It’s going to be ridiculously too big for something that size
Might as well cut it weekly like I said
Click to expand...
What about adding some PGR’s to it after he gets it down, that should lengthen the time in between cuts, not sure how big of a field we’re talking here…
 
#20 ·
TPendagast said:
Like I said
The paddock is too big to waste time with some silly thing like that
Click to expand...
How do you know? I didn't see where he said how large the paddocks are and those walk behind sickle mower can move at a good clip and cut fast. Seems like a good, low cost idea to me if I didn't have the CUT I have now and I had that type of cutting to do on a budget.
 
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Gater123456
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