Discover Versatile Compact Tractors
(Page 4 of 9)
April/May 2006
By Bryan Welch
MOWING
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For many rural homeowners, lawn mower maintenance is a persistent and aggravating responsibility. If you mow more than a half-acre, conventional lawn mowers and even many lawn tractors will deteriorate rapidly under the workload — especially if your lawn, like most rural lawns, contains mole tunnels, submerged tree stumps or granite outcrops. I’ve discovered that baling twine and woven wire fencing also are formidable threats to the lawn tractor. You’d be impressed to see how quickly my lawn tractor can unwrap the twine from a 6-foot-diameter hay bale and install it around the hub of my mower deck.
Tractors can run two main categories of mowers: brush mowers and finish mowers. Brush mowers are almost always attached behind the tractor; they’re powered by the rear PTO and are designed to knock down thick grass and small trees. This process will improve the accessibility of your property, but not necessarily its appearance. The brush mower leaves the foliage with a very bad haircut.
Rotary brush mowers are one of the most ubiquitous attachments on small farms, because they are extremely useful to control weeds and manage pasture. The rotating blade is enclosed in a rectangular or round metal box about 6 feet wide and 6 inches high and is usually pulled behind the tractor, held up by a little wheel in back.
The less common form of brush mower is a flail mower, which has small blades with flexible arms that are attached to a horizontal shaft inside a cylindrical housing. When the shaft rotates, the blades extend. The blades are not fixed, so it’s less likely that hard objects will be thrown from this type of mower. Flail mowers generally are used for roadsides and areas where hidden objects can damage a conventional mower.
Finish mowers are similar to rotary brush mowers, but they are designed to leave an attractively manicured lawn. Finish mowers can be mounted either behind the tractor like a brush mower, or under the “belly” of the tractor if your machine has a centrally located PTO.
Do you need both a brush mower and a finish mower? If you mow both lawn and pasture, then you’ll eventually want to own both types of mower. If you already own a lawn tractor, you may want to buy a brush mower for your pasture first, then add a finish mower when the lawn tractor wears out. But don’t even consider mowing brush with a finish mower unless you just love repairing the mower deck.
For a lawn-mowing landowner, the first ride on a compact tractor with a belly-mounted finish mower can precipitate a form of ecstasy. The tractor, with its big, turf-friendly tires and extra power, is smoother and faster than a lawn tractor. Some models, such as the New Holland we tried out for this article (see photo), are equipped with state-of-the-art steering that allows even a 30-horsepower four-wheel-drive tractor to turn on a dime. New Holland calls the feature “SuperSteer.” Several other major manufacturers have their own versions.
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