Greetings all,
First post here. Looking forward to learning alot on this forum as I recently bought my first ever tractor, a used BX24. I have already used it to spread a ton of topsoil and mulch and move firewood at my primary home but the main reason I bought it was to mow several acres of field up at another property we have about three hours away. I need to make a purchase soon but have been debating mower types and need suggestions from those who have BTDT.
The terrain is pretty much open field/pasture, ranging from flat to sloped in some areas but not what would call steep. No brush, stumps or rocks. It can be a little damp in certain spots. I was paying to have it brush hogged a couple times a year but it still looked like crap and I figure I might as well start cutting it myself, save money and hopefully improve the property. It will get cut every 3-5 weeks depending on how often I can get up there. At least once a month on average. This is in VT just to give you an idea of the growing season which I guess would not be as long as some areas of the country.
I was going to get a rear finish mower - 5-6ft with a rear discharge. I was considering a new King Cutter from Tractor Supply ($1600 which is about the max I was hoping to spend) or was looking at used mowers in driving distance of me. I see a number of decent condition 48" Landspride mowers near me for under a grand but intially I thought that was too small. Then again, I am not sure what my BX24 can handle, especially given I have some hills and won't be cutting frequently. In addition to the size question, I have also seen some nice used decks that happen to be side discharge. I figured I would go for rear discharge as that would spread the clippings more frequently. Am I right in sticking with that? Finally, am I even right in sticking with a finsh mower versus a rotary cutter (brush hog, bush hog, whatever)? I am not sure my property at this house will ever quite look like a "finished lawn" but like since I am really only mowing grass (and weeds) I thought the bush hog was unnecessary, even though it is cheaper. But I could be cutting grass 8-10 inches high sometimes so maybe that is too much for a finish mower.
Sorry for the long post but I figured I would lay out all the facts to get some good advice.
Thanks,
Jay
First post here. Looking forward to learning alot on this forum as I recently bought my first ever tractor, a used BX24. I have already used it to spread a ton of topsoil and mulch and move firewood at my primary home but the main reason I bought it was to mow several acres of field up at another property we have about three hours away. I need to make a purchase soon but have been debating mower types and need suggestions from those who have BTDT.
The terrain is pretty much open field/pasture, ranging from flat to sloped in some areas but not what would call steep. No brush, stumps or rocks. It can be a little damp in certain spots. I was paying to have it brush hogged a couple times a year but it still looked like crap and I figure I might as well start cutting it myself, save money and hopefully improve the property. It will get cut every 3-5 weeks depending on how often I can get up there. At least once a month on average. This is in VT just to give you an idea of the growing season which I guess would not be as long as some areas of the country.
I was going to get a rear finish mower - 5-6ft with a rear discharge. I was considering a new King Cutter from Tractor Supply ($1600 which is about the max I was hoping to spend) or was looking at used mowers in driving distance of me. I see a number of decent condition 48" Landspride mowers near me for under a grand but intially I thought that was too small. Then again, I am not sure what my BX24 can handle, especially given I have some hills and won't be cutting frequently. In addition to the size question, I have also seen some nice used decks that happen to be side discharge. I figured I would go for rear discharge as that would spread the clippings more frequently. Am I right in sticking with that? Finally, am I even right in sticking with a finsh mower versus a rotary cutter (brush hog, bush hog, whatever)? I am not sure my property at this house will ever quite look like a "finished lawn" but like since I am really only mowing grass (and weeds) I thought the bush hog was unnecessary, even though it is cheaper. But I could be cutting grass 8-10 inches high sometimes so maybe that is too much for a finish mower.
Sorry for the long post but I figured I would lay out all the facts to get some good advice.
Thanks,
Jay
