Quote:
Originally Posted by ethanre
Budget is between $300 to $1000
the 1650 is no good?
I do have a Poulan now that is 44 which i use to mow the 3 acres (not all in one shot) ..
I am thinking of using the pull behind Swisher that is 44 to help lower the stress of mowing on that or this Cub ...
The cub's main job will not be mowing but going into the field with uneven ground and pull behind the field brush mower.
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Your looking for something to cut 3 acres, and it sounds like you're in the same dilemma I once had. Forgive me if I ramble here... but I have experience in this area.
I have 6 acres, 2 acres of grass and 4 acres of field and some wetlands that I can mow when it's dry weather. I had a troy bilt pony that was gifted to me. It could not handle the 2 acres. I was always working on it. Based on that experience, I would stay away from anything from a big box store. I also had a swisher pull behind 60" to take the load off, I was worried about the transmission in the Troy Bilt. So I got a Jacobsen GT10 to pull that around. Ended up maintaining two engines for one job, not to mention extra space taken up in my garage. I found a 50" deck for my Jacobsen and decided to try mowing with that deck and the swisher on the offset so I could cut about 100" at a time. That worked pretty well but I would have a lot of stuff to go back and do later because when you turn it leaves a big gap of missed grass (or in my case weeds). I also could not go very fast because it pulls hard on the extension bar of the swisher on offset and I ended up bending it. So I sold the swisher and started mowing with just the 50" deck and I can mow the 4 acres in under 2 hours now. I also have an 1864 that I use for the main 2 acres with a 54" deck, and I mowed the field part with it in about the same amount of time.
I gave $250 (I think? or something like that) for the 1864, and it leaked from everywhere. Engine oil, rear end. I replaced all the seals in it and the gaskets in the rear. I probably still don't have $600 into it at this point.
All I'm trying to say is any Cyclops with a bigger deck like a 48" or 54" deck would be good. Or even an 82 series that isn't tired out, doesn't have a Series I engine, would do also. They're nice comfortable tractors for the long ride.