Lawn Mowing

So I just bought a house (yay, no more apartment living! wait until you see the garage I'm building off the driveway) and I have about an acre that I will now need to mow and maintain. I've never had a yard before so I now have a few specific questions:

How fast can I mow the lawn with a "warmed over" riding mower and still effectively cut the grass?

I know, I know, as awesome as it sounds it is a legitimate question.

This isn't mine but it'll get you in the right mind set. (I know the racing ones don't have blades, mine will though)

Also, what are, in this order, the Miata, E30, and P71 of the lawn tractor world?

I remember mowing my grandparents lawn with their old John Deere rider and it would go fast enough stock that it was not very effective....and it could get sideways in the right conditions.

Dixie Chopper. Hands down the best mower outthere. In fact, we're selling our lightly used Craftsman 42" rider because of that. Went from 3 hours of mowing time to 75-90 minutes with the Dixie.

I love this forum. Where else do you get questions about hopping-up a lawnmower to mow the lawn faster and get answers?

mowing fast is dependant on deck design, blade speeds and power. You really can't make a typical garden variety mower work faster because the deck design flat sucks. 1-1.5mph mowing speeds on anything more than normal grass height is tough. It can't cut the grass, and shove it out fast enough so it clogs up under the deck, making the blades cut the same grass over and over.

The big thing with the Dixie (and grasshopper) is the emphasis they put into the deck. They designed their mowers to mow at top speed, in the rain and still make it look like a golf course.

Keep the blades SHARP. Dull blades don't do well no matter how fast you go.

I can't get a good idea of how thick and stout the grass actually is or the type since it's still kind of in winter mode. I can say it's a much finer textured grass than say a bluegrass or buffaloegrass.

If the tractor is fast enough, I may not mind cutting the grass twice, haha.

get the yard rolled out too..... nothing worse than mowing at 5mph and bouncing around hanging on for deer life.

Anyone want a well kept Craftsman 42"?

ZERO TURN!!

I have both types and zero turn is by far the fastest and cleanest cutting. And besides it's just too much fun.

Mine is so much fun my wife won't let me mow. I only get to mow on the ditch at the front of the property and if she gets and phone call and has to go into the house for a minute.

It doesn't get much better than that!

I 2nd the Dixie Chopper reccomendation. I doubt you'll ever need another mower.

carguy123 wrote: Mine is so much fun my wife won't let me mow. I only get to mow on the ditch at the front of the property and if she gets and phone call and has to go into the house for a minute.

Forrest Gump, "And cause I was a gazillionaire, and I liked doin it so much, I cut that grass for free."

berkeley, a new Dixie Chopper is the same price as my house!

Searching craigslist now...

Ahh this is going to catapult me into an entirely new hobby

I don't care if this one is slow or way overkill for my new yard, look at it. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/grd/1060771799.html

John Deere is very fast and smooth, almost sports car like. Cub Cadet is cheaper and more pick up truck like, but both get the job done well.

I've got a 42", 48" and a 60" for 3 acres. Selling the 60" cause it's overkill.

Oh, the 42" goes thru a fence gate, none of the others will. Just food for thought

IIRC...there was something about a Dixie Chopper being able to mow a football field in 10 minutes...

Diesel kubota or Yanmar with front end loader(fork attachments) would be the best.

It'll help you build the garage.

Diesel man.. Diesel..

http://www.tractorbynet.com/classifieds/ViewItem.php?ItemNum=495498803 <-- maybe like that..

1 ACRE, anything over a 50" is waaaaaayyyy overkill. Hell, I have 2 acres and it's almost overkill.

Dixie runs spring time 0% APR for 36 month specials. That's how we bought ours last year. WE also didn't buy the $7k commercial version, but the $5k Home version. It has all the benefits of the commercial deck, but a lighter chassis and shorter.

Friend of mine is known to put cones out on his lawn and autocross it with the riding mower.

Another factor for speed is how tall you've let the grass get since you last cut it. The less height, the less mass, and the faster you can go.

^ true, to a degree. on the craftsman, yes. On the Dixie? No. Ican still cut at full speed even with it touching my shins.... don't ask how I know that! lol

OH hai!

I always wanted to hook up a GM A.I.R. Pump to a 18hp twin cylinder Briggs.... homemade supercharger.

Bobzilla wrote: I always wanted to hook up a GM A.I.R. Pump to a 18hp twin cylinder Briggs.... homemade supercharger.

guy I used to know at work had an HX25 working on an old cub cadet.. He said it would go through alfalfa 3 feet high.

Damn you elitists and your riding lawnmowers.

If it's only an acre and you'll ONLY be using the equipment to cut grass (not tow a trailer, drive a mulcher, etc.) I strongly recommend getting a front-deck zero-radius (or close) design. Cuts grass better and faster. Get a big walk-behind and get some excercise, too, if you're the type that could use it.

When I had a serious lawn I bought a used Yazoo from a landscaper and it was great. No need to edge or weedwhack except occasionally.

I still have to trim (we have over 30 trees and other objects to go around) butit went from 2 hours of trimming to about 30 minutes every other mowing.