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Gang Batwing Mowers and TC45D Questions

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Windknot
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Posts: 1
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2002-10-06          43462

Howdy all, I just happened in here while looking up informaion on the NH-TC45D's and thought I'd throw out a few questions:

I will be starting to maintain/mow/weed/feed/seed 9 acres of finished grass (Lot size 428'w x 900'l) in the spring of 2003. We are finishing up construction on our new home and I am finalizing plans for purchase of utility tractor and mowing system.

What I am looking at is a TC45D, Front Loader (for the Horse Barn) and then purchasing a LandPride 11' gang/batwing mower to pull behind.

My time is very precious and I have little free to be spending several days each week mowing. The home is built in an area where "looks are VERY important."

My question is this.....the NH dealer assures me that my TC45 will have enough PTO HP to handle the 11' Gang mower (Manufacturers stats say "30 - 50 pto HP)

Is this rig going to make it ok? My end result is to spend no more than one evening/afternoon mowing my 9 acres of grass.

Can I Do it with something smaller, and just go faster?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sean aka Windknot


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Gang Batwing Mowers and TC45D Questions

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ouimguy
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 6 Norman Oklahoma
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2002-10-07          43517

I have a Kubota 4700 and I have had a 15 ft Woods and now a 11 ft Land Pride. I have not been very impressed with the Land Pride. I had had many problems with the wing arm getting bent. I mow 22 acres of football fields, 16 acres of cricket pitch and 12 acres of soccer fields. I have been so unhappy with my Land Pride I bought (2) 72" Toro ZTR's to make the fields more presentable. I discussed the shortcomming of my Land Pride with my dealer and he has recieved other complaints from the other 4 people that he sold these mowers to. I am now looking at a Befco 15 ft and another dealer is trying to direct me to a Frontier with I belive is back to the Woods that I used to have.
Now on to the mowing time. I can my 22 acres of flat football fields in under 4 hours with my 15 ft, a little over 4 hours with my 11 ft. The 11 ft will leave a small area uncut when you turn, the 15 ft would not. In comparison, it takes me 6 hours to mow the 22 acres with my ZTR, but boy it looks good! I also have mowed with the 11ft LP with a Kubota 4200, not as easy to handle the tall grass as the 4700 but it does do the job.

I would be careful with the LP I hope that you like your dealer, you might be seeing him alot. ....

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Gang Batwing Mowers and TC45D Questions

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Blueman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 243 Washington, PA
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2003-06-16          57744

Did you ever buy the Tc45D? I bought one a month ago....so far, so good, except it is a little heavy when mowing soft turf with the R4's ....

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Gang Batwing Mowers and TC45D Questions

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-16          57750

IMHO, I think you're trying to kill flys with a nuclear bomb.

The rule of thumb for cutting grass is simple mathematics if you boil it down to the basics. The cutting capacity, in acres per hour, of a given tool works like this. There is 43,560 sq. ft. in an acre, and 5,280 ft. in a mile. With those two items you work backwards from there. If the average cutting speed is about 5 mph, that is 26,400 linear feet per hour, if the cutter is 5 feet wide, that is 132,000 square feet per hour or 3 acres per hour. If you increase the cutter to only 6 feet in width you achieve a 20% increase in production, 7 feet would be a 40% increase or 4.2 acres per hour. While you would only achieve about 80% efficiency on average, it would still be just over 2.5 hours work, not including trimming to cut 9 acres assuming it is ALL grass, no buildings, driveways, etc. You talk about a horse barn, and so I must assume with the house, barn, driveways, etc., you probably dont have more than about 7 acres to cut maximum.

If speed is that critical in the operation I wouldn't think about a batwing, they are designed for wide open ares with minimal obstructions such as trees, buildings, etc., to manuever around, I think you need either a 72" MMM, if putting the deck on & off is necessary I would suggest a 3pth mower or a dedicated grass machine, such as a Ferris Pro-cut with a 72" deck, it should do the job even faster still.

Based on my experience, somebody with a bit of experience with on the Ferris could cut that place in under 2 hours, for what that's worth.

Best of luck. ....

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