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I have a 1/2 acre on a hill, 15 degrees. It is a 12" high grass at times. Trying to mow it can be hard, especially with dew or after rain.

In the past I have used a Gravely LI, had it rebuilt, but it is very heavy and needs more HP. I tried a small Husqvarna 22" but it broke after 4 uses (side discharge chute x 3, paint came off after 4, starter cord frayed after 4 uses - and I dont' abuse mowers). It it was returned.

I am looking at Dr. Power but read such mixed reviews and don't have experience - this would be optimal for a large one.

Or can I find a smaller one to do the job like a JD or Snapper or Toro or Billy Goat?

thank you!!

I usually recommend a Honda HRX mower (see first picture), but for your circumstances I don't know if that would be good. I am worried about the foot-tall grass. It DOES have a Honda GCV190 engine (190cc's), which is higher than a lot of mowers, and it also has a NeXite deck which will repel a lot of grass, but foot tall grass is very high. You might want to look into a Billy Goat. Not necessarily the HomePro 34 (see second picture), because I did not like it, but maybe the High Weed Mower (see third picture).
.........Honda Lawn Mowers: HRX217HYA, HRX217K4HYA
.........HOMEPRO
.........High Weed Mower Residential / Commercial | Billy Goat Industries, Inc.

Nothing is going to do a good job cutting grass that gets to be 12" high. You are abusing any hand mower when trying to cut that. The only thing I could recommend would be a walk behind string trimmer, but I am not a fan of them.

Rivets said:

Nothing is going to do a good job cutting grass that gets to be 12" high. You are abusing any hand mower when trying to cut that. The only thing I could recommend would be a walk behind string trimmer, but I am not a fan of them.

Click to expand...

Walk Behind String Trimmer Buyer's Guide - How To Pick The Perfect Walk Behind String Trimmer

Rivets said:

Nothing is going to do a good job cutting grass that gets to be 12" high. You are abusing any hand mower when trying to cut that. The only thing I could recommend would be a walk behind string trimmer, but I am not a fan of them.

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Thanks. When I was cutting it the grass was about 4-6" high, my goal was to be able to do it when 12" high. Having been doing this now since '84, the Husq was the worst purchase ever. I also own Stihl chainsaw since '84, Echo brush cutter since 2004, Lawnboy mower lasted 20 years. So it was no abuse, just bad equipment. Even Lowes confessed to having issues with Husq.

My only points are:
* 1 - this was a bad model it seems
* 2 - buying something for this job is tricky - you are correct, you get caught between huge walk behinds or a heavy duty self-propelled. I just can't imagine I am alone with this one so trying to figure it out.

I also agree I am wary of string cut mowers.

Do you have any insight into DR Power?

thanks.

From the looks of things in the town I live in the goal of many folks and banks is to mow when 12 inches high. The end result is it always looks hogged over and turns brown for about a month. I would go rent a brushcutter, try it out and buy one if I liked it.

possum said:

From the looks of things in the town I live in the goal of many folks and banks is to mow when 12 inches high. The end result is it always looks hogged over and turns brown for about a month. I would go rent a brushcutter, try it out and buy one if I liked it.

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Thank you, good advice.

If you have 12" high grass you have a couple of different ways to go. You can either cut more often with a conventional self propelled mower or a good Walk Behind like the ones below

either of these will will take down your 12" grass and even with these you should mow more often

Ric said:

If you have 12" high grass you have a couple of different ways to go. You can either cut more often with a conventional self propelled mower or a good Walk Behind like the one below

either of these will take your 12" grass down but even with these mowers you need too cut more often.

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Sadly, due to location, I can't cut more often.

The images didn't resolve, look forward to seeing them.
thanks.

arwatson2000 said:

Sadly, due to location, I can't cut more often.

The images didn't resolve, look forward to seeing them.
thanks.

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What do you mean the images didn't resolve.

arwatson2000 said:

Sadly, due to location, I can't cut more often.

The images didn't resolve, look forward to seeing them.
thanks.

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these mowers

lawn mower fanatic said:

Were you able to see the pictures I posted in post #2?

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No problem with those, I just didn't post mine correct.

Agree with rivets.
Look at DR trimmer DR Trimmer Mowers (string trimmers) | DR Power Equipment

If you have hills then a conventional mower can be dangerous.
You dont get the finish from it but it cuts anything.
All the commercial users I deal with have one.
Use them on hills, paddocks and rough areas.

Checkout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDJzx4kqIRM

pugaltitude said:

Agree with rivets.
Look at DR trimmer DR Trimmer Mowers (string trimmers) | DR Power Equipment

If you have hills then a conventional mower can be dangerous.
You dont get the finish from it but it cuts anything.
All the commercial users I deal with have one.
Use them on hills, paddocks and rough areas.

Checkout The DR String Trimmer Mower: America's #1 Selling String Trimmer on Wheels - YouTube

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The DR is alright for somethings but if I have any amount of mowing to do I don't want to use one of those. I'd stick to my 36" Walk Behind, and besides they make a mess of a mowing job.

I suggested a string trimmer, because I feel that it would be the only thing to safely use. Even though I don't care for them. Ric, I don't think the 36" walk behind would work that well, due to it's weight. He has a 15 degree slope and I feel that a string trimmer would be safer. Neither one will make a good looking job cutting 12" material. Just my opinion, which many on this forum think isn't worth a dam.

Rivets said:

I suggested a string trimmer, because I feel that it would be the only thing to safely use. Even though I don't care for them. Ric, I don't think the 36" walk behind would work that well, due to it's weight. He has a 15 degree slope and I feel that a string trimmer would be safer. Neither one will make a good looking job cutting 12" material. Just my opinion, which many on this forum think isn't worth a dam.

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Now don't get me wrong I'm not disagreeing with your statement but as far as the safety aspect goes I've been on a lot worse than 15 degrees with the G1336 and It was fine, now to say it was safe or not according to the manual, not to exceed more than 15degrees. The thing about the walk behind is it will have a lot better cut. I've cut grass and weeds at some foreclosures that has been two and three feet high and it will take it down, again not to say it doesn't takes a couple of times or cuts to do it, and it will cut a regular lawn beautifully. The G 1336 weighed in at some where around 400lbs.

If he was using that gravely to mow that 15 degree slope and didn't have a problem with it other than what he said, the g1336 would not be a problem. The G1336 is rated for 15 degree and my Toro GS is rated for a 20 degree. The advantage to a commercial walk behind is that you have a mower you can cut the grass that's 12" or more and you don't need another mower to do your regular lawn. The DR is a specialty tool and you can't use it for anything else, it's no more than an overrated string trimmer and if he wants a string trimmer go and buy the big Stihl unit with the bike bars and shoulder strap it will do the same thing and it's cheaper.

I agree with Rivets that using a string trimmer would probably be safer, but I agree with Ric in saying that a walk-behind mower would leave a better cut. The string trimmer can't really circulate the grass, it would just cut it and leave it (see video), while a WB mower could cut it multiple times.

(video by agrigarden1)

lawn mower fanatic said:

I agree with Rivets that using a string trimmer would probably be safer, but I agree with Ric in saying that a walk-behind mower would leave a better cut. The string trimmer can't really circulate the grass, it would just cut it and leave it (see video), while a WB mower could cut it multiple times.

(video by agrigarden1)

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The Thing is that everyone seems to think that the DR safer to operate on slopes and that's not true, it's no safer than any other mower, it has the same restrictions as any other mower, it's do not operate on slopes of more than 20 degrees as it says in its manual and as I said before my GS is rated for 20degree and the g 1336WB says in the manual Do not mow excessively steep slopes ( No more than 17 degrees or a 30% Grade) and always across never up and down the slope.
When you come right down to it the thing is actually more dangerous than a mower when you consider it really doesn't have a grass discharge for any one direction and it can throw sticks, rocks, and anything else up to 50ft in any direction.

No need to argue over this one, as the best solution is for the original poster figure out a way to mower more often. None of us can see the slope that's being cut, the material that's being cut, or how the operator has been cutting in the past. Half acre shouldn't take that long, unless it has obstacles, or the slope is severe. I've said as much as I can, but we all know that as a mechanic, my opinion isn't worth much and we are talking about a landscaping problem.

Rivets said:

No need to argue over this one, as the best solution is for the original poster figure out a way to mower more often.

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Yeah I agree....I think that's the best solution. If you won't bug the neighbors maybe get a light like the following picture so you can mow at night if you are too busy during the day to mow every 5-7 days in the spring.
Snow Thrower Light : Buy this highly innovative light from Sears

Rivets said:

No need to argue over this one, as the best solution is for the original poster figure out a way to mower more often. None of us can see the slope that's being cut, the material that's being cut, or how the operator has been cutting in the past. Half acre shouldn't take that long, unless it has obstacles, or the slope is severe. I've said as much as I can, but we all know that as a mechanic, my opinion isn't worth much and we are talking about a landscaping problem.

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I'm not trying to argue, I'm just stating what the manuals say because the more info the OP can gain will help him make a or his decision. He needs to do the research, pull up some manuals, read some reviews and find out the best way to go for his situation.

A DR Trimmer is best used when you are about to cut a paddock area that you dont know whats in there.
If you use a normal blade cutting deck then you could hit some object which would either do damage to your mower or worst hurt somebody. Rarely the operator but the innocent person walking past.

Depending on the job I would rather push a brushcutter than carry one round for hours at a time.

Gravely two wheeler!!

ghessler26 said:

Gravely two wheeler!!

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That does look heavy-duty!! (something like this

(http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...7318276-post-pics-your-two-wheeler-mowerd.jpg)

lawn mower fanatic said:

I usually recommend a Honda HRX mower (see first picture), but for your circumstances I don't know if that would be good. I am worried about the foot-tall grass. It DOES have a Honda GCV190 engine (190cc's), which is higher than a lot of mowers, and it also has a NeXite deck which will repel a lot of grass, but foot tall grass is very high. You might want to look into a Billy Goat. Not necessarily the HomePro 34 (see second picture), because I did not like it, but maybe the High Weed Mower (see third picture).
View attachment 12298.........Honda Lawn Mowers: HRX217HYA, HRX217K4HYA
View attachment 12295.........HOMEPRO
View attachment 12296.........High Weed Mower Residential / Commercial | Billy Goat Industries, Inc.

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I really like the Homepro a lot. Turf tires and a wide deck should handle the job. I would have some concerns with the narrow tires on the high weed model, especially since the op mentioned cutting when wet. Slopes are always a challenge. The ditch across the front of our property maxes out around 20 deg. I have no issues on my JD 320. I can't imagine having 1/2 acre of 12" grass on that kind of slope.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned a sickle bar mower.

BCS Tiller Attachments - Sickle Bar Mower Dry 30".

It really does not take much horsepower to run these things and there are no issues with stuff being thrown about.
When my BIL was in the rental business[failing], he had a court order to mow the grass on one of his properties. We were forced to do it in 100 degree heat with one of those rotary cut mowers and it was pure torture as we had to take half cuts to take the stuff down. He would mow one pass and I would mow three. We drank two gallons of water in two hours,and I did not have to pee even once with all the sweating.
With a sickle mower,it would have been once and done. Damp grass is not an issue. I wanted to rent one and take it to the job,but he wrongly thought that he could rent one at his location but he was wrong. So we took the DR piece of garbage and threw grass all over our sweaty bodies and suffered like you could not believe. The bonus was when he got poison ivy from all this and needed a doctor visit.
My advice is to find a rental yard that has the BCS tiller and sickle bar and git-er-done. Or just buy one if money is not an issue. You might even want to inquire to the company to find out what rental yards in your area may have this unit.