New heavy duty mower buying advice

[Ric]

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.

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.

 

[pugaltitude]

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.

 

[ghessler26]

Gravely two wheeler!!

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Gravely two wheeler!!

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

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

 

[Jcg1112]

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.

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.

 

[slumlord]

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.