John Deere X340 for 5 acres?

cvarc

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HI,

We have an X340 - now with about 420 hrs on it, that we use to mow our 5.5 acre RC airplane flying field. We have had some mechanical issues with it - namely the PTO clutch - there is another post under 'X340 Slow' . Leaving that aside, the advice would depend on how often you plan to mow it. If you plan to mow it once a month, then you will need to do as others say and go slow, mow at the max setting of 4", only cut on the right side, etc. (ours has the 54" deck) If you plant to mow often enough that you're only cutting off a half inch or and inch of new grass, and can mow at full mower width and at full travel speed, then again, it will do the job (this is our case). It takes an experienced driver (mE!) typically 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 hrs, non-stop, to mow the 5.5 acres, half at about at 1-1/2 " (the runway & taxi strips) and the rest at 3". It uses about 3 gals of gas in that timeframe. The biggest frustration for me is that it would be great if it moved faster. Our older standby JD (from 1993) can mow circles around this one, but just isn't as comfortable to ride and only has a 48" deck. So, I would say to think about how you'll be cutting and the trade off between speed and toughness of the cutting you will be doing. If it's all toughness and you won't be able to travel at full speed anyway, then the X340 can do it. It it will be lightly loaded and traveling faster is important, look at a higher travel speed model. On the mechanical issues, research the x300 PTO bold breakage issues. Hope this helps.
 

SeniorCitizen

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QUOTE: John Deere has a mower selection tool on their website that says this mower can handle up to 4 acres. Choosing 4.5 acres causes it to recommend an x500 model.

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I've never determined why any manufacturer would use that kind of measurement to classify their mowers. Utterly stupid in my opinion.

Another measure the warranty people want is " how old is it - when was it sold new". Well that's real stupid too. So if I bought a new tractor, used it for a couple of hours and was shipped out of the country on assignment for 3 years it would be out of warranty with 2 hours of operation. Ridiculous. Put a fool proof hour meter on it when manufactured and stop all the eyebrow raising nonsense.

A mower is good for xxx number of hours period. Some more than others.

When it finally fails, and it will, the first thing the mechanic wants to know is how many hours and rightfully so to assist in determining a course of action, not when you bought it or how many acres were being mowed or how tall the weeds were .
 
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