Turf Tiger II 2018 STTII-61V-37BV-EFI (First Post)

[mcdonell]

My first thoughts are mowing horse pasture acreage would be a rough and dusty ride on my 61V Cheetah. I have successfully mowed horse and cow pies acreage with a tractor and brush mower. I have not have much luck using a finishing mower on pasture land due to belt slip and thatch weeds.

Maybe that is why the Cheetah mowing height limit is set about 6 inches. I may be wrong, just my first thoughts.

 

[qrtrhrs]

EFi petrol is not a good idea for an occasional use engine that gets laid up for extended periods of time.
Way too many things to get stuck from gummed up fuel.
Go deisel if you want more grunt, just remember to run the engine for 15 to 30 minutes once a month when you are not using it to keep water out of the fuel.

If you are looking for a 6" cut height then it will have to be a commercial mower or perhaps something like an out front flail mower.
Flails are really good because most can be set up to mulch and will also clear out scrub.
people get hooked on rotary mowers and rotaries anr not and never will be a good way to cut grass. particularly long pasture grass that is thatching.
I gather you are on acres so have you considered a compact / sub compact tractor with an out front mower ?
Not cheap but built to last 30 + years and of course can come with trenchers, post hole diggers , real ploughs etc etc etc.

At a previous property, I mowed with a 15 foot batwing but the tractor I used for that and other chores was pretty damaging for frequent mowing due to the weight. When I went down to 20 acres, I went with a 10' bush hog which I absolutely did not like due to to digging in on rolling ground. I was using a 75 horse tractor for mowing and other chores which was also damaging. I bought a pull behind to use with my ZTR giving me about 9 foot or so overall width. Slower than a tractor but good on the fields except the cut was a bit short even with modifications to the decks.

If you read my first post, I am only cutting about four acres so yes, a commercial mower is expensive and I am not flush with cash. But, with proper care I expect to never buy another mower after this.

I am fortunate to have friends and neighbors with pretty much any piece of equipment I would need. They will even bush hog my fields but due to their own needs, they may not get to me when I need them to. Actually, I prefer to do my own mowing anyway, that way, I can observe the field and/or fence lines first hand.

 

[qrtrhrs]

My first thoughts are mowing horse pasture acreage would be a rough and dusty ride on my 61V Cheetah. I have successfully mowed horse and cow pies acreage with a tractor and brush mower. I have not have much luck using a finishing mower on pasture land due to belt slip and thatch weeds.

Maybe that is why the Cheetah mowing height limit is set about 6 inches. I may be wrong, just my first thoughts.

We happen to be "blessed" with "Johnson Grass" (thanks to Mr Johnson way back when). At different stages it can be poisonous. It spreads through it's roots and seeds and is tough to control. In the case of horse pasture, frequent mowing is one of the better methods of control. Therefore, I mow mine almost weekly which of course helps control other weeds as well.

During normal or average weather conditions, it can be pretty wet. The lighter weight of a mower does less damage than a tractor. There have been times when rain has allowed the grass to get ahead of me. I just go slower and increase my overlap.

Yes, it can be a rough ride but I just take my time.

Per Scag's 2017 broshure, the Cheetah is limited to five inches else I would consider one with the 31hp Kawasaki engine. Maybe I need to go on the website and look at the specs?

 

[BlazNT]

We happen to be "blessed" with "Johnson Grass" (thanks to Mr Johnson way back when). At different stages it can be poisonous. It spreads through it's roots and seeds and is tough to control. In the case of horse pasture, frequent mowing is one of the better methods of control. Therefore, I mow mine almost weekly which of course helps control other weeds as well.

During normal or average weather conditions, it can be pretty wet. The lighter weight of a mower does less damage than a tractor. There have been times when rain has allowed the grass to get ahead of me. I just go slower and increase my overlap.

Yes, it can be a rough ride but I just take my time.

Per Scag's 2017 broshure, the Cheetah is limited to five inches else I would consider one with the 31hp Kawasaki engine. Maybe I need to go on the website and look at the specs?

Johnson grass gets killed on any lawn I mow or I do not mow it.

 

[bertsmobile1]

A compact or sub compact tractor is not much heavier than a commercial ZTR.
The new ones are of course lighter.
I have a Bolens Durotrac in my repair run and I am yet to see a better unit
56" deck with hydraulic lift, Kohler V twin engine, Eaton hydraulics.
You should be able to pick up one of these for around $ 1000 in the USA.As for your Johnson Grass, which sounds bad enough for the Aust government to plat it everywhere.
Start in one corner and poison it.
The landlord has 1000 acres full of tussock grass ( another really smart import ) and they are about 1/3 the way through removing it.
It came down the hill so they started on the uphill fence, mowed a few strips 2" then sprayed the fresh growing tussock clumps as they emerged.
Takes a long time but they are making progress and because of irregular rain fall it has to be little bits at a time.
right now we are shifting the cattle every couple of days due to lack of feed

 

[Steve0853]

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I prefer EFI, but I also prefer Kohler engines. I currently have a SCAG TT, with a 31 HP Kohler with EFI, an old Grasshopper 225 with a 25 HP Kohler carbureted, and a SCAG V-Ride with a 25 HP Kohler carbureted. All of them have really performed well, especially the old Grasshopper, but I've certainly had no problems from the EFI SCAG. One advantage of EFI is that it starts easier and stays started when cold. Both of the carb mowers take a little finessing from the choke to get them going.

Good luck to you whichever way you go. And unless you are a lot younger than me, if you get a SCAG, it probably will be the last mower that you need to buy.

 

[qrtrhrs]

Well, enough talk, lol! I put a deposit on a 2018 TTII with the 35hp B&S today. 11,200 plus tax if I am allowed to mention? The dealer had one on the floor but it was sold. They could not give me a delivery date what with Christmas and all so maybe by the middle of January?

 

[BlazNT]

Congratulations.

 

[qrtrhrs]

Congratulations.

Thank you.

 

[BlazNT]

Congratulations.