46 in mower ok for 2.25 acres?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
1,273
Location
SE Ohio
Hey guys,

The house we bought last fall has 2.25 acres, I've never lived anywhere needing anything more than a push mower.

Rural King has a Husqvarna 46inch 22hp lawnmower for $1,549. Through our Farm Bureau membership we get %15 off making it $1,316.

What do you guys think, would this mower would be enough for our property size?
 
You're fine. I do about the same with a 42 inch cut Husqvarna. The Husqvarna will serve you well. I wouldn't pay much attention to the ones who will suggest buying a 30+ year old beast that you will spend your free time maintaining. You should easily get 15-20 years out of it with reasonable oil changes.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Lubener
You're fine. I do about the same with a 42 inch cut Husqvarna. The Husqvarna will serve you well. I wouldn't pay much attention to the ones who will suggest buying a 30+ year old beast that you will spend your free time maintaining.


How long does it take you to cut it? Everybody and their brother has been telling me to get a zero turn because they are faster. But an equal size one is about $2,700. lol BIG difference
 
Zero turn is definitely faster but at a cost(2X). It takes me about one hour, sometimes longer (1.5 hrs)depending on how long I let the grass get. When it isn't real high, I go up one speed. I just listen to the tunes and have a cold one in the built in cup holder.
 
Last edited:
I mowed 2 acres as a kid. Pinecones + mowing and trimming took me 3-4 hours with a 42" Craftsman. Remember when they were green?

Now I mow an acre with a 46" Husqvarna and I can be done in under an hour.

I'd avoid a zero turn unless your grass is a big open field.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I mowed 2 acres as a kid. Pinecones + mowing and trimming took me 3-4 hours with a 42" Craftsman. Remember when they were green?

Now I mow an acre with a 46" Husqvarna and I can be done in under an hour.

I'd avoid a zero turn unless your grass is a big open field.

3-4 hours? Forrest Gump mowed faster than that with his 30 inch rear engine rider..
 
I've been looking at getting a new mower myself, i've got it down to a husqvarna, a cub cadet, or a snapper.


i would like to get at least a 46 but it tempting to get a 48 or 50



there is also the option of getting a 44 inch trail mower and pulling it behind my old JD with a 38 inch deck.

i will see what the spring sales bring
 
Based on your description, I am guessing you are looking at the YTH22V46 which has a max forward speed of 5.5 MPH. I have the Husqvarna GT52XLS which has a 52 inch deck (13% larger) and goes 8 MPH (45% faster) which I use to mow my 1 acre property in about 30 minutes plus about half an hour to trim and to mow my ditches with my push mower. Not knowing the complexity of your landscaping nor the topography of your property, I'd estimate that you are looking at about 1:50 hours per mow if you get that YTH22V46 plus how over long it takes to trim and whatnot. If you also get a mower that can travel at 8 MPH with a larger deck you will be looking at 1:07 hours per mow.

Besides the mowing times also keep in mind the different components used in different tractors -Kawasaki/B&S/Kohler engines, greasable/"sealed for life" spindles, fabricated/reinforced/stamped decks, Hydrogear/Tuff-Torq transmissions, etc. You will get a variety of opinions about each of those different components but when I was looking for my mower, I looked around at the commercial grade equipment and based my buying decision off of what was in those mowers. I ended up with my GT52XLS because it has a Kawasaki engine, Hydrogear G730 transaxle, 14 ga. fabricated deck with a 7 ga. lip, and greasable spindles.

While the mower that you are looking at is likely more than capable of mowing your property for many years to come, if it were me, I would get a bigger/faster/more overbuilt tractor. It really comes down to what you feel that your time is worth and what you can afford.
 
Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40
Hey guys,

The house we bought last fall has 2.25 acres, I've never lived anywhere needing anything more than a push mower.

Rural King has a Husqvarna 46inch 22hp lawnmower for $1,549. Through our Farm Bureau membership we get %15 off making it $1,316.

What do you guys think, would this mower would be enough for our property size?


I had a craftsman version of that mower (made by Husqvarna) for 12 years and mowed a 2 acre lot, about 1 acre of grass. It would take just under an hour to mow excluding stops to remove pine cones and other tree droppings. The briggs coughed up a piston and I replaced it with a Husqvarna YT42LS (Kawasaki twin cylinder, 42inch deck) instead of re-engine'n the old mower. I mowed this past weekend and.... it took about an hour to mow an acre of grass
laugh.gif
. Not much difference in time, maybe 5 minutes difference at most.

I had zero issues with the 46inch twin blade deck on the old mower and the cut was clean. I used the mulching configuration exclusively thus I cannot comment on side discharge or bagging operation.

If you have hilly terrain with more than 15degree slopes you may want to look for something different, otherwise you should be happy with it.
 
If you can....talk to some local companies that do it for a living and see what dealer has the best service for their equipment.
 
I have about 3.5 acres to mow and have been doing it the last 2 years on a used JD 42 inch with a Kawi V-twin. I think its a 105 series from lowes.

I bought it used and worn out for $200 off of a buddy. The deck is almost rusted apart and 2 casters have fallen off. The hood is broken and the seat is gutted.

If not for the kawasaki engine this thing would have been scrap a long time ago..it just purrs along..but the rest of the unit will not make it thru this season I dont think.

My next mower will have a kawasaki engine if i can find one.
 
When the local economy went to Hades in a handbag, to cut costs, I started mowing some of my own undeveloped commercial lands, pieces vary from about 1.25 acres to 4 acres, and a 46 is really a pretty small mower.

A 42 is the mowing equivalent of a penalty box econocar. A 46 isn't a lot better.

If you only have the one piece to mow, and already have the 46 mower, I would just use it. If you replace it, I would look at something bigger.

Just my $0.02 cents.
 
Like said, a 46" deck would be fine, but for more than 2 acres of actual mowing, the bigger the better. I've had several 44" and currently have a 42" for my dinky 1/2 to 3/4 acre's worth of mowing. A larger deck that gives you some tire overlap offers a better cut and allows for you to edge up to objects for trimming.

I'm not a fan of most old beasts for mowing given their huge turning radius and lack of comfort (JDs are all good)

I had a premium residential grade ZTR back around 2008-2010. I didn't care for it at all with the rough 2 acres I had at the time. A conventional steering wheeled rider was a better fit for me with that property.

If you have to get through doors or gates, I get it that the deck can't be too large.
 
It will do it for sure, but you should consider how big the tires are, seat quality too. How rough is the lawn? I get into fields with my tractor that speed is limited by how much I want to abuse the tractor, not by cut quality or hp.
If you don't have a million things to zig zag around, probably you won't regret getting a 52+" for a couple hundred more and perhaps bigger tires and a better seat.
 
ZTR all the way. In 1999 I bought a Dixon ZTR(B&S Intek twin) with a 42" deck to cut my 2.5 acre lot. It did the job in 2 hours- about 45 minutes faster than my old Cub 154 with a 60" deck. In 2007 I added a Cub Cadet Enforcer ZTR(Kawasaki twin) with a 54" deck. Now I just use the Dixon for trim work and I'm down to a tick over 90 minutes.
I might add that any area I can't reach with one mower or the other gets doused with Roundup- I don't like yard work and I want to spend as little time on it as possible.
 
A few suggestions....

Get a mulch kit. Leaves in the fall just get chopped up...

Use a Wix 51516 oil filter, holds eight more ounces of engine oil,
and is 5 inches long, verses 2.3 (assuming that the OEM ones converts to a Wix 57035)

Lots of people use Shell Rotella T6 in 5W-40, a new 5W-30 version is around, but will require some hunting...

Tuff Torq changed the oil specification for their transmissions, from 10W-30 to 5W-50.
But they are still filling with 10W-30...
A lot of folks are using Mobil1 15W-50, easily available at Wal-Mart, 5W-50 is a little harder to find...
 
Originally Posted By: Lubener
3-4 hours? Forrest Gump mowed faster than that with his 30 inch rear engine rider..

I don't suppose Forrest had to pick up 20+ pine's worth of pinecones before mowing.

3-4 hours for pinecones, mowing, and trimming. Not too bad I don't think. It'd probably take me longer now accounting for beers.
 
48" and 54" mowers have three spindles and three
blades to sharpen as opposed to two for the 42"or 46".

Husqvarna has it's gas tank up front right behind the engine,
My John Deere has it's tank in the back.

My 2¢
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
48" and 54" mowers have three spindles and three
blades to sharpen as opposed to two for the 42"or 46".


Not necessarily; the 42" deck on my Dixon has three blades...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top