Lawnmower advice !

[GlennUK]

FWIW 'its only 2.5acres' can be very time consuming to cut, especially if you get something with a 'bucket' on the back.

We have a ride on with 36" cut IIRC, and it takes a lot of runs to do the acre or so grass we cut. It takes a lot longer if you dont keep on top of it, whatever you use.

Id say make sure you klnow what youre letting yourself in for. If you buy a lawnmower dont be surprised its its only good for cutting lawn which means in the summer cutting once a week/max every other week, and spending the best part of a day cutting it.

It appears form where im sitting you probably need a) something bigger and more robust< or b) someone else to mow your grass for you.

 

[Pelyma]

The ride ons are mostly belt driven, so as soon as it gets long or wet they struggle, shaft driven are better. I have a Kubota tractor with a Rytec Flail collector for the wildflower areas, a Kubota radeon for paths and a robot to do the formal areas.

 

[Will the chippy]

Our neighbour has a small paddock and he bought a John Deere ride on to cut it. It's hopeless. It's often 18inch high and the mower cuts a bit, bulldozes a bit and tangles up the rest. He'll often spend a day just cutting bits, it always looks a mess and has never cut all of it at once.
He needs a small tractor and a flail. Depends how often you want to cut it. 4 times a year just to make it look presentable or every weekend to have a lawn.

 

[wytonpjs]

The ride ons are mostly belt driven, so as soon as it gets long or wet they struggle, shaft driven are better. I have a Kubota tractor with a Rytec Flail collector for the wildflower areas, a Kubota radeon for paths and a robot to do the formal areas.

Agree about the belts but if you don't try to cut too fast, you can cut VERY long dry grass/brambles with a HGM mulching deck. I run the 36" but briefly had a new 42" - that was a monster!

 

[Pelyma]

Mine is a 42" deck 1600GRii which is a diesel mower, anything thick it waves the white flag at. I had a Kubota topper for years which was great on the tractor, but when I started with wild flowers you need to pick up what you cut and a flail collector was the answer and is a great piece of kit, but you can't reverse under trees with it. This is how you end up with loads of kit!

 

[doric_prince]

This is what I use at home on tighter areas of thick bush/ brambles.

Has an opening front guard / mouth for saplings up to 1.5”. It’s a bit of a beast tbf. Cuts excellent rides on the shoot too through v thick brambles/ raspberry canes. I use it as a lawn cutter under the apple trees.

It’s designed to cope with steep slopes, which in part is why I got it.

Take a bit of time to cover a large areas though - but horses for courses!