Large rotary mower or power scythe?

[Burgess]

Looks the job for a 32 inch walk behind side discharge or a flail rather than a small rotary ment for domestic lawns.

[davess1402]

Having seen pictures none that I mentioned would be suitable, a Scag or we used a John Deere with a Kawasaki engine can't remember the model but similar to Scag, how often are you going to cut it, these are factors that need to be considered before purchasing any equipment, maybe even an outfront similar to Kubota F1900?

[cornish wood burner]

I use a s/h ride on mower to mow similar. Easier and quicker than a walk behind.

[clv101]

Thanks all for your input. Three motivations for managing this grass are (1) remove the tussocky grass, field vole habitat (as they don't play nice with fruit trees), (2) allow easy access without needing to walk through long grass and (3) make it look a bit tidier.

 

Last year I used a combination of Honda GX35 brushcutter and old skool Austrian scythe on around a third of an acre - this was okay, but with a bit over an acre now this approach doesn't scale.

 

A few weeks ago I hired the power scythe which I thought did a reasonable job but I was thinking, hoping, that once that tool had taken care of the tussocks, another, cheaper tool could be used for regular maintenance. I thinking once every 2-3 weeks.

 

Whilst there are clearly better solutions for more money, I'm stuck on finding the best solution for under £1000, ideally closer to £500.

[penfold]

Where I work we use Ferris s/p rotary mowers to cut some paddocks round the outside of the property. 13hp Kawasaki engine and twin blades.

[IVECOKID]

Take a look at the Hayter Condor rotary pedestrian mowers just in your budget £500-£1000 will cut just about anything has they use discs with free swinging knives attached just like the drum mowers that we use for mowing Hay .

I have used one for 9 years and I can tell you they are ideal for paddocks and tall rough grass .

 

Ste

[GardenKit]

Any of the options in post 1 will not last long in that nature of work, that are just cheap domestic quality machines.

 

The Hayter Condor is a great choice but the new price is massive so the OP would need to secondhand with the possible issues of buying used equipment.

 

A field and brush mower such as the DR would be much more affordable and well up to the task, but for a new machine the OP would need to budget closer to the 2K

[clv101]

Any views on the mid-range (?) power scythe: Bertolini 401 Scythe Mower?

[pycoed]

Get yourself a C series Wheelhorse rideon mower. Proper chassis, cast iron axle, cast iron transaxle & most have hi-lo range 4 speed boxes.

You'll get a really good one for £500. They are bomb proof - Kohler engines 8-16hp, any of which would eat the stuff you show in that picture. Make sure you check the deck (they come in 36 42 or 48" widths), since they only seem to last about 25 years(!) & the C series are a bit older than that, but the rest will go on FOREVER.

[monkeymoreton]

We use the big toros at work and have to cut a large area of grass that get cut roughly every quarter. The toros seem munch through it easy enough. The company I work for has been using these sort of mowers for about a year and we haven't had one that was complete write off yet.