What mower to buy for 2 acres?

[ruSSrt]

Hello everyone.

Going through a purchase of total 5 acres that have 2 acres flat cleared out with grass. There are some leafy trees around, some leaves in the fall expected. I used to have riding 42" mower without bag and it did good on .75 acre grass only. But now I'm going to have southern grass, leaves and little bit of small twigs. Would you recommend getting another riding mower or zero turn? Bags or no bags?
Kind of want to keep yard clean so wouldn't mind just mulching I'm the summer, but once fall comes around kind of want to pick that up. Or would mulching leaves and twigs be okay?
I will not be buying new, definitely will be used purchase.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[nwjones18]

Zero turn and mulch everything year round. I can run over leaves 2-3 times mulching faster than once bagging/dumping. Look for a zero turn with serviceable transmissions and a fabricated deck and it should be a good one.

I grew up mowing nearly 2 acres with a 42" Murray with a bagger.. I bet I put a thousand miles on that thing driving back and forth to the dumping spot (tons of trees) so I never want to see a bagger again.. haha

 

[oldcodger]

nwjones18 has it right. I mow about 2 acres and mulch year round. I just got finished with my final leaf mulch. I have a yard full of oak trees. Also equip your mower with Catorback blades.

 

[Jim K]

Try this little one.

 

[IndyIan]

In theory 2 acres is an hour mow with your current mower if you don't have a bunch of stuff to go around, or 20 minutes with 6' zero turn. I can't be bothered with bagging, but I use the mower to line up the leaves in the fall to make raking onto a tarp go faster and I just drag them on the tarp into the woods.

 

[joegreen]

Do you plan to do other stuff on this 5 acre property? Maybe look into a John Deere 1025 or 1023. Then you can mow, use a bucket, forks, plow, snowblower etc.

 

[38Chevy454]

Zero turn is much faster and better cutting. Just don't bag it, let it fly out the side exit opening. Kind of mulching, to do true mulching you can buy an official mulching kit that blocks off the side exit. I made my own block off and do the mulching in fall with the leaves. Works pretty good, but if leaves are real heavy layer, it is best to try and rake/pick them up and not leave on the grass. I mow 2.5 acres and use an Ariens 60 inch Apex with the Kawasaki 24 hp engine. Quite happy with it overall. Has enough power to cut heavy grass or mulch leaves.

 

[Lapham3]

Even though we're in Toro territory, I went with a 38" Deere and it's been great for 34 years. I always have the mulching plate on and only in fall with heavy leaf drop, do I use the backpack blower and shoot them into the woods. Good luck.

 

[dblshock]

If you want durability, availability... Deere.

 

[Lubener]

How much do you want to spend? There are many options. 2 acres is not that much.

 

[Skippy722]

I mow my 2 hilly acres with a Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2 50” with a Kawasaki engine. If I had to replace it, I’d pick up a Ferris, nothing against the Cub but suspension would be a nice to have… just didn’t realize the yard was that bumpy lol. I just run over the leaves and twigs like they were normal grass. I average about 45 minutes.

 

[weaponoffreedom]

Hello everyone.

Going through a purchase of total 5 acres that have 2 acres flat cleared out with grass. There are some leafy trees around, some leaves in the fall expected. I used to have riding 42" mower without bag and it did good on .75 acre grass only. But now I'm going to have southern grass, leaves and little bit of small twigs. Would you recommend getting another riding mower or zero turn? Bags or no bags?
Kind of want to keep yard clean so wouldn't mind just mulching I'm the summer, but once fall comes around kind of want to pick that up. Or would mulching leaves and twigs be okay?
I will not be buying new, definitely will be used purchase.
Any advice would be appreciated!

I have a 42" bobcat that works well.

Not sure why people buy used stuff like this..........

 

[FowVay]

I may be the odd man out but whatever you buy... don't get some 800 lb. monstrosity that is going to leave tracks in your lawn. I see these professional mowing crews doing lawns in my neighborhood and after a season or two the lawns are rutted and look horrible from having a half-ton mower drive across them every single week.

I mow about 2 acres and I use a John Deere lawn tractor. I do agree that zero-turn mowers leave a nicer finish and their mulching performance is fabulous but I don't know that you'd find that quality in a cheaper, homeowner grade machine.

For me personally, I have no need for a zero-turn. I like to attach the cart and drive the kids around the neighborhood on a warm summers evening. I don't think I'd get the same effect with a zero-turn. It's all about the love.

 

[skyactiv]

When it comes to buying a used mower, you can’t be too exacting what make, model, engine.. you want.

 

[ruSSrt]

Thanks guys! Definitely great info. There are couple Deere mowers in my area. Going to check them out once final paperwork goes through. Eventually in 5-10 years from now I would love to get diesel tractor, clear up the rest of the acreage and have fun with it. But for now would have to do with what I got.

 

[nwjones18]

Thanks guys! Definitely great info. There are couple Deere mowers in my area. Going to check them out once final paperwork goes through. Eventually in 5-10 years from now I would love to get diesel tractor, clear up the rest of the acreage and have fun with it. But for now would have to do with what I got.

Worth nothing there are 2 very different levels of John Deere zero turn available.. I have a 48" Z255 and there is nothing special about it.. Stamped deck, EZT axles, Briggs motor and mediocre build quality. I got it in trade is the only reason I have it (its a 'Lowes' John Deere). If I was buying new I'd pick something else. Deere's commercial level zero turns are excellent, but $$$ compared to competition with similar features IMO. My father-in-law has a Hustler with serviceable transmissions, fabricated deck and a Kawasaki motor that I like a lot. It also has real bearings for the front wheels where mine just has plastic bushings that were shot at 100hrs..

 

[Cujet]

I have 2 acres in Jupiter, FL. I use a JD GT235 w/18hp Kawasaki engine and 42 inch deck. The thing is a nice step above typical HomeDepot stuff, it is 20+ years old now, and is still working great. Plenty of power, fast enough and easy to drive.

Looks like this:

 

[supton]

I have a 50" deck on my mower and sometimes I think it's too big, doesn't float well enough, as occasionally it'll scalp something, as my yard isn't dead flat (also took out two sprinkler heads). Not sure I'd want smaller, it's still a couple hours of mowing as it is, but sometimes I think a less wide deck with better wheels on the side would be good, for my uneven lawn.

I like bagging and have been using as fill in a swampy area in my yard (it dries out in summer so it's not classified as wetlands). Thing is, I get so many leaves that I still have to rake; for that I use a large trailer to rake and dump into, and for that I wound up buying an ATV to pull my trailer around, as a 2WD open diff lawn tractor just wasn't cutting in my woods (we're talking logging trails). The small utility trailers are nice for moving bags of dirt and mulch, but I'm dubious of a lawn tractor handling much anything more than that. After getting the ATV I would never attempt to plow or use a mower for pushing/blowing snow, just seems like the wrong tool. Anyhow, bagging can be its own pain, as when it gets full I have to go drive off and dump it--if you don't have a place to dump clippings, I'd be thinking about how to only mulch.

I like my hydrostatic but it was a free mower, so who am I to complain? but it groans going up any hill. I get the impression that they are largely disposable, anything new or maybe that includes anything made in the last 10-20 years.

 

[ruSSrt]

Is there a list that shows which deers models came from lowes vs which are actually more professional grade?

 

[64bawagon]

Be careful of mowers that were sold at home centers. Their practice is to cost cut on the transmission size which will affect the mower in hotter days. My Husqvarna has an inferior trans and I have to pause between mowing the front lawn and the rear lawn because it will overheat and start slipping. My lawn has some grade to it but not extreme, I mow across the grades rather than up and down. The front is about a half acre and the rear a little more.
I mulch year round, when its cold out and I mow the leaves is the only time the trans works adequately.