ROUGH CUT MOWER

Product Information and Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower?

The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower is a commercial grade self-contained mower that has been designed to cut tall grass and brush which far exceed the capabilities of a finish cut mower.

2. What can be used to pull an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower?

In general, an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower can be pulled by many different tow vehicles. The majority of AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers are towed behind ATVs and utility vehicles but we do have customers using small tractors, pick-up trucks and SUVs.

3. How big of a tow vehicle is required to pull an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower?

Most any 350cc ATV and larger will pull an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower without any trouble at all. On hilly ground or steep terrain a larger ATV with 4 wheel drive may be necessary. There are some customers using 2 wheel drive 250cc ATVs to pull the AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers.

4. How steep of a slope can an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower be used on?

In most cases the standard ATV becomes very uncomfortable and dangerous on slopes greater than 20 degrees. If the tow vehicle is running on flat ground the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower can be positioned on greater slopes. The Briggs & Stratton Professional / Intek engines should not be used on angles greater than 20 degrees for any length of time because the engine may lose lubrication. The Kohler and Briggs & Stratton Commercial Turf engines are equipped with excellent pressure lubrication systems and are rated for slopes of up to 25 degrees.

Note: Most slopes appear to be steeper than they actually are. From our experience a 25-30 degree bank appears to be approximately 45 degrees. Caution should be used when mowing on steep banks. Most tow vehicles will become unstable after 20-25 degrees.

5. How fast will an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower mow?

It really depends on the type of grass or brush that is being cut and where the deck height is set at. There are far too many variables with rough cut mowing to give an exact answer but in general the mowing speed of an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower is between 4-10 MPH. There are exceptionally harsh conditions that might slow the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower down to a crawl. The video clips on our website do a great job of showing how fast an AcrEase Rough Cut Mower can run in a heavy grassy area. Click for the Video Page

6. Why does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower deck pull at an angle?

The 30″ (on 57″ rough cut models) and 23″ (on 44″ rough cut models) blades under the deck are in a straight line. These blades are not timed because of the problems associated with timed blades. In order to get the necessary blade overlap, the deck is pulled at a slight angle.

7. How safe is the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower?

The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower has been designed with safety in mind. The deck design is basically fully enclosed and prevents objects from being directly thrown out. The front of the deck has a rubber safety flap, the sides of the deck are totally enclosed and the rear of the deck has a discharge chute that extends below the blade height. We also have a 10″-11″ safety zone in front of he AcrEase Rough Cut Mower to prevent a person from contacting the blade should they accidentally place their foot under the deck from the front side. All of the AcrEase mower decks pass all of the OPEI safety standards.

8. How easy is it to convert the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower from offset to direct behind mowing or vice versa?

Very easy. The AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers can be switched from offset to direct behind towing by simply unhitching from the tow vehicle, unpinning the tongue, flipping the tongue over, re-pinning the tongue and re-hitching to the tow vehicle. This procedure does not require tools and can be performed in less than 1 minute.

9. Does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower use a standard ball hitch to attach to the tow vehicle?

No. The AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers use a standard farm clevis. This is a C shaped coupler that provides an excellent freedom of motion in all directions. A ball hitch is restricted to 12 degrees of motion from side-to-side and up and down. The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower is far more capable of handling situations greater than 12 degrees and the tongue would bind up with a ball hitch.

10. Can the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower be used for finish cut work?

We have quite a few customers that are using the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower for a dual purpose mower. The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower can do a surprisingly nice job on a finish cut lawn. One of the main features that helps the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower out in this situation is the style of blades and the twin blade design that the AcrEase Rough Cut mower uses.

11. How long do AcrEase Rough Cut Mower drive belts last?

We have performed many hours of testing to provide one of the best drive belt designs available for this application. If a belt is properly adjusted on a manual clutch version it is very common to go 75-100 hours or more. A properly adjusted belt on our electric clutch version can exceed 200 hours of belt life.

12. Why does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower have twin blades?

The AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers actually have two totally independent blades mounted on two totally independent blade spindles. We have found that twin blades do a great job of reducing the grass clipping size and reducing bunching. This is due to the interaction that multiple blades create.

13. Why does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower have fixed blades instead of swinging hammer blades?

As an engineering company we feel that swinging hammer blades are a gimmick on pull behind rough cut mowers and they do not prevent short term or long term damage under most conditions. We have two very real and major concerns with swinging hammer blades. First and foremost swinging hammer blades have the potential to be very dangerous if the pivot pins are not maintained properly. There are stories of hammer blades breaking free and people getting killed. Secondly a swinging hammer blade is impossible to balance without sophisticated equipment. This can lead to excessive vibration and an overall deterioration of the mower deck. The fixed blades that the AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers are equipped with are very easy to balance and don’t pose a safety threat with blades flying loose. We also feel that a fixed blade provides a higher cut quality due to it’s inability to swing back in heavy cutting conditions.

14. What happens if a large rock, stump or immoveable object is struck?

The AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers have a very heavy deck and blade spindles that have been designed to prevent bending under large impact loads. If a large impact load occurs and the object is struck directly it is not uncommon for the engine to stall out. The blades will typically only show mild denting and in some cases minor bending after hitting a large rock. In all the years and hours of testing we have NEVER struck an object that prevented us from continuing to mow. This includes partially buried rocks exceeding 100 lbs.

15. Does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower use shear pins or slip clutches?

No. These features are entirely unnecessary on a self contained pull behind mower that is belt driven. These features are only necessary on large horsepower tractors that are transmitting power through shafts and gearboxes. A belt drive system has the ability to slip under severe situations and it is this slippage that prevents engine damage.

16. Does the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower have a stump jumper?

No. This feature is entirely unnecessary on a pull behind mower. A stump jumpers purpose is to prevent blade spindle damage should the blade spindle come in contact with an immovable object. On a tractor this is necessary due to the excessive amount of traction and pulling power. An ATV, utility vehicle or even sub-compact tractor does not have the traction to damage the spindle or deck on the heavy built AcrEase Rough Cut Mower.

17. How large of saplings will the AcrEase Rough Cut Mower handle?

The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower is rated at 2″ diameter saplings. The AcrEase Rough Cut Mower is quite capable of cutting much larger saplings but it is not practical to try and get a larger sapling bent over and under the mower deck. The tow vehicle in most cases doesn’t have enough traction to bend over a sapling larger than 2″.

18. What advantages does a four tire design provide over the competitors’ two tire designs?

All models of AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers have a four tire design. The four tire design allows the AcrEase to float over rough uneven ground much easier than the competitors’ two tire design. Four tires also allow the AcrEase to be self sufficient and the AcrEase doesn’t have to rely on the tow vehicle to support a portion of the mower. This allows the AcrEase to use a free pivoting tongue instead of a rigid tongue which is what is necessary on a two tire design. A free pivoting tongue allows the AcrEase to traverse something as simple as a steep ditch. A two tire design gets bound up when trying to traverse a steep ditch. The other main advantage of a four tire design is the ability to place the tires within the width of the deck. This provides a trim edge on both sides of the mower and allows for close trimming along fence rows or around trees and other objects. The competitors’ two tire designs place the tires on the outside of the mower which gets in the way when trying to trim. In fact the 57″ AcrEase Rough Cut Mowers basically have the same overall width as the competitors’ 42″-44″ two tire designs.