5 Mower Hitch Cuts 4 Acres/Hr

5 mower hitch cuts 4 acres/hr FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 13-5-2 You can put together an inexpensive 8-ft. wide mower using five 20-in. push mowers, says Patrick Case, Pioneer, Ohio, who priced wide mowers that cost thousands of dollars before getting the idea of ganging 5 mowers together with a single pull-type hitch. Case needed a big mower to mow a field that he uses for his hobby of flying remote-controlled model airplanes. "I can mow 3 1/2 to 4 acres in 2 hrs. and use less than 5 gal. of gas. It's fun to use and easy to pull with a non-mowing Simplicity garden tractor," he says. Case came up with a simple hitch that leaves the mowers free to "float" over uneven terrain. He drilled four holes in each mower, one in each corner, and inserted a 3/8 by 4-in. long eye bolt in each hole. A la-in. dia. steel bar runs through each set of eye bolts, connecting the front of one mower with the back of the mower ahead of it. Cotter pins hold the bar in place. The bar on the front mower runs across the full 8-ft. width and is connected to a pair of pull bars that run back to the middle and rear most mowers. To re-move the mowers from the hitch, all Case has to do is remove the pins, slip the bars out and the mowers are ready for storage or to use as push-type mowers again. "It misses some grass on sharp corners. Otherwise, I've had no problems. There's nothing like it on the market for the money," says Case, who spent $650 using all new 20-in. "Pro Hardware" mowers. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Patrick Case, 14630 N-65, Pioneer, Ohio 43554 (ph 419 485-5251).

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