Super A belly mower vs newer residential mower

This message is a reply to an archived post by i bleed IH red on April 09, 2009 at 13:46:19.
The original subject was "Re: Super A belly mower vs newer residential mower".

Greetings all,
I have several full size farm tractors on my beef cattle farm here in Northern VA and am on the hunt for a small tractor suitable for mowing my mostly open and flat 3 acre yard and for trimming up around my shop. My ancient Lowes riding mower with 46 inch cut has served me well but is worn out and I have to replace it. I have looked at new riders and unless you have a big pocketbook they are plastic junk with thin wall metal decks. I am wa ting a farmall A, Super A or a Cub with a 5 foot Wwods mower. Or possibly an Allis A, B, or C with the same. My main concern is weight because part if the yard has the septic tank drain field in it and Daddy told me not to run anything heavy over that part of the yard. I have researched the pros and cons and have decided on one of the above me tioned tractors. Which one is the best choice.
Thanks in advance.

Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA
 
I've had a Woods L-59 on my Super A for 13 years now. It works great. Outside a new drive belt every couple of years & blades, its been trouble free. I mow about 2 acres with it during the summer when it needs it, probably about 6 times this past summer here in "arid" eastern SD. I mow right over two septic tanks all the time. It weighed in at little over 2250 the last time I had it weighed at an antique pull that I participated in. (Got 3rd in the under 3,000 class.) Unfortunately, the old Super A will need an overhaul this winter, she used about 1 quart of oil to every other tank of gas when I bought her and now is taking about 2 quarts to the tank full. Plus, it had a valve go bad the last time I mowed in October, so time for new rings (at least) and a valve job. (My $0.02 worth. jal-SD)
 
I have a Super "A" with a 5 foot Woods belly mower. I don't actually use it for mowing my lawn as I like it mowed shorter than my woods will cut. I do mow about an acre with it at about 3 or 4 inches tall. I also use it as a brush hog mower mowing tall weeds. I don't cut brush with it, The Super "A" will have plenty of power to run it.
 
I owned an Allis B for a while. It was a good tractor but I noticed the ground speed was faster than I wanted and it was hard to get off the tractor. The Super A and the Cub seemed to have a lower ground speed and were much easier to get off and on. My opinion.
 
I got a woods 59 on my cub. Runs great as long as the grass aint too tall. I love it but sometimes wish I had a few.more ponies. A super a might be beat choice if you can find one over a cub. They are heavier but I don't think it would be enough to matter. They are just a bit of a pain when mowing in tight quarters but if nothing is real tight with alot of turns and forward/reverse you will do great. The new mowers are junk unless you spend thousands to get a good zero turn and I can't see that paying off. I don't know anything about the other tractors you mentioned but I know a cub does good.
 
Bought a Super A with Woods L59 in 83. Rebuilt motor twice and replaced mower once. Lots of rolling hill grass to cut. Drive at 2/3 throttle in 2nd gear most of the time. I am 67 so I M slowing down some now. Both units have served me well. Had a paint job on tractor in 2000 Added an hour meter at that time. Shows 943 today
 
There are good used A,Bs and Cubs for sale for between 2-3500 and they will outlast any new mega bucks mowers now built and are simple to maintain and operate. The big question is the law-out of the yd if one will work on your yd go for it. I mow 3A now with a B and 59 have used one since 66. I do have a 1320 for trimming cause its easier that pushing one around.
 
The Farmalls (A, B, C & etc.) including the offset Cubs do not have Independent Power Take Off (IPTO). Not for bush hogging, but for acreage mowing the numbered series Cub Lo-Boys (154, 184 or 185) with IPTO are excellent. The 154s and 185s have the clutch on the transmission which is not the best design. The 184 has the clutch on the engine and uses an electric PTO clutch. I prefer the 184.
 
I've been using a IH 140 with a 5 ft woods mower since 1986. Before that I had a super A with the same mower for about 10 years before I upgraded to the 140. 3 or 4 years ago, I ran across a used newer mower than the old one from 1977, as the spindle bearings on the old one we're getting noisy. So I traded off the old one and got the newer one. I rebuilt the one from 1977 one time during the 30 years I used it. When I had a 5 acre lot, it was my lawn mower. Now I live on a 40 acre farm and use the 140 to mow around the farm, fence rows and along the driveway, etc. the way I use it the belts last around 5 years and that includes when I used to mow 5 acres every week during mowing season. At both locations, I've mowed over the septic field beds and never had a problem. Just don't drive over the septic tank itself. My experience, the 140 tractor and Woods belly mower will last you a life time and still have life left for someone else to use. It is a bit of a chore to take on and off the tractor, so mine stays on except I take it off once a year to service the blades. You should be able to find a good 140 with a belly mower for about $2500-$3000 or so.
 
I have been running a Super A or a Super H, mostly the H for 9 years over a 5 drainage pipes 2 ft down-- nothing has happened--yes I know it is not supposed to be driven over. If it was actually the septic tank I would not drive over it, just a 700 lb rider mower.
 
Bob,
Sorry I thought the reply you sent was a private message when I got the email notification. Call or text at your convenience to the above number. Send pics or vids of tractor in.operation if available
[email protected]
 

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