Reply to: Advice needed which lawn mower

[ZARDOZ]

good we've got enough people here with tractor mowers

ok experts

Shall I buy new or second hand ?

Pro's and Con's... new, I will be the only owner, I will hopefully have the thing for ever, and know its history

second hand, saves a fortune, but could be a financial disaster when things stop working


What make shall I buy ?

Shall I go for a no-name from the local DIY place, or shall I get branded ? Branded, which one, John Deere, Honda, Kubota, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Yard Man etc ?


Size of deck ?

I will need to cut an acre and a 1/4, thinking that anything less than 48" won't be worth bothering


Price Limit ?

These things aint cheap, and basic Honda's and John Deeres cost around 4k gbp :-(


Milan.

Acre and 1/4 ideally 50 inch possibly a little smaller, 3 blades, pref Japanese motor, you dont want to be collecting and emptying grass so it should mulch or side discharge. Zero turn mowers are much faster than the old type. I have Toro Timecutter with a 20hp kawasaki engine no jacking up to access blades (deck is removable in a minute) and is easy to clean in situ. Toro is distributed by and parts serviced through Hayter in the UK. Hayter Zero turns are almost identical and made by Toro. Mine retails at 4k but I bought trade for 3. Buy anything sub 2k and you'll buy again soon bits will drop/snap off may not be replaceable and the engine will be underpowered crap probably by Briggs and Stratton. Decent mowers will have a 3 yr warranty.

A good yardstick is what commercial use, some football clubs use Toro (man u being one) local councils tend to use John Deere or Hayter.

[Chuck]

No brainer if you've got a sloping lawn...

...Flymo on a rope

I have to do that on one of my slopes. PITFA.

[Troll]

No brainer if you've got a sloping lawn...

...Flymo on a rope

I used to have to do that at parents house in my yoof

Childhood ruined by forced labour

[Martin Scroatman]

No brainer if you've got a sloping lawn...

...Flymo on a rope

[WTFH]

Hayter

[ /end thread ]

[SimonMac]

ROBOT WARS!!!!

The best robotic lawnmowers - Telegraph

[milanbenes]

what about a Kubota with a pto driven mower

Milan.

[Chuck]

They are fairly simple machines, a local garden machinery shop should be able to sell you a decent used one and maintain it in future for you. However, with new you will obviously have a year (at least) warranty. Probably no right answer to that one.

Add in Westwood to your list of manufacturers.

If you want to collect the grass, make sure the collector bin is a big as you can find. The real PITA of larger amounts of grass is the constant to'ing and fro'ing from your compost heap.

48" is good, 50" is slightly better but there are very few on the market.

One thing to be aware of; ride on mowers, like swimming pools, horses, flash motors etc, show that you are loaded and therefore fair game to get ripped off on price every time you go near the shop.

[milanbenes]

good we've got enough people here with tractor mowers

ok experts

Shall I buy new or second hand ?

Pro's and Con's... new, I will be the only owner, I will hopefully have the thing for ever, and know its history

second hand, saves a fortune, but could be a financial disaster when things stop working


What make shall I buy ?

Shall I go for a no-name from the local DIY place, or shall I get branded ? Branded, which one, John Deere, Honda, Kubota, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Yard Man etc ?


Size of deck ?

I will need to cut an acre and a 1/4, thinking that anything less than 48" won't be worth bothering


Price Limit ?

These things aint cheap, and basic Honda's and John Deeres cost around 4k gbp :-(


Milan.

[greenlake]

Get a sheep.

The deluxe version....

[FatLazyContractor]

MF's Lawn mower

[FatLazyContractor]

AtW's lawn mower

[ZARDOZ]

How does it cope when the grass is wet? My 50 incher mulches and can also collect. When it's wet I have to collect otherwise I end up with piles of cut grass behind me.

I dont tend to mow if too wet as a/it uses more petrol and b/ I have a few 40 deg slopes to cut sliding down them wouldnt end well. If it does leave any clumps they soon compost. I've had it about 3 yrs though and it's coped with everything I've thrown at it. A standard machine would be dead by now. And wouldnt cut all my land without tipping over or stalling every 5 mins.

[Chuck]

No way could you cut 1/2 acre in 20 mins on that. You'd spend 20 mins emptying the grass box alone.

I agree. It takes me at least 30 minutes to mulch my half acre paddock and my deck is bigger than the OPs. If I was collecting and emptying, that would add another 15-20 minutes to that time.

[Chuck]

I've got a Zero turn recycler mower with a 50 inch deck with which I mow about 2 acres, the remaining acres animals graze on. Zero turns are about 2 times faster than the old style sit on and cope with inclines more easily plus it mulches so no grass collection and it fertilizes the grass.

How does it cope when the grass is wet? My 50 incher mulches and can also collect. When it's wet I have to collect otherwise I end up with piles of cut grass behind me.