The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

Discodog

18MonthsaSlave wrote: »

I would not advise using a trailer on a twincut rear discharge as it rips the rear axle out of them.
1/2 acre and under I recommend the best premium walk-behind you can get.
above half acre to acre if you are willing to discharge grass for a portion of it stay with premium walk-behind.
Beyond that get a ride-on or some sheep.

I have used trailers with ride ons for donkey's years. A typical garden trailer won't weigh much more than the grassbox when it's full.

Consumer ride on mowers are generally reliable & long lasting.

I really don't know why you are posting such opinion.

18MonthsaSlave

Discodog wrote: »

I really don't know why you are posting such opinion.

Experience.

monkeynuz

18MonthsaSlave wrote: »

Experience.

My experience similar to disco is that even a 12hp ride on can tow a trailer even a 6x3 manual tipper full of logs and even tow a makeshift soil leveller with a man standing on it.

Although I am more of a fan of a decent walk behind on smaller areas of grass, not everyone is keen on spending the time or effort to do it.

18MonthsaSlave

The service bulletins don't lie.

I'm in the buy a premium walk behind instead of a ride on camp. Get a good walk behind for domestic use for €800 tops. It costs me €15 euro to buy an air filter, oil and spark plug for it and I service it my self which was easy to learn off YouTube including cleaning the carburettor, sharpening the blades and working with the drive

A good ride on = €2500 - €3000. Its dearer to service and has three different belts at least which will need replacing not to mention pulleys that the bearings go in. You also need a trailer or a big van to transport them.

Spend the extra €2000 on converting some of your 1/2 acre lawn into something else like a veg garden or plant a few trees or build some flower beds then you wont need a ride on. I had nearly an acre around my house. I'm now down to under half an acre which I can cut in just over an hour with a walk behind

solas2112

hi all!anyone have any experience with GYG mowers?

homer1982

Anyone here have any experience with viking ride on lawnmowers? T5 or T6? Are they reliable and give a decent cut?

2 Wheels Good

Hi, I'm considering getting a small ride on to complement our self propelled. Its for the family home and I'm under pressure over the summer months to keep things in check. They take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cut.
We constrained by gate widths (About 32" max width) so I'm thinking a small Stiga 1066 or Mountfield 827H or similar. Both of these are tidy but I'd be concerned are the engines strong enough? The Stiga is 6.5HP which is the same as our self propelled.

There's a few second hand available online but not much.

If anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly appreciated.

monkeynuz

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Hi, I'm considering getting a small ride on to complement our self propelled. Its for the family home and I'm under pressure over the summer months to keep things in check. They take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cut.
We constrained by gate widths (About 32" max width) so I'm thinking a small Stiga 1066 or Mountfield 827H or similar. Both of these are tidy but I'd be concerned are the engines strong enough? The Stiga is 6.5HP which is the same as our self propelled.

There's a few second hand available online but not much.

If anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly appreciated.

I've heard very good thugs of this snapper mower, not the prettiest but size wise should suit you http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/ride-on-mowers/snapper-ride-on-mowers/showitem-F1-E2813523BVE.aspx

SoupyNorman

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Hi, I'm considering getting a small ride on to complement our self propelled. Its for the family home and I'm under pressure over the summer months to keep things in check. They take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cut.
We constrained by gate widths (About 32" max width) so I'm thinking a small Stiga 1066 or Mountfield 827H or similar. Both of these are tidy but I'd be concerned are the engines strong enough? The Stiga is 6.5HP which is the same as our self propelled.

There's a few second hand available online but not much.

If anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly appreciated.

What kind of area size are you cutting?

2 Wheels Good

SoupyNorman wrote: »

What kind of area size are you cutting?

There's probably an acre or so in total, spread across 2 houses and 6 lawns (not as fancy as it sounds, just ours and my aunts house )

Discodog

monkeynuz wrote: »

I've heard very good thugs of this snapper mower, not the prettiest but size wise should suit you http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/ride-on-mowers/snapper-ride-on-mowers/showitem-F1-E2813523BVE.aspx

13 hp through a 28 inch deck sounds good - it shouldn't lack power.

2 Wheels Good

Discodog wrote: »

13 hp through a 28 inch deck sounds good - it shouldn't lack power.

How do people find Snapper these days? Used to use one on a private estate in the 90s/early 00s. Best self propelled mower I ever used, when it worked. The amount of springs it had were a pain!

2 Wheels Good

Ok, after some thought (and reading all 83 pages of this thread!). Whilst a 22" Honda engined self propelled in some ways makes most sense, the distances between our grass dumps still keeps some problems for us.
I've changed from trying to go small (28") towards a small tractor mower. Budget and the advice here seems to point towards a rear bagger, hydrostatic and solid build and as much power as possible.
Without going silly money on a decent commercial unit, it's between the Castelgarden XDC 140 HD (The XDC 150 HD has an own brand engine unfortunately, I think) and the Snapper E2813523BVE Rear Engine Rider seem the best mowers for our budget. Concerns over the damp weather performance of the Snapper would lean me towards the Castelgarden.
If anyone has any advice beyond this it would be appreciated.

TitianGerm

Guys need some advice. I came home today to cut the grass but my girlfriend had already most of it done. Bit left in the front and she told me that the lawnmower won't go anymore. I had a quick look over it and it turns out she's after putting petrol into the oil tank on my brand new mower what makes it worse is she kept trying to start it for about 30 minutes before I got home.

Its a Briggs and Stratton 675EX engine any advice here as I'm a bit reluctant to try take it apart.

Discodog

emmetkenny wrote: »

Guys need some advice. I came home today to cut the grass but my girlfriend had already most of it done. Bit left in the front and she told me that the lawnmower won't go anymore. I had a quick look over it and it turns out she's after putting petrol into the oil tank on my brand new mower what makes it worse is she kept trying to start it for about 30 minutes before I got home.

Its a Briggs and Stratton 675EX engine any advice here as I'm a bit reluctant to try take it apart.

Tip all the petrol & oil out of the engine. Remove the spark plug & gently try pulling the cord. You need to know if the engine has seized.

TitianGerm

Discodog wrote: »

Tip all the petrol & oil out of the engine. Remove the spark plug & gently try pulling the cord. You need to know if the engine has seized.

Thanks for that. I'll give it a go tomorrow

Discodog

Don't try to start it. Just see if the engine will turn. If so you will need some mower engine oil & you may need a new air filter. If the engine won't turn then put a little oil in the plug hole & try turning the engine by putting a spanner on the blade nut.

puddles59

Hi I;m also thinking about buying a ride on for just over half an acre.My question is are they hard to manage ?

rtmie

I recently got a hand me down mower, it's a push model Harry petrol mower, I reckon at least 10~15 years old. Mower is in perfect working order, but the grass box/bag is completely banjaxed.

Does anyone know if there are generic/spurious grass boxes that are not brand specific or if not where one would start looking to find same for the specific Harry mower of that age?

Couple of pics of the mower in question:

2 Wheels Good

rtmie wrote: »

I recently got a hand me down mower, it's a push model Harry petrol mower, I reckon at least 10~15 years old. Mower is in perfect working order, but the grass box/bag is completely banjaxed.

Does anyone know if there are generic/spurious grass boxes that are not brand specific or if not where one would start looking to find same for the specific Harry mower of that age?

Couple of pics of the mower in question:

Have a Harry at home. Opem I think bought them or the design and you can still buy them. The Bag mount is still the same I think on both.

dor843088

Lads looking for a bit of advice please. The girlfriends father has a castlegarden twin cut ride on mower and the battery is not charging on it . It will go with a jump pack connected but as soon as its disconnected it cuts out and the battery light stays on all the time. What charges the battery on these or whats the most likely cause of a battery not charging apart from the battery itself. Any info appreciated.

Discodog

dor843088 wrote: »

Lads looking for a bit of advice please. The girlfriends father has a castlegarden twin cut ride on mower and the battery is not charging on it . It will go with a jump pack connected but as soon as its disconnected it cuts out and the battery light stays on all the time. What charges the battery on these or whats the most likely cause of a battery not charging apart from the battery itself. Any info appreciated.

You need a voltmeter. You need to measure the voltage of the battery with it disconnected. Then reconnect it, start the machine & measure the voltage with the engine running. The voltage should notably increase with the engine running. If it does then the battery is faulty. If not then the battery isn't receiving a charge.

2 Wheels Good

Looking at a 2nd hand Efco 40" ride on today. Think it's from 2002. It has ~400 hours on the clock. Seems in good condition.
Are those hours high or something I should be concerned about? And any opinions on Efco?
They're another Castelgarden brand from what I've seen. Thanks

tombrown

Hi

I have a Castel Garden TCR102 ride on mower. I am getting a continuous high pitch "beep" from under the hood & have no idea what it means (manual long since lost). Mower still operates fine, but I cant help thinking I should be heeding a warning here

Can anyone advise?

CJhaughey

tombrown wrote: »

Hi

I have a Castel Garden TCR102 ride on mower. I am getting a continuous high pitch "beep" from under the hood & have no idea what it means (manual long since lost). Mower still operates fine, but I cant help thinking I should be heeding a warning here

Can anyone advise?

Usually thats the grass box full indicator.
Look at the back and just below the chute you should see a small bar with a red tab on the end, check that its moving up and down.
Its probably jammed down causing the beep.

tombrown

CJhaughey wrote: »

Usually thats the grass box full indicator.
Look at the back and just below the chute you should see a small bar with a red tab on the end, check that its moving up and down.
Its probably jammed down causing the beep.

I shoudl have been clear - this is not the grass box full beep. It is higher pitched, not as loud (I can barely hear it when the blades are engaged) and constant. A high pitched continuous whistle coming from the electrics, just under the hood.

CJhaughey

tombrown wrote: »

I shoudl have been clear - this is not the grass box full beep. It is higher pitched, not as loud (I can barely hear it when the blades are engaged) and constant. A high pitched continuous whistle coming from the electrics, just under the hood.

You sure its electrical, Not a bearing going bad in one of the pulleys?

tombrown

Definitely electrical. It continues after I stop the engine, when the ignition is still on

SCOL

I have lots of weeds in my garden had anyone tried d50 ? or can anyone recomment anything else to use. It's a big lawn which originally was a field I just
started to make a lawn of of it this year. I bought a 15Kg bag of weed and feed
and it only covered a small sention of the lawn and there is still alot of weeds.

I'm thinking of some sort of a liquid treatement might be better, quicker to apply and cheaper to buy and better coverage.