Ride On Mower Advice

Pinky123

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice on buying a ride on. We have about 1 1/2 acres to mow and do not need to collect the grass. Am looking at the new JCB one thats on sale in B&Q for 1550, it has a 14.5 hp engine. My sis bought one last year for about 2300 so I am kinda anxious that the one I am looking at is too cheap and won't last.
Any advice on the sort of questions I should ask and features I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance

sponge_bob

14.5hp engine is a bit crap
jcb is a bit crap if there tools are anything to go by.


1 and half acres is a lot of grass:eek:
try and get a mulching mower, look for something 20+hp with a minimum of a 42" cut preferably 48", try and make sure it has a briggs and stratton engine, go for hydrostatic rather than gears.

i have a craftsman 18hp with a 42" cut, hydrostatic and mulcher/collector, i have about half an acre of grass and it still takes me a good hour to cut it. i still think it is to small tbh, could definetly do with more hp and would also like a bigger deck. i don't think i would bother with another craftsman either. i would probably go for something like a john deer.

they are quite expensive and expect to pay upwards of €2500 for a new mower, that one that you are talking about for €1500 i would say is a right pice of crap and will probably calf under the strain of cutting all that grass once a week.

mileyplumb

get a mower from the us there is big savings to be had

are you sure you want to mulch all the time?

sno_fun3

Hi pinky not sure what area you are in but if you are around the munster area send me a message i can put you in touch with a dealer who i regularly deal with who will be happy to give you any advice you need even if you dont end up buying anything from him.

He sells everything from small lawnmowers to ride ons right up to commericial mowers and carries a stock of new and second hand mowers and services and repairs all of them so everything comes with full warranty and after sales service.

morg

Hi pinky,
Do not buy anything from the major diy/tool places.Do not buy jcb tools or a ride on mower with 14 hp.
Pay for a decent machine like a Honda 2417 or a zero-turn machine for the garden market (Hustler do a few) with mulcher kit.
Believe me when I say this-entry level ride on mowers are a waste of time and will break your heart.
First of all ,what do you do when something breaks on it cos B&Q don't do call outs.Buy from a real mower dealer and they will look after you.
I deal with a garden machine shop and their heads are wrecked with people buying crap in diy stores,then bringing it to them when it eventually breaks.
If a new one is too much then get a reconditioned ride-on with a good reputation.

B&Q = AVOID

bbam

sponge_bob wrote: »

14.5hp engine is a bit crap


1 and half acres is a lot of grass:eek:
try and get a mulching mower, look for something 20+hp with a minimum of a 42" cut preferably 48", try and make sure it has a briggs and stratton engine, go for hydrostatic rather than gears.

I have a 13.5 HP Castlegarden, 40" deck, manual gears. I never mulch, always collect the grass... During the summer with average growth I can cut/collect and dump the grass from 3 lawns total 1 acre in about 90 minutes...

I agree go as big as you can afford but 14.5 HP isn't crap either... Your describing a seriously expensive mower there... 20+HP with a 48 inch deck will surely set you back about €5K.. you will get a good mower for under €3K and if your mulching you'll be done in no time at all

fryup

bbam wrote: »

I have a 13.5 HP Castlegarden, 40" deck, manual gears. I never mulch, always collect the grass... During the summer with average growth I can cut/collect and dump the grass from 3 lawns total 1 acre in about 90 minutes...

and i have a 10.5hp rear engined, 30" deck manual and i have no major problems mowing my two lawns each on a slight slope, but grass must be dry to collect properly

Skuxx

Pinky123 wrote: »

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice on buying a ride on. We have about 1 1/2 acres to mow and do not need to collect the grass. Am looking at the new JCB one thats on sale in B&Q for 1550, it has a 14.5 hp engine. My sis bought one last year for about 2300 so I am kinda anxious that the one I am looking at is too cheap and won't last.
Any advice on the sort of questions I should ask and features I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance

What way is your lawn OP? If it has any slopes (+15 degrees or so) you'll need a mower with a oil pump as the splash system won't suffice!
I have a 17hp 42" Hustler with a kohler engine! Its not quite powerful enough for me and the deck is a bit small as Ive about 2 acres to cut and it takes nearly 4 hours! It doesn't give any problems however even though it has a tough life!!

Nokia08

Hey,

I'll add my knowledge here from actually repairing them, Basically It all depends on what your working on, Is it a maintained lawn?..etc.

I haven't had much experience with those brands myself, but if its on sale it could be because the machine isn't being built anymore. Check to see how expensive or difficult it is to get spare parts by its model number.

Also make sure that the blades are metal rather then plastic along with the cutting deck. The mulcher can be removed if needed.

Can't thing of anything else off the top of my head.
Hope it helps.