I reckon cutting length is important most of these tractor style hobbies only seem to have a relatively small cut........ Not that good for large areas.
My old man used to have, what I can only describe what looked like a 3 wheel gokart type thing, 2 wheels up front and 1 rear to steer, bloody thing turned on a penny, was awesome......... Also had 3 rotary cutting blades which gave a 72in wide cut.
For the life of me can't remember the make or what engine it had........ All I remember is that an area that used to take me 4 hours to mow with the push along petrol jobby, took my old man 20 minutes............ I can't believe the barsteward waited until I moved out of their house before he bought the ride on!!!!!!!!!!
Taps a lot!!!!!!
AB (16th May 2012)
Mates got a JD comes with 3 point linkage plus small grader blade and bucket. Mower deck is about 1 to1.25 meters possibly more but with all the other acc`s he reckons it`s a steal at around 20 grand. He had a JD strait mower deck before and could not fault it including JD`s service.
I can finally answer with absolute Knowledge, wisdom, power of observation, hands on servicing, using machines and knowledge of back up parts.
Firstly: New Honda Motors are not as good as the ones made 20 year ago!
Kholo is a good reliable motor providing cooling is kept under control.
Vanguard is a Briggs Motor. Briggs are value for money!
In my opion you cannot pass up a Kawasaki Petrol motor these days!!!
If you want desiel Kubota motor or Denyo!!
Secondly:Mower Brands
Greenfields are simple operation, relatively simple design to replace belts and blades. Robust Australian designed for Australian land. Mostly Briggs powered(Intek).Parts readily available.
Clipper is a relatively new comer Aussie Made. Zero turn with single joystick controller, and a easy slide out tilt up deck, to allow for quick blade change.Kawasaki powered.
John Deere is well known, but have a limited parts availability for drive lines usually. Import fro USA needed, upto 4wk wait. Also not cheap parts.
As are Toro. These are newer here than John Deere, but very good machines. Both John Deere and Toro have belts, blades, tyres and tubes available aftermarket and/or original.
I wouldn't touch Husquarvana, as they have a habit of superceeding models, then discontinuing parts for prior models. Thats in all their product range.
Hustlers seem to have a good reputation.
As for Cox, used to be good 35 year ago, now they are flimsy, and are only for real lawns. Better than MTD, but cerainly not as robust as Greenfeild.
MTD you'll regret it.
White is a cross breed of MTD & Cox.
AMC is no longer made, but you can still buy parts until they run out.
Thirdly Types:
Ride on Tractor Mower. Look for something that seems to have less parts that can fall off over time. Check the steering system for protection from tree bumping. Be aware of ground clearance with steering components. Ak what is the drive unit, Is it cork clutch? Contract Drive plates? Gearbox? Chain and sprocket? Drive shaft? Belt Driven?
The Cork Clutches wear and are a easy cheap replacement.
The Contact Drive plates are (I found) useless, unless on flat ground.
The Belt driven can burn out belts if you don't keep an eye on tensions every now and then. Pullies do wear out eventually.
Chain and sprocket can easily be seperated by twigs catching in the chain as they run close to the ground. No problem if you have a LAWN with no trees.
The other two are same as any gearbox drive shaft machine.
Blade types: You canhave acutter bar blade, or cutting disc with swing back blades. Different Makes models will have what Manufacturer deems best.
Some of thes come with 4WD, excellent for more slopey ground. Not maent to mow through mud, just enable tackling slopes easier.
These Ride on Tractor Mowers are usually mid mounted tinny sheet metal cutting decks. They don't like being treated rough.
Then you have Out front mowers, 2WD and AWD. These usually suffer big rear end swing. But usually tougher deck than a ride on tractor mower.
The you have the Zero Turns: (Zero Turn Means it will turn onthe spot, no turning circle as such)
Two sub species Domestic and Commercial: The main difference isthe cutting decks. Domestic is light metal(Tinny), Commercial is a pressed mild steel deck very strong. Can take some knocks.
When turning sharply with a zero turn you can and will get wheel spin, sometimes digging up the gras/dirt.
Best thing about Zero turns is they will zip around a tree in a single line cut. No back and forth! They have spindles which have a Cutting Bar Blade attached to them.
You do have Belts still for the cutting deck. But wheels are driven by hydraulic pump motors. They have electric clutches to engage blades.
You can also now get Quad steer. These mowers don't wheel spin when turning. bigger mower than Zero turn of some cutting deck. less footprint also.
Hope some of this helps. If you want more info, just ask or PM me!
By the way, I am currently employed in the hire game, and have been now for approx 7 years in total. And try to keep up to date with
Getting Older Is Unavoidable, Growing Up Is Optional!
I'd just go for one that the Missus can handle John!!
Cheers, the ferret.
PS, Was that your Missus that you sent me the pic of in the green dress lol.???
AB (17th May 2012)
Finly Owner,
a response to that magnitude earns my absolute highest respect.
Mate thank you so very much.
Ferret, you'll keep !! bahahahahhahahah.... wife bahahahhahahah
Finly Owner (17th May 2012)
Had our Huskie 48 with 22 hp Kohler for 6 years now and no worries. Here in Central Florida we cut the grass 12 months a year so it gets a work out. No problems. just oil, filters and blades.