Ride on lawnmower guide

[irish boy]

Timmy40 said:

steveonts said:

Really helpful guide, thank you.

Ive got a meadow that I need to cut, previously used a small tractor with a flail topper attachment which was a nightmare. Too big for the job I reckon. Looking at a ride on to handle it now. These ride ons dont have any problem with brambles and saplings growing in the grass do they?

For that my friend you want an Orec Rabbit!

http://www.fgmclaymore.co.uk/our-brands/orec/rabbi...

It is a serious mower.....£3.5k, but it's the proper job.

Edited by Timmy40 on Wednesday 25th April 15:56

Agreed a standard ride on will not handle saplings etc. That orec is very good, we spent a bit of time on one on the last demo day in Scotland and I was impressed. The only downside is it doesn't leave a lawn type finish. But it isn't meant to.


If you are happy walking the dr field and brush mowers give you the best of both as they will handle 3" saplings but also can be fitted with a finishing deck for the good lawn areas. The biggest is 34"....


https://drpower.co.uk/index.php/products/field-bru...

[Cheib]

It's all about how long it takes and how much spare time you have! When we bought out house just under three years ago we inherited a Mountfield ride on which does an okay job but would take up to three hours to cut the grass especially when it wasn't absolutely bone dry. Cutting the grass in the spring time with it was a nightmare as you had to limit the speed you drove at otherwise the grass chute would get clogged. Our kids now have busy weekend schedules and found that with only Sunday afternoons free three hours was too long....so invested in a proper cutting deck for my Kubota. Can cut the grass in 45 mins now and don't have huge amounts of grass cuttings to get rid of. Oh and it's heavy enough that I am now using it to roll a wicket in the back garden

[joestifff]

I can only dream of having a garden big enough for a ride on.

....sad face....

[acme]

irish boy said:

Good little machine, small but reliable. It actually has a rope back up for starting which I haven't seen for a long time on any make. Very handy when you let the battery slide over the winter.

Nothing wrong with Honda either, tend to be a bit slow but work well.

Good guide in the telegraph here too.....


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningequ...

Many thanks for the response, really appreciated.

The Al-ko looks like it doesn't have hydrostatic gears, which I guess is a pain but less to worry about too.

Cheers

[alfabeat]

Well my John Deere X165 transmission finally completely died on me (152 hours). I have put a new K46 unit in it, and am now looking to move it on and replace it with something more suitable for my use, before it dies again.

Use: About an acre of sloping garden to be mowed. Plus then pulling a small garden trailer of wood from time to time etc. Again, we are in a sloping area.

Budget: I reckon I can get about £1,400 for my X165 on a private sale (its in excellent condition now!) and low hours. I can top this up by about £600 max. Times are tight. So looking for a machine, which is tougher than the X165 for about £2k. Need a deck of about 42 to 48 inches.

I want something simple, tough, reliable and easy spares supply.

I have seen a tidy Countax A2050HE with 300 hours on it within budget. This has the Honda engine and K66 hydro unit, which is reputably much tougher.

Any good?

Or a Westwood T1800 again on low hours which looks a simple enough machine - but are they tough enough?

Anything else to consider for the budget?

Thoughts?

Thank you!

Edited by alfabeat on Monday 11th May 21:24

[LotusMartin]

Any recommendations for mower for hilly terrain? I live on a hill and my lawns are challenging. there is a large area of maybe an acre which is fairly flat but slopes in between range from 15-25 degrees (short bits i just need to drive it up and down to get to other parts.). Really want a zero turn, something like Ariens Apex but very concerned they won’t be able to handle the slopes.

should i be looking at a tractor type or could i get away with a zero turn?
This section is 20 degrees


this section is 15 degrees

Edited by LotusMartin on Monday 18th May 16:10

[alabbasi]

I bought a used craftsman mower for my 1.5 acre lot. It cost me $300 and has been pretty reliable. First vehicle i've ever bought with a 6 speed and I've mowed in 6th gear!

It has something around 700cc motor and has zero problems with 2ft tall grass.

[Bill]

LotusMartin said:

Any recommendations for mower for hilly terrain?

FWIW for a hillier and rougher orchard I've been eyeing up the Husqvarna out front 4wd mowers. They're not zero turn but the online reviews I've seen sound ideal.

That said I'm seriously considering a Grillo MD18 due to side slopes.

[LotusMartin]

Bill said:

FWIW for a hillier and rougher orchard I've been eyeing up the Husqvarna out front 4wd mowers. They're not zero turn but the online reviews I've seen sound ideal.

That said I'm seriously considering a Grillo MD18 due to side slopes.

Looks like just the job, here going up 30 degrees -https://youtu.be/_CJs_58rXG8

Good deals at the moment on FR Jones s well £3.7k incl VAT - tempting

[Bill]

Yep. Unfortunately the way they turn so tightly by tucking the rear wheels round means they're no good for me.

[Julia121]

irish boy said:

Alko, probably my top choice. Made in Austria, superb in damp/wet conditions, even the 36" comes on a 656cc v twin briggs and they are very well put together. They also have an offset deck with no timing belt which is a good thing, timing belts keep the blades in check but if you hit a root and knock the timing out it has to be reset which is tricky at home. With Alko I tend to think Volvo.

Glad to see someone else rating them. We've had one for nearly 26 years now and never had any problems. In that time I've replaced the fan belt and blade once. They just keep going and spares are easy to source and fit. Only slight niggle is the bright colour yellow but I like it. Cheers up the garden

[Skyedriver]

Julia121 said:

irish boy said:

Alko, probably my top choice. Made in Austria, superb in damp/wet conditions, even the 36" comes on a 656cc v twin briggs and they are very well put together. They also have an offset deck with no timing belt which is a good thing, timing belts keep the blades in check but if you hit a root and knock the timing out it has to be reset which is tricky at home. With Alko I tend to think Volvo.

Glad to see someone else rating them. We've had one for nearly 26 years now and never had any problems. In that time I've replaced the fan belt and blade once. They just keep going and spares are easy to source and fit. Only slight niggle is the bright colour yellow but I like it. Cheers up the garden

Bought an Al-ko recently on Irish Boy's recommendation. Had a bit of a conversation with him over a few days, so far it's been really spot on. Drop him a PM he might be able to help.

[Bill]

LotusMartin said:

Looks like just the job, here going up 30 degrees -https://youtu.be/_CJs_58rXG8

I'm not convinced that's 30° as that's 1 in 2. 30% is approaching 1 in 3 and seems more likely but is still bloody steep. My cross slope is that steep in places and then I need to make a turn up it

Just been looking at the specs of my mower and it's rated for 15% cross slopes (the 4wd is 25%). The Husqvarna is 10 degrees or 17%.

I've just found a used 4x4 Countax on auto trader that looks promising...

[LotusMartin]

Bill said:

I'm not convinced that's 30° as that's 1 in 2. 30% is approaching 1 in 3 and seems more likely but is still bloody steep. My cross slope is that steep in places and then I need to make a turn up it

Just been looking at the specs of my mower and it's rated for 15% cross slopes (the 4wd is 25%). The Husqvarna is 10 degrees or 17%.

I've just found a used 4x4 Countax on auto trader that looks promising...

i’m no mathematician... surely 1 in 1 is 45d (100%) so 1 in 2 is 26.57d (50%) , 1 in 3 is about 17d 33%?

either way, looking at that video it’s bloody steep and steeper than i need for sure.

[Bill]

LotusMartin said:

i’m no mathematician... surely 1 in 1 is 45d (100%) so 1 in 2 is 26.57d (50%) , 1 in 3 is about 17d 33%?

either way, looking at that video it’s bloody steep and steeper than i need for sure.

I went off this: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/slope-degrees-g... but that's pretty much what I said.

I've had an interesting find. Lawn King do a bank mower - the Venturer - which is the basic Grillo but apparently with a difflock and a different engine. Only worry is that it's a B&S Intek 344cc unit which seems a bit wee.

[Bill]

LotusMartin said:

stuff

You might need to revisit the zero turn mowers. I'm having an email chat with Irish Boy (the op) and he rest rates them for rough work and hills.

[steveonts]

Anyone have a husqvarna lt151? Theres one for sale locally that doesnt look too bad. How are they?

[Superleg48]

I have a McCulloch MT155 107TC, with 42” cutting width. Probably a Trabant compared to some of these others, but has been a super machine for me, had it three years, now about an acre at least once a week from late Feb to late Nov, including leaf hoovering. I have it serviced every year and never had an issue. Cut quality seems good enough for me.

Think it was about £2300 when I bought it.

[jason61c]

LotusMartin said:

Any recommendations for mower for hilly terrain? I live on a hill and my lawns are challenging. there is a large area of maybe an acre which is fairly flat but slopes in between range from 15-25 degrees (short bits i just need to drive it up and down to get to other parts.). Really want a zero turn, something like Ariens Apex but very concerned they won’t be able to handle the slopes.

should i be looking at a tractor type or could i get away with a zero turn?
This section is 20 degrees


this section is 15 degrees

Edited by LotusMartin on Monday 18th May 16:10

I've got a 4wd stiga which would do that without sweating.

20hp, 4wd, out front cut.

[jason61c]

one of these