Ride-On Mowers. What Do I Need To Know?
Discussion
Chaps, I'm after some lawnmower advice please.
Having recently moved, I now have a garden of about an acre. Most of it is lawn, but I'll be adding some complexity with vegetable and soft fruit plots. It's mainly flat but there is a gentle left-right slope at the far end. It's surrounded by trees too so the machine will have to do leaf clearing at the end of the season.
I'm pretty certain that it's beyond the abilities of my current self-propelled mower, so a sit-on mower or garden tractor seems to be the logical choice; the question is which one? Budget isn't fixed yet but I'm not aiming at oligarch-levels of cost.
Any thoughts on what to seek out or avoid? New versus second hand? Auto versus manual? Also, in general, do the people that service them come and collect?
Searching previous threads reveals comment about mulching rather than collecting - does that leave much mess to get trodden into the house by the dog? If yes, I know that won't be popular.
I'm in East Somerset if anyone has particular recommendations on retailers or knows of anything for sale.
Having recently moved, I now have a garden of about an acre. Most of it is lawn, but I'll be adding some complexity with vegetable and soft fruit plots. It's mainly flat but there is a gentle left-right slope at the far end. It's surrounded by trees too so the machine will have to do leaf clearing at the end of the season.
I'm pretty certain that it's beyond the abilities of my current self-propelled mower, so a sit-on mower or garden tractor seems to be the logical choice; the question is which one? Budget isn't fixed yet but I'm not aiming at oligarch-levels of cost.
Any thoughts on what to seek out or avoid? New versus second hand? Auto versus manual? Also, in general, do the people that service them come and collect?
Searching previous threads reveals comment about mulching rather than collecting - does that leave much mess to get trodden into the house by the dog? If yes, I know that won't be popular.
I'm in East Somerset if anyone has particular recommendations on retailers or knows of anything for sale.
I was in your position last year looking at all the ride on options, I had pretty much decided on an articulated ride on with front cutter for mulching. However a robot was then suggested to me and the more I thought about it the more sense it made, no valuable time up to twice weekly for proper mulching spent on a tractor, petrol to buy, grass to worry about if you miss a cut, etc etc. My I-Mow does a 40 hr week and grass looks great, still have edges and various small areas to do but well pleased, in fact about to get a 2nd one for the front garden now.
Kinkell said:
Time on your hands, fed up watching QVC with the mrs. Buy a new capable ride on and enjoy cutting your grass. Any issues covered by warranty from your local dealer. Most of them have a drinks holder for your favourite beverage.
If you want to mulch an acre properly then that could be quite a lot of time you need to have on your hands, the novelty of a ride on can wear off for some.I had an old ride on to start with, but it was taking too much valuable time for me in the end so would never go back now myself, but everyone to their own obviously.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Chaps, I'm after some lawnmower advice please.
Having recently moved, I now have a garden of about an acre. Most of it is lawn, but I'll be adding some complexity with vegetable and soft fruit plots. It's mainly flat but there is a gentle left-right slope at the far end. It's surrounded by trees too so the machine will have to do leaf clearing at the end of the season.
I'm pretty certain that it's beyond the abilities of my current self-propelled mower, so a sit-on mower or garden tractor seems to be the logical choice; the question is which one? Budget isn't fixed yet but I'm not aiming at oligarch-levels of cost.
Any thoughts on what to seek out or avoid? New versus second hand? Auto versus manual? Also, in general, do the people that service them come and collect?
Searching previous threads reveals comment about mulching rather than collecting - does that leave much mess to get trodden into the house by the dog? If yes, I know that won't be popular.
I'm in East Somerset if anyone has particular recommendations on retailers or knows of anything for sale.
To answer a few questions, I started out with an older Countax tractor which can be used for collecting or mulching. It has a rotating brush unit that physically throws the grass into the collector so is better with damp grass, others without the brush can clog up in damp or wet conditions I believe. It can also brush up leaves, although my robot manages to mulch them up quit well to be honest. Hydrostatic transmission seems to be much easier to use/control, and usually the servicing company would collect and deliver. I was looking for a front mounted cutter Husqvarna system just for better manoeuvrability around trees and bushes etc, plus much easier to clean out the cutting deck as it can be tilted up for access, unlike a mid mounted cutter system. I would think if you're careful a used one could be the best value.Having recently moved, I now have a garden of about an acre. Most of it is lawn, but I'll be adding some complexity with vegetable and soft fruit plots. It's mainly flat but there is a gentle left-right slope at the far end. It's surrounded by trees too so the machine will have to do leaf clearing at the end of the season.
I'm pretty certain that it's beyond the abilities of my current self-propelled mower, so a sit-on mower or garden tractor seems to be the logical choice; the question is which one? Budget isn't fixed yet but I'm not aiming at oligarch-levels of cost.
Any thoughts on what to seek out or avoid? New versus second hand? Auto versus manual? Also, in general, do the people that service them come and collect?
Searching previous threads reveals comment about mulching rather than collecting - does that leave much mess to get trodden into the house by the dog? If yes, I know that won't be popular.
I'm in East Somerset if anyone has particular recommendations on retailers or knows of anything for sale.
I posted a similar thread at the end of last year and have been looking for a used ride on mower since (got a budget of around £2k).
I've just checked back to the thread and Sandy59, you're the last poster on there and mentioned the robot mower. I'm actually now seriously considering one. Even the reviews over on a farming forum I visit raves about them and they know a thing or two about machines and grass.
£2k picks up a new one that can cope with an acre it seems...
I've just checked back to the thread and Sandy59, you're the last poster on there and mentioned the robot mower. I'm actually now seriously considering one. Even the reviews over on a farming forum I visit raves about them and they know a thing or two about machines and grass.
£2k picks up a new one that can cope with an acre it seems...
Woody3 said:
I posted a similar thread at the end of last year and have been looking for a used ride on mower since (got a budget of around £2k).
I've just checked back to the thread and Sandy59, you're the last poster on there and mentioned the robot mower. I'm actually now seriously considering one. Even the reviews over on a farming forum I visit raves about them and they know a thing or two about machines and grass.
£2k picks up a new one that can cope with an acre it seems...
Yes although you'll get a new one for £2k you need to check if that includes installation of the perimeter wire, unless you're going to do that yourself.I've just checked back to the thread and Sandy59, you're the last poster on there and mentioned the robot mower. I'm actually now seriously considering one. Even the reviews over on a farming forum I visit raves about them and they know a thing or two about machines and grass.
£2k picks up a new one that can cope with an acre it seems...
I had my wire buried which cost nearly £1k, although there was 600m of it and quite tricky going around numerous bushes etc.
If the mower can bump straight into something like a tree then no need to put the wire round it, it's only needed for something like a bush where it could get stuck inside.
The Viking i-Mow is also guaranteed for 5 years which is pretty good, not sure about other makes.
Sandy59 said:
I had my wire buried which cost nearly £1k, although there was 600m of it and quite tricky going around numerous bushes etc.
Do the wires around the bushes need connecting together or are they like little islands? Do they need power or any form of connection or is it simply a loop of wire not connected to anything else?Now considering an I-Mow as we spend a lot of time grass cutting and have some awkward areas.
S6PNJ said:
Do the wires around the bushes need connecting together or are they like little islands? Do they need power or any form of connection or is it simply a loop of wire not connected to anything else?
Now considering an I-Mow as we spend a lot of time grass cutting and have some awkward areas.
I think the loops are connected to the perimeter wire, the mower just stops and turns round when it detects a wire round an obstacle. You could also just place a mini fence/barrier or something around a bush etc which would effectively do the same job as it would just physically bump into it and turn round.Now considering an I-Mow as we spend a lot of time grass cutting and have some awkward areas.
The remote ones are an interesting suggestion but I rather enjoy cutting the grass. The only thing I don't like is the grass-box emptying which is a bit of a pain with the amount I have now. I gather that some ride-ons have a tipping grass box which sounds useful.
Comments noted about the front-mounted cutters - good point. I don't have much I need to skirt around but probably enough to make that a consideration.
Comments noted about the front-mounted cutters - good point. I don't have much I need to skirt around but probably enough to make that a consideration.
OK, real world experience over half an acre of lawn - moved here 8 years ago and immediately bought a John Deere LTR 180 off ebay for about £2000 from memory. Most years it gets a service and has had two drive belts, a couple of blades and a battery in that time. Hydrostatic drive makes it easy to use, turning circle is great and a sturdy piece of kit. Uses a bit less than a gallon of petrol per week, about two and a half hours of operating.
It gets used for grass cutting once a week during the summer and occasionally in the winter months. I also bought a tipping trailer, again off ebay, which is very useful, and a fertiliser spreader which just hooks on the back. I prefer a tractor to pick up the cuttings as it leaves great clumps if you let the grass grow to any length. It also makes good compost, contrary to popular belief, if mixed with leaves, weeds, cuttings and trimmings from around the garden. I've just mulched the borders and veg patch from a two year old heap and it's good stuff.
I chose this model as I had a John Deere about twenty years ago, which was also very reliable.
Here's one that looks pretty similar, but probably newer than mine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JOHN-DEERE-LTR180-RIDE-...
Just to add I have a lot of trees surrounding the lawns and in the autumn the tractor chops the leaves and picks up - perfect for composting.
It gets used for grass cutting once a week during the summer and occasionally in the winter months. I also bought a tipping trailer, again off ebay, which is very useful, and a fertiliser spreader which just hooks on the back. I prefer a tractor to pick up the cuttings as it leaves great clumps if you let the grass grow to any length. It also makes good compost, contrary to popular belief, if mixed with leaves, weeds, cuttings and trimmings from around the garden. I've just mulched the borders and veg patch from a two year old heap and it's good stuff.
I chose this model as I had a John Deere about twenty years ago, which was also very reliable.
Here's one that looks pretty similar, but probably newer than mine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JOHN-DEERE-LTR180-RIDE-...
Just to add I have a lot of trees surrounding the lawns and in the autumn the tractor chops the leaves and picks up - perfect for composting.
Edited by gred on Sunday 25th February 18:25
I have about 5 acres of garden, of which about three and a half are lawn.
I started off long ago with a decent collection mower. The novelty very quickly wore off. Not just because of the problem of where you dump the clippings but the fact that, even with a high capacity system, you had to stop far too often to empty the container.
Next stage was to move towards mulching by using a bung to block off the collection tube and fit mulching blades. This was a disaster and nearly put me off mulching for good. It was only when the John Deere Dealer gave me a weekend demo of a proper mulching mower with a proper mulching deck that I could see what I was missing. It really was like night and day compared to the previous compromise. Although I gave that ride-on to a mate a couple of years ago, that machine is still going well 18 years on, so well done John Deere.
Next up for me (just to get a wider cutting deck) was an ex-council Ransomes triple cylinder diesel unit. It was ace. Admittedly it neither mulched or collected but by setting the cut really low and being able to cut in half the time (so admittedly I probably did it twice as often) the lawn ended up like a golf fairway. Only issue with them is that while the engine will go for ever, the cutting mechanism is fairly expensive to maintain and repair. Also unless your garden really is like a golf fairway there will be bits that are difficult to get into or get around so you may well end up needing another mower for cutting these bits as well.
A couple of years ago now I got a Zero Turn mower with a wide mulching deck. It is fairly rapid across the ground and is very effective. The final cut isn't as awesome as the cylinder mower but is still good and the mower is absolutely maneuverable and you can adjust the cutting height on the fly.
Err... so in summary... get a John Deere with a proper mulching deck
ps.. my neighbour has about 1/2 acre of lawn that's almost flat and rectangular. He has a robot mower and when it is working well it seems to be fine but it isn't always working and it doesn't always work well.
I started off long ago with a decent collection mower. The novelty very quickly wore off. Not just because of the problem of where you dump the clippings but the fact that, even with a high capacity system, you had to stop far too often to empty the container.
Next stage was to move towards mulching by using a bung to block off the collection tube and fit mulching blades. This was a disaster and nearly put me off mulching for good. It was only when the John Deere Dealer gave me a weekend demo of a proper mulching mower with a proper mulching deck that I could see what I was missing. It really was like night and day compared to the previous compromise. Although I gave that ride-on to a mate a couple of years ago, that machine is still going well 18 years on, so well done John Deere.
Next up for me (just to get a wider cutting deck) was an ex-council Ransomes triple cylinder diesel unit. It was ace. Admittedly it neither mulched or collected but by setting the cut really low and being able to cut in half the time (so admittedly I probably did it twice as often) the lawn ended up like a golf fairway. Only issue with them is that while the engine will go for ever, the cutting mechanism is fairly expensive to maintain and repair. Also unless your garden really is like a golf fairway there will be bits that are difficult to get into or get around so you may well end up needing another mower for cutting these bits as well.
A couple of years ago now I got a Zero Turn mower with a wide mulching deck. It is fairly rapid across the ground and is very effective. The final cut isn't as awesome as the cylinder mower but is still good and the mower is absolutely maneuverable and you can adjust the cutting height on the fly.
Err... so in summary... get a John Deere with a proper mulching deck
ps.. my neighbour has about 1/2 acre of lawn that's almost flat and rectangular. He has a robot mower and when it is working well it seems to be fine but it isn't always working and it doesn't always work well.
Edited by renmure on Sunday 25th February 18:32
I’ll handle this from a budget end. Have 3/4 acre of straightforward lawn but didnt want to spend ages mowing so I wanted the largest size cutting deck I could. Mine is a Honda 48” deck with an 18hp twin. It’s old but came fully serviced with a new deck for £1000 5 years ago. Never let me down.
It doesn’t mulch but mowing once a week means i don’t need to. I can’t be bothered with the massive piles of cuttings so run it with the box tilted.
The only real thing that a more modern mower would offer is a hydrostatic gearbox - would save the manual gears!
Hope this helps?
It doesn’t mulch but mowing once a week means i don’t need to. I can’t be bothered with the massive piles of cuttings so run it with the box tilted.
The only real thing that a more modern mower would offer is a hydrostatic gearbox - would save the manual gears!
Hope this helps?
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