Ride on mower with roller and leaf collector advice
Discussion
After 10 years of a Stiga mulching mower which has been great I am looking for a new or newer mower that has a rear roller for stripes and a powered collector for grass and leaves !!
We used to use a pull behind leaf sweeper but it was always rubbish and tried a billy goat but our lawn really isnt flat and it was a bugger to push and empty.
The obvious choice is a westwood or counax but I think they have stopped making them now ?
Is there anything else that does what they used to do ?
The lawn is about 2 acres of grass and we have a hayter 56 for the small bits and a tractor with topper for the other land.
Any advice very welcome or if the countax / westwood is the answer which model is best, I know some have inherent gearbox issues.
Thanks Phib
We used to use a pull behind leaf sweeper but it was always rubbish and tried a billy goat but our lawn really isnt flat and it was a bugger to push and empty.
The obvious choice is a westwood or counax but I think they have stopped making them now ?
Is there anything else that does what they used to do ?
The lawn is about 2 acres of grass and we have a hayter 56 for the small bits and a tractor with topper for the other land.
Any advice very welcome or if the countax / westwood is the answer which model is best, I know some have inherent gearbox issues.
Thanks Phib
I have a Westwood T1600 (Kawasaki engine) 2010. The lawn is 2 acres,
I was told by the dealer not to use it on rough ground as the welds on the sweeper break.
The bearing on the sweeper deck and mower deck were all chinese rubbish and failed after 3-4 years, I replaced them all with SKF ones which are still good.
Drive belt replacement is a challange to say the least.
The Tuff Torque K46 transmissions which are used on many garden tractors are anything but tough. After 6 years mine would not go up a very slight slope and a new one cost me IRO £500. This is now showing signs of failing.
Fotunately I do all my own maintenance, if I'd had to pay a dealer for all the owork I've done on it it would have been replaced a long time ago
It does pick up all the grass and leaves and creates nice stripes though
I was told by the dealer not to use it on rough ground as the welds on the sweeper break.
The bearing on the sweeper deck and mower deck were all chinese rubbish and failed after 3-4 years, I replaced them all with SKF ones which are still good.
Drive belt replacement is a challange to say the least.
The Tuff Torque K46 transmissions which are used on many garden tractors are anything but tough. After 6 years mine would not go up a very slight slope and a new one cost me IRO £500. This is now showing signs of failing.
Fotunately I do all my own maintenance, if I'd had to pay a dealer for all the owork I've done on it it would have been replaced a long time ago
It does pick up all the grass and leaves and creates nice stripes though
We have the Countax c600 which is also Kawasaki powered.
No gearbox issues with the hydrostatic.
As you say no longer made and spare parts can be an issue.
The only real issue over a decade has been the cut out switch under the drivers seat which can glitch and turn off the engine when activating the blades.
The powered collector is good but I found the capacity meant I was spending too long emptying.
These days I mulch.
No gearbox issues with the hydrostatic.
As you say no longer made and spare parts can be an issue.
The only real issue over a decade has been the cut out switch under the drivers seat which can glitch and turn off the engine when activating the blades.
The powered collector is good but I found the capacity meant I was spending too long emptying.
These days I mulch.
Had a Honda engined tufftorque Countax C600 for about ten years, no problems apart from the carb and a circuit board iirc.
I had that serviced once, plus oil and filter every few years.
I’ve now had my Westwood T25 4wd with a Kawasaki engine for roughly ten years now too, and it’s been fine apart from battery, steering gear and a couple of bearings. I think it’s been serviced once too.
Little solar powered battery charger through the shed window is the best thing I’ve done as it’ll start all year round now.
The newer ones with the full guards over all the drive belts aren’t supposed to be as well made.
For summer grass they’re great, even if it’s damp you’ll still get a decent amount cut and picked up, but for leaves they’re pretty rubbish as leaves just don’t compress down in the sweeper - it might only do two passes up and back down the lawn before I have to empty the collector if I try and collect leaves.
The stripes are very satisfying
In autumn I now use a stihl blower and a pickey uppey tool to collect leaves in a trailer towed by the mower that I’ve made high mesh sides for, it’s way quicker than using the sweeper and it doesn’t chew the lawn surface up as much as several sweeper passes would. Long answer!
I had that serviced once, plus oil and filter every few years.
I’ve now had my Westwood T25 4wd with a Kawasaki engine for roughly ten years now too, and it’s been fine apart from battery, steering gear and a couple of bearings. I think it’s been serviced once too.
Little solar powered battery charger through the shed window is the best thing I’ve done as it’ll start all year round now.
The newer ones with the full guards over all the drive belts aren’t supposed to be as well made.
For summer grass they’re great, even if it’s damp you’ll still get a decent amount cut and picked up, but for leaves they’re pretty rubbish as leaves just don’t compress down in the sweeper - it might only do two passes up and back down the lawn before I have to empty the collector if I try and collect leaves.
The stripes are very satisfying
In autumn I now use a stihl blower and a pickey uppey tool to collect leaves in a trailer towed by the mower that I’ve made high mesh sides for, it’s way quicker than using the sweeper and it doesn’t chew the lawn surface up as much as several sweeper passes would. Long answer!
Thanks for the thorough reply!
We have also gone the route of the stihl back pack blower, kawasaki mule and off road hydraulic tipping trailer (Kelfri one great bit of kit !) with high mesh sides and leaf thing with claws !! ... its still bloddy painful!!
We have a couple of very big London plane trees, lots of willows and oaks .... so many blinking leaves !
Thanks
Phib
We have also gone the route of the stihl back pack blower, kawasaki mule and off road hydraulic tipping trailer (Kelfri one great bit of kit !) with high mesh sides and leaf thing with claws !! ... its still bloddy painful!!
We have a couple of very big London plane trees, lots of willows and oaks .... so many blinking leaves !
Thanks
Phib
andy43 said:
Had a Honda engined tufftorque Countax C600 for about ten years, no problems apart from the carb and a circuit board iirc.
I had that serviced once, plus oil and filter every few years.
I ve now had my Westwood T25 4wd with a Kawasaki engine for roughly ten years now too, and it s been fine apart from battery, steering gear and a couple of bearings. I think it s been serviced once too.
Little solar powered battery charger through the shed window is the best thing I ve done as it ll start all year round now.
The newer ones with the full guards over all the drive belts aren t supposed to be as well made.
For summer grass they re great, even if it s damp you ll still get a decent amount cut and picked up, but for leaves they re pretty rubbish as leaves just don t compress down in the sweeper - it might only do two passes up and back down the lawn before I have to empty the collector if I try and collect leaves.
The stripes are very satisfying
In autumn I now use a stihl blower and a pickey uppey tool to collect leaves in a trailer towed by the mower that I ve made high mesh sides for, it s way quicker than using the sweeper and it doesn t chew the lawn surface up as much as several sweeper passes would. Long answer!
I had that serviced once, plus oil and filter every few years.
I ve now had my Westwood T25 4wd with a Kawasaki engine for roughly ten years now too, and it s been fine apart from battery, steering gear and a couple of bearings. I think it s been serviced once too.
Little solar powered battery charger through the shed window is the best thing I ve done as it ll start all year round now.
The newer ones with the full guards over all the drive belts aren t supposed to be as well made.
For summer grass they re great, even if it s damp you ll still get a decent amount cut and picked up, but for leaves they re pretty rubbish as leaves just don t compress down in the sweeper - it might only do two passes up and back down the lawn before I have to empty the collector if I try and collect leaves.
The stripes are very satisfying
In autumn I now use a stihl blower and a pickey uppey tool to collect leaves in a trailer towed by the mower that I ve made high mesh sides for, it s way quicker than using the sweeper and it doesn t chew the lawn surface up as much as several sweeper passes would. Long answer!
Metric Max said:
I have a Westwood T1600 (Kawasaki engine) 2010. The lawn is 2 acres,
I was told by the dealer not to use it on rough ground as the welds on the sweeper break.
The bearing on the sweeper deck and mower deck were all chinese rubbish and failed after 3-4 years, I replaced them all with SKF ones which are still good.
Drive belt replacement is a challange to say the least.
The Tuff Torque K46 transmissions which are used on many garden tractors are anything but tough. After 6 years mine would not go up a very slight slope and a new one cost me IRO £500. This is now showing signs of failing.
Fotunately I do all my own maintenance, if I'd had to pay a dealer for all the owork I've done on it it would have been replaced a long time ago
It does pick up all the grass and leaves and creates nice stripes though
Just checking as I had similar issues and went as far as changing the oil in the transmission - what a gaff that was to find out that it made no difference, struggled on the slightest slope. I then fitted a new belt and when comparing the old one was 1-2 inches longer and had stretched. This is on a 15 year old husqvarna and it’s had a hard life… back to normal again now and no issues with the slopes I was told by the dealer not to use it on rough ground as the welds on the sweeper break.
The bearing on the sweeper deck and mower deck were all chinese rubbish and failed after 3-4 years, I replaced them all with SKF ones which are still good.
Drive belt replacement is a challange to say the least.
The Tuff Torque K46 transmissions which are used on many garden tractors are anything but tough. After 6 years mine would not go up a very slight slope and a new one cost me IRO £500. This is now showing signs of failing.
Fotunately I do all my own maintenance, if I'd had to pay a dealer for all the owork I've done on it it would have been replaced a long time ago
It does pick up all the grass and leaves and creates nice stripes though
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