I HATE lawn mowers

[Freebird]

OK....so I'm trying really hard to get the yard all cleaned up from the winter and ready for Maintenance Day. We have had rain so often that the yard seldom dries out enough to get caught up. Finally had a nice weekend and I got ready to get on it EARLY Saturday morning. Guess what, the mower wouldn't start. Now I had a good weekend about 2 weeks ago and ended up with a broken deck belt. Nobody had one so had to order it and lost another week. Then it rained. So now it's finally all dried out and the mower won't start. I started at 7:00 in the morning and worked on the stupid thing all day and never got it started. I don't claim to be a small engine expert but I can usually make things go. There had been intermittent problems all spring. It got where it would run pretty fair but the longer you mowed, the worse it got until you finally had to give it some choke to make it run. I assumed that there was trash in the carburetor so when it finally wouldn't start at all, I pulled the carb and cleaned it. Put is all back together and it still wouldn't start. When I say won't start, I mean it doesn't even TRY. So I pulled the carb a second time. This time I made SURE that it was clean. Tore it down completely and soaked all the metal parts in carb cleaner. Soaked it for about 30 minutes and then ran wire through all the jets and etc. and made SURE that I could see through them all and there was no trash anywhere in the carb. Looked very good. Put is all back together and NOTHING. Doesn't even try to fire.

 

Now I know I have spark because I can squirt a little starter fluid into the breather and it runs. It has fresh gas and if I pull the hose off the fuel pump, it's pumping as it should. So now I've worked on this thing until about 2:00 in the afternoon and am wishing that I could get it running just enough to drive it into the pond and let it sink. No such luck. I finally give up and decide to take it to the local small engine shop in Wellington. Of course I have to get it on the trailer first. So I hook up a cable hoist and start cranking it up onto the trailer. I am literally worn out from working in the hot sun all day and now trying to crank this thing up on the trailer. It should be this hard to do. I finally have it up to the point that the back tires and just getting to the trailer...almost there....then I notice something that made me feel even MORE stupid. The parking brake was set on the mower. So that explains why I am almost killing myself trying to get this think loaded. I release the brake and it almost jumped on the trailer.

 

So I get it to the shop. Now this is a shop that I've used once before and ordered parts from on a couple of occasions Older gentleman and as nice a person as I've ever met. He said "ok...tell me what you have tried and done so far"....so I told him. He said well....did you test the fuel solenoid. Uh...well...no....and then I felt even dumber because I had to unscrew it from the carb both times that I pulled it so it should have been second nature to at least check it. To be honest though, I really didn't even know exactly what it does. He explained to me that it is essentially an "anti-backfire" device. When you turn on the key, it sucks in a plunger so that the gas can flow through the venturi tube. He asked it I just wanted to take it back home and check it myself because that could very well be what it is. I thought about it for about...I don't know....2 seconds and told him NO....I had loaded it and drug it up here so I would just leave it and he could check it.

 

After doing some searching, I would just about bet that he is right. I also saw where a lot of people just cut the little plunger off and therefore disable it completely. If it were here, that is exactly what I would do. At least for now so that I could get finished with the yard. I honestly don't see the reason for it on this motor. If it was a gravity feed system with no fuel pump, it would make sense because if a float stuck open, you would flood your cylinders with gas. With this mower though and it's vacuum type fuel pump that can only pump when the engine is running, I don't see a need for it and from my research, a lot of people agree with me and disable it.

 

So....I did get MOST of the yard mowed. I fired up the 45 year old John Deere with the old 10HP Iron Kohler and got er done. It takes about twice as long because it is SLOW and it takes about a mile and a half to turn it but it continues to just chug chug chug and mow mow mow. That is until late yesterday evening when apparently the deck belt broke. Not sure because it is all enclosed and I have to pull the deck and remove the covers to even SEE the belt. All I know is that it quit mowing. So now my backup mower is also down.

 

When I went to the local hardware store to see if they had a couple things I needed, all those shiny new mowers were talking to me as I walked past them. I think it's getting close to that time. My current Snapper zero turn is 10 years old now and has about 2000 hours on it. I don't know what is a LOT of hours for a mower but this one seems to be having issues too often now. Maybe 2000 hours is a lot for a non-commercial mower. It was the very top of the line residential mower when I bought it. 21 HP Briggs Vanguard, 52" fabricated steel deck, etc.

 

What do you folks think? Am I asking too much from a mower with this many hours on it? I can tell you for sure that I'm one or two breakdowns away from buying a new one.

[Du-Rron]

my Honda commercial hrc216 and my echo srm3000 are 28 years old and still going strong. both used "commercially" at the first 4 years of their lives.

[BlueSky]

Wow! You can't have fun like that every day! Perseverance! Perseverance!

[Gary N.]

I went through the same thing last year Don. My 38 year old Ariens blew the electric clutch and drive shaft for the PTO. Splines sheared off, bearings falling apart etc. Decided it wasn't worth spending $1000 to fix it. Can't cut grass anymore but it can push snow and spray weeds.

 

Anyone need a 48" mower deck....cheap.

[Venturous Randy]

Call the mechanic and see what he will give you for your old mower. If he will buy it, use that for a down payment on a new one.

Randy

[videoarizona]

Call the mechanic and see what he will give you for your old mower. If he will buy it, use that for a down payment on a new one.

Randy

. The alternative is what I have... rocks. That looks good out here but not so much in Ohio.....

[rbig1]

I think Randy has the right idea. The deck spindles and tensioner are getting up there in age, are they grease able. Fix and sell two for one commercial mower. Some one in area may have one left from last year. Make sure it has a good warranty. Most all the company's are owned by Murry.

[MikeWa]

Fresh gas.

 

Mike

[93 venture]

Think next year

[Freebird]

It does have spindles that can be greased and I do that on a fairly regular basis. Gas is fresh. I'm almost SURE that it's the fuel solenoid. Don't know what else it could be. If I had it here, it would take about 15 minutes to verify.

 

I just can't see paying 10,000 to 12,000 and higher for a good zero turn commercial mower. This one has lasted 10 years at about half that price. So the commercial one would have to last at least 20 years to make sense economically and I doubt I will be here in 20 years. I will either be dead or living some place with a smaller yard or no yard.

[GAWildKat]

I don't know much about mowers, but my Dad's simplicity mower ran well over 40yrs worry free beyond normal maintenance. He bought a newer snapper about 1988ish, it started falling apart within the 1st month.

 

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[Freebird]

Yea, none of them are made like they once were. Snapper and Simplicity are actually the same company now. I don't remember which one bought the other one but it was a few years ago.

[Freebird]

I notice that the Bad Boy posted above only has a 3 gallon gas tank. That is comparable to most of the residential zero turns I suppose but one thing I'll miss about the Snapper is the twin 7 gallon tanks.

[Freebird]

This is actually the one that I came very close to buying the other day. It is their commercial version and for the price, has a lot of nice features. It was on sale for a little less than the price shown. This is with a 27 HP Briggs Endurance motor. Don't know much about that particular engine model. The Briggs Vanguard on the Snapper has been OK though. They offer this mower with three different engine options. You can get it with a 23 HP Kawasaki for $400.00 more or a 27 HP Kohler for about a thousand more than the Briggs....so they list for 5999.00 (Briggs), 6399.00 (Kawasaki) or $6999.00 (Kohler). I've heard good and bad about all of them but would likely just go with the Briggs.

 

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/zero-turn-mowers/m-zt-61/967177007/

[cowpuc]

This is actually the one that I came very close to buying the other day. It is their commercial version and for the price, has a lot of nice features. It was on sale for a little less than the price shown. This is with a 27 HP Briggs Endurance motor. Don't know much about that particular engine model. The Briggs Vanguard on the Snapper has been OK though. They offer this mower with three different engine options. You can get it with a 23 HP Kawasaki for $400.00 more or a 27 HP Kohler for about a thousand more than the Briggs....so they list for 5999.00 (Briggs), 6399.00 (Kawasaki) or $6999.00 (Kohler). I've heard good and bad about all of them but would likely just go with the Briggs.

 

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/zero-turn-mowers/m-zt-61/967177007/

WOW ZZZZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW - NICE OUTFIT!!

 

Took a look around the Husky site brother and did not see a lot of "bling" offered .. Seriously though Don, that is a good looking machine. No idea if this is applicable to present times but it used to be that Briggs motors had bushings for bearings and Kohlers were actual bearings. If that is still the case that might be the reason for the higher dollar..

Was talking to @bj66 last year at the Pie Butt 26.2 about his tractors.. He was telling me about running programmable controls to steer the tractors in their fields.. Not positive but it almost sounded like he could program in what needed to be done and let the tractor go to work.. Probably pretty pricey just for mowing the grass but that was one of the first things that popped into my mind when Bernie told me about how they farm now adays - sure sounded inviting.. If the truth was known,, I prefer CONCRETE - been saying it for years - spending all day racing go carts would be a whole lot more in tune with my inner being than cutting grass ever has been:guitarist 2:

 

THANKS for all the hard work your doing getting ready for MD Boss!!

[GAWildKat]

Yea, none of them are made like they once were. Snapper and Simplicity are actually the same company now. I don't remember which one bought the other one but it was a few years ago.

Oh, and that simplicity mower was still running well in 2006, when Mom passed away. Dad took off the mowing deck and put the tiller on fulltime. He thought the snapper would be a better mower than his simplicity. I think he regretted buying the snapper.

 

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[Freebird]

Yea, I use the old John Deere primarily for the snow blower but I can put the deck on it if I have a problem with my main mower. I honestly can't complain too much about my Snapper. Like I said, it's 10 years old now and 2000 hours is a good bit for a non-commercial mower. I'm sure I could spend just a very few bucks on it and get a lot more years from it. That may well be what I do. We'll see. I hate to spend even the $6,000.00 that it will cost to replace it. If money was not a consideration, I would buy a front deck Ferris diesel. I think a front deck would work better for my needs than the mid deck models but they are all expensive and I just can't pay 13,000 - 16,000 for a mower.

[ragtop69gs]

My 43 year old Gravely Rider is still going strong, in its lifetime it's had 1 engine rebuild and 1 PTO replaced. May not be the fastest but it still mows and blows snow like a champion, and not even new commercial units are built as stout as this antique.

 

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[Gary N.]

I bought the residential version of the Husqvarna Zero turn. The grease fittings on the mower spindles sold me. Neither Toro or John Deere had them.

[Venture n Dixie]

Just got home from "The Farm". 10 acres across the river in Talladega County belongs to daughter and son in law living in Florida. I go there to escape. Spent 3 hours on the 4wd diesel Kubota with Bushog, cold beverage, Pandora and ear buds. I'm sure it is the high point of my holiday weekend. I've gone there after it sitting 5 months through the winter and it's never let me down.It's a fantasy of mine to have a maintenance day there in my next life. So sorry your experience was a downer. I don't trust anything Briggs anymore. Maybe they make some high end engines that are ok but I've blown 3 from big box stores. Heard good things about Kawasaki.

[bj66]

I have 2 zero turns.

 

1. Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle (commercial). 27 hp Generac motor. 60 cut. Bought it in 08, paid a lot for it......

 

LIKES..... Out in the open it just flies, really eats up the grass. If I remember right, its rated at something like 5 acres an hour....Figure half that, but still it just flies

LOVE the Generac motor would have another in a heartbeat. I think the unit has about 600 hours on it. The blades I buy from the dealer who also sells farm equipment. Blades are priced as cheap as the Oregon brand blades on my residential mower. Easy to grease too.

 

Dislikes....The mower itself is tall which poses a bit of a problem when you are mowing under and around trees.

 

2. Ferris residential mower 61" cut, 27hp Briggs Professional Series Bought in 13.

 

LIKES.....A lot cheaper than the Dixie, less than half price. not as tall, can get under branches better. Mower has suspension rides really well. Deck is a welded steel deck, not a stamped steel deck. Wish it held a little more gas, but not bad. Obviously not as fast, but does quite well. Spreads grass better than the Dixie when blades are a bit dull. Pretty easy to grease, not as good as Dixie, but not bad either. When I mow, I usually pick this mower and let my son run the Dixie. It is more comfortable to me

 

Dislikes.......The Briggs and Stratton Professional Series Motor. STAY AWAY from it. I just got my mower back out of the shop. Had a gasket go out of it at 180 hours. You could see the oil running across the engine mount plate. Mechanic told me that it is common for these motors. He said Briggs issues a different gasket when they replace them, but wont admit the motor has a problem. It should be good now though after almost 375 bucks.

 

I will look at Ferris again when it comes time to get another mower. It just wont have a Briggs and Stratton. And Don, in my opinion, that is a ton of hours on a zero turn. When you look at how fast you cover ground, that is a lot of grass through your machine. We mow wide open, and my farmstead is almost 20 acres. I bet we mow about 12 acres every time. One mower it takes 4 1/2 hours. 2 mowers just over 2.....So on our 2 mowers we have about 800 hours....that's ALOT of grass.

 

Whatever you decide, in my opinion a welded steel deck with a zero turn is a must. A stamped steel deck is asking for trouble with some of the speed they mow at. It would be pretty easy to roll the front edge of a deck under if you accidently hit something....

 

Forgot to add....The Ferris model is a IS 500Z

Edited May 30, 2016 by bj66

[bj66]

 

This was done about 2 weeks ago with the Dixie while the Ferris was in the shop. This is cut at almost 4 inches tall. Maybe this will give you an idea....

[bj66]

 

This isn't quite half of what we mow, you get the idea.......Room for a lot of tents on the way to Sturgis..........

[ToyOdie]

Boss,

Your problem is ETHANOL gas! Fixing your problem is what I do every day at Home Depot. Ethanol is alcohol. Alcohol absorbs water (even from the air). After it sits for awhile, water goes to the low point of the fuel system. That is usually the carb. More precisely, the float bowl. There it turns into a jelly. The first time you try to start it, the jelly clogs the main jet. Since you were able to get it to fire with starter fluid, you confirmed the cause. Remove the carb and clean the jets. You should be fine after that. Good ol SeaFoam will stop the problem from coming back.

[Eck]

Hey Don, yesterday, I thought hated my neighbors pressure washer. Two days ago, I borrowed his pressure washer to do my driveway. The day before yesterday, I pressure washed 1/2 my driveway. Yesterday, after getting back from a ride with Sleeperhawk, I decided to wash the other half. So...I filled it with gas, checked the oil, turned on the water, and I yanked and yanked and yanked the cord trying to start the darn thing.

Now the day before it ran like a clock. So what could possibly be wrong?

 

I remove the air cleaner, spray starting fluid and began yanking the cord another 8 to 10 times. I am now mad as a hornet, so I stood back looking at it, out of breath, my arm feels like it is ready to fall off, and I realize I forgot to turn the on/off switch to the on position... :stickpoke:DUH...

 

Flipped the switch to the on position, pulled the cord one time and wha-lah..