I HATE lawn mowers

[Freebird]

Did that twice already. Pulled the carb and cleaned it on the outside with spray carb cleaner and then took it all apart. It was actually very clean on the inside. I had already put at least two or three tanks of gas through it this year so the gas was fresh. Still, i completely disassembled the carb, removed anything rubber or plastic and soaked it for almost an hour. Ran wire through all the jets just to make sure that they weren't plugged. None were plugged but I made sure to clean them very well anyway. Made absolutely no difference. Thought that maybe I missed something so pulled the carb and did it all again. Still didn't help. I'm 99% sure it is the fuel solenoid. When I gook it apart and pulled the bowl, there was no gas in the bowl. The when I pull the line from the fuel pump, gas comes out under pressure. The only thing that could be preventing it from getting to the bowl is that fuel solenoid plunger.

[Freebird]

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..

 

Yea, that's the next thing. I got the pressure washer out yesterday. It hasn't been started yet this year. Didn't even try last night because I didn't want to go to bed mad if it didn't start. I will try it today. I expect it will be OK though. It has three things to remember. On/Off switch, fuel cut off switch, choke. I ran it out of gas the last time I used it last year so it will have fresh gas put in it today. It has been a good one. I bought it several years ago and it has a Suburu engine. Hopefully it won't let me down.

[Freebird]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105580[/ATTACH]

 

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

 

Looks great. I love it when my yard is all freshly mowed and trimmed. The problem is, especially this time of the year, it really needs to be done about twice a week. Right now we have had so much rain that I have to pull my Agri Fab leaf vacuum behind the mower and have to dump it about 5 or 6 times each mowing. I hate using that thing too. It completes negates the benefit of having a zero turn mower. I have a lot of trees and bushes too. I think that my wife sits on the front porch and watches me mow. If she sees any place that I don't have to go around something, she plants a tree there.

[Freebird]

OH...and by the way....I've done the Seafood thing twice this spring.

[rickardracing]

Personally, I would stay away from anything with a Briggs and Stratton motor. My last tractor had that in it. JUNK. I ended up buying a 54 inch Cub Cadet with a Kawasaki motor and a fabricated deck, Man that thing flies.

[cecdoo]

I have an exmark with the 27hp kawasaki, runs like a swiss watch, but I dont cut near as much grass as you guys. All the commercial guys around here run exmarks, that and the 3yr warr. sold me.

Craig

[Moped]

Have two Cadet mowers. One has Kohler Command engine (Good series). The other has Courage engine (Junk) Always thought Kohler was tops for lawn engines but depends on model.Common for Courage engine to develop knock as dealer told me as my had bad one. Two dealers told me that most Lawn tractors have multiple choice for engine brand as not to have supply problem. They both said the Kawasaki engine is the one to choose.

[BigLenny]

Don,

 

Down here in the south, we mow. And we mow a lot!! It is HOT and VERY HUMID here and that makes it a perfect environment for grass to grow at a rapid pace. It is very common down here to not think twice about spending serious money on a good quality zero turn mower. They're everywhere. It's almost like a status symbol in the south to have a commercial level zero turn mower. Discussing and bragging about ones zero turn is a common subject at the local cafe's in the mornings. LOL. That photo you posted of the Husqvarna is a good mower for the money, but down here someone would remind a person that Husqvarna is married to the big conglomerate Ariens, and so on and so on. In our part of the country, what brand of zero turn you have can sometimes be way more prestigious than what brand of bike you're riding.

 

The serious pro's down here use:

ExMark (by far the #1 brand that the pro's use)

Scag (Super high quality. like owning the cadillac)

Hustler (The original inventor of the zero turn mower)

Gravely (Now owned by Ariens, but still operates as separate operation. Very high quality for price)

John Deere (Folks buy because of brand name. They use stamped decks, which is not desirable)

Bad Boy (Arkansas made brand. A lot of pros will say they're good quality, but not great quality across all of their lines)

Dixie Chopper (a mowing animal)

Grasshopper (very high quality, but hard to find service places)

Kubota (very high quality, but very expensive to repair)

Walker (front deck rear bag detailed mower for lawns)

Ferris (Not as prevalent in the south, but starting to see more of them. Second to nobody in ride quality with the suspension system).

 

Other brands that are fairly good quality that some pros use, and/or are a part of large manufacturing conglomerates:

Cub Cadet

Husqvarna

Ariens

Simplicity

Snapper

Toro

 

There are a bunch more.

 

It is common knowledge to not mess with Briggs engines, Kawasaki is considered the top of the line engine for commercial mowers down here. but, the Kohler Vanguard is very close in quality. Can't go wrong there. Don't get anything with a stamped deck. VERY PREFERRED IS TO HAVE A DONALDSON AIR FILTER. Make s sure the hydraulic drive motors are a 3000 series or higher. Parker brand drive motors are good quality.

 

What do I own? Kubota ZG227 54". Have had it for 5 years with zero problems. Probably will go to ExMark, Scag, or Hustler with my next purchase.

 

BigLenny

[Prairiehammer]

For years, maybe decades, I've commented on the huge expense incurred in this country, just to get a mowed lawn.

Not counting the cost of the expensive equipment.

Not counting the huge expenditure in time/labor.

Not counting the cost of repairs and maintenance.

Just counting the cost of fuel: 800 MILLION gallons annually at $2.50 gallon equals 20 BILLION dollars.

Seems like we would be better off with Xeriscaping. Or sheep. Or meadows. Or ...

[bj66]

Agree on the Exmark...AWESOME. Local dealer started handling them. When I bought my Dixie, he carried Hustler, and Walker. The Walkers had the deck up front but were liquid cooled and really pricey. The Hustler are good too. A good friend of mine bought a Hustler from them shortly after I bought my Dixie. He loves his Hustler and wouldn't give it up for anything. Come to think of it, I have another neighbor a few miles away with Ferris's commercial mower. He chose that over the Dixie and loves it too. If I go commercial route again in the future it will probably be ExMark or Ferris.

 

Not sure why, but around here there used to be a ton of Dixon mowers. Now you don't see them as much if at all. I had one for a long time. I wonder what happened to them?

[eagleeye]

For years, maybe decades, I've commented on the huge expense incurred in this country, just to get a mowed lawn.

Not counting the cost of the expensive equipment.

Not counting the huge expenditure in time/labor.

Not counting the cost of repairs and maintenance.

Just counting the cost of fuel: 800 MILLION gallons annually at $2.50 gallon equals 20 BILLION dollars.

Seems like we would be better off with Xeriscaping. Or sheep. Or meadows. Or ...

 

Reminds me of very often when I'm out riding, I pass many guys sitting on their mower mowing acres.

Rather be riding

[oldgoat]

I think you need some goats.

[cowpuc]

Speaking of new Mowers Don,, was helping my neighbor pull a de-splined drive shaft out of his Cub Cadet last Friday.. While I was down there he mentioned just going and picking up a new one,,,, thought he was talking about a driveshaft!!! Not so much....

 

He and I had a ball spinning donuts with it and then his wife took over to get the work done

 

 

After checking around he found out that Husqvarna seemed to be the most reasonable price for value - he did look at several other models but in the end ended up with this Husky.. I think he said its an MZT 52.. Price was well below 6k.. Dont know if this applies nation wide but he also said that they (Husqvarna) has some kind of a "special 6 point deal" going right now.. The way it works is you get 3 points for purchasing the tractor. Then other "points" for purchasing anything else from Husky.. Gather 6 points and you save 20% of the total cost of everything combined.. He ended up with a bagger/leaf vac attachment, wheeled weed eater and something else that I cant remember,,,,,,, all for less than the original cost of the tractor!

Thought I best pass this on brother!!!

Edited May 30, 2016 by cowpuc
spelled "leaf" "leave" - a leaf is something that grows on trees, a "leave" is something one wants to take when its snowing!!

[ragtop69gs]

 

While we're B itching and bragging on our lawn equipment, my 20 year old Shindawa Backpack leaf blower has finally given up the ghost, it's was a $450 commercial blower at that time. I couldn't even begin to guess how many thousands of hours it had on it.

 

SO, it's now time to buy a new blower, I'm wanting another commercial grade machine, something that will handle wet, heavy, fall leaf cleanup. Any first hand recommendations on what to buy?

[cowpuc]

All kinds of great info in this little video

 

[Freebird]

Puc, that's very similar to the one that I was looking at except the one I am considering is the 61". They do have that special going on. I saw one deal where you got the mower along with a backpack leaf blower, a weed eater and a small chainsaw all for a price a few hundred dollars less than the regular price of the mower. Also 0% financing for 42 months.

 

Around here, Skag seem to be the brand that most commercial mowers buy. You see a few Exmarks, an occasional Dixie Chopper and etc. but by far Skag is the dominant one. My next door neighbor bought a new Skag a couple years ago and loves it. He mows about the same size lawn as I do and gets it done pretty fast. His yard is much different though. He doesn't have a pond and not near as many trees. His is also much flatter.

 

There is no doubt that a from deck mower with the big drive wheels in the front would work better for me. They are much better about getting under low growing trees and bushes, better on slopes and around ponds, etc. I don't know of any that are less than about 12,500.00 though and that's a lot of money for me to spend on a mower. I thought I wanted the Ferris 800 series but I went and looked at them and tried one out. It was just shy of 13,000.00 with a gas motor. The Diesel would have run another 2,000 - 3,000. That would be my choice. The front deck Kubota would probably be my second choice but they are even more than that.

 

When I do have to buy a new one, it will likely be the Huskie.....I agree with your neighbor in that it's about the best bang for the buck from what I have seen. It is a commercial grade mower. Cast iron spindles, commercial type air cleaner even on the Briggs model, upgraded high back seat, rollover protection, etc. You get a lot for under 6,000.00.

 

By the way Puc, I noticed that he bought it at his local Farm and Home Hardware store. That's the same chain where I was looking at and would buy it. The Farm and Home in Wellington about 6 miles from the house.

[Freebird]

 

While we're B itching and bragging on our lawn equipment, my 20 year old Shindawa Backpack leaf blower has finally given up the ghost, it's was a $450 commercial blower at that time. I couldn't even begin to guess how many thousands of hours it had on it.

 

SO, it's now time to buy a new blower, I'm wanting another commercial grade machine, something that will handle wet, heavy, fall leaf cleanup. Any first hand recommendations on what to buy?

 

Jay,

I don't know that it will be comparable to your commercial unit but I've become a fan of Echo equipment that Home Depot sells. I can't tell you how many gas powered string trimmers I've been through over the years but about 4 or so years ago, I read a lot of reviews and ended up buying an Echo model. It has absolutely been the best trimmer I have ever owned. It starts easily every spring and has never had a hiccup. I do a LOT of trimming around here. Just going around the pond alone takes a while because I trim about a 2 ft. path because I got tired of dragging the snapper out of the pond. Also the easiest I've ever had in regards to putting on new string. I've paid a lot more for others but this one was under $200.00 and I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I've got a 4 stroke Toro out there that I don't even touch any longer mostly because it is way too heavy and a pain to string. I was so impressed that two years ago when I was looking for a backpack leaf blower, I again bought an Echo model. It was right at $200.00 and so far has been fantastic.

 

EDIT: Jay, forget what I said about the leaf blower. Everything I said about the string trimmer is correct but I just went out and looked and I actually did NOT buy the Echo blower. It is a Husqavara. Now it has been great but like I said, it's only two or three years old so I can't yet attest to it's longevity.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Freebird

[BigLenny]

Agree on the Exmark...AWESOME. Local dealer started handling them. When I bought my Dixie, he carried Hustler, and Walker. The Walkers had the deck up front but were liquid cooled and really pricey. The Hustler are good too. A good friend of mine bought a Hustler from them shortly after I bought my Dixie. He loves his Hustler and wouldn't give it up for anything. Come to think of it, I have another neighbor a few miles away with Ferris's commercial mower. He chose that over the Dixie and loves it too. If I go commercial route again in the future it will probably be ExMark or Ferris.

 

Not sure why, but around here there used to be a ton of Dixon mowers. Now you don't see them as much if at all. I had one for a long time. I wonder what happened to them?

 

BJ,

Dixon was an awesome mower! Sadly, Husqvarna purchased them and ended their production.

BTW, Husqvarna has benefitted greatly from buying Dixon. They have adopted several quality points from the Dixon brand.

[BigLenny]

 

While we're B itching and bragging on our lawn equipment, my 20 year old Shindawa Backpack leaf blower has finally given up the ghost, it's was a $450 commercial blower at that time. I couldn't even begin to guess how many thousands of hours it had on it.

 

SO, it's now time to buy a new blower, I'm wanting another commercial grade machine, something that will handle wet, heavy, fall leaf cleanup. Any first hand recommendations on what to buy?

 

Raggy,

 

Hate to hear about that.

I have a friend that has had a professional lawn business for years and he turned me onto Stihl products about 7-8 years ago. I now have 2 Stihl trimmers, and a gas Stihl blower. They have been awesome, with no repair issues. And I have used the crap out of them!

I hear good things about Echo also.

[BigLenny]

Puc, that's very similar to the one that I was looking at except the one I am considering is the 61". They do have that special going on. I saw one deal where you got the mower along with a backpack leaf blower, a weed eater and a small chainsaw all for a price a few hundred dollars less than the regular price of the mower. Also 0% financing for 42 months.

 

Around here, Skag seem to be the brand that most commercial mowers buy. You see a few Exmarks, an occasional Dixie Chopper and etc. but by far Skag is the dominant one. My next door neighbor bought a new Skag a couple years ago and loves it. He mows about the same size lawn as I do and gets it done pretty fast. His yard is much different though. He doesn't have a pond and not near as many trees. His is also much flatter.

 

There is no doubt that a from deck mower with the big drive wheels in the front would work better for me. They are much better about getting under low growing trees and bushes, better on slopes and around ponds, etc. I don't know of any that are less than about 12,500.00 though and that's a lot of money for me to spend on a mower. I thought I wanted the Ferris 800 series but I went and looked at them and tried one out. It was just shy of 13,000.00 with a gas motor. The Diesel would have run another 2,000 - 3,000. That would be my choice. The front deck Kubota would probably be my second choice but they are even more than that.

 

When I do have to buy a new one, it will likely be the Huskie.....I agree with your neighbor in that it's about the best bang for the buck from what I have seen. It is a commercial grade mower. Cast iron spindles, commercial type air cleaner even on the Briggs model, upgraded high back seat, rollover protection, etc. You get a lot for under 6,000.00.

 

By the way Puc, I noticed that he bought it at his local Farm and Home Hardware store. That's the same chain where I was looking at and would buy it. The Farm and Home in Wellington about 6 miles from the house.

 

Don,

My local zero turn dealer sells full lines of Kubota, Scag, ExMark, Hustler and Bad Boy. He told me Scag is the dominant commercial brand name sold in the north and down the east coast, while ExMark is the dominant brand name sold in the south.

[MiCarl]

Simplicity and Snapper are owned by Briggs Power products. You won't get them with anything but a Briggs & Stratton engine.

 

Don, I recently purchased my first zero turn to replace a 19 year old lawn tractor. I ended up going with a 48" Simplicity Courier. The 48 and 52" models have suspension at all four corners, they have the most comfortable seat and the largest diameter tires in their class. When I test rode one side-by-side with a competitor the ride difference was quite noticeable. The Courier mows at twice the speed of the old lawn tractor and beats me up less.

 

The impression I got in my research is a residential Zero Turn transmission is good for about 1000 hours if you don't overload it. I got the Courier 48 which uses the same Hydro-Gear EZT as all the residential competitors. I only use it about 50 hours/year so 1000 hours should cover me into old age. Their 52" model uses a heftier transmission than the 48, but I don't know its life expectancy.

 

It's got a Briggs Professional Series Engine. It's been ok for the 6 hours I've used it. I will say their auto-choke system seems to be junk. Cold starts take a lot of cranking before it fires up.

 

I'd encourage you to find a dealer with a 52" Courier and a competitive product you can drive over the same terrain. I was pretty impressed with the difference in the 48" class.

[bj66]

Simplicity and Snapper are owned by Briggs Power products. You won't get them with anything but a Briggs & Stratton engine.

 

Don, I recently purchased my first zero turn to replace a 19 year old lawn tractor. I ended up going with a 48" Simplicity Courier. The 48 and 52" models have suspension at all four corners, they have the most comfortable seat and the largest diameter tires in their class. When I test rode one side-by-side with a competitor the ride difference was quite noticeable. The Courier mows at twice the speed of the old lawn tractor and beats me up less.

 

The impression I got in my research is a residential Zero Turn transmission is good for about 1000 hours if you don't overload it. I got the Courier 48 which uses the same Hydro-Gear EZT as all the residential competitors. I only use it about 50 hours/year so 1000 hours should cover me into old age. Their 52" model uses a heftier transmission than the 48, but I don't know its life expectancy.

 

It's got a Briggs Professional Series Engine. It's been ok for the 6 hours I've used it. I will say their auto-choke system seems to be junk. Cold starts take a lot of cranking before it fires up.

 

I'd encourage you to find a dealer with a 52" Courier and a competitive product you can drive over the same terrain. I was pretty impressed with the difference in the 48" class.

 

 

Not to scare you, but watch the Briggs motor. In case you didn't see my post earlier, I had to take mine in to my dealer because it had a gasket go out. Shop mechanic said he has fixed several of them. Replacement gasket is different from original. 180 hours or so on it. I changed oil before first time out this year, and didn't get a tank of gas through it and the gasket went out. Motor runs good, lots of power, just a heads up. I hope you don't have the same luck I did. My mower is a couple years old. Maybe they fixed the gasket problem.

[bj66]

Puc, that's very similar to the one that I was looking at except the one I am considering is the 61". They do have that special going on. I saw one deal where you got the mower along with a backpack leaf blower, a weed eater and a small chainsaw all for a price a few hundred dollars less than the regular price of the mower. Also 0% financing for 42 months.

 

Around here, Skag seem to be the brand that most commercial mowers buy. You see a few Exmarks, an occasional Dixie Chopper and etc. but by far Skag is the dominant one. My next door neighbor bought a new Skag a couple years ago and loves it. He mows about the same size lawn as I do and gets it done pretty fast. His yard is much different though. He doesn't have a pond and not near as many trees. His is also much flatter.

 

There is no doubt that a from deck mower with the big drive wheels in the front would work better for me. They are much better about getting under low growing trees and bushes, better on slopes and around ponds, etc. I don't know of any that are less than about 12,500.00 though and that's a lot of money for me to spend on a mower. I thought I wanted the Ferris 800 series but I went and looked at them and tried one out. It was just shy of 13,000.00 with a gas motor. The Diesel would have run another 2,000 - 3,000. That would be my choice. The front deck Kubota would probably be my second choice but they are even more than that.

 

When I do have to buy a new one, it will likely be the Huskie.....I agree with your neighbor in that it's about the best bang for the buck from what I have seen. It is a commercial grade mower. Cast iron spindles, commercial type air cleaner even on the Briggs model, upgraded high back seat, rollover protection, etc. You get a lot for under 6,000.00.

 

By the way Puc, I noticed that he bought it at his local Farm and Home Hardware store. That's the same chain where I was looking at and would buy it. The Farm and Home in Wellington about 6 miles from the house.

 

Don,

 

something to consider going to the 61". you said neighbors is much flatter ground. If you have knobs etc. going from 42 or 48 inch up to 61 inch deck may cause some scalping on some knobs. It will only happen once though After you get it levelled off its all good. I was surprised going from an old 42 inch Dixon up to Dixie 60 inch. I scalped in a few spots I never would have thought about. If yours was a 52 inch before, it would probably be fine though.

Edited May 31, 2016 by bj66

[ragtop69gs]

Jay,

I don't know that it will be comparable to your commercial unit but I've become a fan of Echo equipment that Home Depot sells. I can't tell you how many gas powered string trimmers I've been through over the years but about 4 or so years ago, I read a lot of reviews and ended up buying an Echo model. It has absolutely been the best trimmer I have ever owned. It starts easily every spring and has never had a hiccup. I do a LOT of trimming around here. Just going around the pond alone takes a while because I trim about a 2 ft. path because I got tired of dragging the snapper out of the pond. Also the easiest I've ever had in regards to putting on new string. I've paid a lot more for others but this one was under $200.00 and I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I've got a 4 stroke Toro out there that I don't even touch any longer mostly because it is way too heavy and a pain to string. I was so impressed that two years ago when I was looking for a backpack leaf blower, I again bought an Echo model. It was right at $200.00 and so far has been fantastic.

 

EDIT: Jay, forget what I said about the leaf blower. Everything I said about the string trimmer is correct but I just went out and looked and I actually did NOT buy the Echo blower. It is a Husqavara. Now it has been great but like I said, it's only two or three years old so I can't yet attest to it's longevity.

 

Raggy,

 

Hate to hear about that.

I have a friend that has had a professional lawn business for years and he turned me onto Stihl products about 7-8 years ago. I now have 2 Stihl trimmers, and a gas Stihl blower. They have been awesome, with no repair issues. And I have used the crap out of them!

I hear good things about Echo also.

 

I use a Stihl BR430 blower and chainsaw at work and have been impressed with both, other Stihl equipment we have not so much. The blower starts easy, every time.

Reviews I've read on Huskie have been mostly positive. Guess I'll have to see if I can find a demo unit to try. Echo, I don't see many to choose from.

 

Shindawa was a great brand. They were bought up by Redmax and I see many complaints on their products.

[Freebird]

You can demo my Huskie at maintenance day. Use it all day if you want to.