Mowing ..

[roKWiz]

Ok experts, looking for opinions on ride on mowers. What would you prefer.....

Cub Cadet 19hp OHV twin Koher engine
Cox Stockman 13hp powerbuilt engine
Cox Briggs and Straton
Husqvarna 20hp

All 2010 models all same price range second hand.

[Citroënbender]

Who’s doing the maintenance - you?

[roKWiz]

sorry a bit of an open ended question really but yes self maintained. might not even use as a mower either....planning planning.

[Citroënbender]

So it might be a multipurpose device? The most old-school then; most able to tug, adapt for a PTO belt, easiest to tear down for major routine services. I don’t get the impression you’re hard on machinery.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

So it might be a multipurpose device? The most old-school then; most able to tug, adapt for a PTO belt, easiest to tear down for major routine services. I don’t get the impression you’re hard on machinery.

No I like to look after my stuff. Thinking of a conversion to a mini front end loader using electric happy jack lift. Can not affort a Koher mini loader like DBFs on gardening thread.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Ok experts, looking for opinions on ride on mowers. What would you prefer.....

Cub Cadet 19hp OHV twin Koher engine
Cox Stockman 13hp powerbuilt engine
Cox Briggs and Straton
Husqvarna 20hp

All 2010 models all same price range second hand.

I'm not a big fan of Kohler engines. Every single one I have ever had anything to do with has burned oil.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I'm not a big fan of Kohler engines. Every single one I have ever had anything to do with has burned oil.

Sorry called you DBF must be turning dis*&^5Hlex sic.
Heard they were easy ones to work on and get spare parts for.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Thinking of a conversion to a mini front end loader using electric happy jack lift..

Thinking along these lines.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Catcher, whats that ??

Tell that to my clients!

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by hayseed

I've got 2 of those John Deere JS48 Mowers.. 1 For the House & 1 for the Depot. the catcher or side discharge shute have never been fitted to either one of 'em. The mulching Plug has been Installed in both from the get Go, though..

I reckon they're a Good thing. As you say that Mowmentum variable speed drive is Good setup. Good strong Motor. leaves a nice (toMe) finish. Plus I hate emptying Grass catchers & disposing of Grass clippings..

I will admit, when the conditions were right, it did mulch very well and left a beautiful finish. But those conditions seemed to be 100% dry lawn and only taking the very tips off. As a contractor, it was not like I could wait all day until the lawns were dry enough, and with most customers on two week intervals, just taking the tips off was not what the customer want.

I'm glad you are getting better use out of yours, as I said, I wanted to love this thing but it's usage window was just too narrow for me.

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by hayseed

I hate emptying Grass catchers & disposing of Grass clippings..

So the "Hayseeds and Grass seeds" have still got a feud going on!


Cheers The Hatfield and McCoy Family's

[xkxlxm]

Advice sought: hard-to-start Honda HRU19, maybe 5 or 6 years old, has had little use. I could pull the cord 20 or more times and it's a hard or difficult pull each of those 20 times; eventually one or two pulls become really easy and it will start on one of these easy pulls. It will never start on one of the hard/difficult pulls.

It's supposed to be an 'Easy Start'. At Mum's place I use an old Briggs and Stratton that is easier to start than this thing.

Any suggestions?

[Peter B - CV8]

^^^ flooding ??? The extra resistance would point to this.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by xkxlxm

Advice sought: hard-to-start Honda HRU19, maybe 5 or 6 years old, has had little use. I could pull the cord 20 or more times and it's a hard or difficult pull each of those 20 times; eventually one or two pulls become really easy and it will start on one of these easy pulls. It will never start on one of the hard/difficult pulls.

It's supposed to be an 'Easy Start'. At Mum's place I use an old Briggs and Stratton that is easier to start than this thing.

Any suggestions?

Well, this is all youtube speak. I do have an EZ start briggsy on a victa mower. Apparently eazy starts have some form of preload spring so they work better with a slower rip, as opposed to trying to pull the guts out of them. Also over priming makes them flood, foul the plug and just be a pain in the hole. Also it could be something simple like a split diaphragm in the primer bulb. A torn primer bulb (internally), a squirt of fuel into the carb will usually do the same job and start the bastard. Air filter off for that process. But it has worked for me helping people out before.

[xkxlxm]

Than you both. I will see if I can stop myself from pulling it too hard.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by xkxlxm

Than you both. I will see if I can stop myself from pulling it too hard.

If it is an issue with the primer bulb, its pretty easy to feel. Also, theyre probably the cheapest part on the thing to replace. If the thing isnt transparent, so you cannot see fuel going in through it, if it never changes in how firm the press on the bulb is, thats potentially it. If it gets firmer per press, that rules that out. But I've been guilty of being optimus overprime in the past and flooding things before. But i learnt from that. Now im just optimus correct prime....

[Rallye Sport]

Are you starting it on the lawn or on concrete?
If its on the lawn, especially if its long you may just be cutting with the pull cord until its down to height and free enough to kick the engine over. Just a thought...

[xkxlxm]

Starting it (or trying to ...) on concrete. The safety lever on the top of the 'handle-bars' that stops the engine if you release it: is that an ignition cut-out or is there some sort of clutch that could be grabbing and not fully releasing when I am trying to start it?

[Rallye Sport]

Having a quick read up, its saying thats an engine break, assuming its an electrical kill switch but could be wrong, chase the mechanism back and see where it goes.

This guys saying to turn the fuel tap off and let it run out of fuel before storing it. The fuel could be going off or evaporating from the carb but that wouldn't explain the stiff starting action.

https://www.productreview.com.au/lis...lo-buck-series

[xkxlxm]

I took the plastic cover off the top of the mower. There is a brake block that contacts the outside of the flywheel when the safety lever is released. Activating the safety lever pulls the brake block off the flywheel; I could see that there was plenty of clearance there. There is also a switch - for the ignition I guess. I did start it a couple of times and then turned the fuel tap off and let it run out of petrol (took a while). I will see what happens next time I need to do any cutting, which doesn't happen that often because there isn't a big area of grass and it doesn't grow very fast. I have a reminder on the mower to turn the fuel back on ..... Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

[LG17]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

No I like to look after my stuff. Thinking of a conversion to a mini front end loader using electric happy jack lift. Can not affort a Koher mini loader like DBFs on gardening thread.

I used linear actuators for a front end loader on one of my mowers.


This is the one I based mine on, but I like the idea of the removable pins on your link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpt2lqCvZCk

[MITCHAY]

I mowed for the first time in a loooong time and also aeratored it. I was surprised I still had petrol left in the tank

Mowed right on the lowest level but not good enough to clear up the thatch. So I will try rake it out before I give it some weed and feed.

Both my hoses are ****ed so need to order a new one

[janddbone]

Hoses, now that's a whole other story we can talk about!

[DFB FGXR6]

Never, ever, buy a cheap hose. You will curse the thing every time you use it until it's thrown away. Same story with fittings.

Gardena hoses are the better ones on the market, as are their fittings.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Never, ever, buy a cheap hose. You will curse the thing every time you use it until it's thrown away. Same story with fittings.

Gardena hoses are the better ones on the market, as are their fittings.

image

We have all Gardena hoses, tap fittings and timers.

Their tap fittings tend to have a weakness when run into with a self propelled mower though

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Never, ever, buy a cheap hose. You will curse the thing every time you use it until it's thrown away. Same story with fittings.

Gardena hoses are the better ones on the market, as are their fittings.

image

Certainly agree about not buying cheap hoses and fittings.Probably went over the top few years ago and bought Hoselink hose and fittings and have not regretted the choice one little bit,fittings don’t blow apart and the hose does turn brittle and split like the cheaper stuff.

[MITCHAY]

Mine were hand me downs from mum when I bought my house. Did the job mostly but they get ****ed by the winter here. Just have to step on one and it's dead.

I'm thinking of getting the 10m Compact Portable Hose Reel from Hoselink which should be perfect for me.

https://www.hoselink.com.au/products...able-hose-reel

Mum has had the big wall mounted one for ages and never been a problem. ****en magic they seem like

I have Hoselink connectors and enough hose that I could knock up an extension if necessary.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Never, ever, buy a cheap hose. You will curse the thing every time you use it until it's thrown away. Same story with fittings.

Gardena hoses are the better ones on the market, as are their fittings.

image

Back when I worked in hardware, we used to reorder Gardena from Husqvarna, not sure who it is now.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

Certainly agree about not buying cheap hoses and fittings.Probably went over the top few years ago and bought Hoselink hose and fittings and have not regretted the choice one little bit,fittings don’t blow apart and the hose does turn brittle and split like the cheaper stuff.

Sorry does not turn brittle like the cheaper stuff

[DFB FGXR6]

Finally managed to mow a lawn that had been neglected due to Covid lockdown. This was its first mow since August 15th.

With grass standing up to 25cm high, I did not muck around here! The only mower for this job was the Victa Mustang 2-Stroke.





There was a lot of cape weed and clover mixed into all this, a challenge for even the strongest mowers due to the sticky high moisture content. The Mustang smashed through all this. The VEX version of this engine has a rated 6.0 hp and when it hits taller growth it accelerates hard and never bogs or stalls. It also makes a LOT of noise doing so! I wonder if the neighbor across the road was amused with me grinning like a fool.

The predecessor to the VEX was the VSX. The change from S to E was supposed to be for efficiency, however this is still by far the thirstiest mower I own.