The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

jamesd · 17-08-2009 4:34pm

My own lawnmower's gearbox has given up so I am in the market for a new mower.
Lawn: 3/4 acre and no slopes, I have a budget of €2.5 to €3K for a new mower and I will just mulch it so no gathering.

What would people recommend? I was looking at a john deere x140 for €2800 in galway shop

Mailman · 17-08-2009 4:48pm

Snapper 33" Rider with Kohler engine and shift-on-go transmission.
Will be considerably cheaper than that and will last a lifetime.
No gearbox to go wrong. Recoil start in case the battery goes flat and heavy gauge steel used throughout.

jamesd · 17-08-2009 5:29pm

Have never heard of a snapper mower? Looked at the site there - do you have one?

niceirishfella · 17-08-2009 5:41pm

Snapper are American Built, good quality machine, used professionally quite a bit by landscapers.
buying right now will put you in a great postion to do a whopper of a deal. If I was buying right now, I'd demand -
- 2 years warranty.
- Serious Cash Discount.
- Delivery.
- Full of Fuel.
- First service FOC.

No new stuff is selling this year and the deals are there to be done.

Mailman · 17-08-2009 5:41pm

My father does and he used to sell them amongst other brands including John Deere. Snappers are near indestructible.
I know of examples over 25 years old which are still in use with no sign of them being retired.

rustynutz · 18-08-2009 11:53pm

Mailman wrote: »

My father does and he used to sell them amongst other brands including John Deere. Snappers are near indestructible.
I know of examples over 25 years old which are still in use with no sign of them being retired.

Would your father recommend John Deere in his experience?are they worth the extra they cost to buy?

Mailman · 19-08-2009 10:25am

rustynutz wrote: »

Would your father recommend John Deere in his experience?are they worth the extra they cost to buy?

They're a good machine but especially expensive here in Ireland and parts aren't cheap.
If the objective is to get the lawn cut then the Snapper is the right tool for the job.
If the objective is to show off to the neighbours you can't really get a better machine than the John Deere. They have a bigger wow factor than anything else on the market.

thekooman · 19-08-2009 1:55pm

jamesd wrote: »

My own lawnmower's gearbox has given up so I am in the market for a new mower.
Lawn: 3/4 acre and no slopes, I have a budget of €2.5 to €3K for a new mower and I will just mulch it so no gathering.

What would people recommend? I was looking at a john deere x140 for €2800 in galway shop

hi james,
we got a L135 John deere from Murphys John deere in headford last year and its grand for the straight going lawn. we have some slopes in the lawn as well and its handles ok. not sure on the price of them now. you can also get a mulcher which is shoved down the shoot for an extra 50 euro but im sure they would throw it in to break the deal.
the beauty about buying from a dealer is that if something goes wrong you can get it fixed, maintained and parts easily.

briano101 · 19-08-2009 2:08pm

Hi guys,

I have an old 6 blade cylinder lawnmower. The blades are a little blunt and could do with a sharpening. Can i do this myself with a grinder or such or must i take it to a service repair agent? I have heard that it is risky to do it by myself as it is quite a speciailised task but then others say i should go ahead . I'd appreciate any advice.

regards
Briano

niceirishfella · 21-08-2009 5:35pm

don't do it with an angle grinder, but do it with a grinding stone machine.

fryup · 22-08-2009 6:12pm

my ride-on is playing up lately, it keeps slipping out of gear and difficult to engage.

Anyone any idea whats going on?? is it something i could fix myself??

niceirishfella · 22-08-2009 7:45pm

fryup wrote: »

my ride-on is playing up lately, it keeps slipping out of gear and difficult to engage.

Anyone any idea whats going on?? is it something i could fix myself??

excessively loose drive belt?

Kashkai · 23-08-2009 10:09am

Despite whats been said on here about mowers not selling and that there are deals to be done, I've tried 5 ride on mower sales agents in the north Kildare region and they all wanted top dollar for their machines (Castlegarden, John Deere, Stiga, Jonsered etc) and would not budge on the asking price. And when I asked for a discount coupled with extended warranty and maybe 1st service free, they basically just walked away. Is north Kildare the last outpost of the Celtic Tiger?

niceirishfella · 23-08-2009 1:46pm

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Is north Kildare the last outpost of the Celtic Tiger?

seems so, I personally know lots of deal to be had. Seems you're not in the know thats all but then I have been wheeling and dealing in gardencare equip a few years on and off and know a few contacts. If you think I'm bul****ting you fair enough but there's a whole world out there outsdie Kildare you know!

jamesd · 23-08-2009 6:59pm

Dealer in ballinasloe offered an extra year warrenty with ride on to me over the phone last week and i didnt even get around to asking for it haha, I am after buying a Jonsered Lr 13, did a cut yday with it ans seems a nice mower.

dingding · 23-08-2009 11:33pm

Use an Automower myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgUxh44jGbs

Find it gives a great quality cut and it leaves the cut grass on the lawn.

Just need to change the blades a couple of times a year and away it goes.

Just had it put a line of bricks around the edge of the fence so it cuts the whole garden.

Got it a lot cheaper in Northern Ireland.

Manuel · 24-08-2009 12:13pm

I was looking at a Castelgarden 15.5 hp Hydro 40" twin cut down from 3,400 to 2,700 (end of season). I'd still be looking to get it for closer to 2K with 12-18 mths warranty. Do you think that's reasonable?

And I know this has been raised before, but there's a 14.5 hp manual machine in the same sale for 2,200. I have a flat site (half-acre) so I wonder should I save myself the 500 Euro and get the manual? Personal choice of course, but any advice welcome ... it's still a big purchase in the times we're in.

As it's a popular make, does anybody have any comparable quotes to hand from around the country?

Thanks.

niceirishfella · 24-08-2009 2:20pm

Manuel wrote: »

there's a 14.5 hp manual machine in the same sale for 2,200

you can buy a 13.5hp Hydro Castelgarden for €1900, it's all the mower you need for your site. Thats what i'd buy, as a matter of fact, its the one I have and its faultless.

Mailman · 24-08-2009 10:37pm

13.5hp is adequate for a 40" TwinCut. They were originally sold with 12hp engine way back when.
Only go for a more expensive engine if it is a better class of engine.
Back in the day the choice was 12hp single cylinder side valve or V-twin cylinder OHV Vanguard and there was no comparission in engines. A 15.5hp single cylinder b&s is not a huge improvement over a 13.5hp single cylinger b&s engine.
Hydro is much handier to use than a 5 speed transmission but it will almost certainly be the component on the mower that'll end up causing you to scrap it as they just aren't as reliable as conventional transmissions. If you look after the machine that will be 10 or 15 years down the line so it's easy to justify the hydro over that time period.

rustynutz · 25-08-2009 9:29pm

dingding wrote: »

Use an Automower myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgUxh44jGbs

Find it gives a great quality cut and it leaves the cut grass on the lawn.

Just need to change the blades a couple of times a year and away it goes.

Just had it put a line of bricks around the edge of the fence so it cuts the whole garden.

Got it a lot cheaper in Northern Ireland.

Do you mind me asking what dealer you used up north?Lookin for a bargain meself

dingding · 26-08-2009 11:06pm

http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/homeowner/support/dealer-locator/?dealer=49005

Got it here.

Just check when you are ringing them whether the price includes VAT or not.

With me they price the quoted first was Ex VAT.

Manuel · 27-08-2009 9:28am

Back to ride-ons

...

I have been browsing this and other forums, and I have a question:

I read people dissing the rear discharge "chute" mowers for always clogging up in our beautiful Irish summer mowing weather, and indeed I have had this experience too when using borrowed ride-ons.

But what is the alternative, and I presume it will cost more?

One thing I have noticed going around to all the local dealers is the domestic ride-ons available for a certain cost (2-3K) seem to be basically all the bloomin same, with the only real variation being HP ....

niceirishfella · 27-08-2009 12:45pm

Rear Discharge Chutes are ok imho, depending on the brand/design.
Rear side chutes up long side chutes into bags are crap, end of.

Mailman · 27-08-2009 1:19pm

Manuel wrote: »

Back to ride-ons ...

I have been browsing this and other forums, and I have a question:

I read people dissing the rear discharge "chute" mowers for always clogging up in our beautiful Irish summer mowing weather, and indeed I have had this experience too when using borrowed ride-ons.

But what is the alternative, and I presume it will cost more?

One thing I have noticed going around to all the local dealers is the domestic ride-ons available for a certain cost (2-3K) seem to be basically all the bloomin same, with the only real variation being HP ....

snapper ride-on isn't the same.

side discharge collectors are usually only suitable for dry grass as found in the U.S. during summer. Not suitable for our damp grass.
some side discharge are better than others. If it is a single blade deck and the chute doesn't have elbows on it then it'll probably be OK.
double or triple bladed decks with side discharge collector will not work well in Ireland.

John Deere or Twin Cut rear discharge collectors work well. some of the cheaper american made rear discharge machines don't work as well.

Lawn sweepers regardless of whether they are drawn behind the mower or powered by the mower are uniformly rubbish.

niceirishfella · 27-08-2009 2:31pm

All good angles there from MM.
The thing I find about lawnmowers is the ability of their owner/operators to use them properly.
Like I know a bloke who has one and is always giving out feck about the blockage of grass from the side discharge chute.
Nothing to do with the fact that he always goes to mow the lawn when the grass is damp??!!

fryup · 28-08-2009 10:55am

niceirishfella wrote: »

Rear side chutes up long side chutes into bags are crap, end of.

can someone please tell me, whats the purpose of that design...cause i'm baffled by it

Mailman · 28-08-2009 11:05am

fryup wrote: »

can someone please tell me, whats the purpose of that design...cause i'm baffled by it

it's perfectly adequate for most of U.S. during the summer but once grass is heavy, moist and sticky like here in Ireland it is useless.
it's easier and cheaper to design a deck where blades rotate in one direction which is why system is preferred from a cost point of view.

Machines like the twin cut and john deere have a more complicated setup with toothed belts driving contra rotating timed blades which work better but are more expensive to engineer.

Manuel · 28-08-2009 12:50pm

Final question:
I've come across a used Castelgarden 13.5/102 which is coming into a local dealer as a trade-in. He has serviced it himself since new so stands over it, changed the belt in it last year. It's 5 years old, so now I'm wondering how many more years am I likely to get out of it if looked after? Second-hand price is tempting, even though a big hardware shop not far away are selling off their last 13.5/90s for 1699. They're manual, as is the used one I'm looking at.

Thanks. Appreciate all the great advice.

Mailman · 28-08-2009 1:31pm

check rear axle/gearbox; that's what takes most stress on a TwinCut.
If the bag is torn that will be big expense to replace.

niceirishfella · 28-08-2009 2:10pm

Manuel, I'd Buy the new one for €1699 - and ask for 2 years warranty.

The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

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