Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Monkeyleg on June 04, 2016, 09:54:52 AM
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I've been thinking that I probably won't be able to mow the lawn for quite awhile. I'm thinking of getting a used riding mower.
I'm just wondering if there's any difference in the quality of the cut.
Opinions?
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If the design is sound and the blades properly sharpened, no. If you have a lot of curves-ridges-hills or other stuff that will make the mower deck tip a lot, yes. Most of the problem I see with riding mowers is people use the convenience as an excuse to not properly maintain them (especially blade maintenance) and a propensity to mow WAY TOO FAST!!!!
Brad
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Keep the deck level, blades sharp, and don't haul ass in top gear and a rider will cut great. The only real downside is there is more trimming.
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If the design is sound and the blades properly sharpened, no. If you have a lot of curves-ridges-hills or other stuff that will make the mower deck tip a lot, yes. Most of the problem I see with riding mowers is people use the convenience as an excuse to not properly maintain them (especially blade maintenance) and a propensity to mow WAY TOO FAST!!!!
Brad
I only slow down from max speed when the height of the grass would cause the bagger to clog up. I simply don't have time to mow often enough to slow down for optimal quality.
Though, I do really need to sharpen the blades.
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Not in my experience. Using them properly like any other mower works out just fine. You may need to do a little more trimmer work afterwards as you generally wont get in as close to things or in some tight spots with them.
Like any other wheeled vehicle be careful of soft areas/muddy ground to avoid getting stuck and tearing up the lawn getting unstuck. And if you have any slopes on your property be careful not to ride along them unless they are very slight. Many a folk has gone ass over tea kettle mower and flipped it that way.
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Depends on soil. If you have clay and your lawn is lumpy and uneven as clay yards are wont to be, the rider and mow deck is going to hop around and it won't cut even. Also the decks are difficult, if not impossible to level.
If you have a smooth sandy type soil, and you can manage to level the deck and keep the deck level, it will cut level.
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I have a rider, I spend as much time with a push mower trimming as I do on the rider. I mow about 16k sq ft. Once I got the blade heights equal on both, I can't tell the difference where I push mow or where I use the rider.
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I've been thinking that I probably won't be able to mow the lawn for quite awhile. I'm thinking of getting a used riding mower.
Just to clarify, you mean you could mow with a rider, but not with a walk-behind?
I would suggest you get the rider, and not worry about whether the lawn looks just right. If you can't live with that, hire a neighbor kid, or a lawn service.
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Golf course greens, well entire golf courses for that matter, are mowed with riding equipment- of course the mowers are reel-type, but the kind of precision is closer than most people shave their face.
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Just to clarify, you mean you could mow with a rider, but not with a walk-behind?
I would suggest you get the rider, and not worry about whether the lawn looks just right. If you can't live with that, hire a neighbor kid, or a lawn service.
You obviously don't understand OCD.
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My Husqvarna Lawn tractor does as good a job as my walk behind did. That is to say, as good as I am willing to do.
I get pretty close to my edges as well. The tractor turns well.
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Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can get zero-turn riding mowers that get the job done so well there's almost no trimming to be done after mowing. They're at least as good as walk-behind mowers in that regard.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.ebaystatic.com%2Fimages%2Fg%2FkXEAAOSwHnFVwp1E%2Fs-l225.jpg&hash=9e3fe1811fc889c0f488e68c0b413881b214eb02)
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You obviously don't understand OCD.
I do understand OCD. I do understand OCD. I do understand OCD.
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Golf course greens, well entire golf courses for that matter, are mowed with riding equipment- of course the mowers are reel-type, but the kind of precision is closer than most people shave their face.
Three-reel riders are available. We used them for tees and aprons. Not as persnickety as the greens mowers, but did require quite a bit of greasing and monitoring of measurements.
And sharpening. We hand sharpened the bastards.
eta link, because genuine OCD doesn't come cheaply
https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d (https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d)
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Three-reel riders are available. We used them for tees and aprons. Not as persnickety as the greens mowers, but did require quite a bit of greasing and monitoring of measurements.
And sharpening. We hand sharpened the bastards.
eta link, because genuine OCD doesn't come cheaply
https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d (https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d)
That thing looks like it's one crazy werewolf away from being a zombie shredder. I could definitely not be trusted with it.
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Three-reel riders are available. We used them for tees and aprons. Not as persnickety as the greens mowers, but did require quite a bit of greasing and monitoring of measurements.
And sharpening. We hand sharpened the bastards.
eta link, because genuine OCD doesn't come cheaply
https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d (https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/reel-mowers/reelmaster-3100-d)
Yep, I've spent a fair amount of time adjusting bed knives and backlapping reels.
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Thanks for the replies. Sounds like either one is fine.
The former owner of the house had a reel mower. I'm told the lawn looked like a putting green.
Fistful, I don't know how long it's going to take before I get my strength back. I have 7,000 square feet of lawn. That's not a lot, but on a hot Alabama day it's difficult. Right now I use a crappy Craftsman mower from the 1990's that has a loose handle. It's like trying to drive a car using the steering shaft u-joint.
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That thing looks like it's one crazy werewolf away from being a zombie shredder. I could definitely not be trusted with it.
https://youtu.be/Vf0cQ6thWR8?t=7
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Right now I have a 42" craftsman 19.5 hp riding mower for the large front yard and a husqvarna 7 hp self propelled push mower for the back yard. The back yard is texturf 10 I think. It's a putting green type of grass. The back yard is uneven and the riding mower will hack it up to much. If I ever replace the rider I'll get one of these http://www.mowersdirect.com/Cub-Cadet-13A221JD010-Lawn-Mower/p62654.html?gclid=CMPJkqvDj80CFQsPaQodJKMGJw not necessarily that brand. With the narrower deck it won't dig in as bad.
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Thanks for the replies. Sounds like either one is fine.
The former owner of the house had a reel mower. I'm told the lawn looked like a putting green.
Fistful, I don't know how long it's going to take before I get my strength back. I have 7,000 square feet of lawn. That's not a lot, but on a hot Alabama day it's difficult. Right now I use a crappy Craftsman mower from the 1990's that has a loose handle. It's like trying to drive a car using the steering shaft u-joint.
what does it cost to have your lawn mowed where you live? A decent used rider that doesn't need repairs/maintenance done right away to be over $500 - $1000
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Right now I'm paying a lawn service $45 each time they mow the front and back. I'm only having them mow every other week.
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Keep the deck level, blades sharp, and don't haul ass in top gear and a rider will cut great. The only real downside is there is more trimming.
That's why they make glyphosate. If I can't mow it from the rider I sprayed it.
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Right now I'm paying a lawn service $45 each time they mow the front and back. I'm only having them mow every other week.
Sounds like a better plan than buying a rider.....
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Right now I'm paying a lawn service $45 each time they mow the front and back. I'm only having them mow every other week.
No neighborhood kids that need some spending money that you could pay to do it for you. Much cheaper then a a lawn service...
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Kids in my area don't do anything for money. It's just given to them.
The kid next door is now 18, and was a football player. I never once saw him mow the lawn. His dad mowed it in the sweltering heat. The kid did get an almost-new pickup for his 16th birthday, though.
Seeker_two, the lawn service is temporary. I try to mow the lawn twice a week to keep it looking really good. No telling when I'll be able to do that, but I will.
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Seeker_two, the lawn service is temporary. I try to mow the lawn twice a week to keep it looking really good. No telling when I'll be able to do that, but I will.
I think a smaller zero turn mower might be best for you. Driving a lawn tractor around objects that requires tight turning takes a lot of upper body strength because of no power steering. Zero turn mowers, hydraulics does it for you.
I have a couple of bushes on the hill down to my lake I need to mow around and it sucks cranking the wheel around to get as tight as possible. I got an older 100 series John Deere 170 with a 38" deck. I paid $450 for it in the winter time, but I have had to spend about $200 in stuff for it so far. Stuff like blades, tune up items, oil, battery, etc.
I also had to modify the starting solenoid circuit because of too much voltage drop through all the safety switches (Seat, PTO clutch, transmission and clutch). You'd turn the key and all you would get it click, click, click. Battery was fine, just had 9 volts going to the solenoid. So I took a John Deere fix off the garden tractors and made it work on mine, basically the safety switches if on will trip a relay at start up and the relay sends the full voltage to the solenoid. Wife wants to mow maybe, so that is why I left the safeties on.
I still need to get new tires, figure that is going to be $150 for new ones, also the brakes need new pads, another $15 in parts and a bunch of swear words to install them.
If you can find a used zero turn for the right money, you can probably sell it for the same price when you are strong enough to push mow again. Also you could keep it and make a few $$$ mowing other lawns with it when you are well.
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Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can get zero-turn riding mowers that get the job done so well there's almost no trimming to be done after mowing. They're at least as good as walk-behind mowers in that regard.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.ebaystatic.com%2Fimages%2Fg%2FkXEAAOSwHnFVwp1E%2Fs-l225.jpg&hash=9e3fe1811fc889c0f488e68c0b413881b214eb02)
I just got a Deere Z355 zero turn...arrives Wednesday, I'll post reviews.
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There's a lot more to quality of cut than just walk-behind or ride-on.
I'm living in the old family house I inherited when my mother died. The lot is about 2.7 acres that was once a cow pasture. None of it was landscaped and replanted as "lawn" -- the grass is whatever was growing there when my parents built the house in 1950. We originally had a farmer come in once of twice a year, mow it, and bail the hay for his farm. As the town shifted to being a suburb, there were no farmers left so we started mowing it.
Mom had an 18 horsepower Wheelhorse mower with a 3-blade, 48" deck. I had a Sears riding mower with a 2-blade, 38" deck that I brought with me when I moved in. The Wheelhorse is a much better machine and it cost at least five times as much as the Sears, but the Sears does a nicer job of cutting the grass.
Of course, the Sears also takes four times as long to get the job done so, when it's running (which it isn't at the moment) I use the Wheelhorse. But I don't expect it to look like a putting green, I just want it to look like it's been cut.
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I mow 15,000 square feet of hilly lawn using a B&D rechargeable mower. It takes me two battery packs to mow the lawn. I could use a riding mower for about half of the lawn, but the rest has too much in the way of steep slopes.
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Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.
There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.
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Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.
There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.
So get a mower like this and you wont have that problem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to8wh7LScXI
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/59/08/32/5908323e417933e49ab3ca938d615637.jpg)
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Hawkmoon, I had my lawn looking beautiful two summers ago. It was the best in the neighborhood. But neglect it for even a few weeks and it looks like a slum.
There's one old (80+) guy in the neighborhood who uses a riding mower. That stigma bothers me.
Riding mowers are awesome. You get to own another vehicle that goes "vroom, vroom" and does useful work. What's not to like?
Get yourself one postehaste and consider it therapy. I am partial to the old Snapper rear-engine setup. Not as nimble as zero-turn, but more nimble than the usual garden tractor sort. And easier to get on.
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Riding mowers are awesome. You get to own another vehicle that goes "vroom, vroom" and does useful work. What's not to like?
Get yourself one postehaste and consider it therapy. I am partial to the old Snapper rear-engine setup. Not as nimble as zero-turn, but more nimble than the usual garden tractor sort. And easier to get on.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.pelicanparts.com%2Fuploads24%2Fclassic%2Bgump1432823079.jpg&hash=51ae3b6bfd6c88f10f8f9845db1fda9d0997b33b)
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The kid did get an almost-new pickup for his 16th birthday, though.
I got a car for my 16th birthday.
Of course, it looked like something a heavily armed Carrie Fisher would stalk between shifts at the Curl Up And Dye, but it was a car.
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I got a car for my 16th birthday.
Of course, it looked like something a heavily armed Carrie Fisher would stalk between shifts at the Curl Up And Dye, but it was a car.
That explains so much.
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Are goats an option?
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Whatever you end up getting, make plans for blade maintenance. Either a sturdy vise, an angle grinder (using a light touch), and a set of finishing files, or a good relationship with your local lawn pro shop.
I've seen far too many people spend lots of $$ fighting lawn problems that could have been solved by simply keeping their lawnmower blades properly sharpened. Makes for much easier cutting, too, not to mention the reduced strain on the mower. That, and a decent service regimen, will make even low-priced mowers perform better and last much longer than you would expect.
Brad
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That explains so much.
Actually, that was a bit inaccurate; the lighter worked, as did the left turn signal.
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Just did my first cut with new mower, Deere z355 zero turn. Holy crap!
<30min for an acre, and I think I could cut that down now that I know what it likes and doesn't, with hills, complex trimming (even trimmed around the sprinkler heads I have set up), etc....I think I might need the weed trimmer in -maybe- one or two places, but damn, this thing can get anywhere, and blazingly fast.
Way better than normal rider.
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On leveling the decks - the deck on my 42" Craftsman would measure perfect but when I cut the grass one side would be taller than the other. Stopped trying to measure at the deck, instead I'd run through a patch of tall grass, then measure the grass at both sides and adjust as necessary.
I sharpen the blades on my 48" Husqvarna and DW's 42" Murray. I've tried files, bench grinder, 4" grinder, belt sander (both hand-held & bench mount) - none were very satisfactory. Ran across a grinding stone that mounts in a drill at Tractor Supply that is great. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/arnold-high-speed-rotary-blade-sharpener?cm_vc=-10005 It takes about an hour or so to do all 5 blades if they're not too badly dinged. Right now I've got 3 sets of blades for each mower so I can keep sharp blades on and sharpen when there's time. I just put a set of Gator blades with carbon (?) inserts on mine and used them for about 6 hours. Haven't had the time to check them for wear/sharpness since putting them on, but they were still cutting the Dallas grass at the end of the day. Stock-type blades used to just bend it over after that amount of cutting.
I made a set of ramps to get some clearance under the deck for the blade changes & deck cleaning. DW's deck doesn't get clogged up much - she doesn't get into the wet areas. I mow the wet and tall areas, some days I'll have to clean the buildup a couple times.
Four point turns to get around all the trees, bushes & other obstructions on 5 acres can get tiring. I seem to recall hearing/reading about a ride-on with some kind of steering power assist but can't remember where.
The steering linkage on every ride-on I've seen is some type of ball joint pressed into a recess in the connected linkage. I used the Husq with the stock setup until the first time the linkage broke. I cut off the broken parts and welded on Heims joints. Didn't make any difference in the steering but it hasn't broken since.