If you're mechanically inclined you could find yourself an older Deere 200
series. Depending on what you want to do, a 212/214/216 would be a good
choice. These things are near bullet proof and had an assortment of
attachments. You could get one of these with a deck, snowthrower or tiller
for a pretty decent sum, and much less than new would cost. These things
have a huge following, so there is repair/restoration info galore!

I have a 212 I got for free. It had been sitting under a deck for about 12
years. I cleaned out the tank, put in some fresh gas, poured a little
Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinder, turned the engine over by hand a few
times and it fired right up. Had to rebuild the carb before putting it into
service and I also repainted it.

That was 6 years ago and it is still cranking along. It is a serious work
tractor and I've added things like weights and ag tires, and will soon be
adding hydraulics. Also have aquired a snowthrower for it and a blade.
Been working on finding a tiller.

Like I say, you should be pretty good with a wrench if you want to own one
of these, but they are real workhorses if you are inclined to fix one up.



wrote in message
news
On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 14:40:41 -0500, "CHMS" wrote:

new lurker wants info on your Dixons' mulching kit.
Was that a clipping bagging system?


No, it doesn't bag. The kit consists of mulching blades and a
baffle. But I can tell you it does a great job mulching.

I have a locust tree that drops pods. Anyone who knows these pods
knows how tough and hard they are.

I didn't want to shell out for a lawn sweeper, so I decided I'd try
mulching them. Ground them to fine powder.