Max wrote:
len garden wrote:

On Sat, 05 May 2007 12:27:09 +1000, Max wrote:
snipped
g'day max,

Yes well, that's probably pretty good advice, and I was wondering why
he didn't get Cox on to it straight away myself.

exactly! where in this planet do you rside, general area will do ie.,.
nth/west nsw etc.,. if you are talking cox then it sounds like you are
in aus'?

I thought Cox was one of the better brands, what would you say were
the most durable for a large block? We have about 5 and a half acres
of fairly flat land but it's a bit lumpy with rocks here and there.

no like all the tap-n-goes it is one of the cheaper makes, not know
for long lasting durability with their slipping drives and many long
belts. the most reliable rider mowers are the models with gear box or
speed change mechanisms eg.,. rover rancher, snapper, deutscher, these
models all have differential rear axles to help turning capacity, and
with the speed selection means the motor doesn't get over revved to
go faster over the lawn.

and no slippy drives that the home handy man can' repair, years as a
mower mechanic is a real eye opener.

for that many acres you would almost be better off with a mini tractor
up to 20 hp but not under about 18hp, you can get those mulching
cutter heads that do a good cut, plus the tractor can do so much more
than what a rider mower (rememeber they are a mower you ride on) can
do.

but at the very least look at the commercial quality riders, and
reckon you would be wanting to cut at least a 4' cut even 5'.

This block was deep ripped about 20 years ago, which brought a lot of
rocks to the surface. The fella who owned it grew pumpkins on it one
year, but the council stopped him after that. It's pretty good black
soil on clay and basalt, and nearly everything we plant does really
well. Except stuff that doesn't like wet feet. The last wet season
killed a few things, as the soil holds water below about a foot down.

now the rocks pose a problem unless yo can clear them you need to cut
taller to miss them and the only cutter that will be reliable is a
normal slasher type head if you went to a tractor? but rider mowers
won't do well in rough conditions, again they are only a mower.

for planting in those conditions use raised beds, see our page for
ideas, and for trees that requier good drainage plant them in a raised
manner that is don't dig too deep as you want the root ball or most of
it above ground level and build up a round it creating a well.

planting indemic natives will do better.

We have mowed most of the block, first with a whipper-snipper then
with a push mower, and moved most of the rocks that we could lift or
roll, to the base of the trees. I think I would be welding some sort
of bull bar onto the front of any ride on we bought. :-)

again maybe rethink you application? riders don't tow heavy loads and
they can push a blade but only loose sand say nothing else, tractors
are designed for that as well a tractor can tow a trailer with a
decent load in it.

Thanks for your reply Len.
-Max

With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/



Yes Len, we live in Ravenshoe, Far North Queensland on the Atherton
Tablelands at about 1K meters of altitude. We usually get a good wet
season each year, but the cyclones (Larry for instance) are only about
half strength by the time they get here. Larry came straight up the
gorge from Innisfail just missing us. We lost a few really big iron
barks mainly, but this may be a good reason not to plant anything that
can't get it's roots down deep, re your suggestion about planting trees
above ground.

As to a small tractor with a slasher and a collection of other handy
implements, there is nothing I would like more! :-) Unfortunately, I am
building the house at the moment, so all our spare cash (is there such a
thing!? :-) ) is going into that. The house is 160 odd meters from the
road and consequently the same from the power pole, water mains, and phone.

Last week I helped our sparkie lay the power lines. One and a half hours
work cost just over $5K and that's without even touching the house.
Another 3 to 5K$ for a half-way decent tractor is out of the question at
this point in time. Another factor that may come into play is the rate
we are planting trees and other things, manoeuvrability may become an
issue at some point with a tractor and slasher combo. At the moment
though, we still have a lot of wide open space, which I have been mowing
by hand now that the wet season is over for the year. At least the
grass won't grow much in the next 6 to 8 months.

So the main reason I was interested in the Cox is that John would let us
pay it off, which would help not break the budget. But as you say, they
are not a great unit to begin with, and with our rough ground may not
last very long at all. Which only leaves walk-behind slashers. But
even a half way decent one of those costs quite a lot.

I went and looked at an old snapper the other day. The bloke wanted
$500 for it. I know they built the first ride-on, but I didn't think
this would be it! :-) It did have a newly rebuilt B&S motor, but it the
mower it's self needed work. Looked like sh1t, but built like the
proverbial brick dunny. My misses didn't think much of it though. This
bloke rebuilds ride-ons, and I think he just keeps it to get people out
there. ;-) He himself swore by Greenfields. I myself quite like rovers
for reliability. But I was a bit surprised at the internal construction
of the bottom end. What with the swinging balance housing and the plain
metal bearings. Not very impressive, but surprisingly long lasting.

I really don't know much about these mini-tractors you speak of though.
Could you enlighten me a little on them? Like what is the difference
between them and ride-ones?

Btw, your website looks good. Lots of great tips on the mowers and
trimmers page.

Remain in light.
-Max

If youre on a tight budget, why not allow a few goats/sheep to graze for
free for a while. I'm sure a farmer in the dryer parts of Queensland
would love the idea.
As well as this, $5000 for a sparkie? Darn it would almost pay for half
a wind/solar system install. Keep it in mind...

Jonno.