Jonno wrote:
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.


G'day Jonno.
We have discusses the idea of having some goats or something. I am not
in favour of it myself, but Christine is. Chris has kept goats before.
I have had a bit to do with them and imho they are hard to fence and
love peeling the bark off trees. Also half of our weed problems come
from people keeping and so feeding horses here. The horse feed brings
is all sorts of really bad vines and other undesirables :-) I don't
know anything about the feeding habits of sheep though. Again, our
fences would need lots of attention. But some form of livestock is not
something we have ruled out completely.

Part of the issue is that not only cars but also ride-on mowers,
tractors and the like go for about $1k more up here than they do down
south. What you can get in Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne for $600, people
want $1600 for here. It sucks I know, but there it is. Our last car
for instance, even with me flying down to Brisbane and driving it back,
we still saved over $1k on something comparable from Cairns or Townsville.

As to the power costing so much, when you factor in the price rise in
copper over the last few years, three 200 meter rolls of 25 square mm
copper cable (and the 40mm conduit), it isn't that remarkable. I
actually got $200 off for helping him, and the promise of some casual
work when he need an offsider.

We will go down the solar/wind path when we can afford it. We are of
course going to have solar hot water and gas stove and oven. Although a
fuel stove with a wetback is another option too. All our appliances
will be energy efficient, so running from an inverter wont be a big
deal. Anyway, if we ever wanted to put our green power back into the
grid, we would need the link to the mains.

Actually we already have our own wind farm! Have a look here on google
earth: 17 35 30.09 S 145 31 44.31 E
Our place is over near ;-) the Millstream Falls marker.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
Why don't blind people like to sky dive?
Because it scares the hell out of the dog.
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
The proud history continues!

HC wrote:

G'day Max

Half the fun is fixing a broken item with spares bits 'n pieces you have
lying around. LOL

After the Cox was just about totally rebuilt and strengthened we bought
a garden tractor, an old Howard actually, and it would drive up a
vertical wall. We were fortunate that the seller had the implements for
it, there was a grader blade, single furrow plough, ripper and a
home-made disc plough so this combination was fabulous, plus of course
it had a slasher. Then we made a tipping trailer that was 'the' most
useful item in a big garden...it looked funny because it had Mini Minor
wide wheels with slick (worn out) tyres and was heaps better than any
wheelbarrow.

Because this garden tractor was constantly in use doing other things and
I couldn't get the lawn mown, I bought a demo model Honda ride-on with a
39" (1 metre) cut and a nice gearbox with reverse....so much nicer to
drive than a Cox could ever be!! We fabricated a trailer hitch which
meant I could cart chain saw/spray gear/whipper snipper/tools/dog/etc
etc to wherever I wanted to work on the place (12 acres), then unhitch
the trailer and start mowing.

Both the Howard and Honda could mow up the very, very steep dam wall
over large rocks.....like you've mentioned. At the chute in the mower
deck (where grass/rocks/etc used to be ejected at a million miles an
hour) we fitted short lengths of chain as you see on large slashers,
this stopped stones/rocks being flung everywhere.

I used to mow along the side of our road for about a klm each side,
although had to remove small saplings with the chain saw so I could fit
the Honda through...also did this around the dam area and the whole
place used to look like a park when mown. Also good to keeping snakes
at bay as there was no where for them to hide.

Because I live in town now I'm not up to date with ride-ons but would
recommend you get one with a comfy and well sprung seat, this is
important if you have to mow a few acres. The Honda had headlights too,
which always made me smile, but this also meant it had an electric
start....so then an old car radio with headphone socket was my next
luxury. Gee, might as well be well set up when mowing so much grass!!!

Bronwyn ;-)


That sound wonderful Bronwyn! We will definitely look into these
mini/garden-tractors that you and Len have both spoken about. I find
perseverance in these things generally pays off, and it never hurts to
ask around for advice.

12 acres! that's a hell of a lot of mowing. You must have the patience
of a saint. Saint Bronwyn, patron saint of lawn keepers and gardeners,
I will say a prayer to you tonight! :-)

Remain in light.

-Max

--
Coincidence: when God chooses to remain anonymous.
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
All in one internet application suite.
The proud history continues!
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1

i understand max,

we all ahve financila constaints especially at time of building a
home, but we still need to spend wisely.

greenfields not that much better than cox from this old mower
mechanics view point all friction drive and too many long belts.

the snapper is a good mower we used to sell them they are very
reliable chassis wise, the only consumables are the blade belt (if you
know the size ie.,. B36 then you can buy belts at any engineer supply
shop). the other wearing part is the driven wheel it has a rubber like
tyre on it so if you can determine that you can get them or repair the
old one then all should be ok. the b&s motor standard motor for most
machines easy to keep going and reliable if serviced well.

for me the choice with considerations would be the snapper.

when i mentioned raised root ball planting i was thinking fruit trees
etc, if you plant indemics they will grow better for you area, but you
can't ahve tall forest trees espically gum tree family on a property
that is not large enough for both tree and home etc.,.

the safe margin for one of those trees is its mature height plus 50%
for me i like to make that 100%, you don't need a storm for these
trees to fall over or drop major limbs. so you nearest gum tree to
your home and sheds will be about 80+ meters away.

you alkso have "duty of care" nowadays which means that if you have a
tree like that and it falls and damges neighbour or proerty you can
face littigation and probable heavy compensation and court costs.

if there is a rover rancher (the only model) around than grab that i
liked the old blue model with the 3 forward speed gear box think they
then came out with 5 or 6 speed gear box.

mini tractors do so much more than a mower ever will, check you local
papers people often sell them second hand, or check at tractor
dealerships get some kinowledge. buy a diesel they are pretty mush
unbreakable, ther are lots of brands and no doubt some better than
others but once you know what you are looking for you will narrow down
to a couple types.

ok they are a lot dearer than a rider mower (lot less dearer if you
buy second hand) but they just keep on keeping on. all you need do is
service them correctly (just as you need to do with a rider mower),
and they will be super reliable.

i think the smallest is around 18hp, but that hp with up to 18 gears
is far above comparing to the lowly hp of a rider mower. basic
tractor would ahve 3 point linkage set up and PTO. they come in 4x4
so if your block is mushy and slopey then 4x4 is the way to go. they
don't use belts they ahve proper gear boxes, transfer cases and
differentials. definately worth thinking about even if not now but the
near future maybe?

servicing is simply keeping the ari cleaner clean or replaced and
changing the engine oil & filter every i think 100 hours of work (most
come with an hour meter on the dash') too easy, easier n most cases
than doing a car.

keep chatting great stuff

On Sun, 06 May 2007 11:12:52 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/

Max wrote:
Jonno wrote:

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.



G'day Jonno.
We have discusses the idea of having some goats or something. I am not
in favour of it myself, but Christine is. Chris has kept goats before.
I have had a bit to do with them and imho they are hard to fence and
love peeling the bark off trees. Also half of our weed problems come
from people keeping and so feeding horses here. The horse feed brings
is all sorts of really bad vines and other undesirables :-) I don't
know anything about the feeding habits of sheep though. Again, our
fences would need lots of attention. But some form of livestock is not
something we have ruled out completely.

Part of the issue is that not only cars but also ride-on mowers,
tractors and the like go for about $1k more up here than they do down
south. What you can get in Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne for $600, people
want $1600 for here. It sucks I know, but there it is. Our last car
for instance, even with me flying down to Brisbane and driving it back,
we still saved over $1k on something comparable from Cairns or Townsville.

As to the power costing so much, when you factor in the price rise in
copper over the last few years, three 200 meter rolls of 25 square mm
copper cable (and the 40mm conduit), it isn't that remarkable. I
actually got $200 off for helping him, and the promise of some casual
work when he need an offsider.

We will go down the solar/wind path when we can afford it. We are of
course going to have solar hot water and gas stove and oven. Although a
fuel stove with a wetback is another option too. All our appliances
will be energy efficient, so running from an inverter wont be a big
deal. Anyway, if we ever wanted to put our green power back into the
grid, we would need the link to the mains.

Actually we already have our own wind farm! Have a look here on google
earth: 17 35 30.09 S 145 31 44.31 E
Our place is over near ;-) the Millstream Falls marker.

Remain in light.
-Max

The Chinese people I have found on the internet are keen to find a
distributor for their 2 KW wind generator, and it also can connect up to
the solar system its appears. They asked me to name a price but I wasnt
enquiring for myself, so disnt go any further..If anyone wishes to get
involved, drop me a line at www.aidplus.com.au.au.au Just take of the
extra au's.
Also, as an aside, for those who dont know, this news site is monitored
on the internet by google. I did a search one day and found my emails
all over the place. AAARGH..... So be carefull with your emai laddresses
and other things. Big brother is watching....

Max wrote:
Actually we already have our own wind farm! Have a look here on
google earth: 17 35 30.09 S 145 31 44.31 E Our place is over near
;-) the Millstream Falls marker.
Remain in light.
-Max

Jonno wrote:

The Chinese people I have found on the internet are keen to find a
distributor for their 2 KW wind generator, and it also can connect up
to the solar system its appears. They asked me to name a price but I
wasnt enquiring for myself, so disnt go any further..If anyone wishes
to get involved, drop me a line at www.aidplus.com.au.au.au Just
take of the extra au's.

Also, as an aside, for those who dont know, this news site is
monitored on the internet by google. I did a search one day and found
my emails all over the place. AAARGH..... So be carefull with your
email addresses and other things. Big brother is watching....


I have a mate Geoff Thomas, ADVANCED WIND
TECHNOLOGIES in Kuranda who sells all sorts of solar, wind and
associated things as well as installing and maintaining stand alone and
grid connected power systems. http://www.iig.com.au/wind/index.html I
will send him your post. He may well be interested.

I have just found out the reason nobody keeps sheep around here. We
have lots of spear grass. The seeds of which, as the name suggests, get
into the wool and then under the hide of the sheep, causing infections
and even death from blood poisoning. Not a nice way to go.

As a usenet denizen of many years standing, I am well aware of the fact
that all usenet posts are propagated far and wide. Only my earliest few
dozen posts of 8+ years ago have my real email address (which is now
long defunct) without at least a little munging. These days I don't
even bother making it un-mungable (if there is such a word :-) ). If
someone wants to send me "back mail" they only have to ask for my email
address and I will be happy to supply an un-mungable address, just like
you have done above. You may have noticed I didn't supply the exact map
cords for our place above, either.

Thanks for your suggestions Jonno.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?
A stick.
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
The proud tradition continues!
All in one internet application suit.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1

len garden wrote:
i understand max,

we all ahve financila constaints especially at time of building a
home, but we still need to spend wisely.

greenfields not that much better than cox from this old mower
mechanics view point all friction drive and too many long belts.

the snapper is a good mower we used to sell them they are very
reliable chassis wise, the only consumables are the blade belt (if you
know the size ie.,. B36 then you can buy belts at any engineer supply
shop). the other wearing part is the driven wheel it has a rubber like
tyre on it so if you can determine that you can get them or repair the
old one then all should be ok. the b&s motor standard motor for most
machines easy to keep going and reliable if serviced well.

for me the choice with considerations would be the snapper.

when i mentioned raised root ball planting i was thinking fruit trees
etc, if you plant indemics they will grow better for you area, but you
can't ahve tall forest trees espically gum tree family on a property
that is not large enough for both tree and home etc.,.

the safe margin for one of those trees is its mature height plus 50%
for me i like to make that 100%, you don't need a storm for these
trees to fall over or drop major limbs. so you nearest gum tree to
your home and sheds will be about 80+ meters away.

you alkso have "duty of care" nowadays which means that if you have a
tree like that and it falls and damges neighbour or proerty you can
face littigation and probable heavy compensation and court costs.

if there is a rover rancher (the only model) around than grab that i
liked the old blue model with the 3 forward speed gear box think they
then came out with 5 or 6 speed gear box.

mini tractors do so much more than a mower ever will, check you local
papers people often sell them second hand, or check at tractor
dealerships get some kinowledge. buy a diesel they are pretty mush
unbreakable, ther are lots of brands and no doubt some better than
others but once you know what you are looking for you will narrow down
to a couple types.

ok they are a lot dearer than a rider mower (lot less dearer if you
buy second hand) but they just keep on keeping on. all you need do is
service them correctly (just as you need to do with a rider mower),
and they will be super reliable.

i think the smallest is around 18hp, but that hp with up to 18 gears
is far above comparing to the lowly hp of a rider mower. basic
tractor would ahve 3 point linkage set up and PTO. they come in 4x4
so if your block is mushy and slopey then 4x4 is the way to go. they
don't use belts they ahve proper gear boxes, transfer cases and
differentials. definately worth thinking about even if not now but the
near future maybe?

servicing is simply keeping the ari cleaner clean or replaced and
changing the engine oil & filter every i think 100 hours of work (most
come with an hour meter on the dash') too easy, easier n most cases
than doing a car.

keep chatting great stuff

On Sun, 06 May 2007 11:12:52 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/


Thanks for all the great advice Len.

A mini-tractor is definitely something we will look at buying when we
can afford it.

That old snapper really did need quite a bit of work. As I said, the
prices of even used mowers up here is through the roof. There are quite
a few people up here that make a good side earning from buying riders
from down south, doing them up and flogging them up here. That bloke
has had that snapper for years. He just keeps it so he can use it in
his classified adds as advertised for $500, then when you get there and
realize what a bomb it is, he tries to sell you one worth from $1200 to
$1900. It nearly worked on the misses too. g

Don't think that I haven't seriously thought about buying it anyway
though. It starts first pull, and doesn't blow smoke at all. But, the
list of thing that would need doing to it include;

Tyres, a rear one is flat (both look a little on the bald side) and
would need either a new tube, or maybe both back ones filled with
sealant. The front ones are hard rubber and look a little small for my
liking.

The clutch and brake cables are both made from that soft clothes line
wire, and are near to breaking. I thought maybe they could be replaced
with uni-cables like we used to use on motor bikes. $?

The blades have had the Richard as has the seat. He suggested replacing
the the fixed blade rotor assembly with a swinging blade type. $75?

I have done a little upholstery from my biking days, and have some foam
rubber blocks and some leather laying around some place, so I guess that
if the bass plate is sound I could do something about the seat.

I wasn't sure about the front steering linkages, as in, how much play is
acceptable. From memory it has a sort of go-cart set-up, with what
looks like push-bike handle bars.

Paint! what paint? you can tell it was once red! g

All in all it's a relic from a bygone age! :-)


Chris (the misses) has owned a blue Rover Rancher with three forward and
one reverse gear. She says it was very good. That is what we shall
keep our eyes out for I think. She said she couldn't get it into
reverse gear though it was possible.

Actually, now that I come to think about it, that bloke with the snapper
had Rover Rancher he was doing up. He had replaced the motor with a B$S
and was waiting on parts for the gearbox. He wanted $1200 for it. What
do you think Len, was it worth it?

On the topic of trees, Chris thanks you for your above ground suggestion
for fruit trees. One of the things that keeled over was a young avocado
tree.

Unfortunately we have quite a few very large iron barks not very far
from the house(s). Fortunately though, the prevailing wind is from a
direction that they would miss the house(s). But it's still a bit of a
worry. They are large enough that I wouldn't attempt to cut them down
myself, so we would need to get the tree loppers in. Maybe I could ask
John next door what he thinks. He has is both a builder/carpenter and
timber getter of more than 30 years experience, with his own portable
mill. If anyone would know what we should do it's him.

Really glad I found this newsgroup, I am enjoying chatting with everyone
here very much.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
All in one internet application suit.
The proud tradition continues!
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1

On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:26:28 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped

snipped

That old snapper really did need quite a bit of work. As I said, the
prices of even used mowers up here is through the roof. There are quite
a few people up here that make a good side earning from buying riders
from down south, doing them up and flogging them up here. That bloke
has had that snapper for years. He just keeps it so he can use it in
his classified adds as advertised for $500, then when you get there and
realize what a bomb it is, he tries to sell you one worth from $1200 to
$1900. It nearly worked on the misses too. g

yeh sounds like rip off country hey, might be worth your while to do a
trip to brissy and see what's around down here? he certainly seems
like he has the attributes of a sales shark. from what i hear doubt i
would pay that much for it.

snipped

Tyres, a rear one is flat (both look a little on the bald side) and
would need either a new tube, or maybe both back ones filled with
sealant. The front ones are hard rubber and look a little small for my
liking.

tyres would be the least worry theya re standard size and available
from any equipment store, even if theya re not exactly the same
profile so long as they are the right size for the rim, if the rubber
itself isn't completely shot fit a couple of new tubes.

as i recall they used to ahve pump up front tyres so it sounds like
waht he has done is not original, but there again if it works! all it
has to do si steer the machine and kep the front off the ground.

The clutch and brake cables are both made from that soft clothes line
wire, and are near to breaking. I thought maybe they could be replaced
with uni-cables like we used to use on motor bikes. $?

that doesn't sound right at all cables should be standard looking
cables you know plack plastic coated felexible coiled wire outer with
fine wire rope configured cable sliding throuhg the middle, this sort
of cable can be bought and made up if genuine is not available. yes
motor bike cable would do the trick.

The blades have had the Richard as has the seat. He suggested replacing
the the fixed blade rotor assembly with a swinging blade type. $75?

they did originally have a single cutter bar blade, now there are lots
of other rider models with this system they may well be
interchangable?

snipped

I wasn't sure about the front steering linkages, as in, how much play is
acceptable. From memory it has a sort of go-cart set-up, with what
looks like push-bike handle bars.

the steering was basic i think a 't' handle configuration, linkages
can oftern be made up of other material or fitted from another model
so long as the front wheels steer.

but anyway still sounds a bomb, which doesn't give you many options at
this stage, are the prices anymore resonable down in cairns?

snipped

Chris (the misses) has owned a blue Rover Rancher with three forward and
one reverse gear. She says it was very good. That is what we shall
keep our eyes out for I think. She said she couldn't get it into
reverse gear though it was possible.

they are getting long in the tooth now, you would be ahrd pushed
findig one of them that wasn't fit for more than scarp metal, and the
later red model rancher just wasn't the same quality chassis.

Actually, now that I come to think about it, that bloke with the snapper
had Rover Rancher he was doing up. He had replaced the motor with a B$S
and was waiting on parts for the gearbox. He wanted $1200 for it. What
do you think Len, was it worth it?

again you are there 'max' 1299 is a lot but the rancher is more local
and parts should be easier to get maybe not cheap but easier, but at
least if you buy it then look for opportunities to buy another
scrapper for parts etc.,.

On the topic of trees, Chris thanks you for your above ground suggestion
for fruit trees. One of the things that keeled over was a young avocado
tree.

that is why i suggested planting in a raised position, avo's like it
well drained.

snipped
timber getter of more than 30 years experience, with his own portable
mill. If anyone would know what we should do it's him.

he sounds like the bloke he could then mill the timber and you could
use that, just watch that the shire council doesn't ahve a
preservatiuon order on those sort of trees.

Really glad I found this newsgroup, I am enjoying chatting with everyone
here very much.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
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/

len garden wrote:
On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:26:28 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
snipped
That old snapper really did need quite a bit of work. As I said, the
prices of even used mowers up here is through the roof. There are quite
a few people up here that make a good side earning from buying riders
from down south, doing them up and flogging them up here. That bloke
has had that snapper for years. He just keeps it so he can use it in
his classified adds as advertised for $500, then when you get there and
realize what a bomb it is, he tries to sell you one worth from $1200 to
$1900. It nearly worked on the misses too. g

yeh sounds like rip off country hey, might be worth your while to do a
trip to brissy and see what's around down here? he certainly seems
like he has the attributes of a sales shark. from what i hear doubt i
would pay that much for it.

snipped
Tyres, a rear one is flat (both look a little on the bald side) and
would need either a new tube, or maybe both back ones filled with
sealant. The front ones are hard rubber and look a little small for my
liking.

tyres would be the least worry theya re standard size and available
from any equipment store, even if theya re not exactly the same
profile so long as they are the right size for the rim, if the rubber
itself isn't completely shot fit a couple of new tubes.

as i recall they used to ahve pump up front tyres so it sounds like
waht he has done is not original, but there again if it works! all it
has to do si steer the machine and kep the front off the ground.

The clutch and brake cables are both made from that soft clothes line
wire, and are near to breaking. I thought maybe they could be replaced
with uni-cables like we used to use on motor bikes. $?

that doesn't sound right at all cables should be standard looking
cables you know plack plastic coated felexible coiled wire outer with
fine wire rope configured cable sliding throuhg the middle, this sort
of cable can be bought and made up if genuine is not available. yes
motor bike cable would do the trick.

The blades have had the Richard as has the seat. He suggested replacing
the the fixed blade rotor assembly with a swinging blade type. $75?

they did originally have a single cutter bar blade, now there are lots
of other rider models with this system they may well be
interchangable?

snipped
I wasn't sure about the front steering linkages, as in, how much play is
acceptable. From memory it has a sort of go-cart set-up, with what
looks like push-bike handle bars.

the steering was basic i think a 't' handle configuration, linkages
can oftern be made up of other material or fitted from another model
so long as the front wheels steer.

but anyway still sounds a bomb, which doesn't give you many options at
this stage, are the prices anymore resonable down in cairns?

snipped
Chris (the misses) has owned a blue Rover Rancher with three forward and
one reverse gear. She says it was very good. That is what we shall
keep our eyes out for I think. She said she couldn't get it into
reverse gear though it was possible.

they are getting long in the tooth now, you would be ahrd pushed
findig one of them that wasn't fit for more than scarp metal, and the
later red model rancher just wasn't the same quality chassis.

Actually, now that I come to think about it, that bloke with the snapper
had Rover Rancher he was doing up. He had replaced the motor with a B$S
and was waiting on parts for the gearbox. He wanted $1200 for it. What
do you think Len, was it worth it?

again you are there 'max' 1299 is a lot but the rancher is more local
and parts should be easier to get maybe not cheap but easier, but at
least if you buy it then look for opportunities to buy another
scrapper for parts etc.,.

On the topic of trees, Chris thanks you for your above ground suggestion
for fruit trees. One of the things that keeled over was a young avocado
tree.

that is why i suggested planting in a raised position, avo's like it
well drained.

snipped
timber getter of more than 30 years experience, with his own portable
mill. If anyone would know what we should do it's him.

he sounds like the bloke he could then mill the timber and you could
use that, just watch that the shire council doesn't ahve a
preservatiuon order on those sort of trees.

Really glad I found this newsgroup, I am enjoying chatting with everyone
here very much.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
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/


There seams to be quite a few retired mechanics around here doing up
riders and flogging them off. Cairns is slightly better price wise, but
not much. A trip to brissy as you suggest could well be in order.

I think they call those cables with an inner and an outer,
"Bowden cables". I tend to call them uni-cables because of my of time
as a bike mechanic at a mate's a trail bike hire in Meni, just next to
the atomic reactor. The genuine cables cost a lot more than the
non-genuine uni-cables we fitted. With a squirt of graphite powder down
the guts, they would last dam near as long too.

I could well be wrong about those front tyres being solid. I have seen
more riders (and a few shopping trolleys :-) ) lately than you could
poke a stick at. It all gets to be a bit of a blur after a while. g

The reason I thought the old snapper may be the go, was because I could
probably keep it going long enough to tame this block enough to make it
worth while getting something nice. But the fact that it had a flat
meant that I couldn't even take it for a drive to test out the gears and
drive trains.

Anyway, patience in a virtue! :-) We will find something good by the
end of the next wet, I'm sure. I will take all that you, Jonno and
Bronwyn have said into account when I make my final decision.

The council doesn't seam to mind too much about trees on private blocks.
You should have seen the amount of trees people cut down after Larry!
Whole rows of huge pines and natives. Anything that people thought
even had a slight chance of falling on their house in the next one,
went. I am sure people cut down five times the amount of trees that
Larry blue over.

The other thing that every single one of died from the wet was the
conifers, we have pretty well given up on them. They just aren't very
hardy. First they struggled during the dry, in spite of all the water
we gave them, then when the wet came it killed them stone dead. Some
plants are hard to please! g

Touch wood, aus.gardens seams amazingly free of trolls, flame wars and
spam. Nice to see.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather..
Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
All in one internet application suit.
A grand tradition continues.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1

yes bowden cables max,

so bike shops could amke up a workable cable for any machine so long
as they had bulk inner and outer cable.

seen a few good flame wars here over the years, seems to be the
downside of the usenet(unmoderated), just let it run off like water
from a ducks back.

sounds like all those mechanics are supporting a good social um life
hey??? chuckle


On Tue, 08 May 2007 22:32:35 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/

Max wrote:
len garden wrote:

On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:26:28 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
snipped

That old snapper really did need quite a bit of work. As I said, the
prices of even used mowers up here is through the roof. There are
quite a few people up here that make a good side earning from buying
riders from down south, doing them up and flogging them up here.
That bloke has had that snapper for years. He just keeps it so he
can use it in his classified adds as advertised for $500, then when
you get there and realize what a bomb it is, he tries to sell you one
worth from $1200 to $1900. It nearly worked on the misses too. g

yeh sounds like rip off country hey, might be worth your while to do a
trip to brissy and see what's around down here? he certainly seems
like he has the attributes of a sales shark. from what i hear doubt i
would pay that much for it.
Good on ya.Its a sales trick. I used to install electrical appliances
and they used to stock one brand,which people would come in for, and
they would steer customers onto another brand which they could make
more profit on, but they would never actually sell, but as the other
brands were always on consignment, wouldnt cost the much to stock, and
eventually the company owning those machines would allow a discounted
sale price on them so the company would have a "SALE" at never ever to
be repeated prices.


snipped

Tyres, a rear one is flat (both look a little on the bald side) and
would need either a new tube, or maybe both back ones filled with
sealant. The front ones are hard rubber and look a little small for
my liking.

tyres would be the least worry theya re standard size and available
from any equipment store, even if theya re not exactly the same
profile so long as they are the right size for the rim, if the rubber
itself isn't completely shot fit a couple of new tubes.

as i recall they used to ahve pump up front tyres so it sounds like
waht he has done is not original, but there again if it works! all it
has to do si steer the machine and kep the front off the ground.

The clutch and brake cables are both made from that soft clothes line
wire, and are near to breaking. I thought maybe they could be
replaced with uni-cables like we used to use on motor bikes. $?

that doesn't sound right at all cables should be standard looking
cables you know plack plastic coated felexible coiled wire outer with
fine wire rope configured cable sliding throuhg the middle, this sort
of cable can be bought and made up if genuine is not available. yes
motor bike cable would do the trick.

The blades have had the Richard as has the seat. He suggested
replacing the the fixed blade rotor assembly with a swinging blade
type. $75?

they did originally have a single cutter bar blade, now there are lots
of other rider models with this system they may well be
interchangable?

snipped

I wasn't sure about the front steering linkages, as in, how much play
is acceptable. From memory it has a sort of go-cart set-up, with
what looks like push-bike handle bars.

the steering was basic i think a 't' handle configuration, linkages
can oftern be made up of other material or fitted from another model
so long as the front wheels steer.

but anyway still sounds a bomb, which doesn't give you many options at
this stage, are the prices anymore resonable down in cairns?

snipped

Chris (the misses) has owned a blue Rover Rancher with three forward
and one reverse gear. She says it was very good. That is what we
shall keep our eyes out for I think. She said she couldn't get it
into reverse gear though it was possible.

they are getting long in the tooth now, you would be ahrd pushed
findig one of them that wasn't fit for more than scarp metal, and the
later red model rancher just wasn't the same quality chassis.

Actually, now that I come to think about it, that bloke with the
snapper had Rover Rancher he was doing up. He had replaced the motor
with a B$S and was waiting on parts for the gearbox. He wanted $1200
for it. What do you think Len, was it worth it?

again you are there 'max' 1299 is a lot but the rancher is more local
and parts should be easier to get maybe not cheap but easier, but at
least if you buy it then look for opportunities to buy another
scrapper for parts etc.,.

On the topic of trees, Chris thanks you for your above ground
suggestion for fruit trees. One of the things that keeled over was a
young avocado tree.

that is why i suggested planting in a raised position, avo's like it
well drained.

snipped
timber getter of more than 30 years experience, with his own portable
mill. If anyone would know what we should do it's him.

he sounds like the bloke he could then mill the timber and you could
use that, just watch that the shire council doesn't ahve a
preservatiuon order on those sort of trees.

Really glad I found this newsgroup, I am enjoying chatting with
everyone here very much.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx

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/



There seams to be quite a few retired mechanics around here doing up
riders and flogging them off. Cairns is slightly better price wise, but
not much. A trip to brissy as you suggest could well be in order.

I think they call those cables with an inner and an outer,
"Bowden cables". I tend to call them uni-cables because of my of time
as a bike mechanic at a mate's a trail bike hire in Meni, just next to
the atomic reactor. The genuine cables cost a lot more than the
non-genuine uni-cables we fitted. With a squirt of graphite powder down
the guts, they would last dam near as long too.

I could well be wrong about those front tyres being solid. I have seen
more riders (and a few shopping trolleys :-) ) lately than you could
poke a stick at. It all gets to be a bit of a blur after a while. g

The reason I thought the old snapper may be the go, was because I could
probably keep it going long enough to tame this block enough to make it
worth while getting something nice. But the fact that it had a flat
meant that I couldn't even take it for a drive to test out the gears and
drive trains.

Anyway, patience in a virtue! :-) We will find something good by the
end of the next wet, I'm sure. I will take all that you, Jonno and
Bronwyn have said into account when I make my final decision.

The council doesn't seam to mind too much about trees on private blocks.
You should have seen the amount of trees people cut down after Larry!
Whole rows of huge pines and natives. Anything that people thought
even had a slight chance of falling on their house in the next one,
went. I am sure people cut down five times the amount of trees that
Larry blue over.

The other thing that every single one of died from the wet was the
conifers, we have pretty well given up on them. They just aren't very
hardy. First they struggled during the dry, in spite of all the water
we gave them, then when the wet came it killed them stone dead. Some
plants are hard to please! g

Touch wood, aus.gardens seams amazingly free of trolls, flame wars and
spam. Nice to see.

Remain in light.
-Max


Just dont upset them or disagree with them. (huge grin) Their knowledge
is a precious possession and is not easy to get anyone to change their
mind at times. I'm sort of all for that, but can be stood to be corrected...
Nothing is certain in a search for knowledge, but if we let
personalities get in the way its a longer trip...

len garden wrote:
yes bowden cables max,

so bike shops could amke up a workable cable for any machine so long
as they had bulk inner and outer cable.

seen a few good flame wars here over the years, seems to be the
downside of the usenet(unmoderated), just let it run off like water
from a ducks back.

sounds like all those mechanics are supporting a good social um life
hey??? chuckle


On Tue, 08 May 2007 22:32:35 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/
Mechanics are just bad salesmen working for a living.

Jonno wrote:
(lots of snipping gone on here g)
The Chinese people I have found on the internet are keen to find a
distributor for their 2 KW wind generator, and it also can connect up
to the solar system its appears. They asked me to name a price but I
wasn't enquiring for myself, so disnt go any further..If anyone
wishes to get involved, drop me a line at www.aidplus.com.au.au.au
Just take of the extra au's.


Hi Jonno.
I sent this snip of your post to my old mate Geoff, who owns AWT
www.iig.com.au/wind/index.html and got this reply.

Geoff wrote:
Hi Max, no contact from that person, mind you there are a hundred
companies in China making Wind generators, but the main problem is
knowing whether the representative who approaches you is actually
part of the company or operating from his bicycle and his mobile
phone, or perhaps his friends mobile phone. Gets difficult. -Geoff

This is Geoff's email address:
(same deal with the .au's)
AWT is just a one man show, not some large company.
I have know him for about 15 years.
He is a good bloke, and has been selling solar and related
gear for much longer than I have known him.
At the moment his smallest wind generator is 30KW,
and his largest is 1MW. Have a poke around his website.

Remain in light.
-Max

--
I love being married.
It's so great to find that one special person
you want to annoy for the rest of your life.
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
The proud tradition continues!
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1
All in one internet application suit.

Max wrote:
Jonno wrote:
(lots of snipping gone on here g)

The Chinese people I have found on the internet are keen to find a
distributor for their 2 KW wind generator, and it also can connect up
to the solar system its appears. They asked me to name a price but I
wasn't enquiring for myself, so disnt go any further..If anyone
wishes to get involved, drop me a line at www.aidplus.com.au.au.au
Just take of the extra au's.



Hi Jonno.
I sent this snip of your post to my old mate Geoff, who owns AWT
www.iig.com.au/wind/index.html and got this reply.

Geoff wrote:

Hi Max, no contact from that person, mind you there are a hundred
companies in China making Wind generators, but the main problem is
knowing whether the representative who approaches you is actually
part of the company or operating from his bicycle and his mobile
phone, or perhaps his friends mobile phone. Gets difficult. -Geoff


This is Geoff's email address:
(same deal with the .au's)
AWT is just a one man show, not some large company.
I have know him for about 15 years.
He is a good bloke, and has been selling solar and related
gear for much longer than I have known him.
At the moment his smallest wind generator is 30KW,
and his largest is 1MW. Have a poke around his website.

Remain in light.
-Max

Thanks Max.

len garden wrote:
yes bowden cables max,

so bike shops could amke up a workable cable for any machine so long
as they had bulk inner and outer cable.

Bike shops usually had a range of standard lengths that you put the ends
on your self. As you would imagine, the longest cable on a motor bike
is not all that long. With the advent of disk bakes front and rear, and
even sometimes hydraulic clutches, that really only leaves the
accelerator cable.


seen a few good flame wars here over the years, seems to be the
downside of the usenet(unmoderated), just let it run off like water
from a ducks back.


Yes, the old usenet saying: "Don't feed the trolls", is as valid as ever.


sounds like all those mechanics are supporting a good social um life
hey??? chuckle

Yes, it looks like a good way of making a few extra bucks. Easy to work
on, no registration/paperwork but worth as much as a used car. Lots of
room for profit there. A retired mechanic could do a lot worse.

Remain in light.
-Max


On Tue, 08 May 2007 22:32:35 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/


--
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
The proud tradition continues!
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1
All in one internet application suit.


--
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
--
NetscapeMozilla SuiteSeamonkey
The proud tradition continues!
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seam...seamonkey1.1.1
All in one internet application suit.

Max wrote:
len garden wrote:

yes bowden cables max,

so bike shops could amke up a workable cable for any machine so long
as they had bulk inner and outer cable.


Bike shops usually had a range of standard lengths that you put the ends
on your self. As you would imagine, the longest cable on a motor bike
is not all that long. With the advent of disk bakes front and rear, and
even sometimes hydraulic clutches, that really only leaves the
accelerator cable.


seen a few good flame wars here over the years, seems to be the
downside of the usenet(unmoderated), just let it run off like water
from a ducks back.


Yes, the old usenet saying: "Don't feed the trolls", is as valid as ever.



sounds like all those mechanics are supporting a good social um life
hey??? chuckle


Yes, it looks like a good way of making a few extra bucks. Easy to work
on, no registration/paperwork but worth as much as a used car. Lots of
room for profit there. A retired mechanic could do a lot worse.

Remain in light.
-Max


On Tue, 08 May 2007 22:32:35 +1000, Max wrote:

snipped
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/