On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 09:15:23 -0400, "S. M. Henning"
wrote:

===Bonehenge wrote:
===
=== Right! But why would anyone want one of those when they can have a
=== hydrostatic drive? There are an awful lot of hydrostatic drive
=== mowers on the market.
===
===Because some people don't have to keep changing the speed of their
===mower. They let out the clutch and mow until it is done without
===shifting. A hydrostatic would be a total waste. Why pay extra for
===something you are never going to use. The dealers push them because
===they make more money on them. Not everyone needs one.
===
===I have arranged my 2 acres so that all obstacles have a nice round edge
===that are easy to mow or I have a mow pattern that makes it easy to mow
===all sides without backing up and slowing down.


Now if this ain't the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever
heard............Yea right, most folks put it in gear and lug the
tractor down, or mow at a snails pace or go to fast because they are
just to freaking lazy to select gears as needed. If it only needed one
gear why do manufacturers use 4 , 5 or 6 speeds, it wold even save
lots of money again in making them and buying them..........
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

(Roy) wrote:

If it only needed one
gear why do manufacturers use 4 , 5 or 6 speeds,

You obviously never used a farm tractor. You don't drive a garden
tractor like a car. The mower speed is not controlled by the
transmission. It is constant. Hence if you go too fast, the mowing
quality goes down. If you go too slow it takes too long. You select
the gear that does the best job. The other gears are for going fast
when you are not mowing like going back to the garage or going slow like
when using a snow blower.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 22:21:20 -0400, "S. M. Henning"
wrote:

(Roy) wrote:
===
=== If it only needed one
=== gear why do manufacturers use 4 , 5 or 6 speeds,
===
===You obviously never used a farm tractor. You don't drive a garden
===tractor like a car. The mower speed is not controlled by the
===transmission. It is constant. Hence if you go too fast, the mowing
===quality goes down. If you go too slow it takes too long. You select
===the gear that does the best job. The other gears are for going fast
===when you are not mowing like going back to the garage or going slow like
===when using a snow blower.


Why snip out the pertinent part of your reply that stated you only
need one gear as thats all thats used anyhow.....that was the point
being made.............Just because your in the dark on how a
hydrostatic tranny works as compared to mechanical drive trannys and
too cheap to have one, why knock em...........There is absolutely no
advantage a gear drive in a L & G tractor has over a hydro
drive.........hands down its the better , no, BEST way to go.....Has
all the power at low speeds as well as high all with just pushing the
pedal down...........simple enough for even you to operate......I
hope!
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

(Roy) wrote:

There is absolutely no
advantage a gear drive in a L & G tractor has over a hydro
drive.........hands down its the better

It is only better if you use it. Many people such as myself can do a
job in one gear and wouldn't use the hydromatic lever other than to
start and stop. It would be a big waste of money and maintenance time.
I would think that a person that thought they were frugal would not
advise people to buy something they aren't going to use.

Tractors with front-end loaders and back-hoes are better also, but I
don't need one. Tractors with 6 cylinder engines are better, but I
don't need one. Tractors with hydromatic transmissions are better, but
I don't need one.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

(Roy) wrote:

Just because your in the dark on how a
hydrostatic tranny works as compared to mechanical drive trannys and
too cheap to have one, why knock em...........hydro
drive.........hands down its the better , no, BEST way to go.....Has
all the power at low speeds as well as high all with just pushing the
pedal down...........simple enough for even you to operate......I

Garden tractors 101:

First, all power created on gas garden tractors is created by 2 things:
1) change in elevation such as going up or down hills
2) the gasoline engine

Second, the gasoline engines are designed to operate at constant speeds
determined by two things:
1) the governor on the engine
2) the tension the throttle lever applies to the governor-spring.

Third, three things determine the speed of a tractor:
1) the speed of the engine
2) the gear ratio of the transaxle
3) the drive tire diameter

Fourth, there are two types of transaxles:
1) mechanical
2) hydrostatic

Either type of transaxle just ratios of the number of revolutions of the
engine to the number of revolutions of the rear wheels, nothing more and
nothing less. However, in doing so the torque available to the rear
wheels is changed, but all power comes from the engine and the torque is
determined by the ratio and not the type of unit. Hydrostatic units
have more power loss due to more heat generation.

The advantage of the mechanical is that the ratios are predetermined by
the gears and are reproducible.

The advantage of the hydrostatic is that the ratio is infinitely
variable.

They hydrostatic usually costs more and is sometimes called automatic,
but it isn't automatic. It usually has forward and reverse pedals and
usually a cruise lever. The mechanical transmission has a clutch and a
shift lever.

People who use automatic transmissions usually like the fact the
hydrostatic transaxles don't have a clutch.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

S. M. Henning wrote:

[BS snipped]

My God, can you at least buy a clue?

This one was fun to read! Keep it up guys.
"willshak" wrote in message
...
S. M. Henning wrote:

[BS snipped]

My God, can you at least buy a clue?

(Roy) wrote:

There is absolutely no
advantage a gear drive in a L & G tractor has over a hydro
drive.........hands down its the better , no, BEST way to go.....

In the manual for the John Deere OMM149664, Issue L3 Lawn Tractors
LX280, LX280AWS, and LX289 PIN, automatic transmission tractors it
specifically says:

"Do not use cruise control when going down hills. Machine speed will
increase."

That means you have to keep your foot on the "forward pedal" like a
throttle when going down hills.

With a gear-shift transmission you go up and down hill without touching
any levers or pedals. Their speed doesn't increase going down hills.
They are much safer.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman