I've just moved to a place with around an acre of garden, lawn, trees
etc. The area used to be a field, so is uneven in parts and has mild
slopes here and there.

I bought a 5.5hp motor mower which copes fine but I find it quite
tiring and manoeuvering it quite hard on the shoulders and knees.

I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about them. Can
anyone give me any guidelinesor their own experiences?

I've searched on the web but found very little other than
straighforward specs for the machines.


------------------------------------
David Thorpe

On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 21:33:35 +0200, David Sparkmunster
wrote:

I've just moved to a place with around an acre of garden, lawn, trees
etc. The area used to be a field, so is uneven in parts and has mild
slopes here and there.

I bought a 5.5hp motor mower which copes fine but I find it quite
tiring and manoeuvering it quite hard on the shoulders and knees.

I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about them. Can
anyone give me any guidelinesor their own experiences?

I've searched on the web but found very little other than
straighforward specs for the machines.

David:

The gardening section of yesterday's Daily Telegraph has a large
article comparing 7 different ride-on mowers. It's probably online if
you can't get hold of a copy.











--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Remove the LIZARD to email reply

Not good on rough ground from what I have heard.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

David Sparkmunster wrote:

Hello David

DS I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about
DS them. Can anyone give me any guidelinesor their own
DS experiences?

The Husqvarna LT125 is about the cheapest (1100 inc vat from Mole
Valley Farmers) and is a nice tool, better designed than some of the
2-3k range I looked at. Well up to an acre - does my 1/2 lawn and
various paths through another 1/2 acre in about 30 mins, with two
empties on the lawn. (I don't bother collecting in the paddock)

Also used a couple of Westwoods. Their pto brush collector is superb,
but pricey and they have had some bad design problems in the past. But
get a good one and it's fine.

Pretty much all of them have B&S engines, which are great. Honda's
also a lovely engine. Avoid tecumseh and any engine you've never heard
of.

DS I've searched on the web but found very little other than
DS straighforward specs for the machines.

Which aren't a great deal of use anyway, since this is one tool where
the actual design is more important than the paper specs. Spares
costs, ease of maintenance and repair and so on are all things you're
better off looking at a physical machine. Unfortunately, the markup in
some specialist centres are phenominal, which brings out the used car
dealer type of salesman who will pile on the bull and say a lot of
things that just aren't true. If you think you're being smarmed at,
walk away, or if you can figure out enough about the machine then
haggle - there's around 1-2k retailers markup on a 4k mower, so they
have a lot of slack.

DON'T get suckered into buying useless options and extras. Check any
finance deals with a tooth comb if you can't pay cash, their APR is
scary.

Still have an image problem, unfortunately, but for a big garden
there's no real alternative.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

If you are serious then get the dealers to do a demo on your ground.
They will soon find a suitable machine for your conditions

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

David Sparkmunster wrote:
I've just moved to a place with around an acre of garden, lawn,
trees
etc. The area used to be a field, so is uneven in parts and has mild
slopes here and there.

I bought a 5.5hp motor mower which copes fine but I find it quite
tiring and manoeuvering it quite hard on the shoulders and knees.

I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about them. Can
anyone give me any guidelinesor their own experiences?

I've searched on the web but found very little other than
straighforward specs for the machines.

'Wouldn't be without mine.
If the ground is uneven then you are bound to scalp bits of it with
any mower ... and the more scalping it gets, the flatter it gets. I
have a Bolen 30" mulching mower with a 12.5 HP Briggs and Stratton
engine. Never had any bother with it. I would encourage you to think
of the 'mulching' type as disposing of an acre's clippings soon poses
problems. I have two 1 in 3 banks which mine copes with (although you
do have to lean into the slope!)

--
ned

"David Sparkmunster" wrote in message
...
I've just moved to a place with around an acre of garden, lawn, trees
etc. The area used to be a field, so is uneven in parts and has mild
slopes here and there.

I bought a 5.5hp motor mower which copes fine but I find it quite
tiring and manoeuvering it quite hard on the shoulders and knees.

I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about them. Can
anyone give me any guidelinesor their own experiences?

I've searched on the web but found very little other than
straighforward specs for the machines.


------------------------------------
David Thorpe


Don't mow on Sunday :-).. See thread below "Sunday noise"

Bel

"David Sparkmunster" wrote in message
...
I've just moved to a place with around an acre of garden, lawn, trees
etc. The area used to be a field, so is uneven in parts and has mild
slopes here and there.

I bought a 5.5hp motor mower which copes fine but I find it quite
tiring and manoeuvering it quite hard on the shoulders and knees.

I now want to buy a sit on mower - but I know zilch about them. Can
anyone give me any guidelinesor their own experiences?

I've searched on the web but found very little other than
straighforward specs for the machines.


------------------------------------
David Thorpe


Don't mow on Sunday :-).. See thread below "Sunday noise"

Bel

In article , says...
David Sparkmunster wrote:

[sit on mower]

Also used a couple of Westwoods. Their pto brush collector is superb,
but pricey and they have had some bad design problems in the past. But
get a good one and it's fine.

Mine's a Lawnmaster. Honda Engine in a Westwood frame and its now around
16 yrs old. Westwood still list it on their parts book and when it comes
to belts they list them under generic part numbers as well [I replaced my
cutterdrive belt last week - none of the mower specialist recognised what
I was talking about so I went to an Ag. supplier].

Westwood build for a few manufacturers who put different bonnets on them
and then sell under their own name.

The PTO brush collector is indeed good and if you buy new some come with
it for a £100 or so extra [full retail is around £300 AIR now].

Eventually mine will pack in and another will be at the top of the list -
but I'll stilll look around and get them to come out and demo on site.

HTH

--
David
Visit http://www.farm-direct.co.uk for your local farmgate food supplies.
FAQ's, Glossary, Farming Year and more!

In article , says...
David Sparkmunster wrote:

[sit on mower]

Also used a couple of Westwoods. Their pto brush collector is superb,
but pricey and they have had some bad design problems in the past. But
get a good one and it's fine.

Mine's a Lawnmaster. Honda Engine in a Westwood frame and its now around
16 yrs old. Westwood still list it on their parts book and when it comes
to belts they list them under generic part numbers as well [I replaced my
cutterdrive belt last week - none of the mower specialist recognised what
I was talking about so I went to an Ag. supplier].

Westwood build for a few manufacturers who put different bonnets on them
and then sell under their own name.

The PTO brush collector is indeed good and if you buy new some come with
it for a £100 or so extra [full retail is around £300 AIR now].

Eventually mine will pack in and another will be at the top of the list -
but I'll stilll look around and get them to come out and demo on site.

HTH

--
David
Visit http://www.farm-direct.co.uk for your local farmgate food supplies.
FAQ's, Glossary, Farming Year and more!

On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 03:04:13 +0100, "Annabel"
wrote:

Don't mow on Sunday :-).. See thread below "Sunday noise"

No problems there, my nearest neighbour is well out of earshot.....

thanks for the all the advice - an more gatefully received

------------------------------------
David

In article ,
says...
thanks for the all the advice - an more gatefully received


If possible go for an 'automatic' box rather than a manual one. Oh, and
I find a hand throttle easier to use on an auto rather than a foot
operated one.

'course, you could ring 2 or 3 dealers and get them all out at once with
a couple of models each - then you will know for sure which you like the
best VBG
--
David
Visit http://www.farm-direct.co.uk for your local farmgate food supplies.
FAQ's, Glossary, Farming Year and more!