Recommend me a ride-on mower

[rovermorris999]

A bewildering choice out there. I've never owned one so any advice welcome. I tend to prefer better quality that'll last rather than cheap and replace regularly.
Spec required:
up to 36'' cut;
tight turning circle, lots of trees etc so a physically smaller machine would be better;
petrol;
option of mulch or collect.

Is a manual or hydrstatic drive best?
How a about recon or secondhand?
Is a Honda worth the extra price?

Er, that's it.

[steve_bmw]

dont know much about mowers but i can reccomend a lawnflight 444
had mine 5 years and its a good mower, good turning circle, reliable and easy to get spares for.

[M-J-B]

I have a 36" Westwood (hydro) 8 years from new and it's never missed a beat.

I've only had it serviced twice, the last time some 5 years ago and it just starts and does the job all the time. I sharpen the blades every year, other than that, I don't even bother changing the oil. I've got a mulching deck on it, a metal roller, scraper de-thatcher, scarifier, seeding machine and a big trailer, all of which I use and find worthwhile. I also have a powered grass collector but don't use it as I mulch, bug it's good for picking up leaves. I only have an acre to mow and I think it's about 13hp?

It cost me about £4k all in and it was money well spent. I'm sure you can buy cheaper, but for me it's about quality and longevity.

[netherfield]

I have had a Countax Diesel for 7 years,apart a problem with the circuit board which occurred on the day of delivery,and two new batteries,it's been great.

The batteries where my own fault for not keeping them charged over winter,now solved with a charger which can be left on permenantly.

According to a friend who works for the local councils parks dept,the only makes he approved of were

Countax,Westwood(both the same firm),Honda or John Deere,bearing in mind that the council machines get hammered by any and everybody.

[caziques]

Just bought a new Husqvarna to replace a John Deere.

Two things to pay attention to - make sure it's a hydro drive - make sure it's not water cooled.

All the problems with the Joh Deere have been from the Yamaha water pump which has failed twice, and it then takes head gaskets out.

Cots me about two thousand for a 42" cut.

[s3fella]

Do you need it to fit through gates or be stored in a standard shed? If so you are limited on width. I know cos I bought one and had tosell it cos I could not use it everywhere I wanted to without lifting it over a wall! !

[rovermorris999]

I have a barn to store it so no width restrictions although part of the area to be cut has lots of trees and shrubs so smaller is better from that point of view.
I was looking on here: http://www.gardenlines.co.uk/lawnmowers/ride-on-mo...
Anyone heard of Toro?
Online prices seem to be cheapest but I was wondering whether it'd be better to buy locally and pay a little more so any problems are more easily sorted.
Some have longer guarantees but subject to servicing. I presume that would have to be carried out by a dealer? Or can I diy?

[Silent1]

toro aren't great.
Go for a countax if you want it be reliable, i've had one for 7 years and it's still perfect.

[andy43]

Toro might be the ones on display in B&Q that everyone laughs at 'cos all the bits have fallen off it.
I've had a Countax for 4 years - new fuel pump this week, one plug lead, a handbrake switch and (I think) that's it, apart from me servicing it. Recommendations as above are all good makes. Note Countax and Westwood can sweep up wet grass cuttings as they use brushes - some other makes can't apparently. Good for autumn leaves too.
eta - Mine was on ebay, 12 months old and 20 odd hours on it, sale due to house move - saved quite a bit of £. If you can find an ex-demo or low hours machine, that'd be my choice.

Edited by andy43 on Monday 23 August 15:41

[Busamav]

I sold our ageing Countax earlier this year , 42 " cut and powered sweeper , as the guys above mention , they are great for cutting dry and wet grass , also sweeping autumn leaves .

Replaced it with a 48" cut X140 John Deere which I am very pleased with , £2350 iirc

I use the mulch deck as the piles of grass cuttings we were getting by collecting , resulted in us having a skip twice a year to remove the spoil .


I did have a demo Husquvarna for a while which isnt in my opinion, in the same league as the Deere or Countax


The countax leaves lovely stripes , something I do occaisionally miss , but the ease and manoeverability of the Deere reminds me why I chose it.

[Dr John]

Just replaced a 10 year old Countax (started off OK but not terribly sturdy - tended to snap the trackrod and the deck metal sheeting was too thin) with a Hursquvana with a mulching deck.
I am very pleased so far; much quicker not having to empty the clippings and the turning circle is superb. The Countax engine was a Briggs and Stratton which was very reliable.

John

[sjc]

All I will say is don't get the Wolf thing that trys to look like a quad bike.Utter cack.

[mat13]

Another vote for the Westwood with hydrostatic here, we have had one on the caravan park fir over six years now and it's never missed a beat. We do replace the bladesevery year however this is more down to the ground we use it on than the mower. Engine wise I wouldn't touch anything without a Briggs and Stratton.

[rovermorris999]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm looking at Westwood, Countax, JD and Honda. There's a good family-owned Honda dealer near me so I'll drop in there and have a look.
One feature I think would be handy is to be able to empty the collector from the seat and turning circle will be important.

[andy43]

With the tight turns needed round trees, something like this might be suitable? Mulches the clippings so no need to tip.
I've an older tractor-shaped Countax, and they have the option of an electric tip, or you can just reach behind you and pull the lever on the manual models.
Enjoy the test drives

[Duke Thrust]

Another for Countax - I have an A20/50 and it's a great bit of kit. The ability to power other tools off the PTO is great, the chipper/shredder is particularly useful.

[M-J-B]

andy43 said:

With the tight turns needed round trees, something like this might be suitable? Mulches the clippings so no need to tip.
I've an older tractor-shaped Countax, and they have the option of an electric tip, or you can just reach behind you and pull the lever on the manual models.
Enjoy the test drives

I like that one.....might have a bid

[Silent1]

The important things to decide are if you want a mulching deck or a collector. If you want to collect it, make sure it's a sweeper brush model as the hayter style windblown ones are st and will block up in short order

[rovermorris999]

That ebay link looks good but I really need a collector for the autumn leaves.

[renmure]

rovermorris999 said:

That ebay link looks good but I really need a collector for the autumn leaves.

You can mulch the autum leaves into dust.
I have had a John Deere 42 inch Mulching Deck for the past 10 years. It is still going strong although I have stepped up to one of the big Ransomes tripple cylinder jobbies for most of the cutting. The Deere comes out to do the fiddly stuff and specifically to mulch the leaves in autumn.