Large-Lawn Lawn Mower Help

Discussion in 'Lawns' started by gardenny, Sep 23, 2015.

  1. gardenny

    gardenny Apprentice Gardener

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    Hello there everyone. I have a rather large lawn that I've been asked to maintain (over 3/4 acre) and I have been tasked with getting a mower for the job. It's a toss up between an Atco and a Honda. With the size it has to be a sit-on jobby. Been looking here http://www.for-sale.co.uk/atco-royale-mower at the "Royale" and seem to be leading towards that. Any tips?
     
  2. Liz the pot

    Liz the pot Total Gardener

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    Depends on your budget and the lay of the land.
     
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    • WeeTam

      WeeTam Total Gardener

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      Honda.
       
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      • GardenBadger

        GardenBadger Gardener

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        Honda. My experience in the past with ATCO hasn't been great. That said I've never used their range of Ride-Ons.

        What is your budget if you don't mind me asking and does it definitely have to be a ride on mower?
         
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        • gardenny

          gardenny Apprentice Gardener

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          Yes has to be a ride on mower, lawn is far too large. Budget of around £2K...
           
        • Liz the pot

          Liz the pot Total Gardener

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          I would have suggested John Deere but for a new machine you would be looking at the very basic entry level machine.
           
        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          For a ride-on mower 3/4 of an acre is fairly small so you have a very large choice of mowers available.

          The first thing you need to decide is whether it needs to have a grass collector or whether you just want it to chuck the cuttings onto the lawn. For leaving the cuttings on the lawn the mower needs to have a 'mulching' facility. Some mowers even have an indicator to tell you that the grass box is full.

          I would guess that the lawn is fairly level and there is plenty of space to manoeuvre. This allows you a large range whereas a sloping lawn and/or uneven ground will give you a smaller choice.

          Also have a look at ones that have progressive gearing of some sort. These are ones that don't need much in the way if gear changing.

          The ones mentioned above are all good and for a 'smaller' large lawn such as the one you are talking about, companies like Mountfield do quite a range.

          Most of these type of mowers use Briggs and Stratton engines of one sort or another. Mountfield make their own.

          It's usually best to get a mower through a local dealer as you have someone nearby if there are problems.
           
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          • gardenny

            gardenny Apprentice Gardener

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            Very nice points there, thank you for your detailed response! I shall return with my decision once made!
             
          • Sian in Belgium

            Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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            You are obviously a fan of Honda? We have a Honda mower dealership very nearby...

            What would you say would be the normal "cross-over" between a self-propelled and a ride-on, in terms of size? Hubby says that our garden is borderline ride-on size. I don't think so - but the 1/2 acre is also too slopey and uneven. I have not had much joy with ride-on mowers, they seem to need a lot of servicing, which is expensive and slow here in Belgium. A simple self-propelled is relatively easy to maintain yourself, so long as the "clutch" cable doesn't go and break on you (Grumbles quietly to herself...)
             
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            • shiney

              shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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              If you have uneven and sloping ground you really need a tractor mower. It's not worth paying out for one of those for half an acre.
               
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              • Jiffy

                Jiffy The Match is on Fire

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              • GardenBadger

                GardenBadger Gardener

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                There is a fine line between it, The cut of a push mower is much better UNLESS its perfect ground, then its just the size of the area. There are gardens within our maintenance that hit 2 acres and we still use push mowers, its finding the one most efficient to the lawn.

                If our business was to come to yours off just what you'd said, Id be looking at using one of our smaller Toro mowers on a mulch setting. My experience has led me to understand that Toro cannot make a mower that is efficient at collecting cuttings, awesome with cutting and mulching though. Over a lawn that size I don't want to be stopping every 5 mins to empty the box. Here is an example.

                [​IMG]
                If the lawn was square (ish) and around 3/4 acre id used something a little bigger. I'm a fan of Honda engines, but again it depends on what the mower is for. Honda make great 4 stroke engines that can be pushed to a severe angle, If you're looking at getting a hover mower, You wont go wrong with Honda. Briggs and stratton seem to excel in engines for mowers better suited to a flat surface.

                If I was asked to cut a 3/4 acre lawn, I'd personally be looking at a 30" Toro Timemaster. From experience, it should cut the lawn easily within an hour on a mulch setting. If I was looking to collect the cuttings, Get yourself a Hayter...but you're mad if your collecting on a scale of that size.
                 
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                • GardenBadger

                  GardenBadger Gardener

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                  I think a ride on may be the wrong choice of mower. Do you have a picture of the area?
                   
                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                  Some of the smaller ride-ons would be OK if the lawn is flat but more difficult if not.

                  Toro and Hayter are the same company. Toro make the bigger machines.
                   
                • Liz the pot

                  Liz the pot Total Gardener

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                  Toro own Hayter and there's an interesting article about lean manufacturing which no doubt has happened. Hayter seem stuck on their designs and if there's one mower I leave on a damp, wet day it's my 48Pro which is nothing but useless.
                  I tried high lift blades on the 48 and they did nothing to aid the collection on damp lawns. Dry lawns are fine but the chute and box design that slopes just chokes up. Deere on the other hand are slightly better as Sabo have added a small impeller to aid lift, they just need to change the handle design.
                  Etesia have taken in what people wanted and have just added a rear roller add on to the 46Pro range so you get lines but with collection that just keeps on working regardless of weather, plus they do a speed kit to increase the drive speed.
                  Deeres are the quickest and I have to almost jog to keep up with mine.
                   
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