Ride on mower.

[Lewis]

Looking into getting a ride on mower. Having never owned or used one before not really sure what to be looking for or at.
Criteria so far would be needs to collect the the cuttings and be capable of fairly undulating uneven lawn.

What else should we be looking at ? Petrol /diesel... Would favour diesel purely for ease and cheapness of running but don't suppose budget would stretch to a commercial machine.

Area to cover would be less than an acre spread over 5 separate bits

Budget sub £3k.

What should we be keeping an eye out for or avoiding.

Thanks.

 

[melted welly]

One with the deck out front and articulated, collecting the clippings is a waste of time, if you cut once a week you’ll never notice them, they’ll get chopped up fine.

I’ve got a stiga 1m deck, petrol 12yr old bought it 4yr ago for £1500, was like new and easy to fix if anyone in your household likes making chicken pens out of fireguards in the winter and not picking up the bits when they dismantle them....... I digress..

 

[ARW]

We also need to upgrade, I just hate to even think of spending £1000’s on a stupid machine to cut grass.
we currently have a lawnflight ride on, deck is rotten and the belt system is shyte. Shredding belts at £60 a go is no fun, blades sometimes fall off and have had to bodge them back on to stop it happening and now one is lower than the other and it makes a crap job. Flat tyres, flat battery, every time we cut the grass I spend an hour mending the horrid thing

 

[Mark C]

Depending on how you value your time/enjoy mowing, matbe look at a robotic mower

 

[rob h]

we have a stiga its great in small areas and just goes round trees.cutting in front its good in corners

 

[Nearly]

Just bought a kubota diesel mulcher mower. Struggling to keep up at the moment but most of our 'lawn' is ryegrass mix.
Looking for collector but nothing wrong with mulchers on proper lawn.
£2k spent.
Budget for diesel kubota collector will be same as I paid for Ford 8100 4 years ago.

 

[Lewis]

When I say lawn I actually mean field created into a lawn so like @Nearly it's actually full of clover and rye grass...

Robot wouldn't be an option as parts of the lawns are crossed by paths/step and be shared between two households. Half a mile apart.

Would a 'non' collector not mean the cut grass sticks to your feet every morning you walk across the lawn, which the. Means you bring cuttings into the house?

 

[melted welly]

When I say lawn I actually mean field created into a lawn so like @Nearly it's actually full of clover and rye grass...

Robot wouldn't be an option as parts of the lawns are crossed by paths/step and be shared between two households. Half a mile apart.

Would a 'non' collector not mean the cut grass sticks to your feet every morning you walk across the lawn, which the. Means you bring cuttings into the house?

If cut regularly (weeklyish here) with sharp blades, clippings just disappear. If it’s dry the mulcher makes a really tidy job and you nick on with it too. If it’s been wet or grass gotten away from you, do strategic areas twice.

I hate collector mowers with a passion.

 

[chickens and wheat]

I have a milching stiga,
sometimes if a cut is missed and the grass gets long I tow a ground drive leaf collector.
I thinks its good to remove some clippings every season takes away nutrients.
Leaf collector holds a good amount if you let the clipping dry then cut and mulch while collecting.

 

[Wellytrack]

My dad has a 2213 Honda for about 17 years now.

It's had a few batteries, couple of belts and so far as I remember that's it. Fantastic engine, but of course it is a Domestic duty garden mower.

@Dave W knows alot more about them than most.

 

[Dave W]

If you've got £3k to spend then don't be bothering with stiga or whatever. That's proper commercial machine money and makes stigas etc look like toys

 

[stroller]

Don't get a Kubota GR 1600, the worst pile of badly designed Jerry built crap I've ever had the misfortune to own

 

[RH15LEW]

Bought a Husqvarna Rider 112 with mulch deck, baby of the range but does a hell of a job!

 

[Lakesdigger]

Don't get a Kubota GR 1600, the worst pile of badly designed Jerry built crap I've ever had the misfortune to own

Probably the only mower they don't make themselves. Basically a mountfield with a Diesel engine.

 

[cattleman123]

Stiga all day long...

 

[icanshootwell]

Had a stiga here for 10 years, been a good mower but the deck is rotten now, as above once the mower is on top of the grass there is no need to worry about grass clippings, maybe the 1st few cuts you get some cuttings to pick-up.
Also looking to up grade as i have some larger area,s to do around a glamping site, don,t want to spend much more than 3k either, anymore than that & your getting into small tractor and topper territory.

 

[Dave W]

For my money I'd be going zero turn. Unless you've got big wide open area.
Americans are the kings of ride on mowers and that's all you see over there.

 

[Kryten]

Hang on - I write in defense of the GR1600. What has it ever done to you? Mine is a joy to own and use. Light steering, powerful diesel engine, I've got the roller kit so it stripes as it collects. It will go in wet or dry conditions and if you leave the grass for a couple of weeks it doesn't matter.

 

[7610 super q]

Don't get a Kubota GR 1600, the worst pile of badly designed Jerry built crap I've ever had the misfortune to own

I wish you'd mentioned this a week ago...

 

[whiddy]

One like this John Deere 455 Tractor Mower 48" Deck And MCS Powered Collector | eBay