19'' or bigger mower suggestions

[carpenter1]

Got the Kaaz 21" pro roller, £1200 ish new in 2008. Faultless altho only cuts a couple of acres of good turf every 10 days or so between April and October. Funnily enough, I fancied the Kubota version of the same machine new next season so could be persuaded to part with it!

 

What sort of figures we talking about

[GardenKit]

To put a few things straight.

 

Honda Pro Rollers are not clones of Kaaz, quite the opposite. The first Honda mowers were made by Kaaz for Honda. These 'badged' mowers put Honda firmly on the map as a mower manufacturer, so they ceased to buy from Kaaz and cloned the mower to manufacture themselves.

 

Kaaz continue to build mowers in Japan. The genuine product is imported into the UK by Danarm. The MTD and Cobra machines are also made by Kaaz, as are Kubota and a few other names.

 

Every make of mower suffers from gearbox failure. OK, not every owner suffers, but believe me, every make does.

 

The Kaaz and Honda boxes are similar and are the best built gearboxes you will find on mowers, but they have two weaknesses.

On wheeled mowers the gearboxes seldom suffer failure, but will suffer from wear on the dog clutch which makes them click when taking up drive. This is caused by the initial torque on take up of drive due to being shaft driven (there is no slip or 'give' as in belt drive)

This wear can be minimised by pushing the machine forward before taking up drive (rather than trying to make the machine pull you off your feet) The clutch will then last for many, many years.

The newer models incorporate a torque limiter in the drive shaft to minimise that start up torque.

 

The roller mowers suffer the same with the clutch, but also suffer from bearing failure of the output shaft due to water and soil ingress around the ends of the rollers. This problem is a little worse on these mowers as the gearbox sits between the two roller halves and drives directly rather than by chain as in the JD and Hayter for example.

Regular cleaning of the rollers helps, as does avoiding using hess mowers in wet and muddy conditions. All roller mowers hate the wet and mud, so its best to use a 4 wheel mower for late autumn and winter.

 

But which mower is best? There are many good mowers available

It depends on your budget and the strength of your local dealer (assuming you need dealer backup)

Probably best to choose your dealer, then choose a mower from his range.

[carpenter1]

To put a few things straight.

 

Honda Pro Rollers are not clones of Kaaz, quite the opposite. The first Honda mowers were made by Kaaz for Honda. These 'badged' mowers put Honda firmly on the map as a mower manufacturer, so they ceased to buy from Kaaz and cloned the mower to manufacture themselves.

 

Kaaz continue to build mowers in Japan. The genuine product is imported into the UK by Danarm. The MTD and Cobra machines are also made by Kaaz, as are Kubota and a few other names.

 

Every make of mower suffers from gearbox failure. OK, not every owner suffers, but believe me, every make does.

 

The Kaaz and Honda boxes are similar and are the best built gearboxes you will find on mowers, but they have two weaknesses.

On wheeled mowers the gearboxes seldom suffer failure, but will suffer from wear on the dog clutch which makes them click when taking up drive. This is caused by the initial torque on take up of drive due to being shaft driven (there is no slip or 'give' as in belt drive)

This wear can be minimised by pushing the machine forward before taking up drive (rather than trying to make the machine pull you off your feet) The clutch will then last for many, many years.

The newer models incorporate a torque limiter in the drive shaft to minimise that start up torque.

 

The roller mowers suffer the same with the clutch, but also suffer from bearing failure of the output shaft due to water and soil ingress around the ends of the rollers. This problem is a little worse on these mowers as the gearbox sits between the two roller halves and drives directly rather than by chain as in the JD and Hayter for example.

Regular cleaning of the rollers helps, as does avoiding using hess mowers in wet and muddy conditions. All roller mowers hate the wet and mud, so its best to use a 4 wheel mower for late autumn and winter.

 

But which mower is best? There are many good mowers available

It depends on your budget and the strength of your local dealer (assuming you need dealer backup)

Probably best to choose your dealer, then choose a mower from his range.

 

thanks barry

 

i am in south devon,

 

what do you offer?

make wise?

 

i know they are copetitors of you barry, but what do people think of devon garden machinery

[littlerob]

Have a look at the oleomac g53 tk allroad plus 4 ive had one for a year now very good mower 3years warranty large grass back and compacts it well even in wet 196cc engine and can get them for under £320

[skyhuck]

Would this have been better in the Landscaping forum???

[GardenKit]

thanks barry

 

i am in south devon,

 

what do you offer?

make wise?

 

i know they are copetitors of you barry, but what do people think of devon garden machinery

Assuming the original 19" still stands.

in the circa £450-£500 bracket I would sell you the ALKO 4610HPD. I sell loads to pro gardeners who absolutely love them despite trashing them in 3-4 years of hard use.

 

But just over 500 gets you the aluminium bodied Stiga, but £800 gets you even more Stiga.

 

If you wanted the best ally 4 wheeler on offer it would be a toss up between the Kaaz and the JD, but if you wanted the best 19" roller then it would only be the Kaaz that I would consider selling you.

 

DGM?, well they are not really my competition as I do not really have any. I have done things the same for years and have a loyal customer base. Other dealers are therefore 'alternatives'. rather than competition. So I will not run them down. They have been at the game for years and have some good staff. If they are convenient for you, then use them. Its better than travelling miles for service. On the other hand if you turned up at my shop I would not turn you away!

 

And, in my opinion as an engineer, anything under £500 is not really suitable for heavy pro use.

[carpenter1]

Assuming the original 19" still stands.

in the circa £450-£500 bracket I would sell you the ALKO 4610HPD. I sell loads to pro gardeners who absolutely love them despite trashing them in 3-4 years of hard use.

 

But just over 500 gets you the aluminium bodied Stiga, but £800 gets you even more Stiga.

 

If you wanted the best ally 4 wheeler on offer it would be a toss up between the Kaaz and the JD, but if you wanted the best 19" roller then it would only be the Kaaz that I would consider selling you.

 

DGM?, well they are not really my competition as I do not really have any. I have done things the same for years and have a loyal customer base. Other dealers are therefore 'alternatives'. rather than competition. So I will not run them down. They have been at the game for years and have some good staff. If they are convenient for you, then use them. Its better than travelling miles for service. On the other hand if you turned up at my shop I would not turn you away!

 

And, in my opinion as an engineer, anything under £500 is not really suitable for heavy pro use.

 

thanks for your advice

[Warners]

To put a few things straight.

 

Honda Pro Rollers are not clones of Kaaz, quite the opposite. The first Honda mowers were made by Kaaz for Honda. These 'badged' mowers put Honda firmly on the map as a mower manufacturer, so they ceased to buy from Kaaz and cloned the mower to manufacture themselves.

 

Kaaz continue to build mowers in Japan. The genuine product is imported into the UK by Danarm. The MTD and Cobra machines are also made by Kaaz, as are Kubota and a few other names.

 

Every make of mower suffers from gearbox failure. OK, not every owner suffers, but believe me, every make does.

 

The Kaaz and Honda boxes are similar and are the best built gearboxes you will find on mowers, but they have two weaknesses.

On wheeled mowers the gearboxes seldom suffer failure, but will suffer from wear on the dog clutch which makes them click when taking up drive. This is caused by the initial torque on take up of drive due to being shaft driven (there is no slip or 'give' as in belt drive)

This wear can be minimised by pushing the machine forward before taking up drive (rather than trying to make the machine pull you off your feet) The clutch will then last for many, many years.

The newer models incorporate a torque limiter in the drive shaft to minimise that start up torque.

 

The roller mowers suffer the same with the clutch, but also suffer from bearing failure of the output shaft due to water and soil ingress around the ends of the rollers. This problem is a little worse on these mowers as the gearbox sits between the two roller halves and drives directly rather than by chain as in the JD and Hayter for example.

Regular cleaning of the rollers helps, as does avoiding using hess mowers in wet and muddy conditions. All roller mowers hate the wet and mud, so its best to use a 4 wheel mower for late autumn and winter.

 

But which mower is best? There are many good mowers available

It depends on your budget and the strength of your local dealer (assuming you need dealer backup)

Probably best to choose your dealer, then choose a mower from his range.

 

Excellent post. We run honda and kaaz 21" rollers and i'd agree with all of the above although we've yet to bust a gearbox.

[GardenKit]

Excellent post. We run honda and kaaz 21" rollers and i'd agree with all of the above although we've yet to bust a gearbox.

Exactly right!

We hear a lot on this forum about gearbox failures on Kaaz and Honda being common place, but its really not the case.

Yes, they do have the potential to fail in the areas I have mentioned, but to be honest they usually give many years of service before any problems show.

 

Bad usage and maintenance may of course contribute to earlier failure.

[david wood]

blown one gearbox on a kaaz but i reckon that was purely the one in million bad luck factor. got repaired and keeps going.

 

yamaha we had did ok but always seemed tired.

 

couple toros and i liked them an awful lot, light to turn and the three speed box was just right but if wet didnt bag too well - its scotland so a big problem.

 

had a earlier john deere and just junk.

 

tried an etesia on demo and i loved it but was too expensive for my employer.

 

now late this year we had a heap of john deere mowers on demo - god i want them all, no question at all.

 

the pedestrian rotary mower we tried was only for an hr as to be honest it had rained all week and it just looked like wouldnt cope - WRONG. the many selectable notches (dont know what jd call it) for gears were perfect for our steep slopes and wet long not touches in three weeks grass and it bagged amazing. theres no way on earth either the 2011 or 2013 kaaz mower we have was going to touch it but the jd did.

 

the jd zero turn mower that we tested (abused) to the limits and beyond, ie i got scared on slopes just kept cutting and in one six hr period cut what previously took me 24hrs or more to strim.

 

the ride on collector did amazing, way better than i expected both in mowing and hoovering on tar roads with deck up a little sucking up leaf. did like a drink of fuel but compared to hand raking and lifting its days ahead on time. on slopes i was truly ready for a roll over and insurance claim time but it kept going.

 

prices are definetly higher than say kaaz but worth a look for sure.