GardenKit

Sure, there are plenty of rich guys who are just as normal as us, but there are plenty more who are well up themselves. The problem is that its difficult to tell a rich guy. Many appear rich and act upper class. They have all the trimmings of class and wealth, posh motors, boats, houses, clothes, holidays etc. This sort often disrespect others. But many of these actually have no money, its all borrowed and some will never pay it off. I have nothing posh, but what i do have is mine, so I do not feel inferior to the show offs. I do however respect the wealthy who respect me in return.

Sorry, I have no direct knowledge of this model, but have to admit to being impressed with the build quality of the Etesias I look after. Can't comment on how they perform as I have never used one.

Good mower, well built, well spec'd, good thickness drive belts, good collector, it would suit you well. Spares, although seldom needed are very reasonably priced. But this one is over priced, its done a full season in the toughest conditions for years. I sold these for £3090 in april and for £3230 now. It needs to have lost at least 25% of its purchase price.

The choice of mower will depend on several factors Firstly you say 'grass cutting business' I have customers who cut mostly small areas with pedestrian mowers, but have the odd contract for larger lawns, and 'one offs' that require a ride on. I have others who cut mostly large areas with ride ons. The first group usually have a decent domestic machine which suits them fine, the second have a pro machine. Obviously, cost is a factor, as is storage and transportation method. As others have said, if in the second category, you should avoid domestic machines and go for pro machines, most will be in the 5-7k new price bracket unless considering 4wds, or triples etc. If in the first category, which it sounds like you are, you have to be very careful in your choice. There are many so called collectors which simply won't collect damp or long grass. The quality of many is also poor an running costs can be high. Westwood and Countax have been mentioned, I would avoid these like the plague, they cut very poorly and are unreliable with high maintenance costs. Sure, the brush collector works well but is very cumbersome in use. Avoid the smaller cheaper side discharge machines. They will not collect unless fitted with a side blower, which is not an option on most machines in this category. The John Deere X155 is a good bet, it is well built and collects well. The X300, or 305 are even better built and collect very well due to their turbo fan which takes grass from the centre of the deck and blasts it into the grass box. As Likeit says, mulchers, especially the Stiga are very good, but you do have to work with them and are probably not best suited to irregular cuts. As others have said, find a decent machine and ask on here. Someone will have first hand experience and offer advice on that particular machine. Hope this helps.

Guess that reply may be translated in the cold light of day Rich.

Some do have an inline filter, easy to see in the fuel line, most have a little element in a bowl under the fuel tap.

Sounds like the clutch shoes have stuck on their pivot bolts an are not flying out with centrifugal force. Its a simple matter to split the engine from the gearbox to investigate.

Sorry guys, had family here all day so have not logged on to the Forum. The day went without mishap, the chairs stood up to breakfast and dinner and Mrs Garden is none the wiser:001_smile: And the high point of the day was a photo frame with my middle daughters scan. She announced we will be grandparents again:thumbup:

I surprise myself at how fast I can work at times. I have bashed all 3 chairs apart with only minor damage and, using copious amounts of white glue stuff, have stuck them back together. Initially the legs looked a little wonky, but after bashing them around a bit (with surprisingly little damage) they dont rock too much. With a bit of luck they will survive breakast in the morning, and maybe Mrs GardenKit won't notice the few dents and splinters and globs of glue running down the legs. Happy Christmas to one and all.

Only a few more minutes and I can blame Rudolph for the noise, and the fat guy for breaking the chairs. Good plan

Good idea, but B&Q is shut. I have a few 3" galv nails, do you reckon she will notice? Actually just done the first one, without nails. Knocked all the joints apart really easily, filled with wood glue and belted it back together. Fingers crossed. Woke the Kids up with the banging from the shed, not good when the fat fellas due.

We have had a pine table with 8 chairs for about 25 yrs, its been great, but the chairs were looking a bit tatty, so yeserday I thought I'd tidy them up. I sprayed them with a product called Armorall, which makes most things shine well. After letting it soak in for a few hours I buffed them off, and they looked great, Mrs Garden was well pleased. I've just been out in the kitchen, sat on a chair.....and the legs fell off:thumbdown: It seems that the spray has penetrated the glue and its literally destroyed it in 3 of the chairs!! Looks like a late night in the shed with some wood glue and a mallet. Mrs Garden is already in bed, so blissfully unaware. Wish me luck guys.

The kids (well, grandchildren who live with us) eventually went to sleep at 10-30. Then we put the presents round the tree, and the stockings up. Sat down now, knackered, and drinking the bottle of Cornish Ratler cider that the kids put out for that old alkie who apparently comes down my chimney. I've eaten half of Rudolphs massive carrot and all of the fat chaps mince pie. Being on Arbtalk now seems quite normal in comparison. Happy Christmas one and all, whatever your religion.

Merry Christmas Bill, and a prosperous New Year

The little gear is on the end of the clutch drum shaft. They can suffer from bearing failure causing seizure, or the clutch shoes can seize closed. Or the clutch brake could have applied. You will have to seperate the engine from the gearbox to investigate the clutch.

A few weeks!!! Grim Task. Like you say, move on, all part of the job.

The first ones the worst Richard, but what a rotten time of year to get the first one. Christmas and New Year are sadly prime time for people to jump off cliffs, is that the sort of thing it was?

That is indeed a very good solution and one which I recommend to all my customers who choose not to use Aspen. Stale petrol causes all sorts of carburation problems, as well a engine seizure in extreme cases

To be brutally honest, it does not matter if its 2-mix, 4-mix, 4 stroke or two stoke, there is no NEED for Aspen. As I said in another thread all machines will run well enough on FRESH pump petrol. But there is no doubt that petrol contains many nasties, such as Benzene (carcinogenic), Sulpher Toulene and other aromatic hydrocarbons which make up around 35% of pump petrol. It does not matter how well the engine burns this, some of it will escape through the exhaust (unless its a catalytic converter) and these substances are hazardous to health. Sure, the modern engines burn cleaner than the old ones, but the exhaust from the Aspen will always be much cleaner than from pump petrol. Should anyone doubt this then try running a machine in an enclosed space with petrol, then with Aspen, you will soon find the difference. ( probably best not to though, for safety reasons). The carbon monoxide output alone is 25% more from petrol than from Aspen. And, of course, because Aspen only contains around 10 chemicals, and is chemically pure (stable) it does not change its make up over time as petrol does, remaining fresh for 3-5 years. So although there is no NEED for Aspen, there are many BENEFITS from its use. Many of my customers do also report that machines tend to run smoother and faster, and many believe they run more economically, although these are claims i would not make in my sales pitch.

Thank you Eddy. Its a Happy Christmas from me too. Glad you have found our input usefull.

I too am glad its sorted, and am looking forward to eating that hat that Spud is sending, in the meantime I am tucking into a modest portion of humble pie ( with clotted cream) Happy Christmas guys.

Thats a couple of hours well spent Steve:001_rolleyes: And may I add my Christmas Wishes to yours and wish everyone a Happy Christmas. I think everyone should add a picture of 'whats on my table' on Tuesday.

Thats around £48 per litre on a round trip to buy 5 litres, wow, thats dedication. See you next week Bob:thumbup:

I've said it before guys, porting bores me, so once again I am changing the subject briefly to tell you what a hero I am, and how I saved christmas. Last weekend Mrs GardenKit baked a fruit cake as usual, except this time it would not cook properly. Oh No she cried, the ovens on the blink and its almost christmas, how will I cook the ginormous birdy thing? Never fear, says I, a new elephant ( sorry, element) from partmaster will fix it. So I flexed the plastic and the element arrived on Wednesday, but when I took the old one out on wed evening it was OK. Now the oven was apart it was obvious that the fan which blows the heat around the oven was not working, so back on the computer to find a fan. Flexed plastic again and a new fan arrived yesterday. I fitted it this morning and the oven is now spot on. Mrs Garden is well pleased and Christmas dinner for 9 is saved, so I am a superhero for a while. (It won't last, so I'll milk it)