GardenKit

If I am honest, there is no hard and fast rule as to how long they last. It depends on how they are looked after. I have Izy mowers rust through in as little as six years, but have seen them over 15 yrs and near perfect still. I have had mountfield and champion mowers also with the same extremes, but I really do find the Izy to be the worse one generally, despite having a heavier gauge deck. But if you look after them well they will give adequate service.

Its quite obvious none of us, including dealers like myself are ever going to know the manufacturing costs, but try to think of it this way. Aspen buy in the Alkylate fuel in tankers from the few refineries that have the expensive alkylation facilities, so not only do they have a quite high cost for their raw material, but also transportation and storage costs. They then blend the raw alkylate to make their Aspen fuel. the blends are different according to the climate of the end market. I have visited the plant and seen this firsthand. Their investment is huge. The bulk Aspen is then packaged on automated lines into 1 litre, 5 litre, 25 litre (not for UK) and 200 litre containers, or distributed in bulk to stations in Sweden. The sealed 5 l containers are shrinkwrapped in 3's then palletised for distribution by road and sea to the UK where they are stored in a bonded warehouse before onward distribution to dealers by road. The dealer then stores it in fire rated cabinets for retail to end users. So assuming the dealer wants to make a profit, which of course he does, and if that profit were as little as £3.00 per can (60p per litre) then by the time the dealer has taken his 60p and the taxman has taken the fuel duty and the VATman has had his 20% then the price per litre is already the £1.44 out of the £1.50 you want to pay. But then Aspen UK (Anglo American Oil) want to make a bit for their trouble, the haulage company wants to charge for distribution within the UK, and the Swedish haulage company wants to earn a few bob for shipping it to the UK and the Ferry wants a couple of quid to bring the lorry over the wet stuff. And I am willing to bet that Aspen Sweden need some money to run their plant and pay their staff, as well as a quid or two to buy the raw alkylate from the oil companies. Get the picture? I am amazed its not more expensive.

I don't want to debate this too much Mik, but need to set a few points straight 1. The link you put up on the previous thread was actually dated 2002, so the costs are hardly accurate 2. I don't know the current Swedish price, but when I was there in November 14 the price for 5litres was 169k which by todays conversion is £14.40, but remember they have no fuel duty as we do. Take the fuel duty off our price of £18.98 and we reduce the price by £3.00 making our price only about £1.60 more than Sweden. Not bad considering the extra transport and distribution costs. 3. You mention that Aspen is £5.00 per litre here, where actually, if bought in a 5 litre can as most do, its only £3.79 per litre. Just putting the facts straight, as it is misleading otherwise.

Sorry to disagree, but in my experience the Izy rots out faster than any other steel decked mower. Shame,as the mower is not too bad really.

Glad you got that one sorted Mr Chip! Now to hear from Shavey and his Sarp.....

A plausible question Mik, and one which is often asked. But 'Alkylation' is an expensive process which basically converts the waste gases from the distillation towers and cracking plants. Only some refineries have this facility. So in simple terms, the 'raw material' used to make alkylate is a waste product and as such its value is not related to crude. The logistics of storage, blending, packaging and transportation all combine to create the current price. The only savings in the production costs are really those of transportation and power which have, of course reduced, but are only a fraction of the production costs. Yes, it would be great to have a cheaper Aspen, but in reality its not going to happen unless the 58p per litre fuel duty is removed, but in truth Aspen converts are happy to pay the price as it stands. Certainly there is no profiteering as you put it. The profit margins are actually very low. I hope this answers your question.

'morning guys, yawn. Kaaz drive problems? luckily the transmissions are really tough and long lasting, but if they do fail then they can cost big. The transmissions on 4 wheelers seldom fail as they are on the axle and clear of the mud and wet, but roller gearboxes are in the centre of the roller and exposed to all the crap which penetrates the seals when used in poor conditions. The engagement of both is by a steel 'dog clutch'. The edges of the dogs can sometimes wear, which results in slow engagement as they 'throw out' until they have managed to fully engage. Slightly pushing the mower forward as the clutch is engaged allows the dogs to slot in, and once engaged they stay engaged until released. The problem Sawchip has is one that makes no logical sense to me, so I am keen to hear the outcome. UNLESS, its a later model which has a torque limiter in the drive shaft. I have had no issues with these myself, but I guess it could be slipping under load, worth checking. Total loss of drive? Worn, broken or missing pins holding either end of drive shaft, quite common Totally failed torque limiter? I guess this is possible. Broken gearbox support bracket, allowing gearbox to rotate back and drive shaft to separate, see this quite often. Broken engagement cable Broken or slipping actuator arm, the bit that attaches the cable to the dog clutch All assuming that the overrun clutches in the wheels are OK. Good luck both of you, keep us posted.

To be honest I have done that with diaphragms too, not often though, and mistakes seldom leave the workshop. I clean the workbench, and put all tools back in their correct place between every job, as well as sweeping the floor under the bench. That way I start every job on a clean bench, and find any left over bits, or unused parts before I start the next job, so i can be sure where they are missing from. I doubt if its the belt on your Kaaz as they don't have one:big grin: Shaft drive.

Yep, sure did, but thats not all. When I checked out the leak I had not considered the 2mm hole, as I obviously was under the impression that it was the new seal. As oil was dripping from the seal I did not see the hole, i just though that somehow I had seriously damaged the lip on installation. Could not really understand how, so no alternative but to remove the seal for inspection. Of course, by now I am expert at this, so I drill a 2mm hole, insert a self tapper and pull. Out pops the seal, nice and straight (in a round sort of way). Wipe it off and hold it under the bench light to inspect the lip and saw two 2mm holes. It took a while but it slowly dawned on me that I need to inspect he contents of my bin, where, as if by magic I found a brand new seal.

The JD ride on had an oil leak from the crank seal, so onto the ramp and off with the engine pulley. No room to swing the hammer to drive a screwdriver into the seal on this one, so the more precise way was adopted. A small, 2mm hole was drilled through the seal midway between the crank and the engine sump, then a small self tapping screw tightened into the hole and pulled down with a pair of grips. Lovely, the seal slid out easily, was not even distorted, in fact it looked as good as new, except for a neat 2mm hole. Opened the new seal bag and compared the two side by side on the bench, good, they are the same, except of course for the 2mm hole. Left them on the bench and dived under the ramp with a cloth to clean up the seal area and inspect the crank. All OK (except for a drip of oil in one eye and subsequent blurred vision, followed by rubbing eye with dirty hand resulting in more blur and a very red eye!) Anyway, back to the job. Reached round to the bench for the seal, eased it over the crank, using a thin plastic insertion sleeve to ensure no damage, and tapped it gently and evenly home. Good job! Reassembled the engine pulley and filled the engine with fresh oil. Cup of tea and an eyewash, then back into the workshop to find a slow drip of oil from the crank seal. Just the sort of drip you would get through a 2mm hole:blushing:

Meant to say many of these parts are obsolete

I really believe the KAAZ 21" is the best. I have been selling and mending mowers for over 30years and these have always been the stalwarts and remain pretty much unchanged. Kaaz LM5360HXA PRO four wheeled mower

Good luck with that one! I have never been able to source the bowl seal for that carb, not saying its not available, but I personally have never found one. I manage nby robbing out dead carbs or making other seals fit by cutting to size and bonding with commercial grade superglue. Many Tecumseh parts and Qualcast/Bosch/Atco parts are too. The filter is easy, got them on the shelf.

Tried and tested does not always mean better. The Honda, like many other roller mowers has a tendency to gearbox failure, and is a poor collector in wet conditions. The Mountfield in question has been tried and tested by a control group before launch, and the results were excellent. The gearbox has been specifically chosen to be better than the rest, but of course, only time will tell. For wet grass collection there are few, if any, roller mowers that will beat the John Deere R43RS, although only 17" Mountfield spares availability is second to none.

Yes, but this was a diaphragm kit, not even an overhaul kit, so 1st class covered it on both occasions Steve. Gerbutt, please keep the first one if it arrives. No need for payment.

I wonder if the second package has arrived?? or has the posty let me down again? The suspense........

Hi. The SP505R V should not be classed as a "Honda Lookalike" as it has very little in common except the engine. It is a totally new product from Mountfield featuring its new 'J' deck. This new deck is pressed from steel in a new method which allows a deep deck profile, a feature previously found only on ally decks. This deep profile is key to good collection. Shallow decks just don't work as well. The 'J' deck is so named as the bottom edge is rolled right round and up again, forming a J shape rather than the normal L shape, making it much more rigid than other steel decks. It is also galvanised prior to powder coating. The single belt, twin pulley variator supplies power to a very heavy duty cone clutch gearbox mounted above the roller which drives the 127mm ribbed roller via a chain drive. I recently used one of these mowers and to be honest was very impressed. I have not sold Mountfield since the demise of the Plymouth built 'real' Mountfield in 1999, but these new models have prompted me to once again sell selected Mountfield product. At £699 I reckon this 48cm mower will take some beating. I have not yet written this to my website But if the budget would stretch another £150 why not buy the very best and most reliable 48cm roller mower on the market today? The Kaaz 48cm roller has to be the best mower ever built, we still see many 25 year old machines in for service in near perfect order. They are now fitted with Subaru, but I still have a Kawasaki in stock hence my web page, which i will change when I restock with the Subaru Kaaz LM4851KXR Rear Roller mower

PM sent with blade prices.

I will check out the price of a set in the morning and let you know.

I am an Eliet dealer, how many do you need and for which machine?

Haha, I sent you the latest news in the post Andrew, did you not get it?

I was obviously very pleased to receive the good rep in this thread, even if the postman got some of the credit. BUT, then I got a PM from an arbtalker stating that the goods he ordered and paid for a week ago had not arrived. We had despatched them by post within an hour of receiving the order, we even gave the envelope direct to the posty when he delivered our incoming post. SO in this instance the Post Office get no credit from me. Another part has been despatched by first class post this morning, let's hope the postman fulfils his duty this time!

Its always a pleasure to help where we can.

Firstly, are the belts that are failing genuine parts, or just similar belts? Secondly, if genuine, are they fitted correctly? Third, what type of wear is experienced? i.e.even all round, and equal 'thinning' of the wedge from both sides, or shredding, or is there ant wear on the back (flat). Has there been a change in driver? as if the belts are genuine and correctly fitted then maybe the driver is just pushing too hard and needs more empathy with the machine.

To be honest, you will loose the temper at the site of the weld, but that's no bad thing as you want your weld to be ductile rather than brittle. Ok, the heat may soften the adjacent blades, but you wont notice much difference. As others have said though, is it really worth the bother? Just buy new blades.