GardenKit

Further to the specs of the 4 wheeled Stiga 55SV H, after a bit more research this morning I find conflicting info on the weight of the Stiga, one source says 54kg, another says 39kg. These errors are common with new machines as the literature is produced long before the machines are actually built. These machines are not in the UK yet, but are due in a few weeks, when the first one arrives I will check the weight and put my website right. I have found specs for the forward speed range as well. It appears to be 3 - 4.4 km/h, which puts it just a fraction under the equivalent sized John Deere. The Mountfield roller version is faster at 3.2 - 5 km/h

Welcome to my world:001_rolleyes:

Err? Actually 54kg

Might this explain the broken windows?

Stiga are not publishing the forward speeds yet for some reason, probably an oversight. But it is fitted with a varistor, so will be quite fast enough in the fast position. Fitted with the low vibe engine mounts too, so will be a joy to use.

I can't really see the point in buying a chinese Weibang when you can have a time proven Kaaz (with blade brake) for the same price. There really is not a better mower on the market than the Kaaz ( or badged derivatives) The JD? I love the JD mowers and have sold plenty. Really good mowers but sadly the 52cm roller mowers that I have sold to commercial users have proved to be a bit expensive to run with rollers, gearboxes and belts. Even changing the drive belt takes a good bloke well over half an hour to do. The domestic owners have been well chuffed, but commercial users would not have another. And yet again, they are more expensive than the Kaaz and not as good, so why bother? And, for information the JD is not rebadged. Its the original German Sabo mower and JD have owned Sabo for many years.

There is a very good reason for only supplying top handle saws to operators who can prove competence. This is because in the past a ban was considered on the sale of Top Handles in the UK, as has actually happened in some european countries. This ban was deferred by the main manufacturers introducing the 'proof of training' rule (not 'law') with which the government was happy. There has been much debate on this forum in the past with regards to the need to provide your CS39 when buying a top handle and also it has become apparent that many sellers are now flaunting this "code". The dealer trade magazine "Service Dealer' published this recent article on the subject which may be of interest. The AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) recently repeated its advice to manufacturers and distributors of chainsaws asking them to remind their dealers that top handle saws must only be supplied to bona-fide tree surgeons or operators trained (with proof of training) in their use. They say "The reason for this is because we are aware that some dealers are offering these products via distance or internet sales for general sale and supply to members of the public, instead of restricting the sale to trained professionals." "This has resulted in a growing concern from several market surveillance authorise (MSA's)in the EU, including the UK. As a direct consequence of this intelligence the MSA's placed an item on the agenda of the Machine Directive Working Group to discuss the banning of such products, and this remains the case today." "Until recently the UK has been portrayed as a shining example of how the industry self regulates in this area, although some holes are beginning to appear in the UK, which need to plugged or we're likely to receive special attention from the authorities" I am not about to argue the rights or wrongs of this, but it is obviously causing current concern, so I would urge all prospective purchasers to willing and gladly produce their certificates, and those who want a top handle but do not have the training to get the training before putting their dealer on the spot. The last thing the industry need is a ban on these saws. ________

Whoops, sorry about the name!!! Thats the trouble with Forums, bloody impersonal things. Mind you, i am always mixing up customers names face to face in the shop too. Glad you like your Stiga though. Mountfield and Stiga are now pretty much the same, with Mountfield having a wider range of slightly cheaper specs, whilst you can "step up to Stiga" for a reduced range of higher spec machines. Except the Rollers, which are only done in Mountfield.

Nice result Spud, obviously a string of different problems causing the same result so looking like the same problem reoccurring, which in fact it was not. So really not your fault and you would be justified in charging. But I tend to be a bit like you, if I have recently taken good money from a customer and the new problem is not distinctly separate I take it on the nose too. Good job we don't get too many comebacks. I know several dealers who would soon be bust if the did this:001_rolleyes:

Thanks for that very positive post Mr Haigh. The new ones do of course discharge through a powerful thrower spout.

The Mountfield SP555R V twin clip is the roller version of the new 555 twin clip. This mower also shares the same chassis and drive as the New Stiga Twinclip 4 wheeler which in turn replace your existing 21" Stiga 4 wheeled mower, Mike. I am sure your existing Stiga which is now a couple of years old has been fine, and the new replacement will hopefully be better still with this new gearbox which is able to handle nearly twice the torque of your existing machine. All the Twinclips, Stiga or Mountfield, share this box. The rear roller is similar in diameter and style to the Hayter, but without the split, which is not necessary anyway and just a source of trouble.

Sorry guys, with respect to both of you this is not conducive to the thread:001_smile:

To be honest, we wont really know until its been out their a while. The Kaaz is a chunky all metal box but this biggest problem is that it is down there in the wet so the lower seals and bearings can fail in time, and the clutch is a 'dog' clutch which can wear in time. Most commercial users factor in a gearbox replacement every year or two as the rest of the mower is tough enough to warranty spending out. The new Mountfield was specifically chosen to combat the transmission problems that all other rear rollers suffer from. The unit is half alloy, half plastic with 'low wear' cone clutches. It is rated to carry nearly twice the torque that any other Mountfield boxes have, and is situated high, driving the roller via a chain, so it sounds like it will be on top of the job. Only time will tell.

This Harrier is actually from a domestic lawn. The funny thing is that the machine came in for service looking like new, not a spot of dirt be seen. The owner was very proud of the way he looks after it. Then we looked underneath.......... Regarding the threads, I know what you mean but to be honest although we service hundreds of Harriers each year we seldom strip a thread or even break a bolt. But I think this is due to us spanner men having a special sense for threads and their strengths or weaknesses. I remember stripping threads and breaking bolts more often as a youngster before developing 'the feel'. (heck, that was a long, long time ago!)

I had this Harrier 48 in today with the under deck damage typical of machines used on stoney ground. The parts needed to repair this come to around £100 making this a costly mower to operate, and thats without replacing belts that wear too quickly and weak gearboxes. For these reasons I stopped selling Hayters several years ago in favour of John Deere and Kaaz. Both produce a better cut and a far better collection than the Hayter and have no silly brittle under decks to replace.

At least Hayter had the common sense to leave the variable speed, and the split roller off the the Pro version as they knew it would not last. Such a shame that Hayter lost their way, and made little attempt to put right their wrongs. The pre 2005 Hayter 48's were bombproof, the new ones can be destroyed by a damp squib.

The Kaaz mowers (inc lawnflite pro, cobra,sarp etc, as the are all built by Kaaz) are in my opinion the best quality mower available on the UK market, but as has been said, they are heavy and come in well over the £1000 so don't suit all. However, for those wanting to save a couple of hundred there is now a new kid on the block. Mountfield have now introduced a serious roller mower for the first time in the last 15 years. Utilising their new 'twinclip' chassis this mower has a heavy duty galvanised steel deck giving excellent resistance to impact damage, but as steel decks are always weak around the stress points of axle and handlebar mounting these mowers have tough aluminium inserts front and back carrying the axles and the handlebars. The handlebars are easily foldable and the pivots are about the toughest I have ever seen, without the flex that many have. Roller mowers are notorious for transmission failure so to combat this Mountfield have fitted an extremely tough cone clutch box coupled with a two pulley variator, so no idlers to sieze. This drives a large diameter fluted steel roller so traction will not be a problem. Power is supplied by a 190cc Honda GCV190 motor The 'twinclip' blade has 4 cutting edges so each blade of grass is cut twice, which means shorter bits being blown into the box, resulting in a better fill. I saw, and used this mower at a dealer conference last week and was very impressed. Its not at present aimed at the Pro market (although carrying a 5yr domestic warranty and a 90 day commercial warranty) but the general feeling is that at the selling price of around £850 this mower, the SP555R V is going to take some beating. I will certainly be including it in my range and adding it to the website. It will be worth a visit to your local Stiga Mountfield dealer.

Just checked the Stihl manual. The coil does limit the revs, it does it by altering the timing. The max speed is stated at 9500rpm +- 800. By the way, those machines are not best suited to a scrub blade because of the weakness of the flexi drive shaft.

Not too sure if it's rev limiting. The speed of a strimmer is usually governed by the length of cord, so any tuning should be done with a full length of original diameter cord.

actually 782 now, or is it 783?

If you publish it as a book Steve I might sue, as 781 posts are mine and I have copywrite.

Good man! Keep us posted, good or bad.

I agree with you there, but on the other hand I am concerned about the quality of some advice given on forums. Because this is 'our forum' we tend to be able to decide for ourselves whose advice to take and whose to dismiss. We each have our own rep list in our heads. But visitors to a forum tend to take all advice as gospel, so some form of rating the members in terms of expertise/accuracy of answers etc could maybe be beneficial.

Looking at it from a dealer prospective. Most of our custom is domestic and so all our prices are marked up in the shop and on the website at the VAT inclusive figure. Most domestic customers actually have very little idea what VAT is and are only interested in the gross price. But as Skyhuck says, the invoice must have the VAT breakdown.

I hope it looks as easy on the eye and distinctive as this forum Steve. When you linked me to the base model of the present forum the other day it looked rubbish compared with this one, and just like every other forum out there.