GardenKit

Sure Steve, but there were around the same number of arbtalkers when I bumped the petition last year and only a very few signed up. It will not be any different next time. Flogging a dead horse methinks.

I fear you may be right Steve. But there are 23000 arbtalk members, we could make this happen overnight!

That's why I moved south of the Mendips Jon! Mild and dry down yer.

Thanks Max, and welcome to the forum. Keep these sign ups coming guys, it costs you nothing and it may one day pay dividends.

If you decide to go for a dedicated mulcher at work, and forget the collection kit you may well be able to buy within budget. You will need to keep running over the grass but it will look fantastic! About Mulching - Garden Kit | Garden Tips | Garden Machinery - This one is too small for your work, but will suit someone used Stiga Villa 14 HST with 95Combi deck

As a kid in the late 60's I often saw the White Vulcan with the prototype Concorde engine flying over my village in Somerset. It was just one Olympus strapped under the bomb bay of the Vulcan and had a better noise even than the standard Vulcan.

Haha, if she joins Arbtalk, I'm shouting "Get me out of here"

'Mulching' is a much misunderstood subject. It is ideal for regular cutting of short, dry grass, where it will leave a much better finish than a comparatively sized collector mower and finish the job in about a third of the time. But so often, mulching mowers are used in the wrong situations by the wrong customers and the concept will then be unfairly maligned. I have now sold mulching mowers for over 25years. That's 25 cutting seasons, and every year has been different. So I have accumulated a lot of experience which I pass on to prospective customers. I ask the right questions of my customers, but if I get the wrong answers I will always steer folk away from a mulcher, but I still sell many more mulchers than collectors. Prospective mulcher customers should ideally have an area of grass that they want to keep well manicured and are happy (and able) to cut when the grass needs cutting, which may be as often as every 3 days in fast growth conditions, but usually once a week is average. People who hate cutting grass and only cut it when the have lost the cat should avoid a mulcher. The idea appeals to their lazy side, as they want to get the job over with the minimal effort, but the machine will be overloaded, belts will wear and the finish will be rubbish. If they don't mind a rubbish finish then a side discharge machine will be a better bet long term. Otherwise they should have a collector but be prepared to take much longer and have a massive pile of grass, but a tidy, albeit, yellow lawn. I understand the comment about not being able to cut because of the rain, but to be honest, in 25 years of mulching my own lawn in damp Devon this has never posed a problem. Sure, sometimes I have cut in the damp, or even in the rain, but the key is to keep it down. If the grass gets ahead then it will be a difficult task with a horrendous finish when you do get around to it. In my experience the very best mulch finish is achieved with a Stiga, there is no other machine to touch them for finish or quality. But Stereos Villa Ready is an old machine, and was the smallest, cheapest machine in the range and only designed for smallish lawns. The bearings were an issue, but are now vastly uprated, and the height lever was OK but prone to accidental damage which caused issues.

The bloke checking the samples will need new knees by the time he is 60. Should have listened to his mum!

Catching moles is easy and the scissors traps are cheap, its not exactly a skilled job, why employ someone?

Is there any update from the dealer yet? I wonder if its sorted.

I make my chains to length, off the roll. So just like many other dealers who do this, my boxes are hand written. That is quite correct practice. I have sold Oregon for years and not noticed the problem of mismatched cutters.

If you can manufacture a band that works, and keeps working, out of thin sheet then you are certainly a better engineer than me, and probably even better than Spud! My advice would be to get the proper thing, or not do it at all.

Ah, but your way looks much more professional Steve, especially in photos!

I had a 362 in yesterday with exactly the same problem, but I will do this one using the traditional helicoil and without removing the cylinder. Works for me:biggrin:

The mowers listed on my website only go to the X500 series, with petrol engines. This is due to us being a 'Homeowner dealer' and not being involved in the bigger, Pro, kit. You will be needing a 700 series, or 900 series machine, but I fear you may want to up your budget a little.

I have not sold a Countax or Westwood in about 8years and have not missed them at all. It seems that many committed dealers have refused to sell them this year as they have apparently been big trouble, but I don't know quite what the problems are. Are you looking for new or used? What budget?

Thanks for confidence guys, but to be honest, diesel machines are not my strong point and I have a strong dislike of Countax/Westwood machines, so may be a bit negative. I specialise in Stiga and JD petrol machines so if these are of any interest give me a call. You can find my website by googling gardenkit.

The Mitox has an adjustable Walbro carb.

I think this is taking things a bit too far personally, after all the underside soon gets filthy anyway, so unless you are going to clean it and oil it every time you use it there is really no point. Just keep it as clean as sensibly possible. When we service a mower we pressure wash the underside and, when dry, give it a coat of waxoyl, even ally decks. Only takes a few seconds to brush some round, and preserves the deck whilst in winter storage. Topsides are washed, any loose paint scraped off (or rotary wire brush) then painted with the appropriate Central Spares paint. technically we should use a primer, but we don't and the results are fine. This is done within the service price so we cant spend too long fussing around!

Good luck Rob, keep us posted!

I only ever use this paint, use dozens of cans each year. Its quick to apply and dries very quickly. There is absolutely no need to paint under the deck on an alloy mower, it won't stay on long anyway.

If you are a young romeo, or the father of one, then watch this.https://www.facebook.com/thisisinsider/posts/1487817664858960

How about a can of Hayter Green lawnmower paint!

But crap transmissions, so I would not try that too often.