Ride on Mower

FWIW I have a Victa with a B&S 12hp 30" 4 blade disc, single b section belt drive to gearbox-differential (no lock). I picked it up for $1200 out of the paper and it would have been lucky to have done 50hrs of extremely light work (1/4 acre of clean grass).
I abuse it on 1acre of steep rough hill. I do use it at maximum height but also don't pick up anything under an inch or two thick. I only basically slash with it I don't attempt to manicure. It is small enough to weave thru the suckers I want to let revegetate and it is stable, a tractor was going to be neither. I have only fitted it with ATV tyres on the drive and that overcame any traction issues owing to the diff, In fact I'll be looking into fabbing a counterweight soon. If I get excited I'd also like to mod to siamese belt so I can push 5th gear up the hill, as that belt is now the weakest point, but 5th is not exactly tree dodging pace anyway and like I said, it's rough ground.

Haven't had it long enough so can't comment long term but I was advised by one of the fellows at work (who had a machinery dealership in western NSW & saw many types of mower sales among other machinery), that in the smaller domestic gear like these, the multi blade decks use up all the extra HP such as the 20hp v-twins, plus more complicated and more wearing parts. Also as Mcrover said they will windrow.
Mcrover obviously knows a thing or two about machines subjected to long term hard commercial use but for the average punter budget will be important of course.

Cox stockman was recommended to me owing to it's simplicity and built on a solid chassis with a robust fabricated deck.

We've got a Greenfield with a 34"cut and a 13.5hp B&S motor. It's done about 50 hours and is a good unit. We have an 8000 sq metre block that's littered with everything from fencing netting to water pipes and stone blocks. The alloy cutter deck has taken a bit of a beating from unexpected encounters with the aforementioned objects but it still cuts OK. Apart from the cutter deck damage I've had no problems and it will mow grass 4 feet tall with very few issues, no shortage of power and has a diff lock as well. I've had no problems at all with the drive system which on the Greenfields is a cork lined clutch and have towed an old Valliant station wagon with no issues.
I'm a little bit disappointed with the damaged deck but I'm sure that it could be classed as operator abuse anyway.
Regards,
Tote

There's a brand of semi domestic Zero turn mowers called Simplicity which are not a bad looking mower.

I was down at our local Stihl supplier the other day and while I was waiting I was having a look.

there were 2 models (in the real small stuff) that had the Pump/wheel motor in 1 but the bigger one had the separate Hydro and wheel motor.

Just another thought.

Torren in the shop said they are about the same quality as the Ferris but a bit cheaper.

When I'm home next week, will be doing the rounds of the mower places. We are well serviced in our area with Kubota, John Deere, Greenfield, Iseki and Husqvarna plus a number of the cheaper varieties.

Will report back with my findings and no doubt more comment will be forthcoming;)

G'day Folks :)

Well, I am suprised at Mcrover's coment that a TEA20 is not powerfull enough to run a posthole digger, or 3 ft slasher, I will have to tell them up at the main farm (350 acres) that the Fergie that they bought in 1949 is no good for all that fencing that it has done :) and it is also no good pulling the horse grader blade with the 2 x5gallon drums filled with cement as ballast on it, this and the TED20 have been used on this farm as well as the 35 and the MF65 for the last 25 years that I have been here, but the 65 does most of the slashing now with a 6'deck Sunshine :) cleans up most scrub up to 3" greygum saplings, did a 90* drive g/box about 6 years ago, the Tea20 does struggle a bit with 4tynes 1/3 buried, this is working in coastal wallum country that has been farmed by the same family since 1881;) so they know the area, farm was originally 1800+ acres, all done by hand and horse:)

cheers

Well Uncle Ho, tell that to the bent post hole digger at the farm from it picking up the tractor and nearly killing me when the post hole digger stopped and the tractor didnt.

The shear pins eventually sheared when the fergie was on it's side with me still on it.

I didnt say it wasnt powerful enough I said it wasnt big enough I though but I will check .

18.5 rated HP at the PTO isnt that much in this day and age as well as they are a fairly top heavy tractor.

Ours is still up there, now on blocks in the shed but fit a battery and away it will go and I win as our farm was 640 acres when I lived there, now 420 acres due to my old mans superanuation paddock was sold but at 1 stage it was around the 1200 acre mark but half was bush land.

It was split up between other family members a generation before me but still mostly in the family.

To be safe the TEA 20 is a bit on the light side and under powered, over geared and a little on the narrow side.

Now im talking from experience in a heavy clay soil with rock about 12 to 14" under the surface, if it were sandy soil I would think different.

Unless their Grey fergie looked kind of like one of these then they will deffinatly have all the HP they want but these ones were blamed for quite a few deaths from roll overs and the like caused in many cases from tieing chains too high on the 3PL when pulling things but they were still safer to use than a fordson major or a Lanz Bulldog.Ford 8N Funk Conversions

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcrover

Well Uncle Ho, tell that to the bent post hole digger at the farm from it picking up the tractor and nearly killing me when the post hole digger stopped and the tractor didnt.

The shear pins eventually sheared when the fergie was on it's side with me still on it.

I didnt say it wasnt powerful enough I said it wasnt big enough I though but I will check .

18.5 rated HP at the PTO isnt that much in this day and age as well as they are a fairly top heavy tractor.

Ours is still up there, now on blocks in the shed but fit a battery and away it will go and I win as our farm was 640 acres when I lived there, now 420 acres due to my old mans superanuation paddock was sold but at 1 stage it was around the 1200 acre mark but half was bush land.

It was split up between other family members a generation before me but still mostly in the family.

To be safe the TEA 20 is a bit on the light side and under powered, over geared and a little on the narrow side.

Now im talking from experience in a heavy clay soil with rock about 12 to 14" under the surface, if it were sandy soil I would think different.

Unless their Grey fergie looked kind of like one of these then they will deffinatly have all the HP they want but these ones were blamed for quite a few deaths from roll overs and the like caused in many cases from tieing chains too high on the 3PL when pulling things but they were still safer to use than a fordson major or a Lanz Bulldog.Ford 8N Funk Conversions

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The "grey fergie" has had its time and ought to be consigned to history books.

Post hole digger on a TEA20 did the same thing as you describe mcrover to my uncle... to within an inch of his life.

Its the Volkswagen beetle of tractors.:(

I struggled to pull a single tyne on the TEA20, I would never be game enough to try 4 tynes, but then the ground in Strathbogie shire is like concrete.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

Oh me beaut little fergie tractor
By dad she goes like the clappers
I can plough me fields and increase me yields
Even comes with a silage extractor
Me beaut little fergie tractor

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

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My old man had a similar poem on the base of a model of a grey fergie on the mantle piece in the lounge room.

I dont remember the Silage extractor line but the rest is about the same I think.

What is a Silage Extractor any way? I know what Silage is but where is is being extracted from ?:D

isnt silage usually underground?

Silage.........greenfodder stored in a silo.;)