About the Landscape Juice Network

Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.

LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry

LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.

For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.

Replacement mower advice

I do some gardening for a good customer who is getting on a bit and wants me to take over their mowing and I need some advice on equipment. There are 3 areas to mow (1/4 acre lawn, 3/4 acre newly planted ornamental orchard and 1/4  acre paddock connected by two 4ft wide bridges. Customer has a slow but reliable old Kubota collect self propelled mower used for paths and riverbank areas and an old Etesia Bahia which is narrow enough to get over the bridges and pretty nimble but seems to spend more time getting mended than mulching the paddock and orchard which means the Kubota often has to be pressed into duty doing the lot which takes the customer all day at his relatively sedate pace. Some of the areas get pretty wet and boggy (we're on the Welsh borders) the paddock is full of bumps and hollows and the orchard is banked to such an extent the Bahia can't get up there in the wet and when I tried it once in the dry it felt pretty hairy.

I'm no expert but I think the difficult conditions are too much for the Bahia and causing it's unreliability and his best bet might be to ditch the ride-on and just get a new Etesia 53 Duocut or Honda Versamow that can mulch and collect and appears on paper to have a good turn of speed but if it's going to take much more time than the current set up is probably unrealistic timewise. However, if this is the best option then I'd be tempted to buy it myself, charge the customer accordingly and use it for other jobs as I'm always being asked to mow. If the best option is a new ride-on then is there anything other than the Bahia I should suggest the customer buy?

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • PRO
    One of the front deck stigas or husqvarna do maybe you can get them in 4 wheel drive too. I think mountfield have made a copy as well as they are in the same company as stiga
    • PRO

      i have the 4wd Stiga, awesome bit of kit, highly recommend it 

  • thanks, I'l have a look at the Stigas, can I take it that trying to attempt it all with a walk behind would be a bit ambitious!

    • PRO
      No you could get a 48 inch or bigger scag style walk behind
      • a 48'' deck would be great but the bridges and gates would make that impossible :-(

        • PRO

          You can get 32/36 inch decks

        • PRO
          Sorry in getting threads mixed up!!
          It's only an acre and a quarter so a normal 21 inch mower will do it in under two hours if done regularly.
  • Unless you go for a 30" toro mulcher. 5000m2 might be something like 2 hrs mowing. 

  • Thanks for all the input, even with the Etesia Bahia working it takes over two hours, especially in the wet so I'll have a look at that 30'' Toro. There's a Stiga dealer near me in Ludlow, I'll pop in there next week. Their website looks good, I just need to know if something like the park 340 will be reliable and cope with some of the bumps and  rougher ground before I suggest it as a replacement.

    • PRO

      I used (still have) the 30" Toro mulcher used it covering large areas. Upgraded to a ride on and its a pleasure, once all the areas have been cut i feel like i haven't done anything! compared with being tired from walking endlessly. Saved my energy for other jobs, may be something to consider

This reply was deleted.

LJN Sponsor

Advertising

PRO

How Do You Qualify A Sales Lead?


I don't know about you, but our phones and emails are starting to get busy with enquiries. I've learned over the years that it's all too easy to answer the phone, arrange a consultation and then spend a couple of hours with a prospective client…

Read more…
Comments: 0