Well, having locked myself away in my office for a day with no interruptions I have come up with a couple of strategies (aided by some reading research) that I will be using this year.
This is one such strategy:
1/ Assessment Criteria for new equipment (initially for mowers, but valid for lots of kit).
We are about to replace a number of pedestrian mowers for the new season, so I have gone back over our service records & repair bills to work out what to do.
From 1/1/12 I intend to only purchase mowers that have :
- commercial grade engines and transmissions
- commercial warranties
- the correct speed and/or speed control
- heavy duty (strenghtened) and well designed handles
- Protected cable systems
- Heavy duty/reinforced decks
- durable wheels, with good tyres and bearings
- multi-use (box-off, mulch side/rear discharge)
- easy basic servicing
- good dealer/parts back up
Why ? because my records show that certain machines have cost us a lot of money and/or buying "cheap" has meant subsequent service issues.
I spent some time before Christmas looking at machines and have decided that modern Hayters are out (re: quality, engines and handle/cables designs leave much to be desired). However, we will make one exception (48Pro).
We are junking a number of Hayters - they have proven to be very expensive in terms of spares and up time. Often breaking handles & cables due to antiquated design that lets them get caught etc. Not impressed with B&S engines compared to Honda's (easier to start, nicer 'noise' etc.
We will look at cable protected models, ideally hydro transmissions, Honda/Kawa engines and multi-bladed cutting (FYI - this is being reported as reducing box content by up to 33% - that means less bulk, less stops, less time emptying...). All should be capable of mulching, all should have after market blades (ie Oregon) available.
We've seen the tendancy for smaller lawns in newer developments, hence why I will keep our two 48Pro's, but when up for renewal we will look again.
Likely candidates are Etesia 4 wheelers, Kaaz/Danarm/Honda Pros 4 wheelers/rollers. All slightly more expensive, but with a much, much lower cost of ownership over 3 years. I intend to deal with only one dealership to get best service, support & price. I will not go chasing all over south east for equipment any more. I consider I can better use my time on the business.
A lot of you may not agree, but I challenge you to go do the same and come up with YOUR OWN strategy of what works for you.
This is not meant to degenerate into a 'What mower is best' thread, more to make you aware of what others are doing..............
So let's keep off that subject, please!
If you don't do similar, you'll never know how much that mower in your van is costing your business.....
Something to think about over the remaining christmas break ?
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Replies
Good to see some logical thinking. I haven't done a machine lifecycle cost analysis, but I prioritise any downtime as a serious negative and I'll always now ensure I have access to dealers with parts for the machines I use, and also stick to tools that I expect to work without breaking down.
Down time is a huge problem, it costs your spare Sunday mornings and makes you seem less than 100% reliable to the clients you have to reschedule.
Something to consider - When having more than one of the same tool - Get a mower which can do everything you need it to do, but Excels in a particular area - then do the same for the next mower, but have one exceling in another area - IE Etesia for Collection, a Snapper for Mulching - Both can do collect, discharge and mulch, The etesia is better at collecting, the Snapper at Mulching.
Also one to think about - fuel consumption (I know I've harped on about it in the past) But looking at my own business - there is some £350+ savings a year to be had moving over my Hedge trimmers and Strimmers / Brushcutter to 4xstroke machines (By Honda and Makita). Over a 3-year working life of a Strimmer thats a big boost - And something I intend to start with next year.
Hi Gary,
I like your thinking,
As you know I am an Avant man for a lot of the reasons you have mentioned above.
They are not the cheapest piece of kit to buy in the first place, but due to there versatility of being multi tool carriers you can keep it working throughout the year on all projects. The mower decks allow for the same criteria as you have put at the top, being able to collect, side discharge and mulch. The narrowest option is 1200 wide, so not good for where pedestrian work is required, though.
I also look at whether the kit can take the knocks that every day use will inevitably come its way at some point and due to the thickness of the plate used you shouldn't have any problems there.
Hi Gary great post
I agree in part with your comments re Hayters and Etesia. Our main gripe about the Hayter is the constant repair of the mower box, there was a post a few years ago on how to repair damaged Hayter boxes but for the life of me i cant find it
We tend not to have any problems with the cables as we don't fold the handles which seems to cause all the problems, the b/s engines have never caused us any problems we religiously change oil in our machines once every 3 months and i can say i have never had a problem with any engine in the 5 years i have been using 56s.
A few years ago i made the same decision as your post and bought in Two 22" lawnflight pros and a 19" i have to admit it was the worse decision i have ever made, In two years we were back to our 56s.
This year we bought a new Etesia Pro 51b. Our first thoughts were this is a great machine amazing in the wet and a great cut. The problems we found were. As our contracts our mainly high end complexes they hated the tram lines left in the lawns, They were also not maneuverable around smaller lawns, Often scalping the edges of the lawn.
I don't think there is any mower out there that can compete with a 2002/04 Hayter 56 on a well looked after lawn. We do alot of work for new build complexes who after the turf is laid it bolts to such an extent that the Hayters cant cope with just one pass and may needs two passes which costs us money. This is where the Etesia comes in.
My Solution
Take both Hayter and an Etesia out with you, In one season the Etesia has paid for its self with working in the driving rain to cutting long lawns. While on the good days the Hayter gives you and the customer that great finish, which at the end of the day is the part of the garden that is most viewed.
We use two dealers for parts and new machines this way we can play one against the the other for the most competitive price.
Great feedback guys.
No one is ever going to agree on a 'which mower' topic which is why I made my comments. My aim was to put into place a strategy for MY business supported by MY finances and MY facts. We each have unique requirements, jobs, staff etc so I could never tell anyone else what to use.
However, it does not stop anyone from developing their own stratgey - that's the key phrase here.
We are 'lucky' to have 12 pedestrian mowers alone in our business, so I can see trends, faults & performance perhaps a little easier than someone with just 1 or 2 (that is not me being arrogant, just practical.....)
I agree great post, I have a matrix which I compare potential new machinery purchases against not quite as detailed as Gary's but suits us well comparing different machinery against, price, brand, speed, noise, fuel use, potential to breakdown (cable damage), and also try to get a honest review of the machinery either on here or from WGM. Currently doing this for a new scari machine and stuck on the Eliet EL450H and the camon LS42!
Hope my post didn't come across as 'what mower is best' merely to point out that if you already have a successful business model with, 20 + mowers it could be very costly.
I did all my homework asked around etc etc yet the mowers we bought just were not suited for my business, Two examples
New build housing estates instead of having flat lawns have raised mounds to deter kids playing football, The lawnflights just couldn't cope with this and left huge scalp marks.
The length of the handles were so long that mowing around carparks full of cars was impossible.
I've found its worth spending a little on something each year that has worked well for us. I also service all are mowers saving us hundreds each year.
An important point is raised above - one which I have really sidestepped in my 'selection' criteria - namely machinery fuel consumption. It's becomming a major business cost.
We seperate out fuel down to each vehicle (initially treating it as an 'Expense' in our TP&L, but now is classed a Cost of Goods Sold'), but for our machinery, we just lump it all together under a COGS code - but we can't identify usage down to a machine - it's just to difficult to record.
I would love to see fuel consumption figures openly supplied by makers and expressed "per hour used under minimal load" and "under heavy load".
However, unless the measurement method was dictated by a 'Body', there is massive room to manipulate figures......IMHO.
Again, suggest we don't get into individual machines consumption etc in this post - want to try and keep it at a high level.........
No Martin, not all.
With any subject matter like this we all have such individual requirements. You have to learn what is right for your application. For instance, we have run 4 Kaaz/Danarms (2 rollers, 2 4 wheelers) for over 5 years and no problems !
martin said:
One of the biggest costs of the fuel that can be avoided is 2-stroke mix, if tools are 4xstroke. I've found the difference between my Stihl 4-mix Kombi engine (KM90) and a 26cc echo strimmer both with .6l fuel tanks to be about 30 mins - a big difference.
As you say, its very difficult to pin down, but is something to look at when replacing tools - And with Honda doing a range, that is a good sign, as spares are common and easy to get hold of, and From my experience Honda engines last.
Surely as fuel is an ongoing cost it should be factored into a TCO (total cost of ownership) for a tool, as I'd bet its several x more than the initial purchase cost.
Gary RK said:
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