Looking for some advice
Brought a Honda HF2417 from a local mower dealer about 12 months ago, brand new and has been serviced recently
I went in with absolutely no knowledge or idea on any machinery or sit ons. Went in with the ask of giving me something that can cut a 2 acre paddock. It's no way a groomed or manicured garden, it's rough land which can grow very quickly with the right conditions.
But to also also mow a driveway, about 2-4 meters of grass either side of the road, shared between neighbours and I am designated to mow the lawn and keep tidy, which is more manicured and better looked after
After using it for a season, my relationship with the mower is hit and miss, my gut feeling the Honda isn't good enough for what need, or I am just using it incorrectly
It keeps clogging, even on short grass. I'm constantly battling it backfiring, upsetting the horses and neighbours next door.
Clogging is the main issue, the deck vibrates a lot, even when cutting shorter grass. It's frequently not cutting because it's clogged in the shoot (I am always using the mulch) so not sure why the shoot is getting clogged and why that would stop the blades from turning, even a small handful of grass, stops the blades from turning, it doesn't feel right
I have asked questions to where got it from and think they just think I'm stupid, which I may be, any advice from anyone, whether it be the Honda now, or another sit on which is a bit more hardy
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Replies
Hi Sam
Using your image of the blades, the right hand one appears to be fitted upside down or has the wrong blade fitted. These have a specific left and right handside blade. The curve on the end of the blade is designed to force the cut grass through the deck outlet. When fitted correctly the curve should curve up (or in the photo down) to the underside of the deck.
The engine shouldn't backfire if running correctly, the carb may need a clean or the coil/sparkling checking.
The machine is aimed more at domestic customers for mowing lawns rather than rough paddocks.
Glyn
hi Sam as you say with no previous knowledge of machinery or sit ons, am not familiar with that Honda model, but as you say lack of power, vibration and backfiring, start with the basics, is the Choke changed to correct position once started, engine speed lever ? Is the petrol reasonably fresh ? Otherwise maybe some problem with fuel/air mixture
Hi Sam
not familliar with that mower, in the photo it looks like the righthand blade is on upsidedown so it will be cutting with the back of the blade also is there a mulshing plug that slots into the shoot
i hav looked at the photo again and i think the wrong blades hav been fitted the left one is nealy right but the beveld cutting edge is on under side of the blade. honda stoped using the mulching plug on that model in mid 2021 after that they used a versamow selective mulshing system using a lever
We ran a similar Honda ride on for several years primarily for leaf collection , it worked well even on wet mushy leaves but the chute would block now and again. As others have said one blade looks to be on upside down whether the other blade is the correct one is difficult to say but it should have a part number on it so its easy to check if its correct. The misfire is a separate issue and will not be caused by deck issues. I do wonder about the competence of your dealer in sorting these issues and would take it elsewhere. As to the machines suitability for your work I would not have bought a Honda ride on for commercial work ,ours was used sparingly for leaves only ,I can only describe them as "fragile" and certainly would not use one for mulching . We used Toro and Kubota albeit we only mulched and used walk behind Honda 537 HRX for collection/mulching and Hayter pro's for roller work. Get your machine to a decent dealer get it sorted as it is not right then review whether to swap.
Thanks to those that have replied
There is no mulch plug, it's a 2 in 1 so it collects and mulch's, a door to the collector is shut when mulching and a lever differentiates between the setting. I've basically never used the collection on it, door is always shut, since having issues I've opened and closed it a few times, cleared it all out of any debris but always gets clogged again
I noticed that the blades were opposite way round when jacked it up but think this is something to do with the mower collecting and mulching but I may be wrong, any ideas?
I think I've just got it wrong and have fell for a sales pitch, not what I wanted when relying on someone's expertise on advice, anyway, lesson learnt and just want something reliable that will do the job for me
Toro titan if you don't mind zero turn, pretty bomb proof. Stay away from John Deere unless you can afford the shaft drive to axle models, the rest have a belt driven transmission which are a nightmare to replace the drive belt you basically have to take most of the machine to bits. Stiga out front pro models are ok as are most of the Iseki range . Stay away from the Kubota domestic range. We ran Toro machines for many years so I am biased ,don't buy the timecutter its crap the Titan and upwards in the model range are the ones to go for. Hope that helps!!! And if "finish" is important got to be Toro none of the others come close.
Thanks so much
You are welcome.
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