Lawnmower speeds

Hi all, new here as of today.We are a small two man band specialising in domestic lawnmowing with lawn sizes from postage stamp up to an acre. For longer than I can remember we have used Hayter Harriers. Our modus operandi is to buy a new machine every year and use the previous years mower as a spare which is then sold the following year when that seasons new machine is bought.I have looked at many of the posts here on the attributes-or otherwise-of various machines but remain undecided between Hayter Harrier 56 pro, Lawnflite Pro 553 HRS and Masport 22" RRSP Rotarola. The cost is not a consideration. Obviously I'm familiar with the Hayter-and it's shortcomings!-but know nothing of the Lawnflite or Masport. Any input would be much appreciated but initially two questions.Of the three which is the fastest ?Residual values. After two years we can sell Hayters for a little over half their price new-because of the name. I doubt we would achieve this on Lawnflites or Masports, does anyone have any experience ?

Thanks Steve.
The cost -depreciation- is covered in the annual writing down allowance. And our pricing! Our machines are in constant use nine hours a day and from many years experience the expense, repair costs and frustration of downtime means it is not viable to keep a mower as the daily machine longer than a year. I have detailed records of total machine costs over the years and replacing annually is by far the least expensive. I guess with the Masport the lower initial cost will be reflected in the residual.

Steve Kenyon The Garden Company said:

hayter harriers should be lasting you a good 6 years commercaily ?? i have 2 both on 2005 plates and no probs as yet ! the old harriers yes a great machine for fine strioped lawns , no comments on the new harriers or pro model etc , the others what i have heard the lawnflites are very good but masports dont last the time , yes the hayters do hold there value very good esp the old 56s , you must be doing very very very very well if cost isnt to think about , speed i guess they all do about 3 mph

Replies

Roy Robbins June 6, 2010 at 11:36pm

Thanks Steve.
The cost -depreciation- is covered in the annual writing down allowance. And our pricing! Our machines are in constant use nine hours a day and from many years experience the expense, repair costs and frustration of downtime means it is not viable to keep a mower as the daily machine longer than a year. I have detailed records of total machine costs over the years and replacing annually is by far the least expensive. I guess with the Masport the lower initial cost will be reflected in the residual.

Steve Kenyon The Garden Company said:
hayter harriers should be lasting you a good 6 years commercaily ?? i have 2 both on 2005 plates and no probs as yet ! the old harriers yes a great machine for fine strioped lawns , no comments on the new harriers or pro model etc , the others what i have heard the lawnflites are very good but masports dont last the time , yes the hayters do hold there value very good esp the old 56s , you must be doing very very very very well if cost isnt to think about , speed i guess they all do about 3 mph
Classic Gardens June 7, 2010 at 7:27am

When bought from new we found the lawnflites to be very slow.

When we asked the about this at our dealer he said that due to noise regs they have to be. So we were told hold to increase the speed which is very very simple.

We cranked it them up to a very very quick walk which cut mowing time considerably. A word of warning though this causes the drive to wear down a lot quicker, we cut lawns for approx the same amount of to
e as you and could roughly get a year out of them.

Cost to fix. Approx £300 to £400 but if you do change once a year like we do you will be covered under warrenty, I think they come with a years but check with your dealer. If they don't haggle for it or stay clear!

A
Gareth June 7, 2010 at 7:28am

I was told Masports are generally quite fast when purchasing their 18" Genius this year. Been using Masports for over a decade, still using older push models 4-5 years in use each, prob 4 hours daily use in season. Engines fine just a few rattles and cables etc.
PRO

Gary RK June 7, 2010 at 8:49am

You'll find ten's of posts on mowers, sutiability and personal perference on this forum !!.

It is just that EVERYONE has their own opinnion and what suits one does not always suit the other.

The lawnflyte and Kaaz's apprear slow because due to EU law they limit the speed and hence noise - I think down to ~2600rpm (get a digital tach or hour meter and check).

At our request, our dealer tweaks the throttle control arm to get the engine back to ~2900 - 3000 rpm. You would be surprised what a difference it makes. It is a very common 'adjustment' now on most new mowers (especially for contractors..). Clearly if you have variable ground speed then it's not such much a problem....

Befriend a good dealer, get some demos, find one you feel you like and suits the capacity and finally ensure you have good dealer support. £50 saved online counts for nowt when you're stuck due to a fault and no dealer will prioritise you . We ofetn 'borrow' a mower from our dealer when we're stuck due to fault. Worth it's weight in gold, that.
Dan Frazer Gardening June 7, 2010 at 8:05pm

My comments on masport recently have been that the rotorola 22 inch machine is crap.

The drive is weak and doesn't pull it up slight inclines when nearly full, and the plastic housing of the throttle lever has already broken. I would not buy one again.

I'd stick with the Hayter if I were you, or try a Viking.
pete June 9, 2010 at 3:34pm

This has become a big issue for me – lawn care isn't our main thing but we have one that's an acre and I want to get it cut as quick as possible. I've got a Toro 20655 and I bought a Stiga last year as something to pick up wet grass. The Stiga's drive is very poor but the Toro has a “personal pace” drive which goes as fast as you walk – You had one didn't you Colin, and you know about mechanics – do you think other manufacturers should / could use this idea?

I'm a bit ashamed that I'm no good at fixing my own machines but I might have to learn – I broke the drive cable on this Toro – the man said 2 weeks... 2 months later we get it back with a new cable fitted – it went forward ok, but only when you pulled it backwards :-(
Greenlawns January 8, 2011 at 7:09am

I've used quite a few of the vairious makes and you wont get better or faster than your using, as Gary said you can tweak them a little faster, I also use 2 56pros and buy a new one each year, for exactly the same reasons as yourself, especially the re-sale value after 2 year.

Theres also quite a few threads dicussiing the merits of Hayters, IMO the Pro56 is their best mower yet, mainly because of doing away with the variable speed control.
Bespoke Lawncare January 8, 2011 at 5:58pm

My local dealer will no longer sell the 650vr or 655vr due to a design fault on the bearings at the rear roller, they are waiting for the modified version from Viking to put out on test before selling any more, the 5 series roller mower does not have these issues.

They are one of the UK's largest and oldest dealers supplying many councles across the UK

They have got 15 Viking mv 755 ks mowers that were put out on a short term lease around July last year for sale, new blades full service and 3 months warrenty for £850 each

I have Put my name down on 1

colin said:

http://www.tfmsuperstore.co.uk/product.lasso?product=Viking-Lawn-Mo...
Greenlawns January 8, 2011 at 8:48pm

I just cant get past the look of the Vikings, I'm sure their very good, its just the whole green and white plastic thing puts me off.
Matt - Allscape SW January 8, 2011 at 9:03pm

I personally run 56's and haven't found anything I prefer yet - I do make sure that my dealer knows that I am always open to trying a new machine on demo tho ;o)

I'm interested by the comments about Hayters and wet grass, I haven't had any problems with mine collecting in the wet?