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  Adam Gregory March 8, 2011 at 7:02pm

  All old hayters are better. 48 and 56. The new ones havea palstic deck on them, including the new 56 pro. What a joke. The guy that looks after my mowers says that the deck case needs replacing on them about 3 times a year and at £90 a time just for the part without fitting !! Chaning my mowing fleet over to the honda pro models. Only problem with tthem seems to be the gear box afetra while. That is about 3-4 years depending upon use. Oh and old Hayters for spares on ebay have shot up in price because of this.
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  Ian Parkes March 8, 2011 at 7:54pm

  yep i thought so thks be careful with the honda, seen them time and time again go back to the repair shops at my old firms and over £300, think gear problem like u said but drive goes too, their too heavy i think. too much strain maybe.
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  Classic Gardens March 8, 2011 at 10:42pm

  We use old 56s IMO there the only rollered mower out there with enough clout for commercial use. 
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  Trevor @ Lawnmower World March 8, 2011 at 10:54pm

  I've not been a fan of Hayters for a while now. About 20% of there range used to be bullet proof, work horses but I dont even think they can boast a figure anywhere near that these days. The thing with Honda gear box /transmission failure is a maintenance issue.... or lack of it! It could also be construed as a slight design flaw but a small amount of general maintenance will stop it from ever becoming a problem.

   

  The drive case where the chain runs (on most models) is susceptible to filling with grass if A) the grass catcher is not emptied often enough and excess grass is forced in to the compartment or B) The machine is used in dry dusty conditions (should we ever get a dry / hot summer!)

  This causes the chain to become dry and tight which in turn, causes excess strain on the gear box and premature failure.  I would always recommend that when these machines are used professionally that the chain is well lubricated 2 - 3 times a cutting season as its a very quick & easy job.  Rear roller models should also have the roller bearings checked at the end of every season to check for tight spots or seizure and replaced as necessary.  Its also worth dropping a bit of oil down the inner of the drive cable/cables every now and again to stop them from seizing up and snapping at the most inopportune moments!

   

  Its only when these basics are not taken care of that problems occur and to be honest figures like "£300" are only for Hydro units, single speed boxes are only between £60 - £160 depending on model.

   

  The only reason Honda mowers are talked about for gear box failure is due to the fact that its probably one of the only things that will ever go wrong with one and in most cases the machines perform without a failure of any sort from years even with heavy use and a bit of neglect!
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    Classic Gardens > Trevor @ Lawnmower World March 9, 2011 at 7:30am

    We had two 22" lawnflites although they gave a good cut there was IMO three major problems which were:
    
    1. Way to heavy
    2. Handles were too long and were unable to fold down
    3. Gear problems as mentioned above they went on average once a year costing around £200 each time
    
    Trevor @ Lawnmower World said:

    I've not been a fan of Hayters for a while now. About 20% of there range used to be bullet proof, work horses but I dont even think they can boast a figure anywhere near that these days. The thing with Honda gear box /transmission failure is a maintenance issue.... or lack of it! It could also be construed as a slight design flaw but a small amount of general maintenance will stop it from ever becoming a problem.

     

    The drive case where the chain runs (on most models) is susceptible to filling with grass if A) the grass catcher is not emptied often enough and excess grass is forced in to the compartment or B) The machine is used in dry dusty conditions (should we ever get a dry / hot summer!)

    This causes the chain to become dry and tight which in turn, causes excess strain on the gear box and premature failure.  I would always recommend that when these machines are used professionally that the chain is well lubricated 2 - 3 times a cutting season as its a very quick & easy job.  Rear roller models should also have the roller bearings checked at the end of every season to check for tight spots or seizure and replaced as necessary.  Its also worth dropping a bit of oil down the inner of the drive cable/cables every now and again to stop them from seizing up and snapping at the most inopportune moments!

     

    Its only when these basics are not taken care of that problems occur and to be honest figures like "£300" are only for Hydro units, single speed boxes are only between £60 - £160 depending on model.

     

    The only reason Honda mowers are talked about for gear box failure is due to the fact that its probably one of the only things that will ever go wrong with one and in most cases the machines perform without a failure of any sort from years even with heavy use and a bit of neglect!
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk March 9, 2011 at 12:02am

  ill let you know within 1 week.

   

  i been using a 1998 model (good condition) 48- autocut for 5yrs min.

   

  just bought a pro-48 - silver .......... 1yr old max...     i hope its better !!   will be testing within 7 days for certain.

   

  www.gardens4u.co.uk
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk March 9, 2011 at 12:04am

  
  i re-read u say   (old 48 -pro??)     as i understand NEW is sorted/ drive problems etc on PRO?silver.  old one was BAD.....  graeme /BGS etc will confirm !! 
  Gardens4u.co.uk said:
  

  ill let you know within 1 week.

   

  i been using a 1998 model (good condition) 48- autocut for 5yrs min.

   

  just bought a pro-48 - silver .......... 1yr old max...     i hope its better !!   will be testing within 7 days for certain.

   

  www.gardens4u.co.uk
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  Graeme @ BGS March 9, 2011 at 4:47pm

  I am not aware of any local dealers around here having to replace the ABS underdeck and this certainly wasn't one of the issues that was raised during trials.

   

  If you can live with the speed issue (or crank up the RPM's) both the 48 and 56 PRO models are excellent machines, collection is second to none particularly when dry but a hell of a lot better when wet if you compare it to the older versions.  Yes other makes are probably better handling wet cuttings but you would be hard pushed to have one machine that does all particularly when throwing in the must have rear roller.

   

  On a different post, I think I recall Charles saying that he can live with the fixed speed as the time lost is more than made up with less stopping to empty the cuttings.

   

  This machine sadly only has a one year warranty for professional use but I would assume (I know my dealer would) would replace any damage to the deck FOC if it cracked.   Remember a few years back (2006'sh) the 56 had a similar issue and in the end they did a product recall so if large number of dealers are reporting faults I would expect a recall.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk March 9, 2011 at 8:58pm

  i noticed it is not a SPLIT ribbed rear -roller like old 48- harrier/autocut !........    but still turns on the spot/pivot easy enough  :)

   

  www.gardens4u.co.uk
  
  Graeme @ BGS said:

  I am not aware of any local dealers around here having to replace the ABS underdeck and this certainly wasn't one of the issues that was raised during trials.

   

  If you can live with the speed issue (or crank up the RPM's) both the 48 and 56 PRO models are excellent machines, collection is second to none particularly when dry but a hell of a lot better when wet if you compare it to the older versions.  Yes other makes are probably better handling wet cuttings but you would be hard pushed to have one machine that does all particularly when throwing in the must have rear roller.

   

  On a different post, I think I recall Charles saying that he can live with the fixed speed as the time lost is more than made up with less stopping to empty the cuttings.

   

  This machine sadly only has a one year warranty for professional use but I would assume (I know my dealer would) would replace any damage to the deck FOC if it cracked.   Remember a few years back (2006'sh) the 56 had a similar issue and in the end they did a product recall so if large number of dealers are reporting faults I would expect a recall.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk March 11, 2011 at 2:02am

  used it today -

   

  great solid machine , heavy enough , nice stripes .....   very good speed / ideal id agree .on full speed.

   

  i see they have optimum cutting speed.     maybe slower ok on smaller gardens (this was big/medium)

   

  quieter too.   and good to hover over lawn edges.    strong  manouverable machine.

  yes its plastic covered only on underside/rear chute but this will prevent rusting :).

  i cant see it breaking unless rough ground for many many years.

   

  www.gardens4u.co.uk