Anyone know mowers?

[JoshT]

I know this is a truck forum, but I'm not really a member of any forums that would be better equipped to answer this.

I'm in need of a heavy duty walk-behind mower that's capable of tackling thick weeds and overgrown grass (no shrubs or trees). Dad had a small Yazoo 21" when I was a kid that would have been exactly what I need, but it's long since gone.

I'm wanting a belt driven push mower with a large motor, that is self propelled, and has high rear wheels. This will be used for cutting in yard and areas with high weeds, briars and other overgrowth. Basically I'm wanting a commercial mower, but don't need anything as large as most of what's made these days.

I recently found out that Billy Goat used to make a high weed mower that would have been just what I was looking for, unfortunately it's been discontinued.

Currently I'm looking at the following:

• Yazoo SV26 26" W/ 8.5 horse B&S - Used, $450
• Gravely Pro-24 24" W/ 190cc B&S- New, $1100 (Model 911701 has a mower deck instead of brush deck)
• Sarlo WX24SP 24" W/ 190cc B&S - New, $850
• Sarlo 1026SS 26" W/ 10.5 hp B&S - New, $1150

Gut tells me to go with the Yazoo, they were tough, had plenty of power to do the job, and last. It also appears to have a blade disengagement lever, so can disconnect the blade without cutting off the engine (big plus IMO). The price is also right up my alley. I'm tired of spending a couple hundred on Big Box store mowers that don't do the job, but at the same time I don't really need to be spending $800-1000 on a mower. My concern is that the company has been out of business for a long time, so parts availability may be an issue. It comes with a spare blade, but I haven't found replacements available online with a brief search.

Gravely is easily available from a local dealer, but I feel it's a bit over priced. It's the same (literally) as the Airens that H-D used to sell for closer to $800. Not sure that it's still available, been about 6 months since I inquired at the local dealer and they didn't know it existed at the time. If I were going to spend this much I'd probably order the Sarlo 26" cut instead. Newer machine made by a big name in the business, so parts more available. Same time, in 10 years might be parts issues as well.

Sarlo has been around for a long time and makes a very good product from what I understand. They've been building the same basic mower design for about 100 years (well over 60 at least), so I imagine parts will be available for a while to come. The two models I'm looking at can be ordered through Northern Tool. These mowers are built to order, not mass production like the Gravely/Airens, which usually leads to better quality. The biggest problems with these are price and wait time, from what I understand it can take a month for them to be assembled and delivered.

Thoughts? Asking about these particular mowers, not so much about what else I should consider.

 

[RonD]

In my opinion you will need two mowers.
Finish cut
Brush mower

A mower that tries to do both does neither the best, lol.

Stick with B&S engines since they are reliable and parts are always around.


Look at whats for sales used:
If it is old and still runs it means it is a good model
If it is newer and still runs it means owner/user found a better model

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dad has a Bucktrol (spelling?) that he has had forever for mowing road ditches.

It has two big wheels on the rear and the mower deck has skids. Has a normal mower blade and then a big saw blade for heavier brush. It has something like a 8hp briggs on it , I have don't remember.

It eats anything, and seems to be content doing it forever. Not much a "finishing" mower but something fed brush and sticks won't mow front yard nice for very long. I agree, two mowers would work best.

 

[Mark_88]

A push mower usually means you don't have much grass to cut or like walking. A few years back I lived on a large farm property and had a big chunk of grass to cut...no idea in terms of acreage...but it took me close to three hours some times...until I edged and mulched all the trees...

So, anyway, if you just want to push one and don't have much grass...what you are looking at will probably work...if it's fine cutting neighborhood yards that is...

I was cutting not the best of lawns in the best of shape...weedy stuff...sometimes wet and boggy and others drier than a popcorn fart but not bad looking...when it rained.

What was I saying?

Oh, yeah, so I borrowed the owner's ride on Kubota and fell in love with them...tough as nails with a power take-off for either the grass cutter or the snow blower...can't remember the model number but it was quick and cut perfectly for that type of yard...

I was in my mid 40s and walking was fun but not for cutting grass...

Ride em cowboy~

 

[JoshT]

First off let me clarify. I say push mower to mean that I’m not looking for a riding mower, I probably should have said walk-behind mower. Any larger push mower I buy will be self-propelled. I have no intention of manually pushing a lawnmower up steep slopes and through dense grass and weeds when it is perfectly capable of doing that for me.

Second, my terminology is messed up. I'm not looking for a brush cutter. I'm not trying to cut brush, that's just the best description that I had for what I wanted at the time. A more accurate description would probably be High Weed Mower. I'll be cutting overgrown grasses, thick weeds, and briar vines. No trees, shrub brush, or stumps in the areas to be cut. I'm also not after a show quality cut, so finishing mower probably wasn't the right things to say either. A finishing mower is something you pull behind a tractor anyway. I need a heavy duty walk-behind mower.

I went back and edited my first post.

 

[JoshT]

In my opinion you will need two mowers.
Finish cut
Brush mower

A mower that tries to do both does neither the best, lol.

Stick with B&S engines since they are reliable and parts are always around.


Look at whats for sales used:
If it is old and still runs it means it is a good model
If it is newer and still runs it means owner/user found a better model

If I were going to be making money with this I’d go with two mowers, but if that were the case I’d already have them. This is just for personal use in small areas around my property.

What I need is something that’s not very common these days, a small commercial mower. Size wise a 21-24” deck would be all that I need, but I would be better off with the power that comes with the 26” deck units I’ve found.

I’ll provide some examples. This photo is of an old Yazoo mower very similar to the one my dad had when I was a kid, and it was old then (30 years ago). I know this style works for what I need, because that’s exactly what it was used for back then.



All of the mowers I listed in the OP are of this basic design. We’ve tried lots of box store push mowers over the years since that old Yazoo rotted away, but none have come close to matching its capability.

This video shows the Gravely that I listed in my first post in action. It is also shown cutting grass and weeds very similar to what I need to cut, but I think my areas are a little thicker with more briar vines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHbzg-vSS6g

I wish the areas I needed to cut were that large and open, I'd use the tractor and be done with it.

I’m not looking for the best of anything, just need something that is up to the job. The mowers I’ve mentioned should be as they are built sturdier and with more power than the one dad had.

 

[JoshT]

Dad has a Bucktrol (spelling?) that he has had forever for mowing road ditches.

It has two big wheels on the rear and the mower deck has skids. Has a normal mower blade and then a big saw blade for heavier brush. It has something like a 8hp briggs on it , I have don't remember.

It eats anything, and seems to be content doing it forever. Not much a "finishing" mower but something fed brush and sticks won't mow front yard nice for very long. I agree, two mowers would work best.

I’m not familiar with that brand, and didn’t turn up anything on a Google search. From the sound of it, I’d imagine that it’s a very similar design to what I’m planning to buy. The ones I’m looking at have a mower deck and wheels, instead of a brush deck and skids.

It’s funny that you mention ditches. The Sarlo mowers I mentioned are apparently used by a lot of road crews in their home state for that very thing.

I would guess that there are several smaller family owned mower companies like Sarlo (and probably Bucktrol) scattered around the country that are popular in their region for commercial grade mowers. I know I've read about a bunch of small companies building similar mowers that have come and gone over the years. They can't compete with the chain store brands in the residential/retail market.

 

[JoshT]

A push mower usually means you don't have much grass to cut or like walking. A few years back I lived on a large farm property and had a big chunk of grass to cut...no idea in terms of acreage...but it took me close to three hours some times...until I edged and mulched all the trees...

So, anyway, if you just want to push one and don't have much grass...what you are looking at will probably work...if it's fine cutting neighborhood yards that is...

I was cutting not the best of lawns in the best of shape...weedy stuff...sometimes wet and boggy and others drier than a popcorn fart but not bad looking...when it rained.

What was I saying?

Oh, yeah, so I borrowed the owner's ride on Kubota and fell in love with them...tough as nails with a power take-off for either the grass cutter or the snow blower...can't remember the model number but it was quick and cut perfectly for that type of yard...

I was in my mid 40s and walking was fun but not for cutting grass...

Ride em cowboy~

Mark, you aren’t wrong, but it doesn’t apply in this case. I live on 3.3 acres with somewhere around half of it as cleared, the rest as planted pines. It’s not a huge yard, but no postage stamp either. I don’t plan to walk it and I have got a riding mower for cutting most of it. I’ve got a small wally world mower that I keep for doing trim work around the house and porches, I hate swinging a weed eater. No trees in the cleared portion to worry about.

I assume that when you say ride-on Kubota that you are talking about one of the yard tractors. I’ve never had one of those style mowers, but I hear they are nice. I have got a standard 42” cut Airens riding mower and I treat it about like a tractor and brush hog at times, if the mower could push it over, it would cut it. Actually my yard is really too uneven for a riding mower, but plan to get dad’s tractor over here soon to flatten it out some.

Problem is that a riding mower physically (same for tractor) can’t cut some of the areas I need to cut. The walk-behind mowers carried at the box stores do not have the power or size to handle it either. A small commercial walk-behind would be perfect for what I’m doing. At 24-26 inch deck it’d also be small enough to replace the wally world special when it dies.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I’m not familiar with that brand, and didn’t turn up anything on a Google search. From the sound of it, I’d imagine that it’s a very similar design to what I’m planning to buy. The ones I’m looking at have a mower deck and wheels, instead of a brush deck and skids.

It’s funny that you mention ditches. The Sarlo mowers I mentioned are apparently used by a lot of road crews in their home state for that very thing.

I would guess that there are several smaller family owned mower companies like Sarlo (and probably Bucktrol) scattered around the country that are popular in their region for commercial grade mowers. I know I've read about a bunch of small companies building similar mowers that have come and gone over the years. They can't compete with the chain store brands in the residential/retail market.

I tried to search and didn't turn anything up either. It looks a lot like what you have pictured except the front edge of the deck is open so you can get at heavier stuff with the blade (like small trees) and the deck doesn't have wheels.

It looks more like this one, I don't think it is a DR though (maybe DR bought them out or something too)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DR-Walk-Beh...ggs-Self-Propelled-24-Inch-Deck-/281780658774

My place is open enough (and I keep clearing more) I use a tractor and a shredder for what I think you are wanting to do. I do use a rider around the house though.

 

[Mark_88]

Mark, you aren’t wrong, but it doesn’t apply in this case. I live on 3.3 acres with somewhere around half of it as cleared, the rest as planted pines. It’s not a huge yard, but no postage stamp either. I don’t plan to walk it and I have got a riding mower for cutting most of it. I’ve got a small wally world mower that I keep for doing trim work around the house and porches, I hate swinging a weed eater. No trees in the cleared portion to worry about.

I assume that when you say ride-on Kubota that you are talking about one of the yard tractors. I’ve never had one of those style mowers, but I hear they are nice. I have got a standard 42” cut Airens riding mower and I treat it about like a tractor and brush hog at times, if the mower could push it over, it would cut it. Actually my yard is really too uneven for a riding mower, but plan to get dad’s tractor over here soon to flatten it out some.

Problem is that a riding mower physically (same for tractor) can’t cut some of the areas I need to cut. The walk-behind mowers carried at the box stores do not have the power or size to handle it either. A small commercial walk-behind would be perfect for what I’m doing. At 24-26 inch deck it’d also be small enough to replace the wally world special when it dies.

That makes sense and thanks for posting the video.

I will say that the Kubota was incredible and would cut through similar to what the video shows. I had to do two ditches along the front of the two properties (I also cut my neighbors grass so it doubled my coverage). In the spring these were boggy and I got stuck once but managed to get myself out by dropping the cutter and pulling it out.

But the growth in the ditches and along the edges of both properties had quite a bit of the rough and tall weeds.

I could have used those walk-behinds like in the video but the property owner didn't have them and he was OK with me using the Kubota the way I did...it stood up to and climbed some pretty steep ditch banks with absolutely no problems (except the bog)...

I've not seen those types of mowers in use before but pretty sure I've seen them around...and if that's your preference and it works for you then I hope you find what you want. I can see them being possibly better in some terrain and those bigger wheels would probably get you through even the boggiest of bogs.

So many great products...I just had to see what this was about because I love doing yard work...

 

[JoshT]

It's entirely possible. Companies like DR, Husqvarna, and Gravely have bought up smaller companies like that, took what the wanted, and shut down the business.

I'd much rather use a tractor. Won't work, we've tried it. Tractor was too large.

Wish that I had taken a photo of the yard before I started working on it, then you'd be able to see what I'm working on.

 

[JoshT]

So many great products...I just had to see what this was about because I love doing yard work...

There are once you stop looking at Lowes and Home Depot. I'm just the opposite, I hate yard work. That's why I'm looking for a push mower like this, to make the job quicker and easier.

What I should probably do instead of buying a mower is to buy a good string trimmer. The 450 I was looking to spend on the used mower would buy a brand new professional grade string trimmer. That would handle the high weeds and grass that I'm dealing with as well as light brush cutter duties with the correct attachment. That little Toro I have now definitely isn't up to the task. It'll barely handle heavy trimmer line, much less a brush blade. I was looking to get a mower because I really hate swinging a string trimmer, but it wouldn't take long if I made a habit of trimming it every few weeks.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

On a whim I bought an old [1960's] Gravely hydrostatic drive walk-behind. Two fairly big wheels, like small tractor tires, about 14-16" diameter. It came with different attachments that hooked to the front of the unit. Things like snowblowers, rototillers, brushcutters etc. I never did get it running. But my purpose in posting; The previous owner had built a tow behind seat. It attached with a linch pin and you used the same handles to steer. he had extended the bumper a little to rest the feet on and I imagine the feet helped steer. I really wanted to fix that piece but....life goes on.
I thought I had pics but can't find them.