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paulinct

time for a new mower, could really use your advice

paulinct
15 years ago

Hi folks,

I have a 15 year old craftsman 6.75 HP 22" self-propelled mower that has worked well for me until this year. In the past it has had to mow only thin, sorry turf, but this year I have a new, heavily maintained and very thick (but small) KBG lawn in the back, and frankly that lawn is beating the crap out of my mower. I mow twice a week with a sharp blade and just cannot get a clean cut in one pass, though it still does a great job on the thin, sorry fine fescue lawn in the front.

So I'm looking for a new one. My requirements are:

Lots of power at the blade, enough to cut a thick lawn cleanly in one pass, and without it needing to strain to do so.

Bagging. I usually don't, but need this feature in early spring.

Self-propelled in a variable way. I think one problem with this craftsman is that it has only one speed - too fast. I would like something more like what I had on an old Jacobsen I used to own - a stepless adjustment that could be tweaked on the fly by moving a lever. But whether the adjustment is accomplished by a lever that can be manipulated on the fly or by some sort of "personal pace" system I don't really care, but the fewer the moving parts the better (I miss my cheap and easy and fully functional hand crank windows...).

Must be able to pass through a 36" gate. Since the lawn is small a typical consumer-scale machine would be fine, but if there is a commercial machine out there that would do a better job I would consider that also, but only if it could pass through that gate.

Must be able to mow high. I maintain the KBG at around 4 inches.

Parts availability. I enjoy doing my own repairs and appreciate dealing with companies that would be supportive in terms of supplying parts, etc.

I'm also comfortable rehabilitating older equipment, so if there is some great old commercial machine out there that I should consider looking for on the used market I'd appreciate any tips.

If there is one feature of those that I could give up, it would be the bagging.

At this point in my thinking cost is not a factor, I just want to know what would be the best I could get for my situation. Then, if necessary, I can work my way back down to reality with "the best" as a good comparison.

Any advice appreciated!

Thank you,

Paul

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