Well, my friend and i worked on that crazy riding mower today. Found out that the controls are decidedly different from USA type controls! At the front, on the steering column brace cover, down by yer feet, are two pedals. I haven't figured out what the left one does, but, the right one will send ya into the woods, or yer work-bench, at frightening speeds! So, when it doesn't stop, ya let up on the pedal, and that infernal machine backs up at the same speed as when it smashed into the work bench! The side gear shift sez it has 4 speeds and reverse, on a metal plate at the left side of the engine where the bent shift handle resides. Problem with that---it doesn't say where Neutral is--nothing to show its location! On the left side of the steering column plate, is another foot pedal, which i haven;t figgered out yet what it does. It took 7 minutes to find neutral, so i could even get the engine started, since it doesn't have electric start. At least, i haven't found that either, if it even has it. Finally, i did start the engine, got on it, moved the shifter handle to R (Does "R" mean something else in swedish?) And it ran swiftly into the arc welder and cart in front of it! I left up on the right pedal, and it backed out of the garage swiftly, then i pushed the pedal down and--yep--you guessed it--the arc welder cart again! By that time, i was sorry i had ever seen that infernal machine! It is going back to the owner-free-no charge! I did get it tamed down once and had it mowing and going along good, then Ruth called me for lunch, so i shut it off. I guess it had a fit of pique, because, after lunch, it did everything backwards, except it didn't put the grass back on the stems! After many years of using the right pedal for the braking process, to have it work just the opposite is scary! WEEEeee--over the cliff, foot firmly planted on the brake pedal!

Commercial mowers? Seriously? In my opinion, no homeowner should ever consider going commercial. There really is little to no point in doing so. I use an HRC-216 from Honda when I help my father-in-law with his landscape business, and while it is a great machine, it is way more than I would ever need for ~52 times a year. Also, when something does go wrong, they are very expensive to fix. My advice for the OP is to sharpen the blade on the reel he has now and get it working well. Maybe add a weedeater, probably electric, so you don't have to store gas. If the reel has a hard time with your type of grass then go with a cheap mulching mower, gas or electric. When you find yourself with a larger lawn, then consider a premium residential mower like a Super Recycler or Honda. What you want to look for at that point is a decent engine and non-rusting deck. Also, if you do not need self-propelled, don't get it. It adds to the cost and complexity of the mower and is one more thing that can break. Looking at your lawn, a large self-propelled commercial would almost be more of a hassle to use than something smaller and more nimble like the reel mower you have or a 19"ish electric. Also, the money you save could be put towards more landscaping. There are plenty of plants and such that are drought resistant. That would do far more to beautify your lawn than a mower.

Really, if you just wanna keep the ole Murray, if it otherwise works fine, you should be able to. Heavy and/or frequent watering should only be done on new lawns during an establishment process & that should be within as little as a couple weeks up to maybe 2 months at most, depending on if you sodded or started from seeds & the type of grass. Then watering should be reduced to no more than once per week. If mother nature helps that week, then don't run the sprinklers at all. Then as you head into fall, then winter, watering should be reduced further, maybe once a month, and again, if mother nature is dumping precipitation, don't turn on the sprinklers. As was mentioned above, you should do your mowing when the lawn is dry and then water afterwards. Additionally, you should strongly consider discontinuing bagging of the clippings & start mulching your clippings. There's a long list of reasons to mulch: 1) Grass clippings are 80% water and decompose quickly releasing nutrients into your soil. 2) Mulching provides up to 1/3rd of the lawnÂs yearly fertilizer needs providing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace amounts of micronutients. 3) Mulching reduces the amount of time you spend bagging and fertilizing. 4) Grass clippings donÂt cause thatch. (over watering and over fertilizing do) 5) Mulching reduces yard waste by 20-40%. 6) Mulching reduces the amount of water your lawn needs. My 2 cents Good day, Dan

Thanks for all the responses. I'll google the suggestions. I still haven't found an exact fabric match for a lawnmower bag. I did get the bag from grasscatchersusa.com and it appears to be excellent quality. In the meantime I had an idea that has worked well. I went to a yard sale and bought a pile of several big heavy fabric duffle bags, backpacks, and suitcases. I hand sewed 2 of the suitcases together, cut a hole in the end of one and attached a fabric tube with a drawstring to attach it to the leaf vac. I sewed nylon webbing to them to hang them off the leaf vac handle. I cut a hole on the side of one and sewed a piece of shade clothe on to allow air to get out. So far so good, plus they hold more than the original bag, are easier to empty because the zipper on top opens nearly the entire bag. Best of all, it cost just $2 for the pile of old fabric suitcases, plus my time sewing it (about 3 hours). If I find a source for lawn mower bag fabric I'll post it. I haven't found even a universal bag, so I'm beginning to think the fabric might be proprietary. -hald