Large-Lawn Lawn Mower Help

Hello there everyone. I have a rather large lawn that I've been asked to maintain (over 3/4 acre) and I have been tasked with getting a mower for the job. It's a toss up between an Atco and a Honda. With the size it has to be a sit-on jobby. Been looking here http://www.for-sale.co.uk/atco-royale-mower at the "Royale" and seem to be leading towards that. Any tips?

 

Depends on your budget and the lay of the land.

 

Honda.

 

Honda. My experience in the past with ATCO hasn't been great. That said I've never used their range of Ride-Ons.

What is your budget if you don't mind me asking and does it definitely have to be a ride on mower?

 

Yes has to be a ride on mower, lawn is far too large. Budget of around £2K...

 

I would have suggested John Deere but for a new machine you would be looking at the very basic entry level machine.

 

Very nice points there, thank you for your detailed response! I shall return with my decision once made!

 

You are obviously a fan of Honda? We have a Honda mower dealership very nearby...

What would you say would be the normal "cross-over" between a self-propelled and a ride-on, in terms of size? Hubby says that our garden is borderline ride-on size. I don't think so - but the 1/2 acre is also too slopey and uneven. I have not had much joy with ride-on mowers, they seem to need a lot of servicing, which is expensive and slow here in Belgium. A simple self-propelled is relatively easy to maintain yourself, so long as the "clutch" cable doesn't go and break on you (Grumbles quietly to herself...)

 

Stiga mowers
http://www.stiga.com/

 

There is a fine line between it, The cut of a push mower is much better UNLESS its perfect ground, then its just the size of the area. There are gardens within our maintenance that hit 2 acres and we still use push mowers, its finding the one most efficient to the lawn.

If our business was to come to yours off just what you'd said, Id be looking at using one of our smaller Toro mowers on a mulch setting. My experience has led me to understand that Toro cannot make a mower that is efficient at collecting cuttings, awesome with cutting and mulching though. Over a lawn that size I don't want to be stopping every 5 mins to empty the box. Here is an example.


If the lawn was square (ish) and around 3/4 acre id used something a little bigger. I'm a fan of Honda engines, but again it depends on what the mower is for. Honda make great 4 stroke engines that can be pushed to a severe angle, If you're looking at getting a hover mower, You wont go wrong with Honda. Briggs and stratton seem to excel in engines for mowers better suited to a flat surface.

If I was asked to cut a 3/4 acre lawn, I'd personally be looking at a 30" Toro Timemaster. From experience, it should cut the lawn easily within an hour on a mulch setting. If I was looking to collect the cuttings, Get yourself a Hayter...but you're mad if your collecting on a scale of that size.

 

I think a ride on may be the wrong choice of mower. Do you have a picture of the area?

 

Toro own Hayter and there's an interesting article about lean manufacturing which no doubt has happened. Hayter seem stuck on their designs and if there's one mower I leave on a damp, wet day it's my 48Pro which is nothing but useless.
I tried high lift blades on the 48 and they did nothing to aid the collection on damp lawns. Dry lawns are fine but the chute and box design that slopes just chokes up. Deere on the other hand are slightly better as Sabo have added a small impeller to aid lift, they just need to change the handle design.
Etesia have taken in what people wanted and have just added a rear roller add on to the 46Pro range so you get lines but with collection that just keeps on working regardless of weather, plus they do a speed kit to increase the drive speed.
Deeres are the quickest and I have to almost jog to keep up with mine.