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Yeah, it is a Gravely walk behind (self propelled) with a 30" mower deck. It can flat knock down some grass. I mowed with one from age 12 to when I moved out of the house. At that point, dad got a riding mower.
I keep thinking about getting his old one and scaring the heck out of the neighbors with it. I could probably cut my whole yard in 15 minutes instead of the hour and a half with the push mower.
Another thing I remembered about the heavy battery mower is this; as you are mowing along the wheels of the mower push down the grass and it does not pop back up right away...in fact sometimes a day or two later all of a sudden you notice strips of longer grass``` this is especially noticeable in the early part of the season when the grass is juicy. So it is a good idea to change direction the next time you mow. I would never buy another mower like this again. OH, oh, oh.....do you know how much a new battery will cost you ?????? Mine would be minimum $150.00 bucks....ridiculous.....I believe they are only rated for 5 years mine is on 6th year, we noticed last year already that it was barely making it to finish the yard. I will not buy another battery so unfortunately and regretfully it will get trashed, what a waste and harmful to the environment as well. I feel bad about that and I do believe a gas mower will last many many more years and is less harmful. Also, you probably know this but the battery can only mow so much square footage per use, mine just makes it and it is not very large.
True, the batteries cost from $100-$120 or so (the most expensive of the four I'm considering is for the Worxx mowers which are $170 for the pair of batteries it runs on) but averaged out over a five-year lifespan that comes to $26/year even if one assumes a total cost of $130 including shipping.
But figure that if one uses 5 gallons of gas over a six-month season at $1.50/gallon that's $7.50; plus a quart of oil is another $3 or so, bring it up to $10. Plus either having the mower tuned up at the start of the season (which costs anywhere from $50 to $75 hereabouts) OR replacing the sparkplugs and filters yourself (which I'm sure comes to at least $15 altogether) .... and you're at a total annual maintenance cost for a gas mower of anywhere from $25 to $85 depending on what you do tuneup-wise. Which is as much or even more than the $26/year annualized cost of a battery.
Blade sharpening would need to be done for either type of mower so I left that completely out of the equation.
Change the oil every five years whether it needs it or not.
I thought oil should be changed once a year? Doesn't it get really thick and gunked up if not changed at least every 2 years?
Sparkplug and air filter replacement once a year also, I thought, or at least that's what all the DIY sites recommend.
I'm sure the maintenance varies depending on how long anyone's lawnmowing season is, too. Hereabouts it's early April through the end of October, but I can easily see where people in more southern locales may be mowing almost year-round instead of for just six months.
I thought oil should be changed once a year? Doesn't it get really thick and gunked up if not changed at least every 2 years?
Nope, never had a problem with it. Modern oil is pretty high performance stuff and the mower engine puts a lot less stress on the oil than a car engine.
Plus either having the mower tuned up at the start of the season (which costs anywhere from $50 to $75 hereabouts) OR replacing the sparkplugs and filters yourself (which I'm sure comes to at least $15 altogether) .... and you're at a total annual maintenance cost for a gas mower of anywhere from $25 to $85 depending on what you do tuneup-wise.
4 stokes are pretty much bullet proof, make sure to use fresh gas and either completely empty the tank or completely fill it for storage. There's really nothing to tune except the carb and most will not need adjusting. Old gas does a number on them, keep that out of the equation and you shouldn't have any problems. 2 strokes are little more intolerant and might need a "tune-up" but it's just a matter of turning a screw to adjust the air mixture.
Oil changes will be dependent, you might want to consider doing it after a few hours of use on a new one. After that once a year or every few years. We have lawn mower that hasn't been changed in 10 years but it's small yard.
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Blade sharpening would need to be done for either type of mower so I left that completely out of the equation.
You can do that yourself too with a file however you need a free pivot point to put the blade on to make sure you haven't thrown it out of balance by taking too much metal off one side.
No offense but I get a kick out people that haven't worked with machinery that don't know how simple many of these things are.
Nope, never had a problem with it. Modern oil is pretty high performance stuff and the mower engine puts a lot less stress on the oil than a car engine.
12 years and the thing still starts first pull.
I jinxed it. Time to take it in for a tune up, oil change, blade sharpening and replacement of the primer bulb.
Didn't they also make a model with a sickle mower on it?
Cycle Mower or MowerCycle, you make the call !!!
But on a serious note. Are you actually talking about an attachment such as the type on the back of a tractor like this ???
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COST of NEW BATTERY
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this is especially noticeable in the early part of the season when the grass is juicy. So it is a good idea to change direction the next time you mow. I would never buy another mower like this again. OH, oh, oh.....do you know how much a new battery will cost you ?????? Mine would be minimum $150.00 bucks....ridiculous.....I believe they are only rated for 5 years
mine is on 6th year, we noticed last year already that it was barely making it to finish the yard. I will not buy another battery so unfortunately and regretfully it will get trashed, what a waste and harmful to the environment as well. I feel bad about that and I do believe a gas mower will last many many more years and is less harmful. Also, you probably know this but the battery can only mow so much square footage per use, mine just makes it and it is not very large.
