OK fine... I'll make a deal with you [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]
You come down here when I need tractor work and I'll go up there and cut your grass... [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I used to use a Swisher finish mower. The only problem I had with it when pulling w/ ATV was backing up with it. It also was a SOB to get strted when it was cold.
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I used to use a Swisher finish mower. The only problem I had with it when pulling w/ ATV was backing up with it. It also was a SOB to get started when it was cold.
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There are people that couldn't backup a grocery cart at Walmart... its not a concept that is easily understood. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Sounds like you had carburetor issues if it was hard starting.
I have a old Poland chain saw that is a SOB to start, then again its 25 yrs old too [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]
Granted the grass had only grown about 2" in the last week, but I gave it the time and gas test yesterday.
It took me 2 hrs to mow aprox 3.5 acres and 1/2 tank on each machine which equals to a total of 2 gals.
Before I used 3 to 3.5 gals and it would take me aprox 6 hours.
2 passes = 18 feet of cutting... It would take me 4 to 5 passes with a 54" mowing deck to accomplish the same.
I will admit I pulled a bone head move.... it has 2 switches on the mower, the ignition switch and the on and off toggle switch. The last time I used it, I turned it off , but left the ignition switch on... [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
This unit is not without a design flaw that I have discovered... [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
The U shape tongue is too short and limits your turning radius and will caved in/ damage the hitch part of your mower.
I will have to add some type of triangle metal extension, bolted on with the point facing the rear. This will extend the hitch and give it more swing room.
I might even have to lengthen the tabs where the pin goes thru. This is the problem to begin with... The hitch part of the tongue is only about 1.5" long that doesn't allow for reasonable turns without going up against the mower body.
Whichever I end up doing, modifying, I still recommend getting one or something similar if you have more than 2 acres of pasture to mow.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] You are finding out that if you want to mow with the least fuel useage, you need to tow a trail-type mower with it's own engine, behind your regular mower tractor. The horsepower in that Swisher goes directly to the blades and is not lost in the hydrostat and is not used to pull the weight of the tractor and the driver. The extra fuel that the tractor uses to tow the Swisher is miniscule, and the net result is lower overall fuel consumption. We mow with TWO 42" lawn tractors and as a result, we use a huge amount of fuel. I had considered buying a Swisher a number of times, and then one day just before Christmas 2005, my neighbor gave us a brand new John Deere X-300 lawn tractor, so then we had the two-tractor mowing team. It was a chance for my wife to "adopt" our Craftsman mower and use it exclusively so that was a "good thing". I run the JD and do all the hard stuff like the edges and the ditches while she does the wide open spaces. We have about an acre to mow. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
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