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I mow about 10 acres that contains some significant slopes. Started with a lawn tractor (it was a craftsman), never had an issue, but the high CG definitely caused a pucker factor that limited the slopes I was comfortable to attack. Next was a 60” badboy ZTR with lugged tires, much better, the...

It’s not so much good or bad grades, there are different alloys that have been developed having different properties. Some machine more easily, some are easier to form or are stiffer.

China has a massive steel manufacturing capacity and is the world’s largest producer, US Steel is ranked 27th in terms of steel capacity world wide. Competing with the Chinese is difficult, they don't have the labor and environmental restrictions that the rest of the worlds producers face, and...

Some chargers need to see a minimum voltage across the terminals to turn on, this is to protect the charger in case the leads are shorted. Thus they won’t turn on and charge if the battery is totally dead. I trick the circuit by connecting the charger to the dead battery, then momentarily jump...

Thanks! On my badboy ZTR there is a removable plate, which exposes the belt, easy to get to. Of course, it also shreds the fans on the drives when the belt goes.

Neighbor has a one year old Husqvarna Z254F zero turn mower. Pump belt came off today, I can’t find a belt routing decal on the machine and the manual barely mentions it. Anyone have a diagram showing how this belt runs? I tried putting it back on for her, but it’s on the wrong side of the idler...

I have an older bad boy, Koehler engine, 60” deck. Got it at auction, was about 11 years old when I bought it. Built like a tank, I have abused it mercilessly clearing brush & briars on our place. Put lugged tires on it to better handle slopes. Only negative has been documentation, the manual &...

I have one, it’s always been easy to start. Just followed the procedure listed above Push the primer a couple of times Hold the throttle wide open and advance the control to the start position Pull the cord gently a couple times till it “burps” Move the control up one notch Pull cord, generally...

Thanks - hadn’t thought about that! Will try putting my spare belt on if the vibration persists with no blades on the machine (see below).

Good idea on running W/O blades! I presume you meant on blade at a time to isolate where the problem is. I don’t have a balance machine per-se, just balance them on a screwdriver shaft, if they sit level and don’t try to turn I consider them good. However, the first step I took was putting my...

It appears that the spindles mount via bolts from the top into bosses cast into the spindle housing. Top of deck is clean, appears to have reinforcing plates where the spindles bolt up, no sign of cracks.

Jacked the mower up today, scraped away the crud, couldn’t find any signs of damage. Think I will run it for a couple of hours, then look again. Thanks for your thoughts!

Have a 2 year old Exmark Radius with a 60” deck, been running low loft blades. Hit something while mowing, machine has a vibration it didn’t have before. Checked the blades, center blade had a good sized nick in it. Put my backup set of blades on it, vibration is still there. Seems to cut fine...

Thanks! Will revisit the carb. Does the exhaust port erosion mean the end of this engine? This problem showed up after it had sat for a while.

Thanks! I’m not sure that was done, so sounds like a good starting point.

Have a Briggs 10.5Hp industrial- commercial engine on a brush mower. Name plate shows it to be a model 28B707, type 1130-E1, code 980518ZA, believe the manual refers to it as a L-hea . Engine has a miss, runs ok at full power, rough when throttled back, dies when idled. So far I have...

Diesel in a laundry basin. It’s cheap (well, used to be), when it gets too nasty I mix it with some old lube oil and use it when burning brush.

I use a 25 gal sprayer on the back of my ATV, to will go 30’. Spray the house every fall for lady bugs with it. I have also used the following...

I have one of the Harbor Freight low noise compressors, would never go back to the old style diaphragm style.

Engine is a purchased part. Engineer designing the frame given a “shrink wrap” CAD model for the engine, with little to no detail as to what parts are what. May have been told to reuse a frame from another product. Parts arrive on the assembly floor, problem found. Management says “ship it”.

I found a universal mower seat on line when the seat on my Dixon bit the dust.

It starts with understanding your costs - What wage do you want to make (be sure to factor in non-mowing time, the rent & costs go on independently of it raining or being winter). What could you earn working a regular job? - Depreciation on your equipment, if you pay $20K for a mower and run it...

Have about 15 acres I mow several times each summer. Bought a bad-boy 60” at an estate sale, used it to get things cleaned up (lots of briars and vines), upgraded to a new 60” eXmark to maintain it. Put lugged tires on the mower, helps on the hills. Use a ZTR because it’s easier to work around...

Think about what your machine is telling you. Runs on choke, but dies when throttle opens means it has spark, but the fuel mixture becomes too lean when more air becomes available when the choke is opened. I would have started by disconnecting the fuel line at the carburetor and cranking the...

Check the pump belt.

It depends on what you are calling a “hill”. I use an eXmark radius 60” on some pretty hilly terrain, it does well. Mowing up / down slope seems to have better stability, won’t mow when the ground is damp (loose traction, things get scary). ZTR is much better under / around trees than a tractor...

Sounds like a short in the electric PTO clutch that is dragging the battery down. Should be a fuse on the PTO circuit, though. If it was a safety switch problem the engine wouldn’t lug down, it would just die due to the ignition being shut off.

Innovation in terms of better products dies because there is no competitive pressure to improve. What innovation remains is focused on reducing costs to improve margins.

I know someone with a lawn care business, bought new equipment each year, took an IRS section 179 depreciation on it, sold it out the back door for cash at the end of the season. Took good care of his equipment, got a nice mower that way.

Removing clippings also removes nutrients from the soil, seems like a lot of effort for no gain. We let the clippings fall where they lay, use an eXmark radius with a 60” deck, added lugged tires for better traction on slope. Works well, very removable around trees.

12v car battery has 6 - 2V cells in series, nominal voltage for a single lithium cell is 3.6V, though different cathode chemistries can move it around a bit, a 60V pack would have 16-17 cells in series.

I bought a used bad boy with a 60” deck at an estate sale, used (or abused) it for a number of years, still have it. Got a new eXmark radius last winter, has larger tires than the bad boy and is much faster. They are pretty easy to work on, so I don’t sweat the dealer support (all dealers are an...

Going to be interesting when a storm rolls through, trees all over the roads, power out and all the electric chain saws have dead batteries. What are all the lawn service folks going to do, aren’t any electric mowers that will run all day.

Happy with our eXmark radius, bought it from a local Dealer. Before that I had a bad boy ZTR, built tough, abused the heck out of it, it keeps running. Both have hydrogear transaxles

I mow 8-12 acres, some flat, some sloped, all with trees. Started with a 10-year old bad boy 60” zero turn that I got at an auction for $2K. Upgraded first of the year to a new eXmark radius 60” that I put lugged tires on. Wasn’t happy with the cut quality plus it seemed to use a lot of gas...

Water flows from a thunder storm washed debris down a creek, where it lodged under a railroad bridge, forming a dam. Water built unnoticed behind this dam until it suddenly failed, sending a wall of water into town. There was no warning for these folks to heed.

On our eXmark there are 3 interlocks related to starting and keeping up running. To start - PTO off, brake set, think I need to be in the seat - Motor running, brake needs to be off before you can bring the levers in from the park position, if the brake is on the motor dies. This is what sounds...

Had the same experience with a backhoe. Deal was pretty good, but the more I interacted with the seller the odder it felt. I asked the seller to take a photo of the hoe controls, he sent me a photo, they were from a different model. I was able to trace the sellers IP address to Russia. Pointed...

I got a 60” bad boy ZTR for $2K at an auction, works just fine on Johnson grass, black berry briars, buck bush and grape vines. Have cleared around 15 acres with it. Doubt you will find anything new in your price range that will handle this, but quite a few used machines. Try Facebook...

Two hypothesis: Carburetor isn’t metering fuel. Disconnect the fuel line, drain the carburetor bowl, crank it over and see if it will fire on starter fluid No compression. Remove spark plug, put thumb over plug hole, crank engine. Should feel strong suction / pressure. If you don’t, stick a...

Purchased an EXmark radius with a 60” deck this last winter. I use it to mow about 8-10 acres of roughish terrain, which I try to cut every 4-6 weeks during growing season. Wasn’t pleased with the cut as it left two ridges even if I went quite slow plus fuel consumption seemed much higher than...

Ok, so you know which side has the problem. If you take the plug wire loose on the bad side, do you have spark? If no, check coil and associated wiring. If yes, pull the plug, and inspect. Disconnect wire from other plug and check for compression and piston movement. If no compression and no...

I’m Steve from TN, just got an eXmark radius early this year with the eXmark engine. Replaced tires with lugged tires to better handle slopes and damp ground. Works great, just find that the gas gage is hard to read

You might check to see that both cylinders are firing. Had a Koehler v-twin that would just about die when engaging the blades, bog down in grass over 2”. Found problem by pulling plug wire, one had no effect, the other killed it. Problem was the stud the supported the rocker arm on the left...

Did you get fuel out of the line to the 2nd injector when you loosened the fitting? If you got fuel, may be a bad injector. Could try swapping injectors to see if problem moves.

Had a Koehler courage that seemed to run fine, but power was low. Checked plugs, one was wet. Pulled the valve cover (hard to do, bolts frozen), found one of the studs that supports the exhaust rocker arm had backed out, rocker arm had moved off to one side, pushrod was bent. Loctited and...

I have seen others write about getting bad head gaskets, which leak latterly. You might try a new gasket and check for leaks?

You may have an air leak, which is making the mixture too lean. Look for a cracked hose or bad crank seal. Some spray carb cleaner on suspect parts while it’s running, if it dies you found your leak