Ferris 1500 questions

[jrapp]

Hi all!
I am looking at picking up a leftover 1500 with the b&s motor. I have a few questions about the mower. I hope you can help. First are the separate wheel motors and pumps better or are the transaxles better? How is it on hills and slopes? I want to get 15-20 years out of the mower. Is this one capable with regular maintenance? Last one I think. The price, $5750.00. Is that good?

 

[gregjo1948]

I would say seperate pumps and drive motors is definitely the way to go. Without abuse and given regular preventative maintainence,it could last that long. I would prefer a Kawaski engine. I don't think B&S has been making 2 cylinder engines long enough to have it mastered.Check other dealers for price comparison and if you have a way to transport a machine, it might be worth the drive. gregjo1948:smile:

 

[Mad Mackie]

Ferris is part of the Briggs & Stratton group. A carryover machine is what it is and the price reflects this. As for the comment about Briggs not knowing how to make twin cylinder engines as yet, Briggs has made more twins than most people can imagine. They make a product for a price range dictated by the potential buyers such as mower manufacturers. Those who think that Kohler, Kawasaki, and other engines are great need to talk to servicing power equipment dealers to hear their experiences.
Every equipment manufacturer equips their lines with various engines and drive components to make the prices attractive to a wide variety of buyers who look for bargains to quality components.
When I bought my Scag Tiger Cub I had a budget limit and bought a Briggs powered machine. In the 5th year of use the Briggs started to give me some trouble and I repowered it with another Briggs. To repower with a Kawasaki would have been more than twice the cost of the Briggs. I also have a Hustler X-ONE 60" rear discharge machine that is powered with a Kawasaki FX730V engine which was the only engine available from Hustler on the X-ONE. This is a great running machine that gets worked hard in a cemetery. The price of this machine reflected the power that was on it at close to $11,000.

 

[jrapp]

I think I am going to have them bring this out to try. I called a few other places and one had a 1500 and wanted $6700.00. I have heard from a very reputable local place that has the ferris line that this is a great price. He said I expect it to cost me a sale but want to be honest. I'll give it a try.

 

[gregjo1948]

Mad Mackie-- If you had been able to raise your spending budgit,maybe you could have bought a machine with a Kawasaki engine and avoided the expense and aggrivation of a repower. 5 years isn't very long for a seasonally operated engine. I don't know the hours it had been run, but I think the cost of a 2nd B&S engine would mad up the original cost of a Kawasaki. Of coarse, I don't know how long the Kawy would have lasted under the same care and conditions. I'm not saying B&S are bad. I think Kawy is better. gregjo1948 :smile:

 

[Mad Mackie]

When I bought my Scag Tiger Cub in 2008 it had to have a 48" deck with a collection system. The only options that I had were a 19 HP Kawasaki and a 26 HP Briggs ELS. The dealer recommended the Briggs unit as the collection system needs more power than the 19 Kawi could handle. My Tiger Cub was $9,300 with a collection system in August of 2008
A friend of mine bought the Kawi powered Tiger Cub for home use, but lost his job in 2009 and started to do lawn care for income as I have been doing. Last fall I repowered his machine with a Kawi FX691V from the original Kawi FS651V as it was starting to loose power and he wanted a new engine with the HD air filter and more power. I suggested that he get a FX730V like the one on my new Hustler, but he got a deal on the FX691. The hourmeter on his machine had failed and was showing 9999.99 so he estimated that it had 1,000 hours. My machine with a 26 HP Briggs ELS started showings signs of low compression at 450 hours and although it was still running fairly well I repowered it at 472 hours. The Briggs with a standard air filter system could not handle the dusty air near it from the collection system the bags of which hang just a few inches away from the air filter housing. I opted for a 30 HP Briggs Commercial Turf Series engine with the Cyclonic Air Filtration System which was $845 delivered to my house as compared to over $2,100 for a FX730 Kawi with a new muffler, control cables, and other misc items to complete the repower. I would have had to redrill the mounting bolt holes if I used the Kawi, not a big deal but still. My machine 60 hours on the new engine and I'm pleased with the air filtering ability of the Briggs Cyclonic system, the power and fuel consumption.
My friend has several machines and two employees and I'm pleased to have helped him get his business going by servicing his machines and heading to him some of my customers as I am slowly getting out of the lawn care and snow removal business. He is 60 and I am 70 and a retired aircraft mechanic and did power equipment in the 70s.
Mad Mackie in CT

 

[jrapp]

I ended up buying the 1500. The deal was too good to pass up. I cut with it tonight. 1.4 hours on the clock all from me! It did a great job. I had a few sprigs of grass left but am not worried. I mostly have rye and crab grass.