How many hours do machines really last?

[FarmallBob]

As previous posters note "it depends".

Whe we sold my late father in law's Gravely ZTR it showed 1,500+ hours on the meter. It had a 25 HP Kohler that still ran great - just a puff of blue smoke on a cold start but used virtually no oil between changes. Aside from belts, blades and one spindle bearing it required no service. (FIL - a retired farmer - was good about routine maintenance and keeping the hydros blown off....)

A friend has a Ferris with a Perkins/Cat diesel showing 2,500+ hours. Aside from minor electrical issues (cheap ignition/PTO switches and mice chewing the wiring) it has been trouble free-free for her. She too is good about maintenance and keeping it clean.

OTOH I was recently given a Cub Cadet with a blown engine - it shows only 242 hours. The elderly owner neglected to check/refill the oil until internal engine parts suddenly departed thru a hole that appeared in the side of the crankcase.

 

[Smithsonite]

Back in the day, my dad had an old Roper-built Craftsman Varidrive twin-cylinder garden tractor that ran 600 hours, and was hardly broken in. We sold it to a neighbor, who beat the crap out of it another 5 years, and sold it to someone else.

I've worked on a homeowner-quality Husqvarna lawn tractor with 600 hours on it, and it was BEAT. I had changed countless deck spindles and belts over the years. The engine was still mint internally when I tore it down to fix all the gushing oil leaks. Transmission failed not long after that. Think it made it close to 700 hours, with a TON of help from me, lol.

 

[Dixie Boosh Wookie]

Hey guys, so I know there is a lot of argument on this topic and I know there are factors that can vary this greatly. Having this in mind, I would like to get some numbers on how long commercial equipment lasts. For instance, right now I have a Ferris with a 26HP Vangaurd and Hydro Gear 4400 Transaxles. I am looking at a Simplicity (made by Ferris and Briggs) that is a step down from this machine. It has a 27HP Briggs and Stratton with Hydro Gear 3400 Transaxles. I am interested in this machine because a lot of the parts including blades are interchangeable between the two. This machine is just clearly a step down from the Vanguard Ferris setup I have. So I would love to hear your guys feedback on these machines too.

However, what I really want to know is how many hours do these machines realistically see? I have seen some people say they start wearing out around 1,000 and others say they can go for thousands if taken care of properly. The advice I was given is after the machine is old and tired and either the engine or transaxles give out to start looking for a new machine. I think that is probably good advice.

I wanted this to be a general discussion. Trying to figure out how long they last and if anyone knows about these 'generic sticker' Briggs engines. When I bought my Ferris I was sold on a Vanguard because of their reliability over other engines. It does run great. Anyway I do not think me and this guy are going to be able to come to an agreement because he is way too high on price. He is asking $8,000 for it and the machine is basically brand new. I have not had a chance to speak with him yet.

Got my spankin new JD RX-95 back in the early to mid 80's. Regular maintenance, an ignition upgrade, mulch kit. NO crappy etoh fuel, synthetic oil. Been doing an awesome job on my 2 acres here in the Free State of Florida for nearly forty years. And it don't burn a drop of oil.
26 years in the U.S. Navy taught me, if you take care of your equipment, your bank accts. will look better, and you'll sleep better at night.

 

[Johner]

Check where the old ones are turned in for a rebate and see how many hours are on them. Some say they like to turn them in around 1500 hours.

 

[GrumpyCat]

Or in some cases the internal battery in the hour meter quits causing no display.

Good hour meters are powered by the vehicle's electrical system.

About to install a Country Clipper OE option hour meter on my Avenue. The higher level Country Clippers include this as standard equipment. There is a knockout for the meter and two leads to power it.

Agree the cheap aftermarket inductive pickup hour meters have poor designs and weak batteries. 2 years is about the max they last even in unopened package. There are some with replaceable batteries at higher cost, good for the original owner who knows when the battery was replaced and that it was replaced when needed. Not so good for a prospective buyer of used equipment.

 

[jbenny2]

I've inherited a Ransome triple mower mark 4, found in the undergrowth when we moved in. Checked the oil, new fuel and battery it started first time. Took a couple of years to getting it running sweet again, mainly due to lack of parts availability, but found someone local who had restored one show condition, and was a great help. These machines are getting on for 50 years old with 10of thousands of hours of use, many are ex council so would have been used daily during the season, and they still work great, especial the Mag 2 cylinder petrol's. They were built to last in those days, every thing on it is heavy duty, no plastic, electronics, sensors or microswitches to play up if they get wet. Every bolt has undone despite the fact its lived out for a few years before I got it. The only real problem I've had is the carb was gummed up and they are nearly impossible to clean due to the construction, and modern petrol's seem to make the problem worse. Having also had a couple of smaller ride on mowers, Yardman, Countax, Atco, all seem to fail as they are just too flimsy and over complicated.

 

[ILENGINE]

Just as a side note. For the consumer market and can also explain some of the mentality behind people doing or not doing maintenance. The average consumer riding mower gets replaced every 4.5 years and averages 38 hours per year. The average push mower gets replaced every 3.5 years and averages 12 hours per year. Which goes to the mentality from the manufacturers that have basically designed their products around a 5 year life expenctancy.

 

[Diwali]

What’s an hour meter?
My Craftsman LT2000 has been worked hard for 15 years but mostly averaging 9 months a year. I've kept on top of maintenance throughout which I believe is why it has remained so reliable. I’m not a commercial outfit but looking after 5 acres with one machine sure feels like it. .

 

[keninman1965]

I am mowing around 2 acres every weekend in Indiana with a 60" 1997 Dixie Chopper Flatlander. A couple of years ago I upgraded the engine to a 25hp fuel injected Kohler, maybe it is a 27hp, I will have to go look. The pump, nor the wheel motors nor deck spindles have been rebuilt. I did have to put in new front wheel bearings. The rear tires have been replaced with knobbies because of the hills here. It is a simple well built machine that I imagine will last many many more seasons.

 

[aussielawny]

As per the other comments it is the little things that kill mowers and in particular ZTR's
Eg;- dropping the engine speed low when driving up the ramp into the truck/trailer can wipe 1000 hrs or more from the hydros .
Failing to blow down the hydros every day so they cool eficiently can wipe off hundreds of hours .
Running a worn belt on the drives can wipe a thousand hours off the left drive in under a year of use
Ditto for not keeping the tension arm well lubbed .
Ditto for not changing the hydro oil & filters
Then there is the terrain being mowed
Got a customer who has a Walker used for mowing a cemetry , two hours a day six days a week he had it when I bought this business 11 years ago , I service it twice a year and it shows no signs of wearing out to date .
The mowers he uses to mow street verges with are pretty well worn out in 2 years .
Very few hour meters will run for longer than 4 years or 1500 hrs got a stack of them that have been stuck between 1000 & 2000 hours for years .
Most of my pros do 6 month services and do not give a wrinkled rats rectum about actual hours .
And did I mention keeping blades sharp ?
The customer who swaps them over between each mow gets 3 to 4 years out of a set of spindle bearings.
Same mower with another customer who just runs them till the flutes break off does 2 sets of spindle bearings a year .

l've been doing this for years now Bert, my Grav Compact Pro has separate pumps/motors.....should l not be doing this? l'm fanatical about maintenance, l change the hydro oil & filter every 150 hrs