[andrewinsa]

Hi everyone

So in my quest for my new mower, I have done some visiting of stores around me. Almost all of them are steering me towards a locally built cylinder mower (you can check them out at this site Professional Lawnmowers ) called a Professional. You get a choice of engines if you buy one, ranging from a Briggs, to Honda to Robin.

So I was pretty decided on getting a 20 inch cylinder over the other walk behind self propelled rotary ones (Snapper ones were looking good). The problem was the price, about ZAR9400 (us $1175) for a 20 inch with Robin engine. Then I thought to look second hand. I have managed to find a 20 inch Professional with an EX13 4.5hp Robin engine on it for R4000 (about US $500). This machine is sitting at a dealer who would do a full check and service and give a 3 month guarantee on it as part of the selling price.

What do you think, should I go for it?

Any advice/comments would be welcome.
Thanks
Andrew
South Africa
PS, I have just under half an acre of lawn with a couple of hills.

 

[dbear]

Hey Andrew, I'm not sure many on here would feel qualified to answer your question. I know I'm not. For some reason, reel (cylinder) mowers have fallen out of favor in the US, possibly due to higher blade sharpening costs, and the need to mow more frequently to acheive the best cut. Don't think they're used much, except maybe as golf course greens and professional baseball diamond mowers. So I'm thinking most don't have much, if any, exposure to them.

Although I don't recall the brand, my dad had a green painted one a looooong time ago (45+ years now) that I learned to mow using. At 5, I'd walk along holding onto the handles in front of him. I still remember the day he let go, and I was mowing! It was in the wide open back yard, and dad was never more than a couple steps behind me, but hey, I was the man! We moved to a bigger place, and the old mower got stuffed into the back of a shed in favor of a rotary rider. Might still be there...

 

[Austen]

Well, the price sure tastes a lot better than what new one would cost!

It really depends on it's condition and how it runs and opperates. I would check it over real carefully, let it run out a bit and go from there. I assume these machines have a bedknife and you want to make sure that it and the reel have a lot of life left. There is a point where there is no more room for grinding (sharpening) left on them in which case they have to be replaced which would be costly, so I would confirm they are well within spec, whatever that may be. Not too mention, sharp too because it their dull, that's another cost.

From what you describe, the dealer's offer sounds promising which would make buying a used machine a little more comforting. Just check it over real good, do some research on the particular model before you go look at it so you know specifically what to look for and as I said, go from there.

 

[andrewinsa]

Thanks for the replies guys, dbear, I had visions of my little man pushing his plastic mower next to me when I read your post. When he gets old/tall enough, I am sure he will get a huge thrill out of being allowed to mow himself (supervised of course).

Austen, as usual, good advise from you, thanks. I have seen these machines new around quite a lot, I will look out for wear on the blades and the bottom blade (sharpening will be part of the service, I checked). I will also ask about parts costs so I know what I am facing when it is time to replace. I also got advise from someone else to check the clutch is still nice and tight and also to pull slowly on the starting rope to check for compression in the engine.

I think I am ready to go and make an informed viewing of this machine, thanks for the tips guys.

Andrew