Is anyone else being driven insane by mowers that don't cut ?

my Greenfield drive system is a PITA to unlock after finding a crook patch and flicking the diff lock into action, there's likely a secret to it that makes it easy but I can't find it....

Bob
worked that one out, I think, it needs rolling back and forth a couple of yards by hand to loosen up the innards.... :)
Bob
 
and... The US Dixon is Red Max in Oz, it seems - mower man near Shane has 'em.... :)
Bob
 
Shane, that green Bolens thing will be rear steer, not zero turn. Zero turn is where you can turn one wheel forward and the other wheel backward at the same time, so it spins on its own axis.

Roger
That's true... I'm sure rear steer turns in its own length ... so close, but no cigar :)
 
How about this one then ..... I reckon this odd looking thing is going to be as close to zero steer as you could get without actually being a proper zero steer mower with individually driven wheels to steer it.

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I'd never heard of AMC before. I found the website on the wayback machine. its an industrial looking thing that looks be fabricated out of plate steel with industrial parts from the local bolts and bearings store. Made in Horsham Victoria. It still even has the "barn dust" covering it.
 
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I'll have a tinker with it this weekend and see if I can get it running. Its from a deceased estate. Apparently the owner bought it new and stopped using it a few years ago when a friend sold him a zero turn mower for $1500 (the zero turn was sitting beside it in the shed). I'm hoping it works, it'll need to carby stripped, fuel tank drained and cleaned. We'll see. It has the signs of a fastidious owner. I've found 3 separate special tools wired to it so far. One looks to be for tensioning belts, one must be a seat prop. I haven't figured out what the other is for yet. The oil looks so new I'd say it hasn't been started since it was changed.
 
nice find Shane.



yes you have, they made Fuegos in the US - along with all these ugly American things... :)

Bob
AMC Rambler I used to own, has 4 wheels like the mower, clearly cousins.
 

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Now that I think about it, the "throwing" blade is backwards too. It's throwing the grass downward, into the ground, rather than up and out the side chute of the deck. You know, i reckon they have tried to make this a "mulching" deck. ie: is pushes the grass downward, and tries to hack it up rather than expel it.

seeya,
Shane L.
Try flat blades Shane.Check your mower shop for suitable length or cut back alternative ones . For maximum efficiency in long grass the front of the deck should be cut away so it doesn't flatten the grass before the blades reach it, although on this design with the axle running across the front i doubt you can do much about it ? No obstruction in the side shute too. Obviously , if using lift blades, the wing must face up ! Keep having fun ! :unsure:
Richard [ Retired mower man, & Deutscher distributor ! ]
 
Try flat blades Shane.Check your mower shop for suitable length or cut back alternative ones . For maximum efficiency in long grass the front of the deck should be cut away so it doesn't flatten the grass before the blades reach it, although on this design with the axle running across the front i doubt you can do much about it ? No obstruction in the side shute too. Obviously , if using lift blades, the wing must face up ! Keep having fun ! :unsure:
Richard [ Retired mower man, & Deutscher distributor ! ]
A Deutscher .... I've always wanted one of them ... made right here in Ballarat. I don't think they make ride-on mowers any longer.
 
Forget all that rubbish you guys are looking at.
I just got my much wanted ? brochures in the mail box. :rolleyes: The Ryobi catalogue has cordless ride-on', 48V brushless, 30", 38" tractor type ! and a 42" zero turn one. Move with the times you guys and support the economy by buying buying buying !! ;)
Jaahn
https://www.ryobi.com.au/products/details/48v-42-brushless-zero-turn-rider-tool-only-ry48ztr100
The zero turn could be interesting. $7500 though ... and given I have "grass" not a lawn. I'm sure it'd be 1/2" acre it cuts on a battery not the 3 acres they claim .. where they are probably mowing bowling greens. the rover rancher here has been beaten to death. It still has its original belts. Its actually quite low hours (no hour meter but we have owned it since new) ... blows no smoke, starts instantly always. Its got to be 12 ... maybe 14years old. Its only need 1 battery in all that time (now a 2nd as I've had to jump start it this year) Tell me if the plastic tinker toy there will do that.

I'll sell the rover once I get this mower working... I shouldn't be out of pocket at all, and I'll have swapped the rover for a tank like mower that can turn ... and hopefully do a nice job at cutting the grass. See the picture of the mowers weird rear end. That isn't wood the motor is sitting on, it looks like two lots of 10mm plate welded together. You can turn the steering wheel with your little finger. What a bloody rippa!

Remember I do all the big spaces with the tractor. Any mower I use will be for around sheds, house, garden beds and trees.

If I was sensible I'd pull the 18hp B&S off the rover and throw it on here (as this motor will have done a lot more hours) ... and put the 16hp onto the rover that is to be sold. I'll mesure the mowers output shafts and decide if its worthwhile.
 
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:rolleyes: The Ryobi catalogue has cordless ride-on', 48V brushless, 30", 38" tractor type ! and a 42" zero turn one. Move with the times you guys and support the Chinese economy.
Ryobi, it would want to be better that the other crap they make.🙄

Also noted on Bunnings website that they don't mention the battery tech like the do with their push mowers? With a 1 year battery warranty my money's on lead acid.
 
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Well I replaced all the fuel line and gave its carby a clean. No spark .... hmm.... I'm kneeling down to unscrew the ignition module looking thing and look up at the back of the seat ......... Er, I wonder if the seat switch only impacts the ignition circuit ... so I pushed down on the middle of the seat and it fired staight to life :oops::rolleyes:

So i jumped on 'cos I was itching to see how well the sucker turns.... Well I got about 6meters from the shed before it started backfiring and then cut out. This is the sort of thing the rover rancher did on rough ground, you'd bounce on the seat so it would be chopping the ignition as you were driving along.... Easily fixed by bypassing the seat switch.

I'm thinking dodgy igntion "thing" or suspect wiring to one of the kill switches. I'll need to trace the wiring out and bypass all the kill switches (those things would drive you nuts). I guess its possible it needs a good battery to run rather than jump starting it too.
 
Yep, I think I have the reason it was parked up .... leave it a bit, it'll fire back up... run for about 5seconds .... do a few good backfires and stop. Ignition module time I'm guessing :)
 
Does the spark stop when it the engine dies?
Is the fuel pipe flowing OK? It could be the mixture leaning out as the float bowl runs dry. A restriction can slowly refill the bowl for the next short run.
That would kind of mimic the ignition unit overheating, cooling, and then starting again.

Nice find with the AMC. It looks built to last. Good Australian machinery.
What width is that cutting blade?
 
Does the spark stop when it the engine dies?
Is the fuel pipe flowing OK? It could be the mixture leaning out as the float bowl runs dry. A restriction can slowly refill the bowl for the next short run.
That would kind of mimic the ignition unit overheating, cooling, and then starting again.

Nice find with the AMC. It looks built to last. Good Australian machinery.
What width is that cutting blade?

I did whip the carby back off ... it really does look clean. I blew though everything. It fired back up ..... Ok, give it a burl, unhook the jumper leads, head out down the drive .... backfiring and cut out.... Hmm.... temperature sensitive bit somewhere.

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I was "gobsmacked" ...I ended up pulling the lid off and in doing so .... found the ignition module. It lives .... against the muffler ... literally within 5mm of it .... So I unplugged it... and move it over against the air cleaner and cable tied it there .... nice cool air passing it, if its heat sensitive the mower should now run fine.... unhook the leads, let it run for a couple of minutes and it starts backfiring and stops.

Ok, that should rule the ignition module. So I grab out the heat gun and multi-meter to check the coil, but it doesn't go open circuit when warm .... hmmm.... So fire it back up .... let it running for aagggeesss.... about 10minutes. smooth as silk.... purring along perfectly, so I unhook the leads ... drive it out the shed .... backfire and stop.

Everyone else picked it up by the 2nd time right ?? It didn't take it happening about 5times for them to realise :clown: It just needs a battery. There must be a lot noise in the charging system without a working battery in it, so it eventually messes the ignition module up and it dies. But if I leave the jumper leads hooked up with it in the shed, its happy to run forever...
 
Hmm most of the B&S engines do not have a connection between the battery system and the ignition system. The ignition is a stand alone 'magneto' type system using a coil on off the flywheel magnets. I have had ride-ons that would go if you jump start them and remove the power leads. However see below ! :rolleyes:
My money would be on the fuel supply. But hard to say from my computer keyboard. The fuel cutoff solenoid in the bottom of the carb may be the cause of the problem if there is no power to it when you remove the leads o_O
Jaahn
 
I did whip the carby back off ... it really does look clean. I blew though everything. It fired back up ..... Ok, give it a burl, unhook the jumper leads, head out down the drive .... backfiring and cut out.... Hmm.... temperature sensitive bit somewhere.

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I was "gobsmacked" ...I ended up pulling the lid off and in doing so .... found the ignition module. It lives .... against the muffler ... literally within 5mm of it .... So I unplugged it... and move it over against the air cleaner and cable tied it there .... nice cool air passing it, if its heat sensitive the mower should now run fine.... unhook the leads, let it run for a couple of minutes and it starts backfiring and stops.

Ok, that should rule the ignition module. So I grab out the heat gun and multi-meter to check the coil, but it doesn't go open circuit when warm .... hmmm.... So fire it back up .... let it running for aagggeesss.... about 10minutes. smooth as silk.... purring along perfectly, so I unhook the leads ... drive it out the shed .... backfire and stop.

Everyone else picked it up by the 2nd time right ?? It didn't take it happening about 5times for them to realise :clown: It just needs a battery. There must be a lot noise in the charging system without a working battery in it, so it eventually messes the ignition module up and it dies. But if I leave the jumper leads hooked up with it in the shed, its happy to run forever...
The battery will act as a large capacitor and will filter out some of the ripple from the charging circuit and back emf spikes of the ignition circuit. Try it with a half OK battery in place even if you have to jump start it and see if your theory holds good.
 
Hmm most of the B&S engines do not have a connection between the battery system and the ignition system. The ignition is a stand alone 'magneto' type system using a coil on off the flywheel magnets. I have had ride-ons that would go if you jump start them and remove the power leads. However see below ! :rolleyes:
My money would be on the fuel supply. But hard to say from my computer keyboard. The fuel cutoff solenoid in the bottom of the carb may be the cause of the problem if there is no power to it when you remove the leads o_O
Jaahn
its a 16hp kohler with fuel pump, electronic ignition etc..... The regulator is wired into the ignition gizmo circuit... so it's all interconnected :)
 
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