Almost Heaven Lawn Mower Graveyard

[MossRoad]

Finally got a chance to make the journey to Almost Heaven Lawn Mower Graveyard in Bluffton, IN, about 25 miles south of Fort Wayne. WOW! That's a lot of riding mowers! Several thousand of all makes and models. Well organized by brand. It's a u-pick yard. They don't let you walk on the machines. They don't let you pick up the machines. You find the one you want, and they'll dig it out with a fork loader and tip it for you if you need to get under it. They want you to make sure all dipsticks, plugs, fluid caps, etc. are firmly in place or they'll replace them with a plug so that fluid spillage is minimal. It's only open on certain days. They have a calendar on-line that shows the blackout dates. They will not ship parts. You come. You pick. Nice folks!

I'm attempting to make a leaf vacuum, and needed a round single blade mower deck like from a little Snapper rider or anything similar. They had dozens. Mine was $40. If you're in the area, it's worth a look. Free admittance, too.

 

[groundcover]

Amazing !

 

[WinterDeere]

Love the coloring of that aerial view. I can see the aisle of classic Cub Cadets from here.

 

[MossRoad]

You can't see it from the photo, but all of the machines in a row along the bottom of the picture in the shadow of the building at the entrance drive are about 50 David Bradley 2 wheel tractors.

In most of the rows, there is a pile of mower decks for that brand, as well as snow blowers, snow blades, etc.

There were probably 40 people walking around in there and/or pulling parts. Only two employees today. One checking people in and out, and the other in the yard directing people to "do you have X" and operating the fork loader.

There's a section towards the front of the yard where you cannot pull parts from as those machines are already sold and waiting pickup.

They told me they get several hundred machines in every year.

I saw a lot of people getting tires and rims, steering components, dashboards, and sheet metal parts. Saw two people starting an engine before they decided to pull it.

They had wheeled carts and wagons for you to use if you had heavy stuff.

Reminded me of a very organized pick your part auto yard.

 

[mrmikey]

Wow, glad that's not around here LOL

 

[Citydude]

That picture kinda looks like an ant farm I had when when I was a kid.

 

[Oaktree]

Interesting! Never knew there was such a thing.
Any idea where they get their inventory from? It's not like most peoples' first thought when getting rid of a lawnmower is to take it to a junkyard.

 

[Halftrack]

How many power tracks did they have?

 

[cqaigy2]

Wow, glad that's not around here LOL

Ha ha, i was thinking the same thing. I'd always be there looking for stuff to drag home.

 

[MossRoad]

Wow, glad that's not around here LOL

2.5 hour drive each way. Found some things to do in Fort Wane to justify the fuel costs.

 

[MossRoad]

How many power tracks did they have?

None, because it's a 'junk' yard.

 

[MossRoad]

Interesting! Never knew there was such a thing.
Any idea where they get their inventory from? It's not like most peoples' first thought when getting rid of a lawnmower is to take it to a junkyard.

I have no idea. However, while I was there, a guy showed up with 2 on a trailer to drop off.

I wanted to ask the guy in the yard, but forgot. It's kinda like being in a candy store... my eyes just glazed over and I started to drool.

 

[MossRoad]

What got me going over there was this:

I've had it in the back of my mind to build a leaf collector for our lawn. My PowerTrac is a rear discharge mower, so that would require making some sort of block for the rear discharge, then a pickup for a vacuum tube, then a rather lengthy hose to a trailer as the mower is out front and a trailer would be in the rear. Years ago, someone made such a thing and had pics in the PowerTrac forum. I did not want to go that route.

Many years ago, I had a Simplicity that I towed a small trailer behind and the mower deck had enough power to fill the trailer. Worked great. I had to give it back as it was my father in-law's.

Then I bought a tow behind leaf sweeper. It works great towed behind the PT425, but fills too quickly. If I run the mower, the mower does such a good job of cutting them up, that they fall between the grass blades and the sweeper only picks up 1/2 of them. I don't like leaving them on the lawn, as if it rains, they make a mat and don't rot away before spring, requiring dethatching, and more sweeping. Also, while leaf sweeper works well, it's 18 years old and worn out. New one is several hundred $$.

So, idea in back of head is use my Rubbermaid cart, build a frame for a tarp cover out of conduit, suspend a small single blade mower deck from a Snapper riding mower (or similar) under the cart, power it with the hydraulic motor from the PT 60" mower, and blow it straight up into the tarped cart.

Snapper-type mowers are plentiful on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for about $100-200. Unfortunately, what's also plentiful on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are idiots and losers that won't return a contact, won't make arrangements to make contact, won't keep the few arrangements they do make, or sell the machine before you get there at the agreed upon time.

25" mower deck at Almost Heaven was $40.
220 mile round trip at 18mpg in Suburban was 13 gallons at $4/gallon, so $52 in gas.

$92 for guaranteed selection of deck of my choice VS $100-200 for endless frustration locally, plus wear and tear on the truck. However, no aggravation, and no junk tractor to dispose of.

Plus a nice drive on a sunny day at about peak fall colors with my wife, so it was a good day.

I'll post pictures of the project in another thread after it's finished.

 

[Halftrack]

I anticipated that answer but had to ask. Good luck on your project.

 

[tomplum]

A great business. It is disappointing that the couple I've seen online won't pull and ship parts. Could be a good side gig for someone to do so.

 

[MossRoad]

A great business. It is disappointing that the couple I've seen online won't pull and ship parts. Could be a good side gig for someone to do so.

I don't think they need to do that from the looks of the business I saw being conducted that day.

Pulling parts and shipping would require keeping an inventory of machines with those parts still available.

 

[scootr]

Had a friend who use to cruse a tri-state area for hard to find car/truck parts like taillights for this or trim for that. And then sell it on eBay for a fat profit know that everybody was looking for those parts. It was a good gig because he liked what he was doing and making some money too.

 

[WinterDeere]

Pulling parts and shipping would require keeping an inventory of machines with those parts still available.

A young and enterprising individual could pool these requests, and make a once-weekly trip to this u-pull-it to retrieve and then ship the requested items. Not a way to make a living, but a nice side gig for someone with a little spare time and gumption.

 

[Oaktree]

I don't think they need to do that from the looks of the business I saw being conducted that day.

Pulling parts and shipping would require keeping an inventory of machines with those parts still available.

Yeah, I imagine it would add quite a bit of overhead keeping an up-to-date inventory, let alone shipping costs. Never mind the hassles of returns if something didn't fit right, etc.
Half the fun of going to a junkyard is seeing "what's out there" and finding a way to adapt something to your needs. I wish self-service auto junkyards still existed.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, I imagine it would add quite a bit of overhead keeping an up-to-date inventory, let alone shipping costs. Never mind the hassles of returns if something didn't fit right, etc.
Half the fun of going to a junkyard is seeing "what's out there" and finding a way to adapt something to your needs. I wish self-service auto junkyards still existed.

The still exist. We have one here. LKQ Pick Your Part.

They have locations in 16 states.

What I like about them is you go in to the counter or on-line, tell them what you're looking for, they or you type it in, and it tells you if they have anything compatible at that yard, and if so, what isle and space it is in. I just pulled a door handle and seat switch cover for our 2003 Suburban a few weeks ago.

They charge two or three bucks for admission that's good all day long.

Find the LKQ Pick Your Part Salvage Yard Near You