Low End/Price Finish Mowers.

[northshorepaul]

I am looking to purchase a 5 foot finish mower for home use to cut about 4 acres. I have been shopping and find the higher priced units from the USA, such as Frontier, Woods, Bush Hog, etc and the lower priced units that apparently come from China. Units such as the FHP, Farmers Helper, Titan Attachments marketed by palletforks.com, and several units that look alike but have different names. I suspect they are all from the same source in China with different importers. I don't have a problem with the imported units if blades, belts and spindles are readily available from several sources, locally or on line. I don't want to be wedded to only one supplier and prisoner to whatever price they set. Keeping in mind I do my own labor, so any maintenance would be performed by me and parts availability is the main concern. Any input would be appreciated, such as product reviews from owners, problems encountered, etc.
Thanks in advance for any and all advice. I am never too proud to ask for info for things I don't know, lol.

 

[dannoGT]

Hi Northshore

I ran into exactly the same issue 4 years ago when I went looking for 5 ft finish mower P. I looked around for used higher quality unit but all I found were badly abused units that needed everything replaced. So I ended up going to my local MF dealer and he had brand new Braber (Chinese) looks like they go by a couple of different names AgriEase BE equipment and like you say it looks like they all come from same factory in China, So far no problems with unit, it was shipped dry so I had to fill with gear oil. I lube it couple times every summer . It is still running original belts and blades. The only complaint is that it is a rear discharge and in heavy grass it will leave a windrow behind. I looked into getting mulching blades for it and found that it came with mulching blade. I would still like to try a more aggressive mulching blade. Thing to check before you buy ! Are blades and belts available from local source if the dealer disappears !

 

[northshorepaul]

Hi Northshore

I ran into exactly the same issue 4 years ago when I went looking for 5 ft finish mower P. I looked around for used higher quality unit but all I found were badly abused units that needed everything replaced. So I ended up going to my local MF dealer and he had brand new Braber (Chinese) looks like they go by a couple of different names AgriEase BE equipment and like you say it looks like they all come from same factory in China, So far no problems with unit, it was shipped dry so I had to fill with gear oil. I lube it couple times every summer . It is still running original belts and blades. The only complaint is that it is a rear discharge and in heavy grass it will leave a windrow behind. I looked into getting mulching blades for it and found that it came with mulching blade. I would still like to try a more aggressive mulching blade. Thing to check before you buy ! Are blades and belts available from local source if the dealer disappears !

Thanks for the info and what you mention in the last sentence is my major concern, blades! I spoke with one importer and they said they carry them and it was about $100 for a set of three!
That is too pricey for me because I see many manufacturers, such as Oregon selling blades for as little as $15 to $20 a piece. I looked at the Titan mower by pallet forks. It has a good price with free shipping but they tell me they don't have the blades at this time because it is a new item they are carrying, so I can't get an idea of the price of the blades. I will look for the brand you mentioned.
Thanks again.

 

[EddieWalker]

When buying an implement like a finish mower, you have to consider how long you plan on using it. First five years and it wont matter what you buy, they will all work great. Next five years you will probably just replace things like belts and blades, plus maybe a tire or something basic. After ten year, odds are very good that you will break a spindle, blow a bearing or have something fail in the gearbox. It's the nature of the beast. Bigger name brands are going to be real easy to replace those parts. I have Landpride and I've destroyed a lot of parts on both my finish mower and my rotary cutter. I can go to any Kubota dealer and order the exact part that I need and have it in a few days to a week. I can go online and look up the parts manuals and order from somebody online. I can always find parts for it and fix it. Can you say the same thing about the Chinese brand?

 

[TractorGuy]

Look at the Agmate at Agri Supply. I am fairly pleased with my 6 footer.

 

[northshorepaul]

Eddie, what you say is true. I have a John Deere riding mower and I've recently changed both spindles, purchased one from Amazon and one later from the JD dealer. The one from Amazon was less expensive and made in China and the one from JD was more expensive as expected but the item also was made in China. So even though we buy something we think should be made in the USA, we never know until we get the item and see the packaging say where it is manufactured. The global marketplace can provide us with good prices but quality is always suspect. My main concern is being able to buy the part, wherever it is manufactured. I used to buy parts from NAPA expecting to get quality auto parts compared to the other chain auto parts houses. Pay a little more and get better quality. 12 years ago I bought a part from NAPA and to my dismay....it was made in China! Wherever we buy, whatever the brand name, whatever our past experience, it is all a crap shoot nowadays. The problem with the Chinese manufactured items is many outlets have their names/brands on the items but they come from the same factory, different name/color but the same birthplace.

 

[chim]

I still have and use a Caroni 5' RFM that I bought around 1992. It's in bad shape, partly because it's been abused and spent years outside. It's been welded here and there. Agri Supply still carries parts at a reasonable price.

 

[rangerfredbob]

I have a King Kutter finish 60" finish mower that I got at auction and after buying blades and bolts I think I have $120 into it... the thing is made from 1/8" plate, has a brush hog gear box and steel spindles. The blades turn the opposite way of normal mower blades so they're special order (amazon had them) and the the blades are only friction fit with the 1/2"-20 left hand thread bolts that I sourced from Amazon as well. Mine's the older model that is side discharge but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to make it rear discharge.

Apparently this isn't a heavy duty mower from my searches but I've loaded my 26hp tractor pretty good with it without drama, spindles are available so no biggie, the spindles apparently can't take too much abuse which should be fine for my uses. I just use it to mow faster than my riding mower and keeping up with the ol reed canary grass... more height choices on the 3pt than the rider and one $20 belt instead of 4 $20 belts on the tractor versus rider respectively... Only have one season on mine so don't have enough to give a great recommendation.

 

[Gunny]

I started out with a cheap used finish mower that I found on CL - I wasn't sure if a finish mower was what I wanted and I didn't want to spend a lot to find out. All in all, I screwed up, it was an older TSC mower, I had to work on it just about every time I mowed with it and it was a chore tracking down some parts.

I finally bit the bullet and realized that if I was going to stay with a finish mower, I needed to either buy a new one or get something decent and in fairly good shape, with parts readily available.

I did luck out and find a 1 year old Kioti rear discharge near me and the price was right, turned out to be a great mower. I've ordered some small parts from this place - Finish Mower Parts - Parts For Sitrex, First Choice, Caroni, & Howse Mowers - Blades, Belts, And More and I would highly recommend them. As you mentioned, a lot of the brand names are all manufactured by the same company, so the availability of a one stop shopping place really appealed to me. I usually get my parts delivered within 3 days.

They supply parts for a variety of mowers and I don't think you could go wrong getting any of the mowers they support.

By the way - once you get a mower and use it a few times, you'll wonder why it took you so long to get it. They are great

 

[Turbys_1700]

I am a big fan of RFM's. I've had great service from them. I did have a Land Pride and now a Woods. I've spent very little money in serviceable parts. One drive belt, several wheels on the Land Pride, and wheels on the Woods. This covers a 30 year window. Just make sure you have parts support. All of the gearboxes are Chinese. Bush Hog, Land Pride, Woods, etc...are more expensive because of their parts support.