Making Mowers Last

In the past five years, Chris Hayden has never had one of his lawnmowers go in for service.

And why should his mowers have to be taken in for service? Hayden, owner, Hayden’s Lawn Service, Greenfield, Minn., prides himself on his proper maintenance practices.

“When I buy a mower, I buy extra belts, blades, spark plugs, air filters and oil filters,” Hayden enthused. “I hang on to my mower manuals and file them away to reference later. These mowers are expensive and I want to get as much time out of them as I can get. I think I do regular maintenance a little more often than the mower manuals even say when it comes to changing oil, spark plugs and filters, but that stuff is cheap. And if I can hang onto my mowers for another few years, then the extra maintenance is worth the time and cost.”

And, because of his reputation for impeccable maintenance, Hayden has no problem getting money back for his mowers when he trades them in.

According to landscape contractors like Hayden, proper mower maintenance is crucial to the extension of a mower’s lifetime, as is a landscape contractor’s ability to tweak his or her buying habits to include making sure the mower being purchased is made of quality components that are durable.

PIECES & PARTS. Before buying a mower, the first two things landscape contractors need to check out are the deck and frame construction, according to Tom Benjamin, market manager, Woods Equipment Co., Rockford, Ill.

The deck should be constructed of 10-gauge steel along with a 7-gauge plate over top of the deck for reinforcement of the spindle housing, Benjamin said.

“This is important because the deck can wear out so easily, especially in areas with sandier soil that can be very abrasive to the bottom of the deck and wear through it,” he pointed out. “The deck is also victim to rocks banging up underneath it, grass building up and eroding the metal and other dirt and contaminants thrown about from the revolving blades.”

When landscape contractors look at how the frame of a mower is constructed, Benjamin said they should make sure to look at the quality of the welds on the frame.

“For example, when purchasing a mid-mount mower, it might be wise to check out how the front axle is attached to it,” Benjamin said. “If the front axle is part of the overall frame then when the machine goes up a hill, the entire mower will adjust. But, if the pivoting axle moves independently of the rest of the frame, then if the mower goes over a hill, the entire frame isn’t rocking or pivoting – just the front axle is taking on that stress.”

Hayden said he prefers mowers with independent suspension because they absorb some of the shock of bumps and curbs without damaging the frame, and adding life to the mower.

The next important thing to look at when buying a mower is the engine, according to William Lowe, product manager, Snapper, McDonough, Ga. More landscape contractors are buying liquid-cooled engines today, Lowe explained, despite their higher price tag, because of the extra life they give to the mower.

“One way to notice the difference in mower life between air- and liquid-cooled engines is to look at their warranties,” Lowe pointed out. “An air-cooled engine has a two-year or 600- to 800-hour warranty, while liquid-cooled engines typically give the customer a two-year or 2,000-hour warranty. That shows that you may be getting 25 percent more life out of a liquid-cooled engine.

Because diesel engines are liquid-cooled, Lowe said manufacturers are making more of them, marketing diesel-powered units as a lower maintenance unit, and landscape contractors are catching on to the trend.

“With a diesel engine, there is no ignition system,” Lowe noted. “The machine is fired by compression so there are less parts to worry about. All a contractor needs to deal with maintenance-wise is changing the oil and oil filter and keeping it clean.”

Being Replaced

You can pressure wash your mowers and keep the grease off of them and have them for five years and one day the engine just blows up in one of them, even though you took care of it as best you could,” explained Chris Hayden, owner, Hayden’s Lawn Service, Greenfield, Minn. “Sometimes you can’t prevent something like that from happening.” But when is the right time to replace a mower in a landscape contractor’s equipment fleet? In a situation, such as a blown engine, Hayden said putting a new engine in the mower would probably cost about $1,000, depending on horsepower. “If the average walk-behind runs between 12 and 16 horsepower, the engine cost is probably between $700 and $1,000,” Hayden explained. “Instead of buying a new machine for $2,500, replacing the engine is cheaper.” “How often you need to replace a mower depends on the type of product you have,” added Mike Wootten, owner, Greener Creations, McDonough, Ga. “I’ve replaced numerous engines and got another lifetime out of my mowers.” Typically, a mower needs to be replaced when the repair of the unit is more than 50 percent of buying a new one, pointed out William Lowe, product manager, Snapper, McDonough, Ga. “All contractors have a hot button when it comes to what they look for in a mower and when they know the right time to get a new one,” noted Tom Benjamin, market manager, Woods Equipment Co., Rockford, Ill. “When maintenance costs become higher than justifying or the constant breakdown of the machine is causing downtime, then the contractor can’t afford to hang onto a mower any longer.” – Nicole Wisniewski

Taking a look at the belts on a mower is another simple way to make sure a landscape contractor is buying a durable piece of equipment, Lowe remarked.

“Belts are long-lasting as long as they run in a straight line,” Lowe said. “Belts work so much better if they are running in smooth, flat curves rather than at 45-degree angles or 90-degree turns.”

MOWER TLC. While not all landscape contractors are as finicky as Hayden about proper mower maintenance, this practice is still the most important part of making a mower last longer for the user.

“We change our oil at least once every two weeks,” Hayden related. “Even if the machine is sitting on a trailer most of that time, condensation can build up. And oil is cheap, so why not change it more frequently?”

One way a landscape contractor can make sure his or her mowers are kept in good shape is by keeping an eye on how his or her employees use the mower, Hayden said.

“Make sure your employees aren’t beating your machines up by running into trees and jumping off curbs,” Hayden warned. “They get paid either way and they didn’t purchase the machines, so sometimes they don’t understand what kind of destruction or extra cost can come from their actions.”

Employees should also understand proper mower maintenance, said Mike Wootten, owner, Greener Creations, McDonough, Ga.

“All of your employees should understand a mower’s needs before they begin to use it daily,” Wootten maintained, explaining his process of daily maintenance. “I give my mowers a daily inspection in the morning before the machines go out. This inspection includes checking the oil, air pressure and cleaning the filters. Weekly, we conduct belt and blade inspections.”

Proper maintenance keeps the body of a mower in great shape longer, Wootten said.

“On average, I’ve used mowers everyday for eight to 10 years, and these pieces are still what I consider my frontline equipment,” Wootton maintained.

Blades are usually the first parts to wear out on a mower, Benjamin pointed out.

“When you buy a mower, you should immediately buy an extra set of blades,” Benjamin advised. “Some contractors sharpen their mower blades daily because of the type of grass they cut, such as St. Augustine, or the type of soil involved, such as a sandy-type soil. Blades won’t deteriorate as quickly in clay-type soils, but rocks still hit them. Blade life varies depending on how frequently each blade needs to be sharpened, whether or not it’s bent or fractured and in what area of the country it is used. Regardless, having a second set of blades on hand at all times is crucial.”

By taking care of the basic mower frame, oil changes and blades, landscape contractors could possibly get another life out of their mowers even when parts, such as engines, die out, Hayden said.

“A great thing for a contractor to do when he or she is just starting out in the business, is to look into purchasing used equipment,” Hayden noted. “I have a 1992 36-inch, walk-behind mower that I purchased 2½ years ago. When purchased new, that machine is worth $2,500. It was run into the ground, but we picked it up for $600 and put another $200 into it with new blades and belts. Because we take care of the machine, it lasts for us.”

The author is Assistant Editor at Lawn & Landscape magazine.

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