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Post by annabellespapa on Apr 22, 2023 8:49:34 GMT 1
As we've only just replaced the beloved old Bestgreen with an MTD tractor, too late! I was impressed with that front deck business, but got hooked by the MTD's supposed 'easy clean jet wash' system. Ha! There's one born every minute  My fairly new Alpina ride on has a hose attachment to clean the cutting decks but I cannot see how it would work and where all the cr@p would go. I would only need to use it this time of year to get rid of the worm casts and moist cuttings, otherwise by summer they are like concrete under there. |
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Post by houpla on Apr 22, 2023 9:38:37 GMT 1
As we've only just replaced the beloved old Bestgreen with an MTD tractor, too late! I was impressed with that front deck business, but got hooked by the MTD's supposed 'easy clean jet wash' system. Ha! There's one born every minute My fairly new Alpina ride on has a hose attachment to clean the cutting decks but I cannot see how it would work and where all the cr@p would go. I would only need to use it this time of year to get rid of the worm casts and moist cuttings, otherwise by summer they are like concrete under there. I tried it a couple of times, but you've still got to lift the mower to see whether it's worked (it didn't) + introducing water to the very area that's likely to rust is not, in retrospect, a very good idea  The instruction manual's solution? Just turn the blades for a few seconds to get rid of excess moisture......oh yes, right..... |
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Post by rabbit on Apr 22, 2023 10:55:50 GMT 1
As we've only just replaced the beloved old Bestgreen with an MTD tractor, too late! I was impressed with that front deck business, but got hooked by the MTD's supposed 'easy clean jet wash' system. Ha! There's one born every minute tell us more |
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Post by pcpa on Apr 22, 2023 11:10:45 GMT 1
Mine is an MTD rebadged as Vert Loisirs, the deck looked shiny from above albeit with the paint lifting in places, on the trailer journey home a 4cm hole appeared in the deck and there as rust debris everywhere underneath, I found a large piece which had fallen out of the hole, it was the boss and plug for the cleaning port  They are a chocolate teapot. |
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Post by houpla on Apr 22, 2023 11:38:38 GMT 1
The way I look at it, by the time the deck has rusted away, 'Sir' will have resurrected the Bestgreen and I can use the MTD as a workhorse for trailering etc.. It's got a much beefier engine. That's the only advantage of being hitched to someone who never, ever throws anything away It begs the question, though, as to what metal was/is used on the Bestgreens and how much better the paint job is on them. 17 years on, the deck is as good as new  Oh and another black mark for MTD is it's grass collection capabilities. Clogs up at the drop of a hat, even on perfectly dry, not-excessively-long grass. |
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Post by houpla on Apr 22, 2023 11:41:45 GMT 1
As we've only just replaced the beloved old Bestgreen with an MTD tractor, too late! I was impressed with that front deck business, but got hooked by the MTD's supposed 'easy clean jet wash' system. Ha! There's one born every minute tell us more There's a standard 15mm hose-fitting nozzle on top of the cutting deck. The theory goes that you attach a hose after each cut, swish the blades around and that cleans the deck. Then you swish the blades again without the hose attached to dry it off. All absolute cobblers!  |
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Post by annabellespapa on Apr 22, 2023 12:14:40 GMT 1
My 2006 McCulloch (rebadged Husqvarna) has had a very hard life cutting three large gardens and a paddock and the deck shows no sign of rust, however I only clean the deck probably once a year, the concrete worm casts must be doing a good job, it does annoyingly block on moist grass but is easy to clear having a large removable plastic shute. The tyres are annoying as for without rhyme or reason they deflate and then stay inflated for a whole summer which makes no sense at all.
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Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
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Post by Aardvark on Apr 22, 2023 17:03:17 GMT 1
Another thing you can file under "makes no sense at all" is that the valve stems on the front wheels of our MTD are on the inside. Not accessible without removing the wheels. Bright spark here thought I could just reverse the wheels on the axle. No way. The tyre then fouls the steering arms and jams. We have never had a collector so I don't have any first hand knowledge of them but I wouldn't bother. More complexity and more chance for failure, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.
I am well sorted here for mower maintenance. Welding gear for deck repairs. I have never yet found any evidence of any primer between the coloured paint and the bare metal. I did toy with the idea of having the deck on a new machine blasted and galvanised but that kind of service would cost as much as the mower. Half a dozen pairs of spare wheels and tyres, and several B&S engines including one freshly rebuilt ready to install. Belts, starters, carbs, and a complete mower that just needs a bit more fiddling to be ready for sale. Too small to use here on 2 acres.
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Post by ajm on Apr 22, 2023 17:18:10 GMT 1
Thanks,Aardvark,for the info on the front wheels of your MTD. You have just saved me wasting time as I was thinking of swapping them.
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Post by pcpa on Apr 22, 2023 19:20:30 GMT 1
I have just checked mine, valve stems on outside, someone has put the wheels on backwards!!!
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Post by ajm on Apr 22, 2023 19:50:20 GMT 1
I have just checked mine, valve stems on outside, someone has put the wheels on backwards!!! Is that on a MTD? |
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Post by pcpa on Apr 22, 2023 20:50:14 GMT 1
A rebadged MTD, a Vert Loisirs which still has all the MTD manufacturer plates on it, Made (assembled more like) in Germany if you can believe any claims like that these days. I was only joking about the wheels being on backwards. Dataplate says its an MTD (For a growing world:) VL107H, the VL no doubt for Vert Loisirs, they were sold by the Rural Master franchises but they have now moved on to Chinesium!
Edit, it does not say made in Germany, it gives a German address for MTD, which might be the EU importers.
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Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
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Post by Aardvark on Apr 23, 2023 10:33:48 GMT 1
A surprising amount of garden mowers are at least distributed by Electrolux. Try as I might, I can't get mine to vacuum up the clippings.
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Post by annabellespapa on Apr 23, 2023 10:58:47 GMT 1
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Post by annabellespapa on Apr 23, 2023 11:06:33 GMT 1
Apologies Aardvark, I tried to quote you and then couldn't post below it, tried to delete but couldn't retract it....
Anyway on your subject of your MTD valves being on the inside, I have a 1985 Sinclair C5 electric trike and all three valves are on the inside and being three wheeled it is very hard to manoeuvre (especially if you reverse it you can destroy the electric motor), finally found a solution by lifting it with a sack truck and putting a heavy weight on it (the sack truck that is).
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The instruction manual's solution? Just turn the blades for a few seconds to get rid of excess moisture......oh yes, right.....
