Are these things available in the States??? (mower)

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

Hey folks,
don't remember seeing one when I was growing up. Are they around (brand not important)? If so, has any of you used them? What was your experience (good/bad)?

Thinking of one with a snowblade attachment also.

Thanks, Dave

David from Kansas · May 30, 2011

Yes, there were some around. Don't know what brand. Saw one sell at a farm auction last year.

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

Wife wants one to mow under the pasture fences (electric band). She doesn't like my way of doing it (cut the horses' feed back some and let them take care of it while stretching/conditioning neck muscles) and is convinced from watching a 5 minute YT video that it will be easier than a brushcutter/trimmer. I know, some guys would welcome the chance to buy another tool/machine, but I'd rather spend the money on a mulcher.
She's hard headed and I'm working on my people skills so I guess she'll get one :roll:

DeltaRed · May 30, 2011

Yes,I have a'Simplicity',local hardware store used to sell them-TroyBilt brand.

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

Do you like it? Is it wife friendly?

Ron A Anderson · May 30, 2011

A well known brand is called Jari. If you don't get much snow it might work but don't expect to much out of it. I think a person in reasonable health could get as much done by the use of a shovel as what this machine would clear.

Tony in Mass. · May 30, 2011

What are the blue ones? BSC? I think this style was inveted for the European 'small holding'. I once had a Gravely with a sickle bar attachment like this, didn't use it much, then it burnt in the barn....

Mark-Ia · May 30, 2011

Gravely made a walk-behind with different attachments. I have 1 with a sickle mower on it. Needs restored though.

Tony in Mass. · May 30, 2011

I don't know about cost -or 'availablity'? In Germany, but a string trimmer with a .040" line last a long time, and would be faster-safer and aren't bad on the back. As far as snow, I never saw one of these actually doing it, see the blade attachements in the weeds, but never saw one being used. A two stage snowblower is the top in my book- I use an mtd? one, actually two, with tank tracks rather than a tractor and blade. I just use the tractor and loader to move the banks back, but a blower is better than a blade any day.... right now snow blowers are $200, in November string trimmers will be free!

oldtanker · May 30, 2011

Yea DR makes one or did. I've got one of the big string trimmers that will take down small brush pretty good.

Rick

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

(quoted from post at 07:53:35 05/30/11) I don't know about cost -or 'availablity'? In Germany, but a string trimmer with a .040" line last a long time, and would be faster-safer and aren't bad on the back. As far as snow, I never saw one of these actually doing it, see the blade attachements in the weeds, but never saw one being used. A two stage snowblower is the top in my book- I use an mtd? one, actually two, with tank tracks rather than a tractor and blade. I just use the tractor and loader to move the banks back, but a blower is better than a blade any day.... right now snow blowers are $200, in November string trimmers will be free!

Got a gas trimmer, brushcutter, and a cordless electric trimmer hanging on the wall but she has convinced herself this will be easier.

bison · May 30, 2011

Get her a scythe,it does the job cheaper,faster and better.
It's a good exersize tool too.LOL

PJH · May 30, 2011

Dave, have you seen the trimmers that are designed to cut under fences? They are advertized in our monthly Rural Electric magazine. They have some type of horizontal rotary cutter under a circular plate. The cutter/plate goes under the fence, and when you come to a post, the plate touches the post and swings the cutter out to miss the post. Pass the post and a spring pulls the plate/cutter back under the fence. I think the machine is pulled by a fourwheeler or lawn tractor.

I don't know the name of the company, and I've thrown away the magazine. Could be the DR company - they advertize a lot in that mag.

Paul

fixerupper · May 30, 2011

The steel post will win if the mower gets intimate with it 'wink'. Jim

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

I met the owner/designer of this rig at a farm show several years ago. He was hunting for dealers at the time and made me an offer to serve as the area dealer. I passed. Most people use RoundUp, or let the weeds grow around here
Beats a weedeater

PJH · May 30, 2011

to the thing I mentioned earlier.

No endorsement.

Might not be available over there.

Paul
Postmaster

JDseller · May 30, 2011

Those walk behind sickle mowers are a night mare. You need to walk pretty fast for the grass to fall over the sickle. If you don"t the cut grass falls back into the sickle and it will plug it. I have three different brand that I have rebuilt. They look good at the shows. I decided to totally redo the Gravely. I replace or refurbished everything on the cutter bar. If the grass is tall and coarse it will kind of mow, but if the grass is shorter and fine it will just plug.

Also if you are using steel electric post I will guarantee that you will knock out sections trying to mow close to them.

I have a walk behind string trimmer. I use it in some real rough places. It is plug proof. It would be a better tool for mowing under the fences.
DR Trimmer

Anonymous-0 · May 30, 2011

BCS makes good walk behinds as do some other companies. Jari are junk. We had a Solo that was really good but something happened to the engine so we rented a Jari. The Solo had a nice mormal walking pace, pneumatic tires with a tractor tread grip and did a real nice job. The Jari had narrow solid tires and you had to practically run behind it. Not user friendly at all.

big jt · May 30, 2011

Jari was the common one in the states.

I vaguely remember that Year a Round bought them
out and a google search confirmed/reminded me of
that fact.

I have run one of the older versions and they are
a beast on rough ground. They widened the wheel
spacing which should have helped and you can get
duals now which would also help. That being said
if you have tall grass that is free of iron they
do a pretty good job. Unlike what the video says
they are work to run and not much good for
anything else.

Most of the companies that made two wheel garden
tractors had a sickle mower attachment also.
Somewhere around here I have a Jari and a Western
Auto two wheeler with a sickle attachment.

jt
Jari Year round

DeltaRed · May 30, 2011

The Simplicity is a dinosaur,not wife friendly--barely husband friendly.dont know much about the TroyBilt-never run one

Tony in Mass. · May 30, 2011

I let it go with the place in NY, but I once bought a rolling string trimmer from tractor supply-not DRtrimmer- MTD? did a good job, expensive whips, but they held up good. The guy that bought the place still has it and loves it.... me and gravelys didn't get on too good, but I did have a cool snowblower attatchment that would thru slush 50 feet up and 70 feet away. These sickle bars are kinda... agh, there's better stuff out there lately...

showcrop · May 30, 2011

I used one many years ago. The grass that fell in the center would not fall off so it would plug if you didn't stop every ten feet or so to clean it. That was a Jari brand.

Ryan - WI · May 30, 2011

I have experience with the troy bilt 42" 4hp model. Grandpa bought it originally probably 15 years ago. I love the thing. Works well and takes on 1" plus saplings and wins. The only thing I wish is that it moved faster. Being a young buck it seems painfully slow at times.

Mike (WA) · May 30, 2011

Been trying to get away from sickle bar mowers ever since I was a kid. Have a BCS with a cute little "bush hog" type mower attachment- works great. Haven't heard much good about sickle bar mowers, no matter what the size.

Are these things available in the States??? (mower)

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