I have an old faithful greenfield anniversary ride on with a tecumseh formula 12.5. Cops a hiding and just keeps on going. I have just moved to a place that has very steep land i want to maintain and the standard tyres just dont cut it.
I want to get some more chunky aggressive rears. They are 15x6.00-6 currently. Does anybody know of any to buy? I have had a google and see different sizes with what I want but no in the exact size. I don't have a clue if other sizes will fit so any guidance appreciated
You can get ag tyres for them. They used to be relatively cheap. I think I just got them through my local dealer. When you ordered a Greenfield new you could choose from three different types of tyres. There were turf, general purpose and ag tyres on the order form.
Mine has the gp on it at present but I have a set of ag as well. The ag are better for grip but you have to be careful or they leave bald spots when you turn and can make a bit of a mess, especially if your topsoil is thin.
I’ve found I’m mostly better off with the diff locked on gp tyres and leaving the more treacherous stuff to do with the Deutcher. I leave that with the ag tyres on it. It’s not heavy enough to rip up the lawn unless I do the type of manoeuvre best left to much younger people.
For better traction on the rear there is really only 2 options, A set of tractor style bar lug, which can be really expensive, or a set of ATV tyres.
However, unfortunately there is not much available in more aggressive tyres, for that size. If you had the larger frame anniversary with 8" rims you could look at a set of quad bike tyres but there is not much for bikes or tractors with a 6" rim.
Personally I would be looking for a more modern mower with better brakes, the anniversary has really bad brakes which can make for a very bad day if the chain lets go.
Sorry, yes mine is one of the late model type with large rear wheels.
I disagree with the view that you need better brakes because “the chain might let go”.If a Greenfield is in use and the machine is in such a poor state of repair that the chain is likely to disintegrate then the user has significant issues with an appropriate understanding of risk. In order for that to happen a greenfield is going to be in a very poor a state of repair indeed and flat out shouldn’t be in use.
This is a bit like saying rotary mowers with swing back blades are unsafe because a blade might come off and hit you in the leg. Sure, if you don’t do routine maintenance it might happen but it’s only going to be the case in either extraordinarily unlikely circumstances or because routine maintenance has been completely neglected.
Well regarding the chain, A greenfield actually killed a young boy a few years ago, when the chain came off and it rocketed down a hill. Yes it was in a very poor state, but even well maintained machines can suffer failures.
It is not just the chain, The drive clutch could fail, The belt could fail, even the steering on these models is not great, could lock up and send you sideways. The engine could stall, you will struggle to hold it back with the pedal. Just remember the anniversary models are all over 30 years old now. The brakes on my anniversary 12 are fully adjusted and setup, and struggle to hold it on flat ground.
Even brand new Greenfields can suffer failures too. If anyone ever asks me about a hill block I would always recommend hydro or gear drive. Even they can suffer failures, such as snapping an axle, or popping out of gear. but it is far less common, and far less stress on the driveline for them if used on a regular basis. Brakes have always been a weak point on all ride on mowers.
Don't get me wrong, I love the greenfield design, I have 15 of the things, but they do have limitations, like everything else.
Hi nath, Is that the only recorded death on a Greenie, it is the only one I have heard of but there may be more? Admittedly he was only 15 years old and maybe didn't have the sort of experience an older person may have. I sold a Greenie Stallion (these had the gearbox) on ebay some years ago and once the buyer contacted me I knew there might be a problem because I knew the area where he lived was up in the hills. I said I didn't think it was a good idea because they were not heel and toe and if you ended up between gears with no brake you could end up in serious trouble. The brake on those was just a locking brake with a lever with a pin on it and a disc with a few holes in it. Fine if you are stationary but if moving the pin would not lock in. Anyway he took it and a week later he had had a big scare and managed to run it into a tree to stop it. Then he wanted me to see if I could fit a decent brake to it and that it when I fitted a hydrauilc disc from a pit bike or something to it. Works well but a lot of hours went into it
I don’t think the statement that the Greenfield “killed the boy” is correct. If we’re referring to the incident I think we are, the boy in question was 12 and the mower was documented as having been both modified and in a poor state of repair. My memory is that it was an older machine that had been stripped of its mower deck to be used as a type of go cart and that the coroner’s report describes a combination of factors that contributed to the fatal accident; those issues relate to the manner in which the machine was operated and maintained. There wasn’t any criticism of the design or engineering which would have been the case if either of these factors had been considered as contributing to the accident.
Greenfield certainly isn’t the only mower manufacturer whose operators have died while using them in this country and it isn’t represented any more frequently than other makes among accidents and fatalities. There have been numerous other cases, a very large proportion involve rollovers and situations where the operator became pinned between the machine and landscape features. I’ve read these reports in the past and I’d prefer not to do so again.
Power equipment and steep terrain is a combination to be very wary of indeed. When combined with a lack of experience and understanding there can be devastating consequences.
The drive clutch was getting tired (reverse still great) and it wore to far on the weekend while mowing a paddock. Then to top it off I blew a tube 🤣
I have been looking at others to upgrade but at the moment don't want to drop thousands on a model I like. I am going to pull the old girl apart over the weekend hopefully and see what parts need replacing and go from there. I am pretty confident I will be able to sort it out myself but we shall see.
I know from a previous mower these rims are a pain in the ass to remove, so if anyone has any tips that will be appreciated.
I am also wondering if the 8inch rims from the newer models would fit or if axle sizes are different
Anniversary is an adventure to change corks. The whole rear end basically needs to come apart to get the drive out. They are not greenfieds finest model to work on.
If you shop around you, keep an eye on marketplace and gumtree, you can usually pick up nice models under $1000.
The 8" rims will fit, but the tyres will hit the guards and throw you're cutter deck angle way off, as they are substantially taller. You would need to change the fronts as well, but they will hit the deck when you turn.
Yep, can’t fit 8” rims, will foul guards along with rubbing on body and make the deck angle sit up. No room for bigger rims on front either, next size up catches and you can’t turn the steering; so even if you cut and shut the guards you’re going to have additional problems.
There’s an absolutely cornucopia of “ATV” tyres available from sizes for kids mini-atvs and up. There’s a few sellers of gear who advertise a range of spare bits and pieces along with what seems like a huge range of tyres. I have a couple of catalogs for atv spares to suit the one we use and the options for tyres go on page after page. These are just the “genuine” spare parts catalogs for my machine. The aftermarket options are an order of magnitude more massive.
If you call around mower shops and have no luck on “ag” tyres for your Greenie then I’d be trying the atv tyre route. I buy mine from the tractor dealer when I need them so that’s probably no use to you. However, there are local dealers for these things in most towns and quite a few internet sellers.
Hi all, been a while. I've picked up another anniversary with an electric start 13hp. Got it for a few hundred and overall is in alot better shape than my other one. She's still an old girl though. It has 8.5inch rims on it with the agg style tyres also. Everything clears fine on the guards etc. The front tyres rub slightly at full lock but I have an easy solution the will fix this.
It has also got a bugered clutch 🤣 so I'm currently stripping it down to fix. I've been unbolting the rear end and though I was getting close to the clutch coming out but no luck.
Does anyone know if the axle has to come out aswell?
