A bloke wants me to get a lightish self propelled slasher for him so he can clean around all his fruit trees. The area is about 1.5 acres and he cuts most of it with a rideon but he needs to slash in around under the trees and there is rows of them. He is physically on the shall size and I doubt he would be able to manhandle a bulky machine around the area because it is also on the side of a hill so self propelled is a must. I have found an old Deckson slasher in Melb all be it on the other side of Melb, that should be suitable for him. The thing that is holding me back a bit is the cone drive which is there but looking a bit worn and I'm wondering if I might be able to fit a cone from a Cox or similar as the Deckson is NLA. Long bow to draw but does anybody have any thoughts on this idea or am I being stupid in thinking of going down this path?
I had a Deckson slasher many years ago, went well. I even mowed big yards with it. I changed the cone. Might be some laying around old mower shops.... Measure it and try to match..... it was a bit primative, but it worked well... the whole engine bolted to a plate slides for forward and reverse...... good luck speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
I thought an ariens or 550 Victa or a very old Rover 5Hp would work. the back yard here is hilly and the old Rover self drive works well.
If you are looking at the one without the engine ,I don't think it's worth it. Facebook marketplace you see some complete slashers from $50 .It depends on how much work you want to do to repair a slasher as to the price you pay.
There was a free slasher advertised a couple months ago that just needed an ignition coil.
Hi Max, looked at all the ones you listed there, tried an Ariens up there, single wheeler diff in the Ariens is a problem because the grass is long and uneven and quite a hill. Was looking at the one without an engine and as usual the thing is in Caroline Springs close to 2 hours drive each way. My only concern with that one is being able to make a cone fit, apart from that put a new Chonda on it and it should do the job for him.
I just think if the Caroline Springs mower was half the price it would usually take weeks to find someone willing to fix it and possibly no one would buy it.
I've sold 7 ride on mowers all missing engines and all sold for $50 or less (MTD ,Rover ,Deutscher ,Bolens) ,none of them were bought to fix even though some just needed an engine bolted in.The buyers just wanted them for parts to fix the mower they had and it still took me a long time to find buyers.
I had a 8 Hp Masport slasher just missing the engine and I couldn't find a buyer for $25. the Masport.and a complete ariens ride on went to scrap as no one was interested.
Usually I find old non working complete ride on mowers and slashers for $50 tops, just not many people willing to put the time in to fix them ,I don't blame people for not fixing the older ones as people won't pay much for them when they are working.
Not sure what the cones look like on the Deckson but anything can be fixed ,I've had a few ride on mowers where the diff gears were worn out and I just converted them to a solid back axle.
Hi Max, it is always a case of if you are looking for something in particular there is nothing about and if you are not looking then things always pop up and people can't get rid of them. I have a Greenfield Anniversary here that I couldn't get $100 for it with a good undamaged deck so I sold the deck for $100 without any problems. Wheels and tyres are good so I will just wreck it and sell off the bits Another thing about the Ariens is they are really a heavy duty self propelled mower, not really a slasher because the blade is driven directly off the crank the slashers being belt driven do slashing much better
Yes it's always the way if you need something straight away you pay a premium but if you look around for a while they are cheaper somewhere else, I'd see cheap slashers at car swap meets.
Hi speedy, looks a fairly simple machine and reasonably light to push around. Only thing that worries me a bit is getting a cone to fit. The other issue is the only motor I can get is a 13hp for about $450 and then they are electric start so then it has to have a battery to start it. I am pretty sure it will need a 1 inch shaft and that is why I have to go 13hp all the motors for around $250 are all 7/8th inch shaft. Once you start putting all the bits together (Cox cone $160) it all ads up and very quickly you are around the $800/900 figure
Thanks Max, The adapters all look good till you find they are all in US dollars and that doubles the listed price but it is still an option and I have too much trouble turning them because they are so thin in the wall
Hi Norm, It's an Aus site in Aus dollars ,same site I gave you the link for carby parts.,if you google what I named them on the pic they come up.
When I check today you are right the cheapest I saw was $20. Not sure what happened there but the same thing happened when I bought the LPG mower converter it doubled in price after l bought one. There are other ways I can search for cheaper ones and let you know just don't have the time ATM.
I've machined them up before on a lathe ,1/16 thickness. Cheers Max.
Thanks Max, don't go to any trouble I'm still undecided where to go on this thing. I told him I couldn't help him but he keeps coming back asking me what I think of ones he has found on marketplace etc.
I think he is better off spending a few hundred on something that works already Norm saves a lot of time for you running around fixing one for him.
Too bad he can't use a Victa 24 , I always see good 110 /125 quad bikes for about $50. to tow a mower.
Last time I checked the higher price of the adapters I was on the smart phone ,so now checking on the PC they are $20. all up posted ,$9.99 without postage,I will let you know just as a reference later if you need to adapt a motor.
These adapters are all sizes some are from 3/4 to 1 inch so wall thickness is 1/8 but I have machined 1/16 bush,I just machined up the inside first then when the tube is starting to get thin on the outside you take a lot of small cuts but I think for the $20. price posted it's reasonable. If you want one I could order a few and you won't pay postage.5/8 to 1 inch is under $10. Without postage.
Victa 24 would be ideal but he is only small and the hill is a bit steep and there is no way he could manhandle it around there, I think I will just have to tell him I can't help. I told him many time his problem is an easy fix just go out and spend the money and his problem will be solved. Not sure what he paid for the place but probably heading towards the $2 mill and I guess that is why he can't afford to go out and buy something that will cost him $1500 or there abouts Just looked the sleve on Amazon Aust $37.64 but just found on ebay $13.64 free postage from Sydney
I was sure I saw an adapter for under $10. Australian dollars that was 7/8 to 1 inch but can't find it now but there are stainless ones for an all up posted price a little under $20. Aus.
I just saw the one on eBay thanks ,it's not bad but may have to message the seller as the ones I looked at specify that they are stainless steel and the eBay one just said steel.
Just a warning ,these parts originally come from China so it's possible the diementions are out and the part is useless ,it just depends on the reviews on the part or the seller but at least eBay has a money back Guarantee .
I have ordered one Max, should be here in a week or so then I can check it. If it is ok I might get a few as a number of the Hondas I stumble across have the 7/8 shaft. The GXV 160's come in both shaft sizes so it is always a guess when I pick one up
I had one recently on a small ride on mower Norm ,it was on a Honda engine ,never had any problems with the adapter,
The only problem I find with these overseas parts is sellers selling the rejects that should have ended up in the trash. I get faulty parts sometimes when I order the cheapest part I can find.
It sounds like your mate should be able to afford a decent slasher Norm .
Years ago I had sold a few mowers and I had one good mower left but it needed new blades and I thought instead of getting blades I'd sell it for half the price and list it as needing blades so a buyer quickly rings me for pick up and gets here with some new blades and wants them fitted for free. The funny thing was he was driving an expensive Mercedes.
