Anybody else gotta weedeat the whole yard before ya mow??

[peejman]

12 hours ago, Sam1 said:

This is the first one I got, it was overkill but they rented the one I had reserved out to someone else & gave it to me for the same price ($135 for 8 hours on the engine - only ran it for 4-5 hours though) so I just went with it.  It was probably 2500-3000 pounds

http://www.brentwoodrental.net/equipment.asp?action=category&category=80&key=080-4326

This is the smaller one I got back in April ($75) http://www.brentwoodrental.net/equipment.asp?action=category&category=80&key=080-4331

The second one was all manual and it really wasn't much work even for me with my physical limitations.  A normal guy would have no problem running it, if I was able to.  However, I would prefer a self-propelled one so I didn't have to drag it in between stumps (neighbor had no issue moving it a few houses down, I just got leg problems lol)

<edit> both of those things chew through stumps pretty quick, fast enough that I can see how people make mass $ by renting one for a day, driving around and charging people $50 a pop to remove stumps.

A friend had grinder like the first link and it was absurdly fast.  It cuts as fast as you'd expect a chainsaw that big to cut.

I've also used a grinder like the 2nd link and it's about like running a big tiller. Once you convince yourself to relax and just let it do its thing, it's really not very hard. 

Either way, the pile of wood chips left behind will be twice the size of the stump. 

 

8 hours ago, Steelharp said:

I appreciate the offer, Pain103, but I have no method of getting it. I'll get under there somehow, eventually.

 

When it's time to clean the deck, I set the brake, chock the wheels, and lift the front of mine with a floor jack. I stick a jack stand under it in case the jack slips.

Cooking spray should help, but I'll guess you'd need to reapply it at least every time you mow. Mold release might work too...  https://www.amazon.com/Smooth-Universal-Mold-Release-fl/dp/B004BNHLOK

 

The best thing you can do is wax the deck when it's new. Even then, I'd guess you'd need to repaint it every year. Once it gets dinged up underneath, there's not much you can do to "slick up" the surface short of refinishing it. 

[Hozzie]

I can guarantee you that pros are not using Pam on their decks in most cases.  I have read some that use it, but most of the commercial decks are easy to clean.  Plus most of those guys change blades daily and simply clean it when they change blades.

Mow high and figure out a way to raise your mower to clean the deck.  An easy way are to use the drive on car stands.  It will get it high enough to get under.  Just use a screwdriver and pry away the compacted grass and it will help.  It is all about airflow and uplift.  I hate to be hard, but really, mulching decks are the worst deck possible, especially if you can't mow often enough to only cut about 1/2 off of the top of the grass.  Anything more just creates a clumpy mess.  Not sure what mower you have, but maybe they make a open deck for it.

It really all comes down to how picky you are.  I know some people just want it cut and it doesn't matter what the result is, meaning mostly dead grass laying everywhere.  I can't do that.  Only thing worse is people that blow the grass into the street and leave it.  They should be shot. (Yes, I am a bit of a mowing snob.  I blame my dad.  He isa do it right guy and it stuck with me).

Edited July 12, 2017 by Hozzie

[Ronald_55]

25 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

I can guarantee you that pros are not using Pam on their decks in most cases.  I have read some that use it, but most of the commercial decks are easy to clean.  Plus most of those guys change blades daily and simply clean it when they change blades.

Mow high and figure out a way to raise your mower to clean the deck.  An easy way are to use the drive on car stands.  It will get it high enough to get under.  Just use a screwdriver and pry away the compacted grass and it will help.  It is all about airflow and uplift.  I hate to be hard, but really, mulching decks are the worst deck possible, especially if you can't mow often enough to only cut about 1/2 off of the top of the grass.  Anything more just creates a clumpy mess.  Not sure what mower you have, but maybe they make a open deck for it.

It really all comes down to how picky you are.  I know some people just want it cut and it doesn't matter what the result is, meaning mostly dead grass laying everywhere.  I can't do that.  Only thing worse is people that blow the grass into the street and leave it.  They should be shot. (Yes, I am a bit of a mowing snob.  I blame my dad.  He was a do it right guy and it stuck with me).

Our "yard" was so steep as a kid that Dad mowed with a pushmower hooked to a rope. So I have the "get it done" attitude. As long as my wife thinks it is good enough, then I don't argue. I have too much to do to worry about something that will be just as high next week. Grass is just grass. If I could I would just let it all grow up.

[peejman]

54 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

It really all comes down to how picky you are.  I know some people just want it cut and it doesn't matter what the result is, meaning mostly dead grass laying everywhere.  I can't do that.  Only thing worse is people that blow the grass into the street and leave it.  They should be shot. (Yes, I am a bit of a mowing snob.  I blame my dad.  He isa do it right guy and it stuck with me).

Blowing grass in the street....   That pisses me off.  

Neighbors on both sides used to do that. Then when I'd mow, I'd run my mower down the street and blow their clippings back into their yards.  A few cycles of that and they've mostly stopped doing it. 

Dad was kinda anal about mowing as well. We bagged the clippings and hauled them down the back yard into compost piles in the woods behind the house. I don't really have that option so I just let the clippings lay. I want it to look nice, but getting it done is most important. I'm not a retiree with nothing better to do than mow 3x per week. I do it when I can... like this afternoon when the heat index will be over 100 deg.  Yay.  

[Omega]

31 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

I can guarantee you that pros are not using Pam on their decks in most cases.  I have read some that use it, but most of the commercial decks are easy to clean.  Plus most of those guys change blades daily and simply clean it when they change blades.

Mow high and figure out a way to raise your mower to clean the deck.  An easy way are to use the drive on car stands.  It will get it high enough to get under.  Just use a screwdriver and pry away the compacted grass and it will help.  It is all about airflow and uplift.  I hate to be hard, but really, mulching decks are the worst deck possible, especially if you can't mow often enough to only cut about 1/2 off of the top of the grass.  Anything more just creates a clumpy mess.  Not sure what mower you have, but maybe they make a open deck for it.

It really all comes down to how picky you are.  I know some people just want it cut and it doesn't matter what the result is, meaning mostly dead grass laying everywhere.  I can't do that.  Only thing worse is people that blow the grass into the street and leave it.  They should be shot. (Yes, I am a bit of a mowing snob.  I blame my dad.  He was a do it right guy and it stuck with me).

Ha, you would hate me then.  I have taken to blowing the trash into the street that people seem to love throwing into my yard.  I have gotten tired of having to do a police call (pick up trash) every time I cut the grass because dirty lazy people can't seem to wait until they get by a trashcan to get rid of their empty cans, bottles and other "snack" trash.  I figure if the city doesn't want to either give them tickets for littering (cops roll on by) or at least place more trashcans along the greenway/sidewalk, then they can figure out how to clean up the street.

[Sam1]

3 hours ago, peejman said:

Blowing grass in the street....   That pisses me off.  

 

It's also extremely dangerous for people riding motorcycles.  Most people don't even think about that.

[Wingshooter]

Every time I see someone blowing grass into the street, I really want to stop and say "all you have to do is point the chute the other way!" Common sense is a rare thing these days. The front yard may look great, but the curb appeal looks like dead grass in the street, lol.

[Steelharp]

1 hour ago, Wingshooter said:

 "all you have to do is point the chute the other way!"

That could apply to a certain group of folks, too. 

[-boatman-]

6 hours ago, peejman said:

Blowing grass in the street....   That pisses me off.  

 

It does me too. Someone on my road does that. They don't just blow it out there. They work the grass all the way across the yard and completely cover the road. I would like to get my hands on one of those jet driers they use at race tracks and make a pass by every time he does that. Blow it all the way to his house.

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, -boatman- said:

It does me too. Someone on my road does that. They don't just blow it out there. They work the grass all the way across the yard and completely cover the road. I would like to get my hands on one of those jet driers they use at race tracks and make a pass by every time he does that. Blow it all the way to his house.

Just drive by with a gas blower hanging out the door. Lol

[peejman]

14 hours ago, Sam1 said:

It's also extremely dangerous for people riding motorcycles.  Most people don't even think about that.

I ride too, so yeah. Nothing like coming buzzing around a corner to find the entire road covered in grass clippings. It gets interesting really quickly. 

[jgradyc]

Years ago, I gave up on regular mowers and went to a small tractor with a 60" finishing mower. All the chaff is behind me instead of blowing up in my face like with the typical belly mower lawn tractor. This summer, I upgraded to a big tractor with a 72" finishing mower. 

[res308]

No, but my wife likes to do the mowing (guess who's stuck with the weedeating), and I'd rather do the trim work before she mows. It's usually about a half hour of work for me. If she mows first, it's about 30 hours of weedeating because she doesn't want to get close to the bushes and trees. 

Edited July 16, 2017 by res308

[Spiffy]

Sounds like it's time to step up to "herd of goats" and just roll with it.