Mountfield 1228H Ride on lawnmower, replacing cutting deck belt - now - What Ride on mower to buy?!

pinklady21

My OH is having some unexpected difficulty replacing the cutting deck belt on the ride on mower.
Usually simply a case of unscrewing a bolt, removing the main pulley the belt turns on, and then replacing new belt and replacing pulley.
This time the pulley will simply not move up off its pin.
It turns fine, and the screw is off, but try as he might, it won't lift off.
He has been at it for hours now!
Any ideas on what to try next?
TY.

Justagardener

Assuming he's sprayed with WD40?
Heat usually does the trick. I use a blow torch when metal is seized but probably best use a heat gun or hairdryer as there could be fuel around.
Get it really hot

Davesnave

Typical crappy Italian design and engineering I'm afraid; only surpassed for general awfulness by some American designs of grass cutting tools.

I have one. Thankfully, I only paid £325 for mine, which was hardly used, and now I know why. I regret to say that when the belt is replaced, your DH may soon have another interesting job adjusting the mechanism to take up slack as it stretches. I'm on that at the moment. It ought to be a doddle......

I gave up with the actual belt replacement. Stuck it in the van and took it to my local garage, who service ride-ons. No idea what they did, but they said it was 'not easy' + a few rude things! It's not the most accessible machine.

Sorry. When it goes, it's OK and the hydrostatic drive is worth having, but I think mine will be on the Bay before long...

pinklady21

Thanks for your replies. OH had thought about heating up the metal pulley, but the issue is that it is very difficult to get to under the plastic housing, and it is indeed very close to the fuel tank!

Interesting to hear that these machines can be rather devilish to maintain, we tried hunting online for a service manual - all that seems to be available for this model is the operation manual, which basically says for anything more complex than adding fuel, oil or cleaning, take it to a service centre!!

We inherited the machine when we bought the house, and it has been a frequent visitor to the mower repair man. The latest attempt to replace the belt ourselves was to try and be a bit more MSE!
Anyway - the red beastie has defeated us, and will be back to the repair shop tomorrow.
Just wish the grass would stop growing for a bit.....

Just as a matter of interest - as we are moving soon, and will leave the Mountfield here.... does anyone have a recommendation for a decent and reliable ride on mower for up to 5 acres or so?

Davesnave

pinklady21 wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest - as we are moving soon, and will leave the Mountfield here.... does anyone have a recommendation for a decent and reliable ride on mower for up to 5 acres or so?

Umm, this is what I do with mine, when it doesn't have those woolly things on it, that is.....


Five acres is a lot to just [STRIKE]waste[/STRIKE] mow!

pinklady21

There is grazing on there just now, and some beautiful silage that is cut by a local farmer. I would be happy to leave that to him for the forseable. However other parts of the land are neglected, and I would want to bring them back into some productive use too. Possibly a small camping site, as it is in a holiday area. So would need a fairly nippy wee ride on to keep the grass short in there. We have a small tractor with a topper, so that might do, but was looking to keep the grass looking reasonable.

Davesnave

I have friends with a couple of acres at the back of their houses and they both bought large Stiga zero turn mowers. However, both of them have complained about their mower to me so I cannot recommend those.

My favourite walk behind mower is a Honda, so maybe something large from them, or a Toro. A Kubota would be a step up again, or the ultimate, probably an Etesia, which is what the pros use.

peter_the_piper

If you get a used etesia make sure its definitely a hydro drive and not belt driven, belts are no longer available, anywhere.

pinklady21

Thanks for the intell on the ride on mowers. Interestingly, OH found an ad for a second hand Stiga from someone moving house and wanting rid. He thought it looked like a reasonable buy for £1000...
Can you say why your friends don't like theirs?

Anyway - repair man has replaced the belt on the Red Beastie, so will see how it copes with the rather longer grass today that I couldn't finish cutting last week!
I think sheep might be the answer!

Davesnave

pinklady21 wrote: »

Thanks for the intell on the ride on mowers. Interestingly, OH found an ad for a second hand Stiga from someone moving house and wanting rid. He thought it looked like a reasonable buy for £1000...
Can you say why your friends don't like theirs?


I think sheep might be the answer!

Friends both found their Stigas broke down more than expected for newish machines, but both bought around the same time, so it could have been a rogue batch or model.

Sheep are good for the grass and tasty enough, but they have a death wish and they eat trees. Despite that, in 8 years I've only had one sheep die and a couple of trees gnawed beyond redemption.

pinklady21

OH saw some low rise cattle on Countryfile the other week. Apparently these beasties are about waist high, very docile and really good on poor land. Stocking density better than other bigger breeds. He is quite tempted to get some.
My issue is sending the animals for slaughter.... Not sure I would be able to do that to them. I don't eat meat, and would hate to cause them the stress of being loaded up and sent on their final journey.
Maybe I need to (wo)man up!