Message Board - Cricket: Outfield Mower
2 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
Hi Guys
I was wandering if there is any suggestions for suitable mowers to cut our outfield.
We currently have a set of 3 ransomes gangs which have been pulled by a compact tractor.
The tractors gearbox has almost packed in only have 1st & 2nd gears.
The gangs are overdue a service (sorry sumo) was planned for this winter.
Due to the tractor situation I feel we may be better off purchasing a triple mower for the outfield but we will have a very limited budget.
I was thinking of a ransomes 180 as i believe these are belt driven rather than hydraulics.
Can anyone give any other suggestions or recommendations for this purpose.
2 Jul 2009 by Sumomosr
If money is limited I suggest you purchase a good 2nd hand tractor as it can be used for a variety of purposes and just have your gangs overhauled.
The 180 is an old machine now and effectively obsolete so you are living on borrowed time when you buy one imo. (Good as they are).
Any triple really has only one purpose in life - to mow grass so you would get better value from another tractor via 3-point linkage mounted acessories in these tough economic times.
GOGGA
2 Jul 2009 by overstone
Ransomes 180 nice little more ,quick and manoeveable.But the engine is a devil to work on. I have used one for the last 20+ years on my cricket out field.
Mike
2 Jul 2009 by jontaylor
Saxon,
Simple, cheap to run and maintain, all belt driven and 7 blades give very good cut and can adjust down to about 15mm.
Will do a cricket field in 60 to 90 minutes.
Watch e-bay for a good one. We got ours for just over £500 and in the first year it's cost us only one complete oil change (engine and gear box), fuel (one gallon does three or four cuts), one main drive belt (from a car parts company for £10), two gear box oil seals (can't remember price) and a tub of back lapping paste.
A tractor can do lots more jobs - but only if you have the other kit.
Saxon also fits easily into our secure 20' shipping container along with the roller and square mowers. We certainly couldn't get a tractor and gangs in there.
The ciderman rolls
2 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
Still investigating all the options but tractor in recent years has only been used for towing the gangs & moving sightscreens pre season, oh & i have towed the variseeder to pimple my square a couple of times.
So 90% or more of the time used for towings gangs
Hence looking at alternatives
3 Jul 2009 by jlawrence
without the tractor what are you going to do with the variseeder ?
Yes, get a triple for the out field but you'll regret not having a tractor as well.
When you say limited budget how much are you talking about. Could it not be expanded by some grant funding ?
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
3 Jul 2009 by Vic Demain
Got an old mastiff with your name on it Pac. 4 hours to cut the outfield but what a finish. Interested?
3 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
Try to avoid cutting the outfield wherever possible try to leave that to others if I could have 30hr days would love to spend 4hrs cutting the outfield.
Busy enough on square games every day this last week dont know how I will fit it all in.
I take it you will be on the mastiff for the county games then.
7 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
Seems club want to look at a triple, any suggestions of suitable machines for cutting a cricket outfield.
Might scare the club with prices.
7 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
Sumo what are the issues with a 180 are parts difficult to obtain. etc
7 Jul 2009 by Sumomosr
They were a geat machine - in their day.
Everything on them is now old, very old and in most cases tired is all.
So, you have replaceable reel & roller bearings as well as bedknives (and even cylinders). but your hydraulics and wheel motors are pretty well 'used' and have ususlly not received the TLC they deserve in their operating environment.
In this area you are on 'borrowed time'. Failure is a question of 'when' not 'if'.
In addition, be aware that:
The cross-shaft for the belt drive to the reels is a pig to swap the belt and the grooved pulley picks-up grass with monotonous regularity
The engines are hard to work on due to their cramped confines, so they got less attention than they deserved also.
And the frame was prone to breaking at the T-junction in front of the seat under the dashboard.
Steering is heavy. Seating position is hard on your back...
Not much 'wrong' with them really.
They were an evolution of the Motor Triple and times have moved on.
GOGGA
7 Jul 2009 by pacman75cricket
You think the 180's old was sent a link for a ransomes triple think a mark 4.
7 Jul 2009 by andyroo
hi what tractor is it and what kinda money bracket you looking at how about a jacobsen 1900 tri-king?
7 Jul 2009 by Andy Matthews
pacman it really depends what your budget is, what level of finish your looking for and how flat your outfield is, Ascott mentioned the mastiff, I inherited one at a club I still work for and it was a nightmare on their uneven outfield, as I wasn't boxing off the front end was very light and would "wheely"as you went over the bumps, I ended up putting a bag of loam on the front and then of course when it was wet it dug in, also because it wasn't dead flat you got an uneven cut in some places and as Ascott says it took ages, so i managed to pursuade them to buy a JD 2653A, it's a great machine, the standard of cut is better with the floating heads and it takes half the time, this last fact really shows it's worth when you get crap weather like at the moment, it gives you the chance to nip in and get a cut done. For my contracting though I have a JD 4100 and a set of Ransome 214's, I cut another outfield on a contract basis and they do a great job, but you can't the level of stripes or the tight turning circles, I have also noticed that when it's wet you get greener lines where the tyres have rolled the grass down first and the units have been unable to cut it as close, you don't get this with the 2653a, as Sumo says though with any triple you can only cut grass, thats why I got the compact.
8 Jul 2009 by Sumomosr
Hi Andy, Re: your Mastiff.
When running without the box there is a weight bar supplied with the mower and carried across the base of the handles which, when fitted in place of the box, provides the perfect balance to avoid the bouncing or the digging-in.
GOGGA
8 Jul 2009 by Andy Matthews
Sumo we traded the Mastiff for the triple and if the weight bar was supplied I never saw it, it's something to know though for the future.
8 Jul 2009 by lez
get a t plex good machine
8 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
Mr. Matthews,
You must have seen, what I know as a balance bar. It's fitted to the machine. A cylindrical bar fitted between the 'legs' up to the handlebars. It's highly likely you've rested the mower on it when you've tilted it back.
From the posh end of the room!!
8 Jul 2009 by Sumomosr
Sometimes mistaken for a footrest when using the trailed seat.
GOGGA
8 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
I'll post a couple of photos tomorrow (if I remember) showing both positions!!! 
From the posh end of the room!!
10 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
Apologies for the delay:
From the posh end of the room!!
10 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
And in the forks:
From the posh end of the room!!
10 Jul 2009 by Andy Matthews
Thanks for the pictures but mine was a completely different machine, much newer and the box was a clam shell arrangement which could be operated by the driver.
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