The perpetual not-in-motion machine

When I moved here in 2007 I bought a lawn tractor.  It was really cheap--something around $600 as I recall.  It was one of the best purchases I have ever made, even though the machine is a constant source of frustration. 

After I bought it I quickly found that it wouldn't mow the bottom field because that field was too uneven.  The rear wheels would often just spin instead of pull the tractor.  I thought about buying tractor tires for it, but these were almost as expensive as the tractor itself.  Instead, I bought chains.  And they worked really well, except that I was forever having to adjust them and re-install them (since they weren't really designed for yard work but for ice and snow).  They'd come off, usually of course when I was mowing, and so I'd have to get my tools and try to get them back in the field somewhere. 

Over time, the repairs/use ratio kept getting higher and higher, reaching the point in the past two years where I have to repair something about every other use.

This past year I put on new filters, new plug, and a new main belt.  And new blades, of course.  Always putting on new blades.

Installing new blades:

 Because the yard is so uneven the blades will frequently kick up huge rocks that bend them unmercifully.  


Also, over time, the mower deck became more and more uneven.  After much trial and error I finally figured out how to fix this.  Last week it was as ready as it has been in two years--motor ran well, blades weren't bent, a new set of chains (because the old ones finally became too torn up), and the deck was level.

I was tooling around, mowing like a fiend, and the main belt slipped off.  Grrrrr. 

This was a complicated fix.  Of course, I had to do it in the middle of the field.

 

I frequently scan Craigslist for a better mower.   Yesterday, when I was at the rental store getting propane for the camper, I spotted this.  It is a Canycom CMX227.  Ever heard of it?  Me neither.  It's a company in Bellevue, WA.  At the rental store, they referred to it as the go-cart.  Said it's a blast to drive. 

 

4-Wheel drive.  Tractor tires.  Cuts grass and brush.  It's perfect.  Only problem is that I can't find a price anywhere for it.  This probably means that it's more than $600.