The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Mower mistake

Swisher string mower update

It's a hard thing to admit...but I picked the wrong mower.

The Swisher string mower runs well and I like the 6.75 engine size but our mixture of weeds and grass is a little too tough for the string which needs to be replaced a lot when the weeds are high.

A replacement mower would be self propelled and big with a blade and new enough to have the push bubble that helps to make starting easier.



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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Is Anna slacking off with her fancy Scythe?
Comment by Eric Mon Aug 15 17:00:09 2016
I do not know where to find them, but in Minnesota we had a head that mounted on a weed-eater that used chain saw chain. It lasted forever and weeds, brush, and saplings could not stand before it. On a machine like this it would be dangerous if you were careless but very effective.
Comment by wewally Mon Aug 15 19:43:12 2016

I recently bought an updated Yardman 6.75 HP push mower (not self-propelled) to replace the 15-year-old Yardman that had 6 HP. The only reason it needed to be replaced was due to the deck having rusted completely through and my inability to find a replacement deck. This new mower, despite it being slightly more powerful than the old one, craps out repeatedly under high grass. My old mower was like the Energizer bunny... it just kept going and going and going. I'm now trying to figure out how to put the old mower engine on the new mower's deck.

Moral of the story: just because it's new, doesn't mean it's going to work better.

Comment by Nayan Mon Aug 15 19:50:12 2016

We bought a trimmer mower about a month ago. I'd never heard of them until I saw your post on the subject.It was a godsend for us. Last weekend I plowed through a bank of weeds that was literally seven feet tall like it was nothing. There is no way we could have taken them down with our lawn mower.

The trick for us was getting the heavy-duty square string. Made all the difference for us.

Comment by Ken Tue Aug 16 08:44:40 2016
A DR field and brush mower is the way to go. I regret selling mine even though I made a good profit.
Comment by Errol Hess Tue Aug 16 16:09:12 2016
When I first moved to my property 17 years ago I got a DR trimmer mower for the weeds and grass that were literally 6 feet high. The property was originally cow pasture. It cut through those weeds like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately the spindle that holds the "string" kept breaking so I ended up getting a riding mower instead since I'm mowing about 1.5 acres. Using the square string really did make a difference however.
Comment by Nayan Tue Aug 16 17:20:17 2016
You know what's wrong here guys? Mark said he was "wrong"... a clear violation of Man Code. NEVER admit, especially when it comes to machinery, that you EVER made a wrong choice! This will be held over you for eternity!!!
Comment by Eric Tue Aug 16 21:16:45 2016





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