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That really doesn't look that bad. How's the pucker factor driving on it now?


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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The south side is the worse and maybe you can see the proposed waterline and where I can drive. A big difference in a couple of places. The pictures don't really do it justice, but it is nice to get the feedback.


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If it's scarey now, it'll be worse when it's wet. Now's the time to change it if you have any doubts at all. The seed isn't down yet, is it?


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Not going to seed till later in august. It's dry and I don't want to waste a lot of money.


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Well, after a year or so investigating, I finally bit the bullet yesterday and ordered the 61" Gizmow. They are not being manufactured right now, but I found a dealer who said he can get it. It's supposed to arrive next week.

Last year it was so late by the time I got any grass growing that I decided to keep my Cub Cadet SLT-1554. But the grass came on like gangbusters this spring. The other day I must have cleared the outlet ten times. That was the last straw.

I looked at the Cub Cadet 48" and 60". They seemed OK, but the 60" did not have cruise control, and the foot pedal was stiff enough to be a problem for me. I have my fingers crossed that the Gizmow will fill the bill.

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The Gizmow looks intersting. Let us know the result of your purchase, please.

DR markets a zero turn where you can flip the steering stalk back over the seat and walk behind the machine. This might be useful where the slope is a little dicey.

Cutting the slope on the pondside will always cause an adrenaline rush (or wet clothes).

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Or soiled shorts.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

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Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Or soiled shorts.


Mostly.

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I reckon I could handle both of those particular issues. It's the broken neck issue and the breathing water issue that worry me. smile

I did look at the DR mower Sniper mentioned. The DR mower can serve as an ordinary ZTR, but can convert to a walk-behind by flipping the handle over the mower. It looks pretty cool. http://www.drpower.com/z-mower.aspx
At my age, trying to walk behind a mower on a slope would be problematic, but it might be an option for some.

Last edited by FarmerCharlie; 03/28/11 11:15 AM.
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I once rode a riding lawnmower (with blades spinning) off a very steep bank down about 4' to the water. (The brakes were fixed on the mower the next day). It's amazing how many thoughts can go thru your mind in such a short amount of time.
It want something like this:
OH SH..!
Maybe I can stick my foot out and stop it.
No, the mower deck is running and I might cut my foot off.
What if I just hold on as it hits the pond?
And catch the steering wheel in the groin? How stupid are you?
O.K. What about the spinning blades?
I can jump out into the pond right as it hits the water, getting clear of it if it turns over.

That's what I did. Other than me getting wet and muddy, it was up and running less than an hour after dragging it out of the pond with no issues. The slope was 1:1 or a bit steeper. The frnt wheels just went over the edge and the rest of the machine (and me) followed in slow motion, ending up in about 3' to 4' of water. blush


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Originally Posted By: Sniper
The Gizmow looks intersting. Let us know the result of your purchase, please.

I picked up the Gizmow today. Here she is:

This afternoon, in a couple of hours I manages to cut the approximately 4 acres surrounding the pond and my house. Those of you who followed my irrigation thread last year know that I have about 15 PVC irrigation pipes radiating out from the pond, which makes for lots of turning. The Gizmow made this a lot faster than with my old Cub Cadet SLT-1554. I was a little surprised that it really does do a zero turn. When I reaced the end of a pipe, I easily turned 180 degrees to cut along the other side. The mower is very fast, but when you make a sharp turn, it slows down just enough to feel comfortable with the turn. And the electric deck lift makes it easy to raise it a little while cutting parallel to a pipe, with the edge of the deck sticking slightly over the pipe. The one thing I did not like was that it stops VERY quickly when the cruise control disengages--feels like I ran into a stump. And sometimes it did disengage for no apparent reason--almost throwing me into the steering wheel.

So far I haven't worked up the nerve to try the back slope of the dam. But I did cut both sides of a ditch that runs in front of the house. As advertised, it held steady while mowing across the slope, which is about 10 degrees. It did not want to turn up the slope, but it never felt unstable.

I sure wonder why this brand was not successful. I have never used another traditional ZTR to compare with it, but I feel sure the Gizmow would compare favorably.

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Today I finally worked up the nerve to mow part of the back side of the dam. Here is what it looks like:

The uncut area in the back of the image is the very steep section that I did not cut. My techniques was to mow straight down the slope, make a wide pass to the end of the dam, then back across the dam to mow downhill on the next section. I never felt any instability at all. It would probably handle the steepest sections as well, but not with me on board. smile And I have no intention of mowing the slope on the water side.

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I'm not about others but I can see your pictures Farmer.


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While we were enjoying our Saturday morning coffee, a friend came by and dropped this off for me to try around the pond.



It is basically a weed whacker on wheels -- with a 22-inch cut and a 6 HP engine. The great thing is that the mower part can be offset to cut well beyond the left or right wheel, allowing me to stay safe on the pond edge, while it cuts.

Offset Adjustment:


I know it may be hard to see from this photo, but the cutting portion is offset by several inches from the wheels.



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That doesn't look bad. Is your tractor 4WD? You could just back into the parts that worry you instead of driving across the face.



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If that big string trimmer came with an operator, I might give it a try. wink
Since my last post I have mowed the back side of the dam twice, and even worked up the nerve to cut the steeper portions. And I found the adjustment to increase the reverse power, so I can now mow straight down the slope and then reverse back up the slope. That works on all except the very steepest portions. On those I still mow down, circle across the dam, and then mow the next row.

I would feel perfectly safe mowing across slopes as much as 15 degrees (unlike a regular ZTR), and I would bet some younger and more foolhardy fellows would mow the whole dam sideways.

I have not yet tried mowing the water side of the dam; the reverse works well, but I would not trust it there.

Another fellow on a lawn mower forum purchased a Cub Cadet that is similar to my Gizmo.
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/1775-anyone-else-have-gizmow-3.html
That might be an option for those who are afraid to buy a discontinued model. Maybe next year I'll get back in the sheep business, but for now, the Gizmow sure made my life easier.

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Originally Posted By: Mark Brown
That doesn't look bad. Is your tractor 4WD? You could just back into the parts that worry you instead of driving across the face.


Mark -- my tractor is 4WD. But, more than once, I've had to use a winch to keep it from sinking too far into the pond.


Just last week I was mowing with my Cub Cadet lawn/garden tractor, which mows about six inches outside the tire lines. Since you are just down the road, you know we've had a little rain lately. The mud was pretty slippery. I slid more than a foot sideways to the the pond edge, with the left side well entrenched in the the mud. The friend who dropped off the machine in the photos above, just happened to be coming in my driveway at the time, and saw me. My wife was watching from the kitchen window (all very embarrassing). We dragged the Cub Cadet out, and I stayed at least 18 inches from the pond edge for the rest of my mowing experience that day.


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Hey Cat. How have you been? That reply was for Boosone on the mowing as the pics he posted didn't really show that much grade to mow safely. Who knows though, pics can be deceiving.

It's good you were able to brake your tractor before it got sucked in! You're right about the rain. I have had problems keeping my pond full and now with all the rain and the rework we did it is overfull! Believe it or not the overflow gets clogged with debris and algae and the pond rises 3-4" OVER it. If I ever do this again I will pay for an engineer and spare no expense in construction. I am way north of 6 figures on this project.



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Went to my first homeowners association meeting for where we're building our new house next to a pond. The association owns the pond. During the meeting I learned that the same lawn service guy had put his mower into the pond three times. I have two questions.

1) how many times does the average person need to drown a mower before learning the slope is too steep?

2) should I give the lawn guy the nickname "Structure?" The fish like him and his mower.


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When I first bought this place the previous owners left a 13 hp craftsman riding mower. They said it didn't work. I replaced the fuse going to the ignition and everything was fine.

Until I was mowing around the pond that is. I dipped the front tires over the bank and away I went. (They didn't tell me that the brakes didn't work either.....) The bank there was 1:1 or even steeper.

It's amazing how many thoughts can go thru your mind in a split second. First was Oh Sh..!! Followed by "If I jump off now, the blades are still going and can I jump far enough to be clear of the machine when it hits the water? Nope. I'll just hang on here until the front end hits the water then I'll jump as far as I can." From the top of the bank to the water level was about 4 feet, and the water was about 3' deep at that spot.

After clearing the mower, I climbed out of the pond, grabbed my dad (who happened to be over at the house), a tow strap and the Suburban. After putting fresh gas and oil in it, it was back running about a half an hour later.

I never put it in the water again after that first time!


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I dumped this sprayer setup two days ago into a ditch that I made to drain a field into a small wetland. I was going through high Bison grass and forgot about the ditch, and the brakes were useless as I slid down the 45 degrees bank before I knew it. I nearly went head over heels but managed to stay with the mower. Naturally the spray tank was full and heavy but I pulled it out with my old trusty Ford Ferguson tractor.



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John, I also have one of the old Fords. It's an 8N and I guess about a 49 model. I think they run forever.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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Careful Bassbuster. Some of us never learn.



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I have been involved in the repair of outdoor power equipment for 15 years now. I have seen the results of mowing too close to the pond, or the ditch. Usually, it's minor, except perhaps for some body panel damage. (On both the operator, and the machine.) But, about 5 years ago, a woman I knew drowned in 8" of water when the riding mower she was on rolled over in a ditch and pinned her beneath it. She had no broken bones or damaged internal organs. She just couldn't push the mower off. Drowned in a ditch.

A piece of equipment will break free, and slide sideways in a heartbeat. They seldom just roll over, they slide first, hit an obstruction, and then roll over with surprising speed.

Excuse my bluntness, but if you're on one buttcheek and riding the fender while mowing the slope sideways, it's time to grab the weedeater or a pushmower. It's not worth it.

Also, mowing up and down the dam or bank is no guarantee the equipment won't slide free. Flipping sideways or over backwards can ruin your day.

Remember, if the equipment has a ROPS, then use a seatbelt. If it doesn't, then do not use a seatbelt.


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If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
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Here you go.


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