I mow 2 acres of flat land (in
Michigan, but not very near Albion by the way) with a total of 29 trees, and in
addition a farm lane with another 9 trees, all on a single charge with an
E12. Your Scag is easier to mow around trees with, but the ET is not too
bad. GE used an unusually short wheelbase to compensate for the 44" front
mower deck. The combination is not great (rear-steer would be better, but
no one thought people would buy them in '69) but it works. Turning radius
way up front isn't symmetric to the center the way a belly deck is, and that
causes some problems. If the trees are not too big (20 of my 29 are
less than 8" dia) there is a forward/backup you can do; drive by the tree,
reverse with the steering turned hard the other direction and then repeat from
the other side. You won't leave much. BTW, 'the other side' implies
that you have a rear-discharge not side-discharge mower. You need rear
discharge with lots of trees; the side discharge won't let you within about 9"
of the right side, the rear discharge gets you within 1" of either side.
If you have pines, the front mower lets you nudge in under low branches real
well. I do also have to admit that the nice double seat I bragged about
some months ago is a problem in fruit trees; you may clear the deck and tractor
and then catch the arm rest and nearly rip the hinges off the seat mount.
But very few people have the wide two person seat.
Larry Elie
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Message-----
From: W. Jeffrey Wilson [mailto:Wjwilson albion edu] Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 8:50 AM To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu Subject: (ET) Should I get an Elec-Trak? Hi all -
I'm new to the group - I found it in searching for info on
Elec-Traks. I mow about 1 ½ acres, mostly flat but with LOTS of
trees. I like the idea of the silence and (at least local) environmental
friendliness of the Elec-Trak, but wonder about running time and
maneuverability. With my (BIG, noisy) 48" Scag walk-behind mower I can
finish my mowing in about 2 hours, and work around the trees without too much
difficulty. Will I be happy with the E15 with its front-mounted
mower? Will I finish the job on one charge? Will I constantly be
backing up to work around trees?
Any guidance or suggestion will be apprciated.
Thanks!
Jeff Wilson
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