Re: (ET) Newton problems??

["Jeremy Gagliardi com" <jeremy gagliardi com>]

I have a big problem with the Newton leaving long rows of narrow, uncut 
grass, even after I pass over them several times.  I think it's because 
the blade doesn't spin fast enough for it to whip up the grass to cut it.  
I got really tired of mowing the same row 3 or more times.  It took me 2 
hours and 2 fully charged batteries to complete mowing my 1/3 acre lot.  I 
also have sidewalks on 2 sides of my house, a driveway, and no less than 
10 individual landscape beds that all need to be edged, so after 4-5 hours 
I'd consider everything done.   Do that once every 2 weeks and I felt like 
I had really lost my weekend.

I also tend to think it's the type of grass I have.  The grass isn't very 
stiff or thick.  It's long and floppy for lack of any better terms.  I 
just had new grass put in 2 seasons ago.

I use the special mulching blade on the Newton, similar to the ET.  I've 
never used the bag.  I have WAY too much lawn and not enough bag for that 
to be practical.  I haven't bagged grass in well over 10 years.

My E20 does worse than the Newton.  With the very wide, unarticulated 
deck, there are whole rows missed that just can't be reached, plus the 
hill and all of the mulch & planting beds that are cut on curves and 
angles, making it very difficult to maneuver with the big E20...or any big 
tractor for that matter.  That, and the fact that I can't get the E20 into 
the backyard, because it doesn't fit through the fence gate.

*IF* I were to do my lawn myself again, the only mower I would even 
consider would be a powerful ICE walk-behind, something that spins the 
blade very fast.  I wouldn't even consider buying a riding mower, because 
of the maneuverability problems.

What would make the E20 better would be if the deck were more flexible 
& maneuverable.  Plus, some *really* sharp blades couldn't hurt.  I 
had my blades sharpened 2 summers ago, but I didn't see much difference 
(yes, they were mounted the right way, not upside down).

What would make the Newton better would be if the battery were bigger (I'm 
a big boy, I can handle it!) to give it more voltage for more RPMs.  I 
think they're trying to cater to the lowest common denominator and that is 
to keep the weight extremely low for the most petite operator to manage 
it.  But that's its biggest drawback, the fact that the RPMs just aren't 
powerful enough for some kinds of grass.  It couldn't hurt to make the 
deck a little wider either and make the blade match up with the wheel.

--
Jeremy





----Original Message----

From: donovan66205 yahoo com

Date: Feb 15, 2007 8:57 

To: "Jeremy Gagliardi com", 

Subj: Newton problems??



Jeremy,     I am sorry for your problems.  I can imagine what you age 
going through, me with two EV's out of commission for major rebuilds.     
I also use the Newton.  I have used it for over two seasons on up to four 
or five yards per week (suburbian, 65 by 135 lots with about 22% hard 
surface - house, driveway, etc).  The only problem I have is that the 
grass bagger adds weight to the mower itself and that, I believe, caused 
the handle bars to snap down at the holes for bolting it to the mower.  
Other than that, I have had no problems at all.  Newton replaced the 
handles at no cost.     What type of problems are you having?     Jim  
Westwood, KS  

"Jeremy Gagliardi com"  wrote:  Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I 
feel like it after what I experienced 
yesterday. Call this an airing out, if you will. Caution, I'm not on my 
usual 
bandwagon.

My tractor is currently only in service in the winter now (it isn't able 
to 
handle mowing anymore, since I moved to a hilly, landscaped lot in 
suburbia). 
So, here my tractor has been sitting in my garage for well over a year 
without 
use, but plugged in with Landis controller the entire time.

First, the batteries were very discharged. I couldn't even get it up to 
full 
speed before the whole thing just quit. Me thinks the controller didn't 
kick 
in enough. I had to put it on a "quick" 20-minute manual charge just to 
get 
things going. After use, I put it on a full manual charge.

But, now here's the really horrible part. I have the dozer blade on for 
plowing snow. The crossbar is off so the blade can spring up whenever it 
encounters
 an obstacle. Guess what happened? This snow wouldn't budge one 
bit. The blade just kept springing up. Plus, the rear tires (with chains) 
would just spin out of control.

I got the dang thing stuck, in 2" deep snow no less, more than 3 times. I 
had 
to get my wife to push while I drove in LL twice.

My wife & I then spent the next hour chiseling a one-shovel width path 
down 
the sidewalks to comply with city ordinance. We didn't even feel like 
getting 
to the driveway. We weren't happy.

To be fair, the snow was hard packed, but on the other hand only 2" deep. 
Meanwhile, the neighbors ICE snow throwers were handling things just fine. 
I 
felt particularly "behind the curve" after that. Kind of like when I 
splurged 
$500 for a brand new Newton electric walk behind mower, got everything 
setup, 
charged the battery, and...saw how utterly horrible it performed in actual 
use. It only took me 2 months to ditch the Newton and
 hire a lawn service.

--
Jeremy Gagliardi
E20
Potomac, Md

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