# Toasted mower



## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

Well yesterday started with a bang.. I had just finished mowing the lawn and was headed back to the barn when a flicker of flame caught my attention. I shut off the mower, assessed the situation and attempted to put out fire.. Unfortunately I wasn't successful...


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Look on the bright side. At least you have a week or so to find a mower before you need to cut again. :lol:


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## walkslikebulldozer (Nov 16, 2013)

michiganmutt said:


> Well yesterday started with a bang.. I had just finished mowing the lawn and was headed back to the barn when a flicker of flame caught my attention. I shut off the mower, assessed the situation and attempted to put out fire.. Unfortunately I wasn't successful...



Any idea what caused the fire?


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Holy cow!

Are you going to try to resurrect it?


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

I threatened to do that to an old beater car once, but not right by my driveway.


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## mi duckdown (Jul 1, 2006)

Holy Crap Batman. Fuel leak.?? Glad you're OK. Nice PIC. Had Camera in Pocket??


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## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

I suspect some sort of oil fire caused by a leaking hydraulic or oil line (it had an external oil cooler which was connected via rubber lines) The pic is from my cell phone.. I was going to continue to drive it towards the yard spigot which was about 80 yards away but decided to keep it off the blacktop. So I sprint to the spigot, get a buck of water sprint back toss water and watch it roar back to life. After 3 trips (total of 480 yards) of sprinting back and forth I was done. Once the adrenaline ran out, this out of shape 59 year old was "done".. I took the photo as I walked back to the house to call 911.. It took about 20 minutes for the fire department to show up, by then it had pretty much burned to the ground.. It literally melted the transmission case into a pile.


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## bobberbill (Apr 5, 2011)

Phil and Uncle Si would be proud of that one!!


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

michiganmutt, what mower brand is/was that mower. We've been researching buying a zero turn mower and it's ironic that every time I look at this thread the border advertisements are for exmark or other mowers. 

What are going to replace that mower with?


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## jasonvanorder (Feb 23, 2009)

michiganmutt said:


> I suspect some sort of oil fire caused by a leaking hydraulic or oil line (it had an external oil cooler which was connected via rubber lines) The pic is from my cell phone.. I was going to continue to drive it towards the yard spigot which was about 80 yards away but decided to keep it off the blacktop. So I sprint to the spigot, get a buck of water sprint back toss water and watch it roar back to life. After 3 trips (total of 480 yards) of sprinting back and forth I was done. Once the adrenaline ran out, this out of shape 59 year old was "done".. I took the photo as I walked back to the house to call 911.. It took about 20 minutes for the fire department to show up, by then it had pretty much burned to the ground.. It literally melted the transmission case into a pile.


Holy crap! where are you located? 20 min is a long time for the fire dept after the call


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## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

That sucks. Glad you didn't get hurt. I keep an extinguisher in the barn, just in case something goes wrong. Hope things work out and you get it replaced.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

ENCORE said:


> That sucks. Glad you didn't get hurt. I keep an extinguisher in the barn, just in case something goes wrong. Hope things work out and you get it replaced.


I just replaced the fuel line on my walk behind mower. It had a split line and I didn't know it. I'm going to strap an extinguisher on the handle from now on.


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## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

Brewster, It was (is) a scag.. Nice mower I was real happy with it other than the kohler (POS) engine.. This time it will be a Kawasaki... I looked at Exmark, Bad Boy, Bobcat and Toro so far. Tomorrow I'll be checking out hustler and scag... The scag was 17 years old, other than engine issues the mower itself was great.. 17 years and never had to replace 1 thing.. No bearings, bushings, nothing other than the front tires. I suspect the POS engine is what finally did it in..


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## JDSwan87 (Aug 15, 2010)

Mutt: Glad you're OK but sorry for the loss of your mower. It looked like it was a nice zero turn. Anyways, have you called your insurance about this yet? I ask BC it might be covered under your home owners insurance as the mower "services the premises" With my insurance if my quad with plow or mower or even my tools get stolen (or catch fire in your case) they are covered under your home owners insurance. Something to look into......

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

petronius said:


> I just replaced the fuel line on my walk behind mower. It had a split line and I didn't know it. I'm going to strap an extinguisher on the handle from now on.


That's what one of the guys mentioned at the mower shop as a possibility.. He said that due to the alcohol in todays fuel it has a tendency to eat at the fuel lines over the winter.. So where there's a bend in the line and the fuel sits in the "low spot" it has a tendency to "eat" at the hose...


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## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

JDSwan87 said:


> Mutt: Glad you're OK but sorry for the loss of your mower. It looked like it was a nice zero turn. Anyways, have you called your insurance about this yet? I ask BC it might be covered under your home owners insurance as the mower "services the premises" With my insurance if my quad with plow or mower or even my tools get stolen (or catch fire in your case) they are covered under your home owners insurance. Something to look into......
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Thanks for the advise... Yes after reviewing my policy it appears that there's coverage as it "services the property"... However I'm not sure what they'll give me for a 17 year old mower.


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

Thanks Michigan mutt, the two favorites I have researched are the ferris and scag, but even used are pricey. 

If you don't mind, I'd be interested if you'd post the information you get during your mower search.


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## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

michiganmutt said:


> Thanks for the advise... Yes after reviewing my policy it appears that there's coverage as it "services the property"... However I'm not sure what they'll give me for a 17 year old mower.


Let's hope it's replacement value, less deductible.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

I'll throw in my .02.

I'm just starting my third season with a Gravely ZT52-HD. Been very happy with it so far. It was only an extra hundred bucks or so for the 60", but that wouldn't fit through the doors of my trailer. Paid about $5100 for it and it's been a very good machine.


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## michiganmutt (Nov 30, 2012)

brewster said:


> Thanks Michigan mutt, the two favorites I have researched are the ferris and scag, but even used are pricey.
> 
> If you don't mind, I'd be interested if you'd post the information you get during your mower search.


Brewster, I ended up buying a Toro Titan ZX5400. for $4900. It fit me better as I'm vertically challenged. Also there's a local guy who owns a small business, so I rather buy local to help him out as well. Parts should I need them be easy to get. Toro owns Lexmark and they are both manufactured at the same plant. The Toro isn't constructed as "heavy" as a scag. I loved my scag as in 17 years never had to replace a thing (other than engine problems).. The Toro has a Kawasaki in it.. The thing is "scary" fast and I'm still getting used to the hydro's on it. It's different than the scag. The cut is amazingly beautiful, lots better than the scag.. It's not a mulching deck but the clippings are very fine, about 3/8 of a inch long. It has 2 ports to hook up a hose in order to wash the deck out which is nice. I liked the bad boy a lot, the quality and build were second to none, I also really likes the hustler and scag but they were all $6500-8000. For my 4 acres the toro cut it in 1.7 hours, it was 2+ with the old scag.. I've got 51 trees to mow "tight" on. It's a little hurky jerky going around trees right now with the toro as it's really sensitive, hopefully I'll get used to it. Some other things, the toro has a flip up floor plate making it easy to get at and clean the top of the deck, others were "bolted down and or solid. The toro has a nice rear bumper and hitch that I can mount my trac vac to (another important item for me as I have tons of leaves to pickup in the fall). I do wish that it came with the nice suspension seat, I'll look at picking one up later.. It was a $450 option on the bad boy but my was it comfortable. With the extra speed there's more "bounce" so it would be nice with a better seat. In the end I don't think you can't go wrong with any name brand you just need to write down your needs and find one that suits, local dealer support is a plus... In the end the Toro was sufficient, made in the USA, best price, 0% for 42 months and the guy said he could drop it off in 30 minutes.. Done deal. Good luck in your search..


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