Schweiss Magnum I Lawn Mower

Schweiss Magnum I Lawn Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 10-5-10 "When a farmer buys a mower he needs to know it'll go through road ditches, orchards and tall grass and brush. 'No other zero turn mower is built as heavy as the Magnum I. We can't build them fast enough," says Harold Schweiss, a farmer-turned manufacturer who also builds snowblowers, trailers, woodsplitters, bean weeders, and chicken pluckers. This summer he introduced what he calls the industry's "premier farm mower". Schweiss says the 50-in. deck on his mower is unlike any other on the market. "Other decks come to a point in front which causes grass to be thrown forward and chewed up, using up too much power and leaving windrows. Our deck, which is rounded in front, goes through 2-ft. grass and spreads it out nice and even ù no windrows or streaks. Also the blades overlap 2 in., versus ¢ in. on many mowers, and the deck rollers mount just behind the blades, rather than in a straight line across the back of the deck, which helps prevent scalping. In addition the deck is fitted with a larger 18-in. discharge opening." The deck, built with heavy 3/16-in. steel, is handled with an electric lift so anyone can easily raise and lower it. It's mounted back from the front caster wheels so that on slopes there's no traction problem caused by weight transfer to the front wheels. The Schweiss mower has no chains or sprockets and no gearbox. It features Timken tapered bearings with grease zerks in the wheels. Key to it's success, according to Schweiss, is the use of heavy-duty hydrostatic motors in the wheels. "Most mowers have 4-hp. hydrostatic drives on each wheel, driven by an 18 hp. motor. That makes the hydrostats the weak point. We put heavy-duty Char-Lynn 24 hp. hydrostatic drives on each wheel, and drive them with an 18 hp. motor so they'll last virtually forever," says Schweiss, noting that his mower also has an electric clutch and a 5-in. thick seat cushion with a high back and padded arms. The mower steers with a single "joystick." "I used just about every mower on the market on my own farm and I didn't like any of them. That's why I decided to build my own," says Schweiss, who sells his mower, equipped with a 50-in. deck, for $5,200. He just introduced a new Magnum II version with a larger 24-hp. motor and a 60-in. deck. It sells for $6,200. Optional grass-catching and snowblowing attachments are available. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Schweiss, Inc., Co. Rd. 13, P.O. Box 557, Sherburn, Minn. 56171 (ph 507 764-2251).

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