Swisher FC14560BS 14.5 HP 60-Inch Electric Start Tow Behind Finish Cut Mower

The bad-and it's not so badI give this mower a 4 for a simple reason that you need to purchase a battery before you can get it running. So if any of you are buying this pick up a U1 battery. That being said it was also missing a lock nut that is used with the battery strap. Hence my other critique of this product. The battery strap is horrible. The threads that you tighten the battery strap down on aren't mounted. They just spin loosely and there is no locking them in place. So you need to put a nut on first that fits the threads then put the strap on then tighten that down with the lock nut. If you don't do this you pretty much can't tighten the battery strap on.The good news The good news is this mower is very good. I got it to mow about 2+acres of pretty much uneven non-flat ground. I set the depth at 2 1/2" and it cuts beautifully. It is a 3 bladed deck and the 4 wheels keep it from getting hung up or letting the deck hit anything it shouldn't. The electric start is well worth the extra money as well. As soon as I got the battery on and turned the key it started up instantly. The blades engaged perfectly as well.SuggestionsGet a U1 battery while you are waiting for the mower. Get two 5 gallon gas cans because the tank holds nearly 3 gallons. If you are going to tow behind and ATV don't have a ball installed and the tow bar will hook up a lot lower than the deck so you might want to get some type of extension to make the hook up to the ATV higher so you don't bend the bar of the mower deck.

Overall, I guess its ok. But there are some things that need serious improvement.#1) The rear wheels have grease fittings, yet the front do not. Neither on the wheel itself, or the swivel point.I would also like to add they used a piece of conduit as a spacer for the front wheels (very tacky).#2) Deck spindles are not greaseable, VERY bad idea. We will see how long they last.#3) I removed the deck plates just to see in there for quality check. After starting and running it I was shocked to see how much the belt slaps around in there. I expect it not to last that long.#4) This is what really upset me. The floating deck is a nice feature, but when the frame hits some slitly bumpy ground the deck bounces up and down making a banging noise. Would have been far better to use rubber wasters on top of the steel ones to make it far more quiet, as this makes it sound like its falling apart while your cutting the grass.As for the rest is nice. Wiring is very well done. Engine has plenty of power for tall grass. I had another 60" unit like this which had a 12.5HP and it was constantly bogging down in high grass. This went through it like butter. I just wish they would bring back rear discharge. Side discharge is just such a pain over rear. With rear you can cut in any direction and not have to worry about accumulation pass after pass.I would buy it again, though. Just need to add some rubber washers, and that would satisfy me.

Arrived yesterday, 3 days early! Everything seemed fine. No damage and looked great. Once I had it out of the crate assembly was a little more difficult than expected. Reading the description and reviews they make it seem like you put a battery and gas in and away you go... not the case. After assembly, I went to start it and the toggle on the on/off switch was missing. So after all this I wasn't able to get the mower started and had to run to the store and buy a toggle switch to replace the factory one. I would have called the company but that would have ended up with return shipping fees and my lawn not being mowed for another month. Easier to just replace the switch myself. Finally at 9pm I was able to get it started and take it for a short test run on my atv. Seems to do all right but I won't know for sure until I can get a full season out of it. I'll update at the end of the summer.Update: mowed the lawn with this thing twice, a little over 2 acres 5 inch grass. Both times the spring that engages the blade snapped. Amazon is refunding all my money back. Amazon customer service gets the five stars! Swisher trail mower is junk! DO NOT BUY!!

Like toys you get as a kid, "some assembly required", and "batteries not included". Took me a week and a couple of trips to Tractor Supply Co. to put the thing together, and it is very heavy. That's the downside. It works great on the grass, and ours is very uneven, given its former use as cattle grazing land. Fourteen-plus horses to turn three lawnmower blades, probably more than is necessary for effectiveness on grass, but we've got pithy weeds too, and it makes short work (pun intended) of them as well. It does require one to be able to steer the tractor in such a way that the mower will go where you want, but I've never had a lawn tractor that had a decent mower deck, and I got tired of having to repair the $&#^$*&^*@^ lawnmower deck every time I wanted to cut the #$*&^#%^#*^*! grass. This thing starts reliably, runs great, and cuts the grass, and in half the time. Btw, I bought it to replace a previously operational Swisher tow-behind, that, after twelve years, just plain wore out.

I mowed two acres with it without problem for the first time. I guess I didn't realize how big this thing really is. It is massive and very heavy. Took about an hour to set up everything. Be careful, I almost forgot to grease the wheel hubs. There are 4 grease ports that must be greased prior to use and occasionally thereafter. They take quite a few pumps of grease as well. The machine came with an operating level of oil and no gasoline. Seems very well built and I did about two acres in a couple of hours. My pasture area is somewhat uneven and I had to take it a bit slower than I would on leveled ground.

The machine is fine. Runs well, etc. my issue is that it does not cut close enough. For being a "finish" mower, the lowest depth is more like a trail mower. Swisher needs to understand what finish actually means. I wouldn't have purchased had I known it would go low. If you really want a 1-2" cut, don't get this.