Allett Stirling 51 Unboxing and First Use 

Yep. Gotta love that new mower smell!

Thank you!

Thanks! I appreciate that!

They are a great lot to support!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks! Have a great one!

I keep hoping it’s going to be done with the snow but the overnight lows are still at 31 degrees next week so you never know.

Yeah, it is really a solid build!

Thanks! I’m excited to put it through its paces

Thanks!

The gears are different so you’d have to swap them back and forth if you switch between the two mowers, but otherwise they are the same. Except the Kensington cartridges have a rubber pad on them that the grass catcher cradle rests on that aren’t on the Stirling because it doesn’t need them. You’d want to get the rubber pads if you are down-converting a Stirling cartridge.

The problem isn’t as much from the bumps but the uneven cut you might get if you try to go low. A couple years back I did a video about top dressing and showed at the beginning how I had spotty scalping from the bumps in the dirt. The top dressing fixed it. So it wasn’t a problem with the mower, just the ground. My yard has some dips and rolls in it that I still need to work out, but the mower handles that just fine.

It would be cool if they could make some kind of conversation kit for it. The new collection box is so nice if many ways. Light, easy to empty, easy to consistently attach to the mower…

@@DennisAroundtheHouse Yes, just like our rotary mowers , easy to attach and easy to remove and empty. Allett we recommend you employ what we here call the KISS method.

@@brianwhitney9181 seems like an upgrade Liberty owners would pay for. A modified grass box cradle that holds the new catcher.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse Hi Dennis, from your lips to Austin's ear. I would be the first to buy that option if offered.

Hi Dennis, I would recommend keeping an eye out for wear on the drive belt as Liberty 43 owners are noticing premature wear after only 6 months of lite duty.

I should. Good idea. Thanks. It’s been generally good with a couple of issues. I should cover those.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse Look forward to that update.

I had never heard of Morgans until this comment. Now I looked it up and I’m going to obsess about them! Thanks a lot!! 😃

The Stirling uses Ego, the Liberty uses Greenworks. They are independent of both companies, just use their battery systems. I like the Ego better from what I’ve used of both. The Ego would only work with Ego tools, same for the Greenworks tools. I think that most Ego tools have a unified battery, but I’ve not heard the same of Greenworks. I have an 80v Greenworks Edger, but I know they also have some 40v battery tools. Ego is mostly all 56v, I believe.

I haven’t had them officially grinded yet, but backlapping keeps them honed well. I have a local golf course that I am planning to contact to see if they might be able to help with a grind. Honestly, that’s one of the challenges owners have been having… trying to find a local place to take them to so you done have to pay a ton in shipping. When I finally work out getting them grinded I’ll see about posting something about it.

Thanks! I don’t think so. I was told that my attitude made me look displeased at the end. Did you think that too? I think that’s more that I was not quite sure how to close out the video. I’m still getting used to the Stirling but I’m really enjoying it. Just need to adjust to the battery power vs gas and the difference in responsiveness. Plus, with the engine so quiet, it’s hard to know how much reel noise is acceptable.

Hi there Sidney, I apologize for the long time getting back to you. I’ve had two problems, the first one is a manufacturer design flaw that they’ve fixed with a bracing kit that they are pre installing on newer units. All of us that got them initially had them sent to us to retrofit. The other problem I had was my error, where I tried to pick up cut, long decorative grass and it jammed up my scarifier cartridges and broke some of the spindles. Allett is being great about sending me out some replacement parts to fix it with that should be arriving in about a week or so.

The Hudson Star looks really awesome. The price puts it a bit out of my range, but also I don’t think it has a height of cut that would work for me. I think it’s meant to cut very low. I’m keeping mine at about 1” now. The HS only goes up to .75. I’ve gone that low before but I like to have more range.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse Hey Dennis - A couple of questions as I am looking for a Reel mower. 1. Thoughts on the Jacobson Eclipse that is a battery powered electric unit? I have seen a few out there for sale. 2. Dont Cringe.... Any experience on the old Locke Mowers? They look very interesting perhaps if you find a descent one. Going to look at one today and purposly not bringing money as I first need to understand what the heck I am looking at.

Actually, I don't know much about either of those, but looking into them, they seem pretty heavy duty, like for large properties and golf courses. Quite a bit more than what I'd need. Are you looking for residential but with a large property?

@@DennisAroundtheHouse Y Ending up buying a Toro Greensmaster that just needs a little backlapping and adjustments.

EGO needs to release their own REEL mower!

Thanks! It’s Kentucky Bluegrass

Thanks!

I’m in Utah and yeah it’s a great view. Glad you enjoyed the video!

My lawn is Kentucky Bluegrass. I’ve heard of them used on just about all kinds of grass from KBG to Bermuda, but I haven’t heard anyone use them on St Augustine. Surely someone must be reel mowing that kind on RU-vid somewhere. I’d be interested to see.

St. Aug really needs to mowed at 3.75”-4”. You can’t really get that high with a reel mower. Zoysia or Bermuda is your best bet.

I thought I would too, but after using this one a bit, I’m really digging how easy it is to put on and off and how light and easy to empty it is.

This is Provo Utah. That’s the Wasatch mountain range in the background.

Yeah, my Kensington was shipped in a similar cardboard box. I wonder if they’ll change them all to the wood crate eventually. I’d imagine since they are shipping globally that there’s bound to be expensive damage to these that they’d want to mitigate.

That particular loud noise was because I had adjusted it too tight. I’m going to have to find the sweet spot. By the time I started mowing it sounded much better. I’ll work on it.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse yeah I know but the paper test suggested you had set right. Some owners have had to back it right off and it’s meant no cut but there is a live fix for it. No idea what it is.

I think the paper that I was using was too thin. It was thinner than printer paper, so I think it was too tight still. Definitely needs some experimenting. One thought I have it that I’m wondering if it’s the contrast of going from a loud gas mower to a silent battery powered one. I’m just not used to noticing the reel sound much because the engine is usually loud.

Not sure what other manufacturer’s do for contact adjustment mechanism however two seasons with the Liberty45 has left me wondering why Allett doesn’t redesign their adjustment mechanism so that the reel-to-bedknife contact surfaces were fixed parallel to each other and then adjusted evenly across the entire contact surface. While adjusting each side independently allows for ‘micro’ adjusting, it also allows for lesser manufacturing quality in the reels. From the user perspective it also allows for uneven pressure, excessive friction, premature wear and constant attention to the bedknife & reel - again, only because one side is slightly and unmeasurably tighter than the other. Over a few hours of use this leads to heat, wear, and a cylinder that continues to get further out-of-round. The click/clang sound after adjusting based on the “does it cut paper evenly test” confirms that one side is actually slamming in to the bed knife. If the reel were truly cylindrical out of the box then it could be adjusted from only one mechanism, not two.

Any update on this? I just got my stirling this week and I’m having issues with the reel slamming into the bed knife…only fix was to increase the distance but now the cut quality is terrible. I’ve sent a message to alllett USA but haven’t heard back from. It’s super frustrating

Yeah, I’m in Utah county. I’ve really liked the Stirling. Have had it out this year already to Scarify and verticut a little. And I mowed but not much needed to be cut. Going to keep my KBG at about 1” this year, I think

I just purchased mine. Should be hear on this week. I am in Orem. Been reel mowing for a couple years but definitely need the attachments to get the lawn like I want it.

Cool! We should get together and kick the tires when it arrives!

Ah, you’re referring to the empty lot with the weed forest? That’s an interesting tactic. There is a for sale sign on it now but they want way more for it than it’s worth IMO. A maintenance lean is an interesting idea. I’ll actually look into that!

@@DennisAroundtheHouse nice mower and good looking design on your win

Thanks!

Right. It’s been a while since I made the video. What did I say? I think it was just that I wanted to ride a Vespa around England. I have a Vespa, so that’s why I named the brand. I know they are from Italy.

Sorry for the delay I getting back to you on this. I found that the paper test makes the contact too tight and I’ve started adjusting by sound. Running the mower and turning the screw until I hear the contact and then backing it off one tick. It’s working well and stays nice and quiet.

Oh, and good job on your entry!

@@DennisAroundtheHouse thanks for the information and help+ cheers

You can say that again!

Thanks! I mowed my yard tonight on a full charge and it only want down one light. Pretty impressive! My yard is about 5k sqft. Glad I held out for the 12ah.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse wow that is decent. probably only used 2.5 a/h worth of charge

Yeah, I was pretty surprised. I’ll be interested to push it a bit and see how long I can get it to go, maybe with a scarify and a couple cut or something.

@@DennisAroundtheHouse i think the cultivation work will drain it more than regular mowing so it will be interesting to see how it goes. enjoy!

Agreed. Thanks!

In Utah. Lots of great sights around here.

True

Would have been a significantly larger box if it came assembled. Had to add both batteries, actually, as it doesn’t come with any. Kind of a bummer there.

Hmm