The 314 is like a mountain goat!

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

  I sold a Black Hood 141 or 145 to my nephew that suited his needs. i then used the proceeds plus a bit more to buy a 314 with manual transmission. i took it to a rental property which had a steep hill in front of the house about 3 feet high and at a 45 degree angle. She is a very tight tractor and the deestone tires are in good shape. they were flexible enough to crawl right up the hill and cut that grass at the apex.

  My backup was a DeWalt string trimmer which was of course out of line, but that 314 saved me a trip to the store. Two happy people. my nephew has an automagical transmission mower , and i have a very fresh replacement for a go to extra.   I never use a machine for rental mowing without a thorough deck clean because of spreading plantain seeds to my home yard. dad had tons of them as I was growing up and the seed stalks took only a day or so to make the yard look a mess.

 

    All the 314 needs is a jump wire to the solenoid to make it totally reliable as the seat switch safety is a bit sporadic to start the machine

 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

[Handy Don 12,233]

I'm sure you are already aware of how tricky it can be to be safe on a GT (or any tractor, really) on a hill. Lots of power, fairly narrow wheelbase, and limited brakes are not a great combo for 45º hillsides.

[ri702bill 8,327]

48 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

a steep hill in front of the house about 3 feet high and at a 45 degree angle. She is a very tight tractor and the deestone tires are in good shape. they were flexible enough to crawl right up the hill and cut that grass at the apex.

Surprised you did not get the deck caught trying to go over the top. Even though the Magnum 14 has a full pressurized oil system and filter, 45 degrees is asking a lot of that engine - a regular K series Kohler or a Tecky would probably broken the connecting rod already. And as Don mentioned, not the safest thing to be doing. Time to get a couple of goats???

A side note - I have seen a guy in town here with a similar steep angled drop off - he uses a  "throwaway" cheap walk behind rotary mower with a length of rope - send it down the hill, yank it back up, move over, repeat as necessary. And i DO occasionally see a dead one in the trash at the curb.... with the telltale hole in the block.

[bds1984 1,435]

20 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Surprised you did not get the deck caught trying to go over the top. Even though the Magnum 14 has a full pressurized oil system and filter, 45 degrees is asking a lot of that engine - a regular K series Kohler or a Tecky would probably broken the connecting rod already. And as Don mentioned, not the safest thing to be doing. Time to get a couple of goats???

A side note - I have seen a guy in town here with a similar steep angled drop off - he uses a  "throwaway" cheap walk behind rotary mower with a length of rope - send it down the hill, yank it back up, move over, repeat as necessary. And i DO occasionally see a dead one in the trash at the curb.... with the telltale hole in the block.

I think you may be thinking of a Kohler Command engine.  Single cylinder Ks and Magnums are both lubed with an oil dipper/slinger.  

Edited September 15, 2022 by bds1984

[Lane Ranger 10,968]

Those 314’s are better than a goat!  Love them and all they can do!  At 45 you want to mow downhill! Just ride back up with mower off! 

[peter lena 8,634]

@Lane Ranger  excellent advise / experience there , take advantage of its  ability , makes tough jobs easy , pete

[ri702bill 8,327]

1 hour ago, bds1984 said:

Single cylinder Ks and Magnums are both lubed with an oil dipper/slinger.  

Thanks - splash lubed, eh ?? Pop goes the weasel!!

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

  Am not intending to make this a habit. the short sport Dodge 1500 is not enough room in the bed for both a push mower and a 314.  I will have to get some more line for the string trimmer.  I usually took the trailer, but one of the tires got a bulge. So sometimes the risk tolerance goes up a bit....

Edited September 15, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[Lee1977 6,663]

You can mow some pretty weaked angles ( it's similar to motorcycle side car racing ) you have to way out on the upper fender for ballance and traction. But not so far that you can't reach the clutch. Low gear also helps gives time to make corrections .

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:28 PM, Lee1977 said:

You can mow some pretty weaked angles ( it's similar to motorcycle side car racing ) you have to way out on the upper fender for ballance and traction. But not so far that you can't reach the clutch. Low gear also helps gives time to make corrections .

well actually I was going straight up that little hill.. No side angle. I hope that the five foot length that the tractor spends on that slope for five seconds at a time is of no consequence to lubrication of the engine

[953 nut 55,290]

On 9/15/2022 at 9:37 AM, ohiofarmer said:

to make it totally reliable as the seat switch safety is a bit sporadic to start the machine

The START wiring on a Wheel Horse doesn't go through the seat switch, just the PTO and CLUTCH switches and oil sentry switch relay if so equipped. 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

5 hours ago, 953 nut said:

The START wiring on a Wheel Horse doesn't go through the seat switch, just the PTO and CLUTCH switches and oil sentry switch relay if so equipped. 

That is good news. Maybe I should have mentioned that the Christmas Tree light panel is not lighting up as well. Probably about time to start a new discussion in the electrical threads