Mowers -- Good, Bad, Ugly

[ssmith1627]

Looking to buy a "lawn tractor" in the next week or so. My wife and I just moved to a new home with 2.5 acres to keep up with, probably 70% of which is grass.

I had a Snapper Hydro before. Basically inherited it but it seemed there was always some issue with it and the only place I could find to do work on it or get parts was a 20 minute drive away.

What do you guys thing of these Yard Machines they sell at HD ? Seems to be made by the same company that makes several of the other brands. Looking at this one in particular:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100615138

The thing I did like about the Snapper was I could go forward or backward with foot pedals....no shifting with a knob on the fender.

Just curious as to what you guys things of the various brands out there. This one is basically in my price range -- I don't want to go much higher. Too many other dollars going out right now since we just moved.

Thanks,
Steve

[DUD]

A Friend of Mine bought a Bad Boy last year and loves it. It is fast and does a good

job. Bill

[JimD]

I bought a "Yard Bug" made by MTD a few years ago. It is a rear engine rider with about a 28 inch cut. I have about an acre with a house and a couple natural areas in it. It takes me 1 1/2 hours with a push mower and about the same with the little rider. I seem to need a battery every couple years. I probably should not have purchased the rider, I use it little, but may get to the point where 1 1/2 hours in the sun is too much and then I will be happy I have the rider. It does not cut as well as the push mower (scalps when you are turning).

MTD is not a fancy brand but has been fine. I had to disengage the mower when backing up and wore out a cable used to engage/disengage. I do not recommend this but I taped the switch to take it out of service so I do not have to disengage the mower while backing up. Everything else has worked fine.

If you have a lot of grass as you seem to and do not have to turn a lot (like I have to), then a rider with a bigger deck should be good. If the grass is such that it will show scalping, I would look for a model with wheels on the deck.

Jim

[Black wallnut]

Warning- ya may think I'm a snob....

When I was in your situation I bought a real John Deere 110. I have since wished several times that we would have spent the extra money to get a garden tractor. Lawn tractors are only really good for one thing and that is mowing the lawn, however I have made a 15 gallon sprayer that I can mount on the back. (4 #2 nozzles on 20" spacing.) If you are thinking, which you should be IMHO, with close to 2 acres your trade in value might be worth looking at.

Things I looked at when I bought mine:

1. pressurized oil system/ real filter
2. mulch plus side discharge (you ever rake an acre?)
3. color and how it relates to quality/ lifespan of machine
4. size of mowing deck
5. resale value (real JD seem to hold value)

Since buying mine not only have I wished we would have bought a garden tractor (difference being stronger transmission and able to actually pull landscape implements such as discs, blades, or harrow.) Sears craftsman has since sold a better deck design as I think Deere has, wheels front and rear on deck. Mine has front wheels only and on uneven ground I can get scalping.
HTH

[BadeMillsap]

Deere LT160

I live in the "rock" capital of the world ... SOMETIMES I get to mow grass or weeds but mostly I mow rocks ... I've lived here 25 years and I swear rocks do in fact grow out of the ground ...

.... having said that ... I have owned over the course of 25 years a NUMBER of Lawn Tractors ... several Craftsman, A "Poulan" (do NOT buy one of those!) and finally about 4 years ago I bit the bullet and bought an honest to goodness John Deere LT160 ... you can't get those at HomeDepot ... you will have to go to a Deere dealer ... yes ... it cost about 2x what a "similar as far as engine size and blade/deck width" would have cost ... BUT ... after several years of having mowed rocks with toy tractors ... it's well worth every penny to spend more for the quality of a "real" (albeit small) Lawn Tractor.

[Pappy]

Another push toward a Deere. I have the LT155 with a Kohler motor. The only thing I don't like is the plastic hood. Mine is off the tractor and in several pieces. Still on the lookout for a used one. New replacement is about $370.

[messmaker]

The tractor in question is OK for a flat acre lot. It is by no means heavy duty.You can expect to get about 5 trouble free years. The tractors that will last tend to be much heavier.You can almost shop by weight. They have a deck so heavy that you can hardly move it. Craftsman/Husqvarna,Cub Cadet,Simplicity,Kubota and John Deere are about all that is left. The Craftsman 6500 is the cheapest. The John Deere or Kubota is generally considered best built.The JD that is sold at the box stores(100 series is sold at dealers as well) is pretty good but has a cheaper engine and smaller transmission than you may need The feeling by most is that a used quality tractor will give better performance than what you can buy new for the same money. You will probably need to spend $3000 unless you run up on a great deal.Happy hunting.

[probinet]

Mower

I have a John Deere Sabre and I am happy with the cutting of the grass but it won't do anything else. I looked into getting a plow for it and the dealership said it is not rated for anything more than loose, small amounts of snow. If you are going to do anything with it other than mowing spend the extra money on a read Deere or do what I did. I bought an old Case 220 tractor for yard work other than mowing. It is all metal, including the fenders. I runs like a tank and nothing can stop it. It has hydro transmission with a hand lever for forward and reverse on the stearing colum along with a hi and low range on the rear end. I used it to plow out a spot for my above ground swimming pool and it can't be stoped when plowing snow. It has hydraulic lift for the plow and with a sleeve hitch on the back it will raise and lower rear implements.

[JeffG78]

Like others have said, lawn tractors are light duty lawn mowers and nothing more. Lawn tractors are getting lighter and flimsier every year. If you don't have, or don't want to spend the money for a new garden tractor, you might consider looking for a 10+ year old used garden tractor. Look for a quality name like John Deere, Kubota, or an old Cub Cadet. Personally, I would look for a 25 year old Cub Cadet or John Deere and replace the few worn items. You will spend much less overall than what a new POS Chinese made lawn tractor costs and it will work better and last longer than a new one.

That said, what does your lawn look like? Is it flat? Are there trees or fence lines? If it is an odd shape or has a lot of obstacles, you might consider looking for a zero turn mower like the landscapers use. My dad has about 2-1/2 acres of rolling land with fences, and dozens of small, medium, and large trees. Last year he sold his trusty Cub Cadet and bought a Kubota zero turn rider. It was very expensive, but his mowing time has been cut in half. For him, the time saved each week is well worth the $7000+ pricetag. If your lawn is flat and has few trees, then a standard tractor would work fine. It will still take longer than a zero turn, but not by a huge amount.

Another alternative is a used walk-behind zero turn. These were all the rage a few years ago with the landscapers, but they have all switched over to riders so the prices should be very reasonable. Even though you will be walking, the mowing time will be greatly reduced vs. a 21" pushmower or conventional tractor and it's good exercise to boot

[DaveStL]

I have a Yard Machines garden tractor. Similar chassis design, although mine is probably heavier-gauge. The deck in the picture looks a little different than mine, which is also 46" but has wheels on the bottom (if you get the deck too low it rides them to avoid scalping). Without bagging, it takes about an hour to an hour and a half to do my hilly acre w/ a lot of trees. If you have more than a 25-deg grade you have to be careful about how you cut to avoid tipping. If you have a lot of trees a zero turning radius mower would make life much easier, but they're pricey.

Speed adjustment is just fine. It has a single foot lever for both clutch and brake. You don't need the clutch to upshift.

I got it several years ago at HD, and it was a reconditioned return w/ full warranty. I've had no maintenance issues except a pulley on the upper drive belt got stiff and ate the belt, and WD40 took care of that. Model 845, originally $1800, marked to $899 (less 10% if you open a charge account). Mine is the 2-cyl Intek w/ oil pump, which is a pretty decent engine, but it didn't come w/ a filter; HD cheaps out on those. I called Briggs tech support and got the right nipple to put a filter on, not too tough except to torque it you need to double-nut the nipple, which is a metric pipe thread-- I bought a couple cheapo filters that matched the nipple and made nuts out of the bottoms.

That one is probably a 1-cyl Intek. Not sure if those have an oil pump, which is a good thing for engine life.

The bagger is mediocre; same one for all the MTD/clones w/ 46" deck. If you get too much grass going up the chute at once, it plugs. It picks up leaves ok, but does better if you get some grass with the leaves. If you're mulching, rather than the mulching kit I'd suggest Gator blades; cheaper and they do a better job. But on this deck the Gators don't bag as well as the stock combination blades.

MTD makes several brands, including Cub Cadet.

[gary]

Kubota's are well build. I have a G1800S with a 54" cut I bought in 1988. It's diesel and has 4 wheel steering which is great with trees - we have 1.3 acres and 100 trees to mow around - takes about 3 hours to mow it.

Don't forget to figure in trees to mow around. A tractor without 4 wheel steering will add additional time to the mowing job.

[SCBob]

The guy at the small engine shop told me just last week, not to buy a lawn mower with the Briggs & Stratton Intek engine. It has a cooling problem. He has see and replace several engine lately.

He said the best one out there right now is the Husqvarna with the Kohler engine.
I have see them at several places including Northern Tools, but not on it's web site.
And all had the same price.

[messmaker]

I know that is always easy to spend other people's money. I know you want to spend the least you can. Your yard will determine how cheap you can go. I have found that tree roots are a killer. They will destroy a lightweight deck and put a lot of stress on your mower when you hit one and it slams your mower to a stop. The zero turn mowers are great but you give up a little. They don't do anything but mow grass but they do it very well. They have blade speeds so they usually give a great cut. They are not quite as comfortable as a tractor and can be more dangerous if not driven with care on hills.

Don't write off Briggs and Stratton. They make more tane anyone. Intec is cheap. Industrial commercial is solid. The Vanguard is top quality and should be compared with the best. The new entry line Kohler is not as good as it's reputation.

[ssmith1627]

Thanks for the information guys. I certainly didn't know the box store JD was different than a real JD.

I'm feeling now like I need to find a used mower that will run and put as little into it as I have to while I save for the right mower. Not interested in debt except where the house is concerned. The problem right now is that I just moved, just adopted a 2 year old, just put carpet into the den, have to buy a storage building and get a pool serviced. Cash flow will be fine in a couple months but it's awfully tight today !

Thanks again for all the responses. You can't beat the crew on this site.

Steve

[os1kne]

I'll echo the others, do not go to HD/Lowes for your tractor. Try to find a good used SHAFT-DRIVEN JD, Cub Cadet, etc. - even if it's 10+ years old, it will probably outlast the best machine that you can find at HD/Lowes. Don't be concerned that a good old used machine will likely only have 1/2 of the horsepower as a new machine from HD/Lowes. The machines at HD/Lowes are belt-driven and the transfer of power using the belt kills a lot of HP. A decent used machine probably won't be any cheaper than a new machine from HD/Lowes, but it will be a much stronger machine.

Good luck!