Lawn Mowers?

[Tzer]

Hey All.

We recently moved from a 2.5 acre lot home to less then ¼ acre lot home. (Wife wanted to move back into town)

 

I owned an MTD 18 HP 46" deck for 16 years before it finally worn itself out. I put it though HELL! from day one if it would run over an 1" sappling, I mowed it LOL.

 

I replaced it with a Craftsman 20HP 42" deck, That worked ok for the first year then through the second year the hydrostat was starting to go bad I think. (had a had time moving itself).

 

Anyway. I sold the Craftsman mower and figured I'll just get a Self-Propelled, Walk-Behind Mower. It would have to be a mulching mower type as well, They won't take grass clippings in the trash and I don't want to just side discharge like I used to. The new home has a sprinkler system and I'll probably be having to mow twice a week. LOL

 

Anyone have any experence with certain type/brands that would provide me with long service and few or no problems?

 

Thanks for your time

 

Tzer

[Fireman31]

Brands I personally would consider:

Snapper

Craftsman

John Deer

 

I have had personal experience with Snapper and currently Craftsman. With a little normal maintenance(oil changes, spark plugs, blades, etc.) both brands run like a top. We had a Snapper self propelled mower almost 20 years, and it still ran when we donated it to the high school auto shop, it was tired from years of use. We also had a Snapper ride on mower for about 15 years until yours truly leaned out the carb too much and blew the engine up(dumb high school kid). The Craftsman mowers I have now a 21" 6.75HP push mower and a 42" 17HP tractor run as expected with no problems.

 

I mention John Deer just for the sheer fact that its John Deer, and they have the best ratings among mowers, but can be pricey. Definitely check Consumer Reports ratings before making a decision.

 

If I had to make a recommendation for an engine manufacturer it would be Briggs & Stratton hands down. I honestly believe they build better quality engines then Tecumseh. B & S engines are also easy to work on. My dad had a snowblower with a B & S last 30 years.......and the only reason we got rid of it was because the axle rotted away. Currently all of my mowers and my snow blower(also a Craftsman) are equipped with Briggs & Sratton engines.

 

 

[JF-03-SS]

So how much of the 2.5 acres do you mow? I mow about 2.5 of my 4.2 acres. Now it depends on what kind of money you are willing to spend. I bought a Exmark Lazer Z (zero turn 52"). It was $8500.00 but I got it for $4000.00 from a guy that needed money bad (had 450 hrs on it at the time) I have had three lawn tractors w/ different size decks (42".48" and 54") and will never own one again. Similar to this, but mine is a 2000. http://www.exmark.com/lazerz.htm

[BlackySS13]

When I was in college, I mowed for a landscaping company and Exmarks are the shit. Ours had over 3000 hours and were still going strong. As far as a walk behind, nothing but Toro. It will last forever and if something breaks, there are parts to fix it.

[thomp62301]

I'm actually a service manager of a lawn equipment dealership for the last 10 years, so I have alittle experience in this area. In the walk behind world we sell Snapper, Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt, Lawn Boy, and Exmark. The Exmark walk behinds are without a doubt the best, but you also pay $1000+. I would say the best mower in my personal experience would be the Lawn Boy Platinum series model 10795. They have Honda engines and come with a 5 year warranty for under 600.00. Whatever you would chose, I would stay away from the Tecumseh engines. they are discontuning there small engines under 10 hp. So parts may be hard to come by years down the road.

 

 

http://www.lawnboy.com/productinfo/mowers/...sh/feature.html

 

I have 1.5 acres and have a Exmark Lazer Hp. That thing is awesome. With the stripper kit mounted on the deck, my yard looks like a baseball field when i'm done mowing.

Edited February 24, 2008 by thomp62301 (see edit history)

[ThePDB]

FINALLY A TOPIC I KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT!!!

 

I've co-owned my own lawn care and landscaping business for a while. We run nothing but Toro. It's expensive... but The only thing I've ever had to do is regular maintenance. I know your not mowing anywhere near the grass that I do every week- but Toro is reliable. I never have any downtime.

 

It seems like I have everything Toro makes: Personal pace 20", Proline 36" walk behinds, 44", 50", 52", 60" Z-masters.

 

The Zmasters are definitely more for the commercial side of things- but they do have a homeowner line that's cheaper. I don't have striping kits on mine- but they still stripe like crazy.

 

If your only mowing a normal size lawn, youd prolly have luck with craftsman, they even have zero turn riders out by me. They look "cheap" to me though... mainly because all ours are commercial- 7guage steel decks and so forth.

 

Let us know what you get!

[ThePDB]

I'm actually a service manager of a lawn equipment dealership for the last 10 years, so I have alittle experience in this area. In the walk behind world we sell Snapper, Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt, Lawn Boy, and Exmark. The Exmark walk behinds are without a doubt the best, but you also pay $1000+. I would say the best mower in my personal experience would be the Lawn Boy Platinum series model 10795. They have Honda engines and come with a 5 year warranty for under 600.00. Whatever you would chose, I would stay away from the Tecumseh engines. they are discontuning there small engines under 10 hp. So parts may be hard to come by years down the road.

http://www.lawnboy.com/productinfo/mowers/...sh/feature.html

 

I have 1.5 acres and have a Exmark Lazer Hp. That thing is awesome. With the stripper kit mounted on the deck, my yard looks like a baseball field when i'm done mowing.

 

HONDA engines are the S**T! I'd buy anything with a Honda. They run forever

[brobradh77]

I had a commercial TORO and that thing was kick ass. It almost had a lope to it..lol It would yank you out of your shoes in drive. It was very powerful self propelled mower. I think it did 1.2 sec. 60' times...lol

[Rays B4U]

Less than a quarter of an acre? I think one of these would work fine.

I really don't have a lawn big enough to justify a rider but because it was handed down to me I use it. It is a 1972 IH Cub Cadet, 149 hydrostatic drive, 14 hp Kohler, with a 40 inch deck. My dad bought it new in 1972 and mowed about 5 acres a week with it. Last spring I rebuilt the Kohler and it did not even need bored, just knocked the glaze off the cylinder and put a standard piston back in it, did the same with the crank. I didn't think that was too bad for a 36 year old tractor.

 

PS..TZER I love your Avatar!

[Grim_Smoker]

I'd stay away from Crapsmen if I were you, I won't touch that garbage with a ten foot pole. I grew up with a father who only ever owned John Deer, and thats what I own. The honda's are pretty awesome too, IIRC one of the honda's got the best ratings last year.

[ChevyMan23]

My dad just bought this for his yard. Their lot is 7/10 of an acre. The company has been around for years and their stuff is tough.

http://www.billygoat.com/site/intro.aspx?pid=17

Edited February 24, 2008 by ChevyMan23 (see edit history)

[supersub]

John Deere!

[desrtrat]

don't need to wast gas on these. and when they break down,....BBQ..

 

 

 

[ThePDB]

don't need to wast gas on these. and when they break down,....BBQ..

 

 

 

 

I need to get me a few of them! hahahaha

[KissMySilvSS]

I want a Bad Boy Mowers, just cause the name is cool