Riding Mower Recommendations

[repairman54]

14 yrs on my 14 hp B&S Craftsman.
15-50 M1 summer 5-30 cheapest synth. winter
Mows 3/4 acre pushes 42" snow blade winter and it will ram snow 4' high.
Parts that have failed - front axle , 2 trans. brackets, carb needle & seat, couple sets of belts and blades but those are wear items.
Original battery.
Motor oil use never gets down to add between it's seasonal changes.
Parts easilly avail. online from Sears.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Yep, Deere L series are a good buy for a small investment. For about $6-7K, you can get one of these with a 48" deck!:

http://www.eastmanind.com/INGERSOLL/tabid/186/Default.aspx

Joel


My 2002 Craftsman tractor is nearing the end of its productive life after 8 years. The Ingersoll looks nice but for $6-7 grand I can get a diesel Kubota or about 4 more Craftsman lawn tractors!

Also, Getting 14 years out of a lawn tractor in northern Minnesota or upstate NY is the equivalent of 2 years here in the redneck riviera. I mow an average of 40 weeks a year at least 2 hours a week plus other tasks including yard waste removal, fence line spraying, and moving boat and utility trailers.

I hope to get at least another year out of the old battleax but time will tell.....

 

[cronk]

Originally Posted By: repairman54
14 yrs on my 14 hp B&S Craftsman.
15-50 M1 summer 5-30 cheapest synth. winter
Mows 3/4 acre pushes 42" snow blade winter and it will ram snow 4' high.
Parts that have failed - front axle , 2 trans. brackets, carb needle & seat, couple sets of belts and blades but those are wear items.
Original battery.
Motor oil use never gets down to add between it's seasonal changes.
Parts easilly avail. online from Sears.



Are you saying your original battery of 14 years is still in the tractor? I would find that hard to imagine!

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: cronk
Originally Posted By: repairman54
14 yrs on my 14 hp B&S Craftsman.
15-50 M1 summer 5-30 cheapest synth. winter
Mows 3/4 acre pushes 42" snow blade winter and it will ram snow 4' high.
Parts that have failed - front axle , 2 trans. brackets, carb needle & seat, couple sets of belts and blades but those are wear items.
Original battery.
Motor oil use never gets down to add between it's seasonal changes.
Parts easilly avail. online from Sears.



Are you saying your original battery of 14 years is still in the tractor? I would find that hard to imagine!


Batteries can last if they're properly maintained. My 2002 Husqvarna battery is still strong. It's going on nine years old. However, 14 years for a battery that size is remarkable.

My diesel Kubota power plant has a large auto battery and it's going on 25 years old. I top up the electrolyte twice a year and keep it on an eight watt solar panel year round.

I know this is the exception not the rule but with proper maintenance, my smaller batteries average between eight and ten years of useful service.

 

[Turk]

My MTD gets about 110 hours of bouncing use a year mowing the 3+ acres. I'd say that's quite a bit.

 

[bigmike]

My parents are getting up in age and want to get a riding mower. The problem is, they need something easy to use and smaller so it will fit inside their fence gates. I was thinking of trying to find them a Snapper, but wanted to see if you guys know of anything else that might fit the bill?

Electric start would be good. Nothing too complicated to operate is a plus as well. Yard is mostly St. Augustine, roughly 3/4 acre.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: bigdreama
... The Ingersoll looks nice but for $6-7 grand I can get a diesel Kubota or about 4 more Craftsman lawn tractors!


I hear that. That's the reason you don't see any new Ingersolls. It's hard to believe the product line is still viable with the way the market is today.

Joel

 

[boraticus]

I have a friend who spent $25000.00 on a Yanmar diesel powered JD yard tractor with mower and snow thrower attachments to cut approx. 1/2 an acre of grass and throw snow on an area half that size. Couldn't get into the tight spots so he spends another $1000.00 for a Toro self propelled walk behind mower. It's not like this guy has a lot of spare cash lying around either. It's amazing what people will spend for yellow and green. That machine doesn't even have a heated/cooled cab nor a windshield wiper!

Personally, if I were spending that much, I'd have bought a diesel powered Kubota with an enclosed air conditioned/heated cab and would have still had a good piece of change left over to spend on fun stuff like motorcycles/ATVs, outboard motors etc.

Kubota is every bit as good as JD if not better and sold at a much more reasonable price.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: boraticus

Kubota is every bit as good as JD if not better and sold at a much more reasonable price.


That's the truth. If your buddy just HAD to have this type of equipment, he could have gotten away with a 4x4 diesel Kioti with those implements for ~$15K. Or something like a Nortrac Chinese setup for less than that even. I guess that's what's cool about today. Lots of choices. Lots of price ranges. Back in the day, if you wanted a new lawn/garden tractor, it would set you back what an econo car costs today. You had no other choice.

Joel

 

[ruralcarrier]

Just sold a 30 inch cut Dixon ZTR with an 11hp B & S engine and replaced it with another 30 inch Dixon with a 16.5hp B & S engine. Nice cut and really cuts down on the mowing time.

I had 2 Toro rear engine riders prior (sold both) and would not have anything but a zero turn now.