I need a new mower

I have wasted a lot of time fixing the one I bought when we moved into this house. There are enough projects in my world, I want to be able to get on the mower, cut the grass and put the mower away. 

RevRico had a similar thread last year, I read through it all and the consensus seemed to be to buy a used commercial unit. I've never had any luck with any used lawn equipment. Even if I buy a new one and have no maintenance issues for two years, that would almost be a win in my book. What I've got is a 42 inch MTD. 

It seems to be the right deck size, maybe could be a little bigger, but even with two new blades a couple years ago I have to cut extremely slowly if the grass gets too long. Forget about it if the grass is wet. I've been looking at zero turns to try to speed up cutting time but I think I'm right in saying that you don't have to stop the blades to go in reverse with the newer riding mowers. 

It's hard to say exactly but I'm probably cutting a bit over an acre. 

What does GRM say?

At my last house we were on about an acre and I had good success with a Toro TimeCutter 42" zero turn mower. It worked great for well over 4 years with minimal maintenance just following the recommended stuff in the book. I would have kept it at the new place but couldn't justify it for how small our yard is now. 

I got a used cub cadet tank zero turn and it's still going strong. They don't seem to hold their value as well as other commercial brands so you can pick them up fairly cheap and everything is serviceable. 

If you're considering used ones, maybe look for a Steiner 220/230? They not that sought after  (no cool bendy chassis or 4WD) but they are definitely professional machines. I recently got a 230 w/ a 72" deck (smaller decks are available, IIRC 54" and 60") and found it almost as maneuverable as a zero turn while make short work of our almost 4 acres.

With that thing I almost regret being so allergic to grass that I have to pay someone to mow it for us.

Bought a used JD 42" when we bought our house in 2016.  Minor maintenance and a new set of blades in the last couple of years is all I've done...still on the battery that came with it (though that needs to be replaced).  

With that said, we bought a JD zero turn for church a couple years ago.  I can't remember if it is a 48" or 54" cut, but it takes literally half the time to mow the property compared to the JD 42" we had before.  I wasn't a zero turn guy until this thing.  

If you can find one, a 70s IH cub like I bought would run forever. The kohler 10/12hp motor is simple and happy as long as it has oil. The carbs get a little weird but nothing some blue loctite can't fix. Belts are still dirt cheap too. 

This is the third one I've had in my life, and even with a dead battery (just needs a jump) currently it cuts circles around all the newer used motors I've had, and judging by Dusterbds thread, a lot of the newer name brand mowers as well.

I got wore out with lawn tractors about 4 years ago.  Bought a pro-sumer 54" Husqvarna zero turn with Kohler power, and never looked back.  Just mowed 2 hours this morning.  I just follow every maintenance schedule and keep up with the blades, which down here I replace or resharpen every 4 months.  We mow once a week for 9 months.

Another vote for going to a zero turn. I bought a barely used Toro Z-Master 44" and it has been awesome. If you have trailers, add a hitch to the ZT and they make great trailer tugs.

I pimped mine out a few years ago w/ front and rear LED's so I can work at night. 

Like others, I'm a convert to the zero turn lifestyle after using a 1974 Cub Cadett 149 for years.  

Here's my thread from waaayy back in 2018.

I ended up with an eXmark 52" from a local dealer.  I can cut my 2.5-3ish acres in a bit more than an hour if everything is reasonably dry and it hasn't been too long. 2 hours if the grass is long or it's damp.

You are correct that the blades do not turn off when you reverse.

That's said, for an acre, that's a tough pill to swallow.  Mine was $5200 back in 2018 dollars, which is probably approximately a lot or so in 2023 dollars.   I haven't done anything other than change oil and swap blades in that time, though, so it's been a massive success for what I needed it for.  I bought a spare set of blades when I got the thing and sharpen & swap about twice a year.

I will finally put enough hours to do the first oil change on the hydros this season, I'm only at like 70 hours in the last 5 years.  It's that fast.

ChrisTropea said:

At my last house we were on about an acre and I had good success with a Toro TimeCutter 42" zero turn mower. It worked great for well over 4 years with minimal maintenance just following the recommended stuff in the book. I would have kept it at the new place but couldn't justify it for how small our yard is now. 

I have about an acre to cut. I bought a 42" Toro Timecutter in 2010. The only repair was a battery replacement. Otherwise it runs like a champ. 

I went out and spent $2,500 on a brand new Husqvarna riding mower a couple years ago. In the 66 hours I have used it I have had the transmission out twice and am now putting an engine on it. I will never purchase another Husqvarna piece of equipment. I even bought this one from a tractor shop not a big box store. To replace it I purchased an older Craftsman heavy duty yard tractor with the bolt on rear wheels and a PTO that has over 700 hours on it. I'd recommend you look for a heavy duty piece of equipment go through it once and be done for the next 10 years.

Huh.  I've been mulling the new/used question and need to do something about my 15-year old Husqvarna lawn tractor.  It has more or less exactly 400 hours on it.  Briggs V-twin is perfect, but the hydrostatic drive is weak.  Tractor won't pull out of a shallow ditch I used to mow across all the time.  Was considering cost to replace the drive versus cost to replace the tractor, then saw something about changing the fluid.  Anybody done this?

Normal version:

Redneck version:

My answer to this was a 1971 Champion riding mower that was bought for $75. I repowered it with a 17 hp Briggs. I also rebuilt the deck with all new bearings and blades. 

It is bullet proof. 

1988RedT2:   If you think you can follow the videos... do it!    Also, always a chance the drive belt for that pump is worn and slipping.  Check the spring that tensions it also.

My answer 2 years ago was a friend from church selling his old mowers.  One was a 5 year-old red Craftsman 12-15hp deal and one was a JD x300.  Both ran and I talked him UP to $400 total.  Sold the Craftsman for close to sale price.  The JD has gotten a $20 Amazon carb, 2 belts (teen mowers), and some fluid for the hydrostatic trans.  The x300 handles 1.25 acres like a dream.

I'm an extreme introvert but cash in hand when visiting friends with acreage is usually wise.  Stuff just ends up for sale.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I've done it, I called tuff torq which is who made the trans in mine and they said cost cutting from John Deere meant they put a nylon gear in instead of a metal gear (they are culpable as well IMO). So I bought the metal gear because as the original fluid heated up the "teeth" on the nylon gear would lay down. They are supposedly sealed but TT had a diagram to rebuild it and I did so successfully. They did say the fluid change would give the same results but I plan to have that mower forever.

I bought a 42" toro time cutter in 2012.  It has needed batteries.  I have been horrible about maintaining it.  Mine has the "bad" Kohler single cylinder but other then surging due to carb damage from ethanol it has been tolerant of my lack of care.  

I use it to mow 1/2 acre.  Yes that's an embarrassingly small yard for a 42" mower.  Honestly if I knew how much time it was going to save compared to the traditional lawn tractor it replaced I probably would of gotten the 30" walk behind.  It literally takes me half as long as it used to take.  Like that's not a joke, just being able to turn around immediately and keep going saves an incredible amount of time.   Probably less impact on a larger yard but apparently I was spending like half the time I was mowing turning around.  

I like the idea of paying good money for an older machine. I have an older New Holland LS35. It has a 54" deck and is a beast. I got it from a person that took great care of it and it was $900. Not exactly cheap but a solid machine that is built to last. 

Having suffered with MTD junk for several years I had the opportunity to buy a used John Deere from a guy moving to a retirement home. It is a 'real' JD, not one just labeled as such for a big box store. I always poo-poo'd the idea of paying more for a JD. No; there is a definite difference. It's almost a joy to mow now vs the garbage I used before. I think the engine is a Kawasaki. Uses no oil, whereas the B&S in the MTD would require adding every other mow. Yes, when you need parts you will pay the JD tax but I've become a believer it is actually worth it.

To add to the Husqvarna hate:  We bought one for church prior to the zero turn.  Suffered for years with that thing.  Uneven cut, steering sector dying, random battery drains, spindle bushings failing prematurely...ridiculous stuff.  The old JD just ran like a top. 

The Timecutter was high on my list even before this thread so it's nice to have that vote of confidence. A local mower dealer sells ExMark and Big Dog. The Big Dog has the best stated warranty. 3 years on the engine and 4 on the mower itself. 

It seems like the Timecutter will be the least expensive of all the options which certainly is a consideration. Buying a mower for what I could buy a E36 M3ty Miata for sorta hurts. 

Also. I never knew that you're supposed to sharpen the blades so often...

ddavidv said:

Having suffered with MTD junk for several years I had the opportunity to buy a used John Deere from a guy moving to a retirement home. It is a 'real' JD, not one just labeled as such for a big box store. I always poo-poo'd the idea of paying more for a JD. No; there is a definite difference. It's almost a joy to mow now vs the garbage I used before. I think the engine is a Kawasaki. Uses no oil, whereas the B&S in the MTD would require adding every other mow. Yes, when you need parts you will pay the JD tax but I've become a believer it is actually worth it.

The other nice thing for JD is the availability of parts, you may pay a little more for them but the dealer has the parts right there.

There is a huge difference between old cheap riders/new, expensive and still crap and one meant for heavier use. Generally the difference is marked  as being a "mower" or a "garden tractor". 
for many years, JD has been cheaping out and screwing owners by putting a WEAK junk axle in their consumer grade stuff. Its not rated to even hold the weight of the mower.  Along with the usual JD price and them screwing farmers on the big tractors, i recommend against them.  Paint isnt that important to me.   
 

JD did some deceptive marketing to hock their weak mowers to people wanting a garden tractor. The junk axle is a K46. Its a spline drive on the axle, no lugnuts.  They put bigger wheels to make it look like a more capable machine but they put the same undersized junk axle in it to make more profit and screw the owner out of a few extra thousand $.  Get a machine with a real axle and a commercial quality engine(kohler command, briggs vanguard).  The hydro axle on mine is somewhere around 70-80 lbs. the cheapo junk k46 weighs something around 20 lbs or less. 

a company called AYP(american yard products) made most of them and they were branded as husqvarna, craftsman, etc. 

Sadly, 3000$ now will buy you a 200$ mower from a big box store. 

see this machine has bolt on rear wheels, bigger tires/wheels all around, better engine, just all around meant to be used. It can tow a plow and do light ground work. 

This is a light duty mower. Smaller wheels, not bolt on in the back, not commercial grade. It may work fine for a bit but its a throw away. 

here is JD's flaming turd of a "garden tractor". They put bigger wheels to make it look good, but underneath is the same light weight throw away junk.  They are well aware of it. They blame tuff torque, tuff torque blames JD. 

In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :

My "new" craftsman is a dgt6000.  A fantastic piece of equipment compared to every cheap rider ive had before. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Indeed! Thats the sweet spot. Great engines, great axles, hydro or manual selection. They can be had all day for under 500$ in good shape. I have bought 3 , i think 250$ was the most i paid. 
 

thats a AYP made machine and a good one at that.