Buying Advice looking to buy a new lawn mower.cant make up my mind to meny to choose from.

[mapper]

I cut about 4.5 to 5 acres and I'm lucky to get 225 hours a season.That is with blowing snow.

That's according to her meter, she runs that thing a lot. I put about 60-80 on my mower each year. I generally mow only when the lawn needs it, she mows wether it needs it or not, all 6 acres, with a 46" deck. Ten o'clock at night the mower is running with the lights on. I find it rather incredible myself.

 

[Handloader109]

Yeah that's going on her 5th total rebuild and 12th engine

Someone can't do math or read a meter.... 52 weeks 3 hours a week x15yrs is 2340total hours.... Double cause she drives slooooooow and it is well under 5k total. Even my crappy sears 42" only took me an hour an acre. And it wasn't all pasture.

 

[LindenBruce]

Yes, I have a Husky and not impressed either. I have broken two mower blade mandrels. Bent three or four mower blade shafts and taken out a couple of bearings as well. Broken the rear hydro-stat axle...... TWICE.... Had to pull the BS 25HP twin two years ago to fix a severe lower case oil leak. And the machine is like 7 years old with 209 hours on it. She gets a full service every year too so it not like she is used and abused. So.... Yeah, not again. If I had to do it again I would have bought a JD 700 series machine. I have no experience with the other brands mentioned. B.

 

[LeedsCase]

I have a 42" husqvarna zero turn that I bought from lawnmowersdirect.com. I've had it for 3 years. I'm in Alabama so I have to mow at least once a week from the end of April to the end of September.
I mowed 1-1/2 acres for two years, and then 4-1/2 for the third year. Only issue I had was when I knocked off a tire stem when I got against a holley stump.
I won't ever go back to a tractor type mower again. So much faster, quieter, easier to service.

 

[whizdbiz2]

Yes, I have a Husky and not impressed either. I have broken two mower blade mandrels. Bent three or four mower blade shafts and taken out a couple of bearings as well. Broken the rear hydro-stat axle...... TWICE.... Had to pull the BS 25HP twin two years ago to fix a severe lower case oil leak. And the machine is like 7 years old with 209 hours on it. She gets a full service every year too so it not like she is used and abused. So.... Yeah, not again. If I had to do it again I would have bought a JD 700 series machine. I have no experience with the other brands mentioned. B.

You have to be doing something wrong, I've only owned 4 riding type mowers in my almost 40 yrs. of home and farm ownership and I'm still using 3 of them. The one that now sits was used all the time to mow 2 acres and it lasted 10 yrs. and was a cheap, big box store MTD. My Husqvarna has about 550 hrs. and is still going strong. I've never had any of the issues you describe on any of my mowers, except replace a spindle pulley. Even though you maintain them you might want to reflect on how you use them.

 

[MESSMAKER]

You have to be doing something wrong, I've only owned 4 riding type mowers in my almost 40 yrs. of home and farm ownership and I'm still using 3 of them. The one that now sits was used all the time to mow 2 acres and it lasted 10 yrs. and was a cheap, big box store MTD. My Husqvarna has about 550 hrs. and is still going strong. I've never had any of the issues you describe on any of my mowers, except replace a spindle pulley. Even though you maintain them you might want to reflect on how you use them.

I am guessing you have a nice flat level yard. Ditches,stumps,tree roots and steep hills will shorten the life of any mower. It will kill the cheap ones. The deck and transmission will not hold up to constant abuse.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I bought a Ferris IS700Z with a Kawasaki FS 690 25HP engine and I have been extremely happy with it. The spring over shock suspension really smooths out the rough ground. I see on the Kawasaki site that they are now making the FS and FX 690 and 730 engines fuel injected which should make them much better for power and economy than the carbureted version which I have although I have no problems with mine. It gets much better fuel economy than my Craftsman 26 HP B&S engine.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yes, I have a Husky and not impressed either. I have broken two mower blade mandrels. Bent three or four mower blade shafts and taken out a couple of bearings as well. Broken the rear hydro-stat axle...... TWICE.... Had to pull the BS 25HP twin two years ago to fix a severe lower case oil leak. And the machine is like 7 years old with 209 hours on it. She gets a full service every year too so it not like she is used and abused. So.... Yeah, not again. If I had to do it again I would have bought a JD 700 series machine. I have no experience with the other brands mentioned. B.

Broken blade mandrels, bent shafts etc is not the fault of the mower. Hitting roots, stumps, larger rocks etc will bend or break just about any mower shaft and destroy bearings. Barring hitting immovable objects, keeping bearing properly greased will make them last a long time.

 

[KYKub]

I mow a 1 acre sloped lot. Last mower was a Cub Cadet, a Deere before that; both purchased from dealers, not a big box store. The Cub was nothing but expensive trouble almost from the beginning. The Deere was much better, but still nothing special. After a lot of time, thought, and research I decided to go with a used Kubota. The grounds crew where I work uses mostly Kubota equipment and I admired its durability.

I knew I wouldn't pay $8k+ for a mower so I bought a used G series (G1900). Didn't necessarily save money over what I could have bought a traditional mower for, but the quality of the machine--even well used--is far better than anything else I've owned. I would make the same decision again in a heartbeat. Built like a tank with a 3 cylinder diesel that has power to spare. Hard to describe, but there's just something very satisfying about a smooth running diesel engine matched with a well engineered machine.

Part of the bartering process with my wife for getting approval to buy a BX last year involved possibly selling the G1900. BX with a MMM is great, but I just don't want to let go of the G1900. I am running out of ways to distract her when she asks when I'm going to sell the G1900..."Look! A squirrel!"

I don't have enough experience to say a Kubota G or GR series is better than comparable equipment from other brands. Can say without reservation the Kubota is the best mower I've ever used and I would take a well used Kubota over any new traditional lawn tractor.

Good luck!

 

[RalphVa]

Neither. I have both a very old JD and a fairly new Honda, both good machines. A Hus(*(&*((( machine quit on me.

My eternal favorite was a 2 cycle Lawnboy. Can't buy any more.

All have been walkbehind self-propelled.

A neighbor across the way is big on Toros. He bought a 30" walkbehind self-propel one because he could no longer get another Simplicity tractor that he had to do his trails. He walks behind the Toro now to do them.

Ralph