Its interesting to see the many comments discouraging the entry level Deere's. I purchased a John Deere D100 this year for a very challenging 2 acre landscape area. By way of background, I have been paying yard maintenance companies between 20,000-24000 per year in yard maintenace costs. I didnt have any of my own equipment up to that point as the companies brought equipment. I decided to hire a full time groundskeeper for our residence figuring I would get a much better value out of having an employee all year round. We looked at many different solutions, and found that we were limited due to a rather steep hillside of lawn thats about a 1/4 acre size along with some very tight contoured areas. Additionally we were unable to go larger than a 42" deck as we have a gate that limits width and some tight area's.
Almost all forums and review sites tell me that I should have gone to a Kawasaki, $3000 type unit. In all honesty, cost was not a problem for me but I also didnt want to waste money if it wasnt necessary. One of the main necessities if doing anything on a hill is fully pressurized oil system. My single Cylinder Briggs 17.5HP has been flawless for 100 hours so far of what I would consider pretty heavy use. The 1/4 acre hill is steep enough that at an angle I worry about rolling over! It climbes that up and down now problem. Living in Seattle, its often times mowing thick wet grass. I have a 160 gallon tumbler composter so the mower frquently tows a trailer load of compost/dirt. The deere D100 has also been pulling our plug aerating attachment with about 80 LBS of brick weight on the back and we have used the front thatch attachment a couple of times.
Obviously, 100 hours is not 10 years but this D100 seems to be built well enough to withstand pretty much everything Ive thrown at it in a short period of time.
The criticism I have is that the mower and drive belt's seem like they are a bit on the small and sloppy side. I have only had to tighten them each 1 time, but they could be better. I also wish the turning radius was tighter and in hindsight I would have went with the 110 model for the electrostat shifting. A manual 5 speed can be a PIA if your lawn isnt a big square patch.
Also the Deere rear bagger system clogs easily in moist or slightly longer grass. In the Pacific Northwest, mowing a wet lawn is not an option and having to stop and unclog the bagger in addition to having to run in 1st gear can double the time it takes to mow. WHen its dry, its wonderful!
Overall the D100 is MUCH more capable than many of the posters claim. The irony is that none of the people recommending upgrading are doing it based on any real experience with the D series...
Almost all forums and review sites tell me that I should have gone to a Kawasaki, $3000 type unit. In all honesty, cost was not a problem for me but I also didnt want to waste money if it wasnt necessary. One of the main necessities if doing anything on a hill is fully pressurized oil system. My single Cylinder Briggs 17.5HP has been flawless for 100 hours so far of what I would consider pretty heavy use. The 1/4 acre hill is steep enough that at an angle I worry about rolling over! It climbes that up and down now problem. Living in Seattle, its often times mowing thick wet grass. I have a 160 gallon tumbler composter so the mower frquently tows a trailer load of compost/dirt. The deere D100 has also been pulling our plug aerating attachment with about 80 LBS of brick weight on the back and we have used the front thatch attachment a couple of times.
Obviously, 100 hours is not 10 years but this D100 seems to be built well enough to withstand pretty much everything Ive thrown at it in a short period of time.
The criticism I have is that the mower and drive belt's seem like they are a bit on the small and sloppy side. I have only had to tighten them each 1 time, but they could be better. I also wish the turning radius was tighter and in hindsight I would have went with the 110 model for the electrostat shifting. A manual 5 speed can be a PIA if your lawn isnt a big square patch.
Also the Deere rear bagger system clogs easily in moist or slightly longer grass. In the Pacific Northwest, mowing a wet lawn is not an option and having to stop and unclog the bagger in addition to having to run in 1st gear can double the time it takes to mow. WHen its dry, its wonderful!
Overall the D100 is MUCH more capable than many of the posters claim. The irony is that none of the people recommending upgrading are doing it based on any real experience with the D series...
