John Deere 830A Review / Experience

[MooreSites]

Well, after much reading here and at the lawnsite thread about the 800 series, I bit the bullet on a used 830A with 85 hours (13 months left in the warranty). I did give it a good run up and down my massive hillside of a yard before buying (it did fine). I'm going to try to keep this thread updated throughout this mowing season on my experience with the machine. I'm a single user with approx 12-15 acres to mow, so I'll try to give some good impressions on as many aspects of the machines qualities (and downfalls) as I can. Keep in mind, this is a very average Joe speaking when it comes to professional mowers, so don't expect some heavy hitting lingo or expertise!

Day 1
Gave the mower some runs up and down my hillside (approx 4 acres are on a slope - pretty good grade). Ran through decent height of grass and could roll around 70%-80% speed with no problems . . . faster was too rough (tough terrain). Was a bit wet today after much rain. Will mow entire hillside and my bottom lawn this week (flat out with some rough spots) and give feedback then. Fitting new blades tomorrow.

 

[larso1]

Good luck on your new mower, you're my new hero . After reading all the bad stuff on Lawnsite it would have made me too "askeered" to buy one, although there was the occasional story of someone having no problems with power and ground speed. I for one will be looking forward to your reviews. Hope JD has worked out the problems with this new model.

 

[prosperity]

I also had been following the lawnsite thread - made me so glad I bought one of the last 757's around.

Do you know if your 830A had the upgrades done to it? From what I have read, after Deere's upgrade, the machines were fine. Also, I read that the most severe problem was with the 820A.

Too bad we aren't closer - it would be neat if we could compare the 757 with the 830A side by side.

Thanks for the reviews - I will be watching for your updates.

 

[MooreSites]

Hey, one quick note. From my perspective, this machine (830A) gave better (or at least as good) performance as a new Lazer Z Advantage and Scag Wildcat (both with 27 HP Kohler Engines). I ran all through the same patch of medium/heavy grass. The JD seemed to power through a bit better at high speeds, but all showed slight strain at high speed (expectedly - oh, and all were on flat, open ground).

FYI - I plan on posting updates to my JD review within the original post. Less jumping through this thread I hope.

 

[ddivinia]

I have a 757. Which machine is it comparable to in the new line?

My 757 has been awesome - a great mower,
D.

 

[MooreSites]

It looks like the 830A or 840A would be the closest match (27 HP and 27HP Liquid Cooled respectively - does the 757 have 29HP?). I did see a 757 on the JD lot, but it was a 72 and 10K, so I passed. Have heard great things about those too.

 

[ddivinia]

It looks like the 830A or 840A would be the closest match (27 HP and 27HP Liquid Cooled respectively - does the 757 have 29HP?). I did see a 757 on the JD lot, but it was a 72 and 10K, so I passed. Have heard great things about those too.

$10k! Man, that sounds high. I have a 60" and I didn't pay that much for it new.

It has been a good machine. I added a material collection on it last year - what a machine.
I have no plans to upgrade any time soon.

D.

 

[ddivinia]

awesome!

D.

 

[MooreSites]

Day Two
I had new blades on my 830 today. Now, keep in mind, I was just on a residential Cub Cadet 50 Inch Z-Force, so take that into consideration when I say, "WOW". The best thing about these types of mowers (as you know) is the time. I'll state this for those who were in my situation and wanting to upgrade to a commercial model. A portion of my yard that normally took 2 and 1/2 hours, now takes less than one - this is the hilly, rough part. A portion that normally took anohter 2 and 1/2 hours on flat, fairly even ground now takes . . . wait for it - 45 minutes! So, in that aspect, I'm more than satisfied. I can go full speed about 1/3 of the time on the smooth with no trouble at all. Now, with this much fun, I kinda miss all those hours of mowing!

Likes so far . . .

Pully covers - I really like the fact that I can easily pop off the pully covers on the mowing deck. Also, cleaning the pully system is relatively easy.

Deck height adjustment - I thought this was going to be weird, quite honestly, but using a knob to adjust the deck height feels pretty intuitive. The deck is heavy, of course, but the foot-lift placement is good for a 6'2" fella.

Deck/Spindle strength - now, I found this out the hard (scary) way, but this is a mule of a deck. I have several steel culverts along my drive. Well, you see where this is going. Since the deck is so strong, no gap support is needed and the blades therefor dipped into the culvert. After a big thud, I stopped and checked the blades. All were fine and even (no weird vibrations when engaged - whew!). The culvert . . . no so lucky. Big slash out of that guy. Don't worry, won't try that again . . .

Dislikes so far . . .

Wheel spin - now this isn't a major dislike of mine (quite small, actually), but the right rear wheel does seem to spin more as posted by other users, especially on a full tank (gas on left side? Not sure of the ratio). I only encountered this a few times, but for a guy who might mow several smaller yards, a damp yard might give him fits. In the dry, this is very manageable, however, with practice on the sticks.

I'll get into more as I go along. So far, I'm very happy with this machine. Stay tuned . . .

 

[Johndeere32]

Congrats on your new Mower they are very nice. I just bought a 840A last Saturday for my lawn care business and i really like the machine. So far no complaints about the 840A and the thing i like the most is the electric deck lift and it is so easy to change the blade height. Ill have a scan of it up tomorrow!!!

Again congrats on your new machine.

Dave

 

[MooreSites]

Still lovin' this machine (830A). I again relay the ease of cleaning out clippings above the deck. The sheer speed is amazing. I admittedly have flat land in many places - otherwise couldn't go near as fast. I did have to slow down last week due to heavy growth from all the rain, but the JD didn't choke - kept a steady cut.

As for the stalling issue, all is well up my large hillsides. The only time I can even get close to stressing the engine is on a quick turn around, then full throttle. Noticed this on comparable Exmark/Scag too.

One thing I do notice is there are a few more areas that are prone to scalping than I remember with my old Cub Cadet. Possibly the larger cutting width, possibly the different way the deck floats. This isn't too big of a deal to me given my terrain, but something to take into account.

 

[two_bit_score]

Still lovin' this machine (830A). I again relay the ease of cleaning out clippings above the deck. The sheer speed is amazing. I admittedly have flat land in many places - otherwise couldn't go near as fast. I did have to slow down last week due to heavy growth from all the rain, but the JD didn't choke - kept a steady cut.

As for the stalling issue, all is well up my large hillsides. The only time I can even get close to stressing the engine is on a quick turn around, then full throttle. Noticed this on comparable Exmark/Scag too.

One thing I do notice is there are a few more areas that are prone to scalping than I remember with my old Cub Cadet. Possibly the larger cutting width, possibly the different way the deck floats. This isn't too big of a deal to me given my terrain, but something to take into account.

Thanks for the updates. I'll be following your thread with a lot of interest. I'm looking at the 810 so your experience will be very helpful.

 

[AlabamaTractor]

I have an 840 bought last year...have had nothing but TROUBLE with it. It has 210 hrs. The only good thing is the hydraulic deck...don't know how long it will hold up. I put 50+ hrs on a loaner mower since last year. Hope you have better luck than I did.

 

[MooreSites]

Sorry to hear that, Alabama. I read extensive reviews and experiences as well with the 840 and 820 models. This was definitely a shot in the dark as to getting a good mower. After testing this, I was sold. I mowed two days ago over my whole yard (12 acres or so). Still rock solid. I threw the master spring (that holds the belt drive tension) for some weird reason a few weeks ago. Talk about nervous! The drive halted and I thought it was the beginning of a long road of maintenance heartache. But, I re-positioned and all is well.

To new potential owners, I think the new models are improved. Seems like the 830A was the best of that old bunch (in my case anyway).

 

[deere830a]

whats up....

I bought my third deere last spring, a 830a with the 72 inch deck....LOVE IT!!!!

this is one bad dog.

I own 10 acres and 3 john deere machines now.

Big deere is a 4300 tractor, its bullet proof...I used to mow my property with this machine..used too...

Little deere is a LT 160 42 inch cut, my old trimmer mower

New deere is the 830a w/ 72" cut....bad boy he is.

The only complaint is wheel spin but I think that is operator error which I am getting better with...

My church has an older exmark, or what ever they are called....complete piece of junk with over 1500 hours on it!!!! the wiring is a basket case, all the switches need replaced you can no longer adjust the deck height...IMO a mower like these should last a lot longer than 1500 hrs. My big deere 4300 has almost 1000 hrs on her and she has worked hard between mowing and landscaping and moving rocks and so forth, rocks so large that the bucket on the loader is splitting...BUT she is tough as nails, no wiring issues or bad switches and so forth.

The 830A is built just like my 4300, tough as nails. My JD dealers sells both the exmark and the deere so I parked the two side by side and the exmark looked like a toy, I suggest any buyers do the same!!!


Happy as all get out....and the 830a will go well beyond the 1500 hrs...easy, more like 5000 hrs before being in the shape of the exmark I know....


peace out

 

[rkeyman]

I have a Ztrak 830a bought in Sept 2008. It currently has about 200 hrs on the clock. I mow mostly lawns in the hilly, rough, rocky, central Arkansas area and most "lawns" are from 2 to 4 acres and include bermuda and various field grasses. My main problems have been drive belt life in the 70 hour range, rear wheel slippage, a couple of broken anti-scalp wheels and a minor leak in one of the pump/motors that will be replaced under warranty at the end of this mowing season. Other than that it has been a beast, going through any grass I have thrown at it and taking hills without any problems. JD redesigned the drive belt, and the one I have on it now is the new design so I will know shortly whether it will last more than 70 hours. I have to say that overall, I have been quite satisfied with the mower. It is truly a TANK and handles rough terrain without a whimper.

 

[MooreSites]

Hey, thanks for all the great feedback on this thread. At the risk of broken record syndrome, my 830A is still thrilling me. I just started my 2nd season with it and all is in great order. I just wanted to post this to keep my experience updated. Have a great summer, everyone.

 

[RollingsFarms]

i just bought a 910A w/ 54" deck yesterday. has exactly 0.4 hours on the clock. haven't had a chance to cut much with it except a few strips yesterday afternoon, just trying to get the feel of it and so far i'm impressed!:thumbsup: now, don't let me fool you, i'm coming from a 42" Z225(the kind you buy from Lowes except i bought mine through my JD dealer), so it would be almost impossible for a commercial grade mower not to make me :drool: after years of owning nothing but Murray's, Snappers, and a Z225. i just made up my mind that i wanted a mower that was going to last me more then 2-3 seasons. i bought it only to do my yard with, so this thing should last me a good long while. i can't compare the 900 series to the older 800 series, but i will say that i shopped Hustler & Exmark and this mower doesn't take a back seat to either one in my opinion. i paid $7,250 for all you price shoppers out there, and i don't see any reason why i won't get every penny's worth out of it.