Lawn mower for your CUT?

[Buster57]

I have a JD-318 and a Kubota L3010, but I also have an orchard and the lawn mowers I have owned have driven me nuts! I had a JD 14 series something that had a great Kawasaki engine and trans but very unfortunately had a cast Al. deck. By the time I was through with it, after 4 or 5 years, about the only thing left was the engine and trans-the rest looked like a 20 hit it!
I next went through a series of Costco mowers that were cheap and horrible to live with.
I finally "had it" with my last Ryobi/MTD hunk of C—p so I started to do some research.
I looked at Snapper, Toro and Honda for walk behind 21”.
After extreme due diligence (2X over budget does that) I decided on the Honda HRC216.
What a delight. I am sure the other commercial grade mowers would have been very nice, but my recommendation to small business owners or people with a big back yard is go commercial. The Honda is terrific and after a while I am sure I will get over the sticker shock!
Strange nuances with a decent mower. You have to have either a bag or a side discharge otherwise the engine will bog down. How unusual to have a mower that really works!
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I can tell you the level of conversation on TBN is much different then on "lawn care" sites!

Have fun!

BTW-My Kubota dealer had the best deal on the mower!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I have a very nice John Deere light-commercial walk behind mower. It has a Kawasaki motor and the blade housing is a heavy gauge aluminum(I think?). It is probably 15 years old and starts every time you pull the cord. The mower is pretty ugly, but after 15 years of use, I am amazed at the quality.

I also have a JD heavy duty commercial string trimmer. I wish I could compliment that unit. It goes into the repair shop almost every year. One day it will end up on the bottom of the creek!

 

[yellowsocks93]

We have both a Honda HT 3813 riding mower and a Honda aluminium decked push mower both are 1984 model years and both run and look great. The ryder looks like it just came off the showfloor and the metal and paint has held up great for being a year older than me! The V-Twin is really nice and well built. Your Deere 318 is a fine piece of equipment. I hope we take a nice one in at the dealership I work for so I could buy it. I love those machines. I like the hydro control up by the steering wheel.

 

[Buster57]

I used to have a JD30S trimmer-it is now at the bottom of the lake! I now have a Stihl 250S(it actually cost less than the JD and is 100 times better).
Too bad we both got stuck on the trimmer.
I am glad you had better luck with the JD walk behind. The cast alum deck just blew apart with my heavy duty use. The engine and trans were great though.