looking to buy a new lawn mower.

   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #1  

dthomps63

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Feb 14, 2016
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how much better is the fab deck than stamped on cub cadet?
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #2  
Stamped decks are usually thinner and cheaper to make, and usually have better airflow, meaning clippings disperse better. Fabricated decks tend to be thicker and sturdier but can clog more due to their boxy shape. That said, I have never had a deck rot out, so they seem to build them out of thick enough material either way. My experience has been the engine or transmission goes before the deck. Consumer Reports highly rated the 54" Cub Cadet with fabricated deck. They mentioned it had good airflow.

CR's Take:

Riding mowers with three blades and boxy fabricated decks tend to suffer to cut less well than models with two blades and “stamped” decks with sleek curves. But this 54-inch Cub Cadet upset both trends with top scores for both side-discharge and bagging modes and impressive cutting in mulching mode. Other pluses: an infinitely variable drive system, which lets you vary ground speeds smoothly without shifting; electric power takeoff, which engages the blades with a switch instead of a lever; and a clear view of the fuel level without leaving the comfy, high-back seat. One caveat: Cub Cadet is among the most repair-prone brands of zero-turn-radius riders in our reliability surveys. See our blog for more details.

Highs

Dispersed clippings smoothly and evenly in side-discharge mode.
Mulched impressively, producing fine clippings with minimal or no clumps.
Filled its bag to capacity with clippings.
Easy to maneuver.
Includes features that make mowing more convenient.
Includes an electric PTO.
Includes a washout port.
Includes a comfortable high-back seat.

Lows

Lacks cruise control.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #3  
Welcome to the forum!

:welcome:

I'm going to move your thread on over to the Cub Cadet L&G section in case you still need more answers.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #4  
Both decks have there pluses and minuses as already stated. I spray the under deck with WD40 at the end and beginning of each mowing season. No problems with build up or clogging and no rust. Good maintenance will make any deck last for years on end.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #5  
Fabricated decks are usually heavier duty, but that is a false blanket statement. My F- series Kubota has a good heavy duty stamped deck. The deck alone weighs nearly as much as a cheap lawn mower. My Finish mower has a 7 gauge stamped deck and the mower weighs in at 750 pounds. I doubt you will find a fabricated deck any heavier.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #6  
how much better is the fab deck than stamped on cub cadet?

Toro also offers a fabbed deck on their time cutter series.

I bent the stamped deck on my old time-cutter, straightened it, and then sold the mower. I liked the mower, but was impressed with my neighbor's commercial mower which offered a better cut, and better bagging. I also realized that I needed a commercial mower to accommodate the park I'm cutting out of the woods.

I just went through the process last fall of purchasing a new mower and wound up spending way, way too much money on a Ferris IS2100Z.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #7  
how much better is the fab deck than stamped on cub cadet?
I had a 1978 IH Cub Cadet 1450 with a 44 inch 3-blade stamped deck. My 1-acre yard gets very wet in the spring and the grass is sometimes quite long before I can cut it. I had to remove the deck about once a month to clean it underneath since it clogged quite a bit. The first deck rusted through and after welding patches several times I spent $400 for a new shell, transferring the spindles etc. to the new shell. When I traded it in for a 3235, the second shell was starting to rust through but I had that mower for a total of 26 years. The 3235 had a 54 inch fabricated deck which thankfully didn't clog and I only removed once a year for cleaning and blade changing/sharpening. I say "thankfully" because the deck alone weighed 260 pounds. I had that mower for 11 years and it had only surface rust - no beginnings of rust through. I now have an Enduro XT3-GSX with a 54 inch fabricated deck. It's deck is more boxy than the previous one and doesn't have the baffles underneath that the previous one did. It doesn't have the "ground following mode" where the cutting height is determined by the deck wheels and roller settings but seems to cut just as well. I only have about 15 hours on it so I have never removed the deck and don't know what it weighs.

Bob B.
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #8  
Toro also offers a fabbed deck on their time cutter series.

I bent the stamped deck on my old time-cutter, straightened it, and then sold the mower. I liked the mower, but was impressed with my neighbor's commercial mower which offered a better cut, and better bagging. I also realized that I needed a commercial mower to accommodate the park I'm cutting out of the woods.

I just went through the process last fall of purchasing a new mower and wound up spending way, way too much money on a Ferris IS2100Z.
Best money you ever spent , or convince yourself it was ?
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #9  
I have a Cub GTX2000 w/48" Fab deck-I was told it would be better than the stamped decks-not so. It clogs just as much as my 2 previous Cubs that had stamped decks(HDS 2165 and a 3204). Rather disappointed, I also removed the bolt on baffles underneath the deck-seemed to help some. There is a used 54" Fab deck for sale near me,I've contemplated buying it and seeing how it works, it does need a little repair. I was hoping to get a JD X748,but that wasn't in the cards at this point in time......
 
   / looking to buy a new lawn mower. #10  
Man I drove a Ferris IS2100 the other day and that was a really comfortable and stout ride. Priced around $9,000 if I remember correctly. Then I drove a IS700 priced around $6,100 with Briggs Commercial duty engine and $6,600 with the Kawasaki FS engine I believe. I want the IS2100 but don't want to pay that much.
 

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