mjncad
Super Member
My 1.8-acre property where I currently live has all the trees required to shut the HOA up plus a few more obstacles. Native grasses have seeded themselves and are starting to push out the tumbleweeds.
With that in mind, I'm in a quandry as to the best method for mowing my property. My 5' rotary cutter is too cumbersome to work around these obstacles, so I have a JD L130 lawn tractor that is more maneuverable than my CUT and brush cutter. However the L130 (Box store grade rig) or "L"emon 130 as I call it has been a disappointment. I don't expect CUT durability; but geez I only have 56-hours on the clock and I'm on my third mower deck belt, third set of blades (can't blame Deere on this), replaced a broken idler pulley bracket on the deck, and now I just put in a new PTO switch and clutch. The clutch fried itself and the PTO switch when the ball bearing retainer cage mangled itself causing the clutch to seize while mowing. The bearing dirt seal fell off when I removed the clutch (see pictures).
The other picture shows the underside of the mower deck and the last batch of claycrete/vegetation mix I chipped out of the thing. The ground cover isn't lush like a lawn, so a lot of the talcum powder fine clay dust gets sucked up into the deck and mixes with the vegetation and moisture to form a poor quality peat like mess. Green tumbleweeds are highly efficient at storing water, so they add a lot of moisture to the mix. Putting in a lawn is out of the question due to our climate and high water rates. A friend of mine says the deck looks like it saw battle at Normandy on D-day.
Although the acreage isn't high, the usage obviously falls into the harsh or severe category. A stronger frame tractor would be better and I prefer a shaft drive, liquid cooled, fuel injected all-wheel-steer unit, which means X700 series or a used 445 or 455 Deere to replace the L130. But whether I keep the L130 chugging along, or replace it with a heavier framed rig, or get a MMM for my CUT, I will still have the issue of crud build-up on the deck.
Any suggestions?
With that in mind, I'm in a quandry as to the best method for mowing my property. My 5' rotary cutter is too cumbersome to work around these obstacles, so I have a JD L130 lawn tractor that is more maneuverable than my CUT and brush cutter. However the L130 (Box store grade rig) or "L"emon 130 as I call it has been a disappointment. I don't expect CUT durability; but geez I only have 56-hours on the clock and I'm on my third mower deck belt, third set of blades (can't blame Deere on this), replaced a broken idler pulley bracket on the deck, and now I just put in a new PTO switch and clutch. The clutch fried itself and the PTO switch when the ball bearing retainer cage mangled itself causing the clutch to seize while mowing. The bearing dirt seal fell off when I removed the clutch (see pictures).
The other picture shows the underside of the mower deck and the last batch of claycrete/vegetation mix I chipped out of the thing. The ground cover isn't lush like a lawn, so a lot of the talcum powder fine clay dust gets sucked up into the deck and mixes with the vegetation and moisture to form a poor quality peat like mess. Green tumbleweeds are highly efficient at storing water, so they add a lot of moisture to the mix. Putting in a lawn is out of the question due to our climate and high water rates. A friend of mine says the deck looks like it saw battle at Normandy on D-day.
Although the acreage isn't high, the usage obviously falls into the harsh or severe category. A stronger frame tractor would be better and I prefer a shaft drive, liquid cooled, fuel injected all-wheel-steer unit, which means X700 series or a used 445 or 455 Deere to replace the L130. But whether I keep the L130 chugging along, or replace it with a heavier framed rig, or get a MMM for my CUT, I will still have the issue of crud build-up on the deck.
Any suggestions?
