Mowing.....Tell us about your yard weapons.

[NoTrespassing]

I use a Walker 48" GHS. Really nice mower but really finicky. Lots and lots of grease fittings and moving parts. Also have a couple Scag hydro walk behinds. Those are incredibly well built and sturdy mowers. They also provide a great cut quality.

Walker 48" GHS here also. What do you mean by finicky? I agree on the grease fittings and lube points.

Kevin

 

[Tomtint]

Walker 48" GHS here also. What do you mean by finicky? I agree on the grease fittings and lube points.

Kevin

I think the way the deck tilts up and HAS to be on completely level ground to make the chute at the back of the deck align correctly into the blower box..is a pita. The shear pins on my blades have loosened up a few times.. hitch can cause catastrophic damage to the blades or gear boxes. The shear pin that goes in the driveshaft on the top of the deck is a pita to change if you are unable to remove the cover, the blower box is a pita to clean if it gets wet grass clumped up in it, I like the de thatcher on the front, but it tends to make a mess of the motor compartment with loose grass flying everywhere,.. all of these things are trivial..but they add up and make the learning curve longer..

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think the way the deck tilts up and HAS to be on completely level ground to make the chute at the back of the deck align correctly into the blower box..is a pita. The shear pins on my blades have loosened up a few times.. hitch can cause catastrophic damage to the blades or gear boxes. The shear pin that goes in the driveshaft on the top of the deck is a pita to change if you are unable to remove the cover, the blower box is a pita to clean if it gets wet grass clumped up in it, I like the de thatcher on the front, but it tends to make a mess of the motor compartment with loose grass flying everywhere,.. all of these things are trivial..but they add up and make the learning curve longer..

Mine is a 2000 model and I haven't noticed any of the issues you're describing. The chute will clog occasionally in heavy wet grass or when a stick gets lodged somewhere. I love the shear pins on both the shaft and the blades. My deck doesn't have to be on level ground to get it to line up. I lift it anywhere in the yard and drop it back down. I've never seen it get misaligned. Maybe it's broke in after 1000 hours? It had over 900 when I bought it 3 or 4 years ago. Keeping the screen clean in the hopper helps keep the grass flowing. I checks that the shear screws on the blades are tight when I sharpen the blades.

I sure wish I could justify a new one, is yours relatively new?

Kevin

Edit: Actually I bought the mower in 2013 so I've had it six years. It's nice to be able to look back at old posts to supplement my failing memory

 

[Rock Crawler]

My most trusted lawn mowing and maintenance machine is a 2011 Craftsman Xcellerator GT (a black painted Husqvarna) that features a Kohler Courage (over 710 hours now) and HydroGear G730. This thing is a beast.

I bought a Cub Cadet XT3 GSX last summer, hated the POS and sold it on CL.

This spring I bought a 2018 leftover Husqvarna TS354XD that features a Kawasaki engine and Tuff Torq K66 locking rear axle. While this is far better than the horrible XT3 GSX, I don't think it is a match to the old Craftsman G730 from a hydrostat standpoint. The G730 is so much "tighter" feeling, instant snappy application of power. Instant jerking to a stop if you release. The K66 feels kind of lazy compared. But the stupid Cub XT3 I had.... weak as all heck transmission. Total junk. Deck cut quality sucked, left missed blades and not enough vacuum to lift where the front tires rode. I completely hated that thing and was happy to sell it at a $1500 loss so that I didn't have to see it. I hope it breaks in half and catches fire.

Then there is the Kubota B2650 that pulls a 60" King Kutter finish mower or a.... old 60" rotary. Maybe it is a BEFCO or something like that? It was $300 on craigslist. It destroys things in a spectacular fashion... it works.

 

[grnspot110]

For the house yard, 2000 JD F725:

For fall leaf cleanup, 1980 314:

For the farm, 1993 JD 755:

Hauling, 1961 Cub Lo Boy w/ JD 17P cart:

Snow removal, 1953 JD 40S w/5' blade or 1980 Power King 2418 w/4' blade:

 

[Carl_NH]

All very nice vintage machines grnspot they last a long time if stored inside with some maintenance, grease and oil.

We had the JD 420 next one after the 40 on the farm and I plowed and harvested a lot of hay and wheat/oats with that machine. The 314-318 JD series are one of the best older garden tractors too.

 

[Blaszer]

For mowing the fields.

I use a ZD1211 72" RD for the "lawn"

 

[Tomtint]

Mine is a 2000 model and I haven't noticed any of the issues you're describing. The chute will clog occasionally in heavy wet grass or when a stick gets lodged somewhere. I love the shear pins on both the shaft and the blades. My deck doesn't have to be on level ground to get it to line up. I lift it anywhere in the yard and drop it back down. I've never seen it get misaligned. Maybe it's broke in after 1000 hours? It had over 900 when I bought it 3 or 4 years ago. Keeping the screen clean in the hopper helps keep the grass flowing. I checks that the shear screws on the blades are tight when I sharpen the blades.

I sure wish I could justify a new one, is yours relatively new?

Kevin

Edit: Actually I bought the mower in 2013 so I've had it six years. It's nice to be able to look back at old posts to supplement my failing memory

Mine is 3 years old now. It just turned 300 hrs. I use it on my own yard which is just about 1 acre of grass and at a commercial property we own that is about 3 1/2 acres of grass. So it gets roughly 4-5 hrs a week of use. My own lawn is very flat and well maintained with no mowing hazards...The commercial property on the other hand..is brutal. We have a fast food joint on a part of it, 2 banks and a coffee shop on the other sections. ..So we get constant traffic and the public as a whole are slobs..or maybe pigs is a better word. The trash people just toss out the window, and utter disrespect for property is astounding...So that parcel beats up the mower. We hit things in the grass that you just don't see in time to avoid. ..Such as crack spoons...used needles, car ash trays, wire, ..also we sometimes get chunks of granite from the plow trucks in the winter that hit the curbs..and take chunks out the curbs..then they fly into the grass and appear at a later date.. makes a **** of a noise...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My son's first time lesson.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Mine is 3 years old now. It just turned 300 hrs. I use it on my own yard which is just about 1 acre of grass and at a commercial property we own that is about 3 1/2 acres of grass. So it gets roughly 4-5 hrs a week of use. My own lawn is very flat and well maintained with no mowing hazards...The commercial property on the other hand..is brutal. We have a fast food joint on a part of it, 2 banks and a coffee shop on the other sections. ..So we get constant traffic and the public as a whole are slobs..or maybe pigs is a better word. The trash people just toss out the window, and utter disrespect for property is astounding...So that parcel beats up the mower. We hit things in the grass that you just don't see in time to avoid. ..Such as crack spoons...used needles, car ash trays, wire, ..also we sometimes get chunks of granite from the plow trucks in the winter that hit the curbs..and take chunks out the curbs..then they fly into the grass and appear at a later date.. makes a **** of a noise...

I get plenty of trash thrown in my ditch.