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Lawn Mower Shopping


shotgun

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So, I'm sick of trudging through my yard, in the heat, with a personal pace walk behind mower. My wife wants me to get a riding mower, so I've been looking. I have a width limits due to the fence gate and the shed door. My max opening is 45", which rules out a lot of riding mowers. I'm down to a few choices. I test drove a Toro TimeCutter SS 3225 ztr on Friday. Looking at a Huster Dash ztr today and also considering a Cub Cadet CC 30 H standard mower. The ztr mowers are not going to be cheap, but should be much better than the little Cub Cadet and get the job done quicker. These choices would all be plenty big enough for my .33 acre lot that currently takes me 1.5 hours to mow. Comments, suggestions, personal experience with the above listed, jokes, and sarcasm are all welcome.

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Consider used. I see a lot of these on Facebook market place and other sites. I think people buy them and then size up soon thereafter. Also it may actually take you more time with a rider due to backing up and increased trimming 

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10 minutes ago, Airehead said:

Consider used. I see a lot of these on Facebook market place and other sites. I think people buy them and then size up soon thereafter. Also it may actually take you more time with a rider due to backing up and increased trimming 

There's a lot of used junk around here that won't fit my needs. A ZTR will back up quick with a USB3, 4TB.

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I just returned to mowing my own yard with a push mower after years of having it professionally mowed with a zero turn. It takes me aboot the same time as you, 1.5 hours for the same size lot.  I look at it as forced exercise which I desperately need.  In hot weather I do like to break it up into two sessions to help stave off heat stroke. :D  Tough choice. A zero turn seems like overkill but anything else seems like a pain.  One plus is the lawn guy often mowed in wet conditions so ruined a lot of grass by turning it to mud, but I can avoid that easier with just one lawn to schedule. 

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49 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I just returned to mowing my own yard with a push mower after years of having it professionally mowed with a zero turn. It takes me aboot the same time as you, 1.5 hours for the same size lot.  I look at it as forced exercise which I desperately need.  In hot weather I do like to break it up into two sessions to help stave off heat stroke. :D  Tough choice. A zero turn seems like overkill but anything else seems like a pain.  One plus is the lawn guy often mowed in wet conditions so ruined a lot of grass by turning it to mud, but I can avoid that easier with just one lawn to schedule. 

These two zero turns that I'm considering are only 32" and 34" decks. 

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Just now, shotgun said:

These two zero turns that I'm considering are only 32" and 34" decks. 

My lawn guy would get a bigger one every year. By the time he retired they were quite wide!  I had no gates or other impediments, and I guess neither did the other people he mowed for. 

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In my old hood the lot’s were small, about 60 x 120, there was a lawn guy who did 3 lawns on my block. He used a Walker zero turn bagger mower and would be done with all 3 lawns in about an hour. It did an excellent job, and probably cost ten grand

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Go to wherever the pros go.  The stuff at the big box store is built to a price point, so corners are cut.  I learned this the hard way with a Honda.  Drive system sucked.   I now have a Honda commercial and it will run through anything.  Got it used and it is still bullet proof even though it is well over ten years old.
 

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13 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Go to wherever the pros go.  The stuff at the big box store is built to a price point, so corners are cut.  I learned this the hard way with a Honda.  Drive system sucked.   I now have a Honda commercial and it will run through anything.  Got it used and it is still bullet proof even though it is well over ten years old.
 

No commercial riders will fit in my shed, and I won't buy one from a big box store. A residential mower from a local shop is my plan.

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I have been a Cub Cadet fan for many years.  I had to buy a new one earlier this year.  I would have looked at the whole line-up of zero-turn mowers but WoKzoo does most of the mowing and I was not ready for that change.

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3 hours ago, shotgun said:

My max opening is 45",

Get a bigger gate.  

3 hours ago, Airehead said:

Also it may actually take you more time with a rider due to backing up and increased trimming 

It depends on how much you mow and what needs to be trimmed.   Me... I walk behind my mower for 2+ hours trimming and WoBG uses the JD 48"to mow for 2 1/2 hours.  

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I use a John Deere E110 for a little over 3/4 acre.  Unfortunately it's 54" wide for a 42" cut.  I can finish mowing in under 40 minutes though.  We have a local John Deere franchise and I like to support local.  They even gave me a trade on my old JD from Lowes after it chucked it's transmission.  That was a cheap frugal mower made more for export sales than for dealership sales.  Even at that JD was embarrassed by the D105.

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4 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

I use a John Deere E110 for a little over 3/4 acre.  Unfortunately it's 54" wide for a 42" cut.  I can finish mowing in under 40 minutes though.  We have a local John Deere franchise and I like to support local.  They even gave me a trade on my old JD from Lowes after it chucked it's transmission.  That was a cheap frugal mower made more for export sales than for dealership sales.  Even at that JD was embarrassed by the D105.

Yep.  I will never buy another big box store brand name mower.  They are cheaply built and fall apart.  

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1 hour ago, shotgun said:

...and shed? 

And a trailer too.   Unless you want to pay the shop to take your new mower in for it's annual maintenance and/or repairs.  One shop wanted $100 just to trailer my JD to the shop and back.

OR....  you could just pay an ambitious neighborhood kid (if they exist) to mow your grass and drink a beer watching.

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2 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

And a trailer too.   Unless you want to pay the shop to take your new mower in for it's annual maintenance and/or repairs.  One shop wanted $100 just to trailer my JD to the shop and back.

OR....  you could just pay a ambitious neighborhood kid (if they exist) to mow your grass and drink a beer watching.

You mean you aren't that guy riding the mower through town.

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18 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Yep.  I will never buy another big box store brand name mower.  They are cheaply built and fall apart.  

We’ll see how long my big box craftsman lasts.  Definitely has a lot of plastic on it so that does not bode very well. I would expect the self-propel mechanism to be the first to bite the dust.  That was the weak link in my old lawn-boy. No, not kazoo, lawn boy from Outboard Marine Corporation. 

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15 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

You mean you aren't that guy riding the mower through town.

No...  that would be a 16 mile ride on the JD to the last place that worked on it.   I could do most if the maintenance myself, but I I'd rather just pay to get it done.  

That said... 

I did just remove and clean the mower deck and replaced 2 worn out parts.   The steel idler spring hook was nearly worn thru.  That would have released all of the tension on the belt that powers the 3 blades.  A $1.11 part would have stopped me from mowing.   I'm glad I cleaned and inspected the mower deck. 

 

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37 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Yep.  I will never buy another big box store brand name mower.  They are cheaply built and fall apart.  

I never tried the big box store version of the name brands. Before I bought my Husqvarna 48” zero turn I looked at what they had to offer at Lowe’s and Tractor Supply. The models didn’t match up with anything the dealerships sold. They looked pretty and they were cheap but if you need service you can’t take them back there. I would guess a dealership would not treat you as well when you bring in the Stuffmart version and want them to fix it for you. 
We had great service with the Toro. The owner of that dealership passed away. I new dealership opened up out my way and I liked one of their Huskies. It has worked well for me all except for the $1,300 bagger I bought for it. Basically a bagger is a PITA no matter how good it works. This one clogs up if you go too fast. What good is a zero turn it you can’t go fast? I can’t mow my mother in law’s yard this year because I can’t be away from home that long. I don’t need the stinking bagger for my lawn.

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When everything's in place, it takes me 35-45 minutes on my small 100' x 60' property (1/8 acre subtracting out the 30'x30' house)  behind a walk-behind mower and that's good exercise, so I haven't considered a riding mower, but 1/3 acre would get me riding.

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6 hours ago, jsharr said:

Yep.  I will never buy another big box store brand name mower.  They are cheaply built and fall apart.  

The irony of John Deere at HD and Lowes, apparently John Deere has a requirement on their mowers that they must be originally assembled and services by the local dealer, and not a Home Depot and Lowes. They are forced to subcontract the assembly out.

 

Also, and Sears still in business around you. May find a good deal on a Craftsman.

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20 minutes ago, Tizeye said:

The irony of John Deere at HD and Lowes, apparently John Deere has a requirement on their mowers that they must be originally assembled and services by the local dealer, and not a Home Depot and Lowes. They are forced to subcontract the assembly out.

 

Also, and Sears still in business around you. May find a good deal on a Craftsman.

There is no Sears around within an hour of here.

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43 minutes ago, shotgun said:

So, I got a Toro 32" zero turn with a rear bagger delivered today. That beats the shit out of walking behind a tired 21" personal pace!

Did you have fun with it today. Those actually make mowing fun. They all come with cup holders but they take two hands to steer. I’m sure you will figure out a way. I usually stop for a drink under a shade tree.

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On 7/6/2020 at 11:56 AM, Bikeguy said:

  That would have released all of the tension on the belt that powers the 3 blades.  A $1.11 part would have stopped me from mowing. 

 

Check Amazon. You might be able to find it cheaper. :D Actually, with my Honda I found on Amazon a set 4 wheels for $32 (retail at Home Depot for $24 each) and a drive belt for the specific model not stocked in stores. Both were "Genuine Honda Parts". Did similar when replace the rollers on the garage door and able to buy by the set rather than per single roller, plus able to upgrade to the quiet nylon wheel vs the single only available in metal wheel.

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