[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Riding Mower (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/14/2015 1:05:45 AM EDT
| Just moved and have about an acre to cut, so I need a yard tractor. I have ~$1,500 to spend, any suggestions? |
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Anybody else have any experience with Ariens? I was thinking about these two and yes they are built by Husqvarna.
Ariens-A20VA46 Ariens-A22VA46 |
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Anybody else have any experience with Ariens? I was thinking about these two and yes they are built by Husqvarna. Ariens-A20VA46 Ariens-A22VA46 I don't know about their mowers, but their snowblowers are tits. |
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Quoted: I was thinking about going used, but the idea of what people do to their equipment horrifies me. ETA: code99 is why I don't want to buy used. Haha. Just look at the deck and you can tell if it was abused. I abuse the hell out of mine too but it shows. The good thing is there are actually only a couple manufacturers, the mowers are just rebranded. I recently blew up the 19.5 Kohler engine in my 42" Tory-Bilt. I took a 17hp motor off an 15 year old Murray mower that someone had, bolted it in place, rewired it a bit, put a new throttle cable on and I was back in business. For about $20 I had a running riding mower again. The basic riding lawn mower isn't that complicated, just a bunch of modular parts. |
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MTD makes the following brands. Unless you go high end zero turn or John Deere almost every mower you see is made by MTD. Bolens Columbia Cub Cadet Farm King GardenWay Gold Series Gutbrod Gutbrod-Kehrer Huskee Lawnflite Mastercut Mow Master MTD Novotrac Ranch King Rasentrac Remington Ryobi (sold at Costco) Troy-Bilt Ventzki White Outdoor Wolf Garten Yard Machines Yard-Man YardWorks Also these private brands Ace Agria Agway Bavaria Trac Benassi Blue Grass Brill Bullcraft Celebration Cenex (for Farmers Union Oil) Central Park Club CMI Co-op (Federated Co-operatives) Coast to Coast (for Coast to Coast) Craftsman Dayton (for Grainger) EagleStar (for National Yard Products Dist) Eden Park EDT E-Flor Estate EuroTrac Fair Way (for Verts Loisirs) Fleurelle FloraPro FloraSelf Florica Floride Forest City Gardol Golf Grand Air Granja Hako Hayter Hechinger Huskee (for Tractor Supply) Huskee LE Huskee Supreme HWI (for HWI Do It Best) Iseki JCPenney Juwel Kgro (for Kmart) Landmark Lawn Chief (for True Value) Lawn General Lowe's Mark Master Massey Ferguson Mastercraft (for Canadian Tire) Mastercut Merex Motec MotoStandard MPP Mr. Bricolage Oleo-Mac Peugot PowerPro (for Kmart) PowrKraft (for Montgomery Ward) Quality (for Quality Farm & Fleet) Quality Farm & Fleet Raiffeisentrac Ranch King (for Mid-States Buying Group) Ranch King Pro Rasentraktor Select Series Sentar ServiStar (for ServiStar) Stiga Signature 2000 (for Montgomery Ward) Stadium Statesman (for Southern States Cooperative) Task Force Texas Topflite Toro (including some lower-priced models sold at Home Depot and Ace Hardware, perhaps others, although not all Toro tractors are made by MTD) Tromeca Turbo Silent Turf King Turf-Power Turf Pro Turf-Trac Unico (for Southern States stores) Uniropa Univert Val Garden Vario Verts Loisirs Victa Viking Wards Wizard (for Western Auto) Yard Works |
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$1500 wont buy you much..raise that another 1K and you might find a good used mower that is good.stay away from Simplicity... I have had nothing but problems with them. $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. |
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Quoted: $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. Quoted: Quoted: $1500 wont buy you much..raise that another 1K and you might find a good used mower that is good.stay away from Simplicity... I have had nothing but problems with them. $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. would be Husqvarna or Sears Craftsmen...made by the same company even then you will need to step up to $2500 to get something worth having.
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Quoted: Anybody else have any experience with Ariens? I was thinking about these two and yes they are built by Husqvarna. Ariens-A20VA46 Ariens-A22VA46 Those are good machines, but I wouldn't get anything without the hydrostatic hand control. The foot control ones are a pain in the ass. |
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All movers sold at box mart are price point junk. They might come with a brigs vanguard engine or high end kohler engines, but the rest of the mower is junk.
Get a zero turn and be done. You have an acre of land, build a shed for the mower. http://www.exmark.com/products/mowers/zero-turn or a walk behind and buy a sulky to stand on. http://www.exmark.com/products/mowers/walk-behind/turf-tracer |
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You can tell how used equipment was treated very easily. If it looks like crap, it was abused. I bought my brother's used Troy brand 21 Hp, 46" tri blade because he thought the hydro trans was out. It was the belt. In the past, he ran it out of oil causing the con rods to break. I overhauled the Briggs and Stratton, putting a better hone on the cast iron bores. Also ported and polished the intake and exhausts. Now it runs like a top, except compression is so good the starter has tough spots. I don't really need it for mowing, it is a trailer tug for spotting our trailers. Plus hauling hay, manure and the like. Pulling a 1000 pound trailer of manure to the north pasture nearly slips the belt and the hydro transmission starts to hit max pressure. But it pulls. I have tuned the deck to cut well, it takes me 10 minutes to cut the front yard. Like I said, I don't really need the mower. |
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Quoted: All movers sold at box mart are price point junk. They might come with a brigs vanguard engine or high end kohler engines, but the rest of the mower is junk. this is not true. expect a box store rider to give you at least 10 years of trouble free service. I have a home depot JD that I bought in 2002, that has had 1 repair so far, other than blades and a battery. The repair cost me a whole $127 and I did it myself in a couple hours. I cut 2 acres (hilly uneven terrain) a week with my 42 inch hydro JD. I also cut my woods trail and haul wood in my little trailer. I beat the snot out of it and it just keeps going. I do grease it often and use synthetic oil and a good filter. |
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At your price range
I would look to a brand that is made by MTD. They make a wide range of brands that are all basically the same components underneath. This is almost like an AR15 , MTD products are very modular and easy to work on. Over time they will be the easiest to find replacement parts at the lowest cost. For the money - they cannot be beat. Over the years these products have changed very little l each model year may get a different looking hood but the basic mower is the same. They make a brand called Columbia - this is a step up from the basic MTD at Lowes. Columbia can be found at local dealers. If possible buy from a local dealer as you will have this for a long time and will provide parts and repair services if you ever need them. You might pay $50-100 more than what you would at Lowes In LA , you will find Columbia at many mid and smaller sized lawnmower shops , the central distribution warehouse is in springhill, LA - the name is Smiths South Central. This warehouse supplies parts and equipment to all dealers in several states. I'm sure if you google their number they could tell you a local dealer in your area Good luck |
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I always owned john Deere growing up on a farm. Went to buy one at lowes and ended up leaving with Husqvarna. Year later glad I did. The deck was much more heavy gauge metal and longer warranty on deck. I realized I wasn't really buying a "tractor" (why I was at lowes ) but mowing and towing a utility cart on my 1.2 acres. $1500 will get you that.
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$1500 wont buy you much..raise that another 1K and you might find a good used mower that is good.stay away from Simplicity... I have had nothing but problems with them. Simplicity makes some of the best riding mowers available. Just stay away from the base model (Regent). A Broadmoor will run $3600 new for a 44". They are good for 1k+ hours with minor maintenance. |
| I recommend any mower with a Kohler engine. An acre cut on one of the smaller units will cause the deck belt to wear faster so I recommend something where it's easily replaced if there is such a thing. I'm going on year 15 with my JD LT155, I've given it hell and replaced all the belts at least twice, steering rod once. Still using the same tires. The Kohler engine has never failed to crank. I would look at something 19HP or larger, local, get a service agreement if you don't want to do the work yourself. JMO. |
| If you consider a used John Deere with hydrostatic drive, look on the input shaft atop the transmission. There is a plastic fan and if more than a couple of blades are missing, the transmission could overheat under load. Sticks can ride up over the mower deck and hit the fan. The fan is only a few bucks, but replacing it is a bitch. |
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I have a 1975 JD 210. Mower and snow blower. The thing get used year round. Got it from Craigslist for $100 and put about $300 in deferred repairs to it. The original 1975 fuel pump needed replaced. The ignition switch also had corroded and needed replaced. Everything else is 1975 and still going strong.
I have 3 acres to cut and a 500' driveway to snow blow in winter. You only have an acre. My advice is buy a good cheap unit on CL and put the rest of the money into ammo. |
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Quoted: MTD makes the following brands. Unless you go high end zero turn or John Deere almost every mower you see is made by MTD. Bolens Columbia Cub Cadet Farm King GardenWay Gold Series Gutbrod Gutbrod-Kehrer Huskee Lawnflite Mastercut Mow Master MTD Novotrac Ranch King Rasentrac Remington Ryobi (sold at Costco) Troy-Bilt Ventzki White Outdoor Wolf Garten Yard Machines Yard-Man YardWorks Also these private brands Ace Agria Agway Bavaria Trac Benassi Blue Grass Brill Bullcraft Celebration Cenex (for Farmers Union Oil) Central Park Club CMI Co-op (Federated Co-operatives) Coast to Coast (for Coast to Coast) Craftsman Dayton (for Grainger) EagleStar (for National Yard Products Dist) Eden Park EDT E-Flor Estate EuroTrac Fair Way (for Verts Loisirs) Fleurelle FloraPro FloraSelf Florica Floride Forest City Gardol Golf Grand Air Granja Hako Hayter Hechinger Huskee (for Tractor Supply) Huskee LE Huskee Supreme HWI (for HWI Do It Best) Iseki JCPenney Juwel Kgro (for Kmart) Landmark Lawn Chief (for True Value) Lawn General Lowe's Mark Master Massey Ferguson Mastercraft (for Canadian Tire) Mastercut Merex Motec MotoStandard MPP Mr. Bricolage Oleo-Mac Peugot PowerPro (for Kmart) PowrKraft (for Montgomery Ward) Quality (for Quality Farm & Fleet) Quality Farm & Fleet Raiffeisentrac Ranch King (for Mid-States Buying Group) Ranch King Pro Rasentraktor Select Series Sentar ServiStar (for ServiStar) Stiga Signature 2000 (for Montgomery Ward) Stadium Statesman (for Southern States Cooperative) Task Force Texas Topflite Toro (including some lower-priced models sold at Home Depot and Ace Hardware, perhaps others, although not all Toro tractors are made by MTD) Tromeca Turbo Silent Turf King Turf-Power Turf Pro Turf-Trac Unico (for Southern States stores) Uniropa Univert Val Garden Vario Verts Loisirs Victa Viking Wards Wizard (for Western Auto) Yard Works |
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Quoted: Well that would explain why so many of those brands use the same carburetor and end up having carburetor issues. Quoted: Quoted: snip Well that would explain why so many of those brands use the same carburetor and end up having carburetor issues. |
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$1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. Quoted:
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$1500 wont buy you much..raise that another 1K and you might find a good used mower that is good.stay away from Simplicity... I have had nothing but problems with them. $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. 2200 will get you a new z235 ztr deere from home depot. |
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Quoted: carb issues are caused by ethanol in the fuel. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: snip Well that would explain why so many of those brands use the same carburetor and end up having carburetor issues. It should be banned apart from oak kegs and glass bottles. |
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Quoted: carb issues are caused by cheap Chinese made carburetors that gum up if there is ethanol in the fuel. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: snip Well that would explain why so many of those brands use the same carburetor and end up having carburetor issues.  I don't discount that ethanol in the fuel is the culprit, but the point I was making was (anecdotal, at best, I know) that all my U.S.A. made small engine equipment carburetors don't have any issues with fuel containing ethanol. But the Chinese made stuff really struggles with it, especially if it sits for a week or longer without running. |
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Fixed it for ya! I don't discount that ethanol in the fuel is the culprit, but the point I was making was (anecdotal, at best, I know) that all my U.S.A. made small engine equipment carburetors don't have any issues with fuel containing ethanol. But the Chinese made stuff really struggles with it, especially if it sits for a week or longer without running.
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snip Well that would explain why so many of those brands use the same carburetor and end up having carburetor issues. I don't discount that ethanol in the fuel is the culprit, but the point I was making was (anecdotal, at best, I know) that all my U.S.A. made small engine equipment carburetors don't have any issues with fuel containing ethanol. But the Chinese made stuff really struggles with it, especially if it sits for a week or longer without running.
I run 100LL aviation fuel mixed in the tank about 50/50. That solves the ethanol problem. |
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Quoted: $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. Quoted: Quoted: $1500 wont buy you much..raise that another 1K and you might find a good used mower that is good.stay away from Simplicity... I have had nothing but problems with them. $1,500 will buy plenty. I don't need to spend $2,500 for a good used mower to get something worth a damn. I'm just cutting grass, on a flat acre and no hauling. I'm just curious about brand experience and stay away from xyz due to abc. Is it 1 acre of land or 1 acre minus the footprint of the house and driveway? Either way a $1,000 riding mower from Lowes or Home Depot will do the job and last you a very long time. In that situation comfort and the number of beer holders will be most important aspects to look for. A zero turn will make it easier to maneuver, turn, and speed up the mowing process. If you want exercise you can get a wide cut 30" self propelled mower for under $1,000. As for engines, people claim they like Kohler but the one I had started smoking bad on start up just after a couple of years and then self destructed. The 15 year old motor I put in it was a Briggs. How much room do you have storing it? Deck size will affect your cutting time. As I mentioned a 42" regular mower will take about an hour. A 50" zero turn will take a bit over 30 minutes if you push it. When I say I abused my Troy-Bilt I'm talking about mowing grass 1 to 2 feet tall. Mowing 3 to 5 acres at a time. Mowing yards at full ground speed, bumping over ruts, hitting rocks, and running over branches. The Troy-Bilt handles most of it well, so any MTD riding mower will do just fine. If you want a golf course looking cut then you will want to step up to some better equipment but I'm not sure what that would be. |
| I bought a Husqvarna riding mower last year and it is better than the other brands I was using prior. I got a 10% off Lowes coupon to use when I bought it. Also picked up the 3 bag bagger system for it. My chainsaws are also Husqvarna built and never had issues with them. |
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I have a Murray with like a 12 horse Briggs on it and a hydrostatic drive. The belts have given me some troubles, but that's probably because I beat the crap out of the mower and don't take care of it very well, heh. Anyways, it's been pretty good for what it is. Last year I got a Troy Bilt with a 19 horse Kohler on it, it's been really good too. |
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Anybody else have any experience with Ariens? I was thinking about these two and yes they are built by Husqvarna. Ariens-A20VA46 Ariens-A22VA46 Bought one two years ago. No problems with it. Live on a lake, have a hill that drops about the height of the house to the lake from the detached garage. I'll ride it sideways on the hill to mow, but it isn't really recommended. I'm very careful about the approach angle. Bought the mulching blades, only thing I can see with them is they're thicker than the regular blades and don't chip as fast. Don't think the mulching is all that good with them. I also found out that once I put them on, no matter how hard I tighten the right blade it always seems to loosen up. So I'm always re-tightening just to be sure before mowing. |
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Wow...as an ASE certified Master Auto Tech for almost 25 years, I'd recommend that you take some of the ethanol info here with a grain of salt.
Speaking from my own experience, I'll never buy anything with a Briggs & Stratton on it again. In 2008, I bought a Husqvarna rider from Lowes. It's 23 hp B&S V-twin was advertised as having cast iron sleeves for durability (and in my mind, the ability to rebuild easily). I maintain my own stuff and normally change fluids prior to the scheduled intervals. At 120 hours (and just out of warranty  ), it started using oil. At 140 hours it was fouling one spark plug. Finally, at 160 hours, I tore it down. It was apparent that that the air filter had not been doing its job. Turns out that this particular series of B&S had a known problem with air filtration. No problem, right? Just replace the iron sleeves and pistons/rings, modify/upgrade the air filtration and I'll be good to go, right? Wrong. Those cast iron sleeves are molded into the aluminum block and aren't servicable. 
I'm a Husqvarna fan. I have several other Husqvarna products and have been happy with them. Despite the engine issue (and after replacing te engine), the rest of the mower has been okay. |
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Four 5' Swisher trail mowers + Kubota 6' finish = MOAM (mother of all mowers) 24' swath GITTUR DONE 
<a href="http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/beech18/media/Photo2_zps3d9e01af.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a552/beech18/Photo2_zps3d9e01af.jpg</a> You sir are my hero! That's awesome! More pics please? |
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Wow...as an ASE certified Master Auto Tech for almost 25 years, I'd recommend that you take some of the ethanol info here with a grain of salt. Speaking from my own experience, I'll never buy anything with a Briggs & Stratton on it again. In 2008, I bought a Husqvarna rider from Lowes. It's 23 hp B&S V-twin was advertised as having cast iron sleeves for durability (and in my mind, the ability to rebuild easily). I maintain my own stuff and normally change fluids prior to the scheduled intervals. At 120 hours (and just out of warranty ), it started using oil. At 140 hours it was fouling one spark plug. Finally, at 160 hours, I tore it down. It was apparent that that the air filter had not been doing its job. Turns out that this particular series of B&S had a known problem with air filtration. No problem, right? Just replace the iron sleeves and pistons/rings, modify/upgrade the air filtration and I'll be good to go, right? Wrong. Those cast iron sleeves are molded into the aluminum block and aren't servicable.
I'm a Husqvarna fan. I have several other Husqvarna products and have been happy with them. Despite the engine issue (and after replacing te engine), the rest of the mower has been okay. Deere turf tech here. I almost always put some grease on the sealing surface of the air filter. The dusty environment mowers live in a good air filter is more important than what brand oil filter or type of oil in the crankcase. Also a lot of the time a dusted cylinder will still mic good n just need deglazed and new rings. |