New riding mower questions

[backlash]

Yesterday I mowed my pasture with my tractor and brush hog. It took me almost 2 hours because of having to mow around 32 sprinkler heads.
I really need to buy an old lawn tractor to mow around the sprinklers. That would speed up the process and it would look better. I can buy a used rider for around $500 so it's not a big investment. I won't be particular about the brand as long as it runs well.

 

[phideaux]

Yesterday I mowed my pasture with my tractor and brush hog. It took me almost 2 hours because of having to mow around 32 sprinkler heads.
I really need to buy an old lawn tractor to mow around the sprinklers. That would speed up the process and it would look better. I can buy a used rider for around $500 so it's not a big investment. I won't be particular about the brand as long as it runs well.

Zero turns are made for that.
I can clean up around 10 trees before wife on lawn tractor gets 2 done.

We mow about 8 acres. Before I got a 60 " Zero turn , using 2 lawn tractors took us 7-8 hrs.

Now using a 48" John Deere lawn tractor and the Zero turn ....1 1/2 hrs...
Saves on gas.

Jim

 

[PopPopT]

My zero turn was an oddball. Most of the John Deere zero turns of that size had a 60" deck on them, I think. Mine came through with a 48" deck. It was a leftover and I got a good deal on it at the time. Seldom have I wanted it wider for the mowing I've had to do. But there have been times when that 48" was a tight fit. Still are. I guess it kinda depends on what you're mowing.

I could get a belly mower for my International Cub. I could also get a sickle bar mower for it. For just regular finish mowing, like lawn type stuff, the zero turn would be way faster and would run circles around that ol' tractor if it had a belly mower on it. If it were really tall grass, something like mowing hay or even tall pasture, then I can see how a sickle bar mower on the ol' Cub would move along at a pretty good clip, faster than I could chew through it on the zero turn. Wide open spaces of lawn, a zero turn with a wide deck is wonderful.

 

[backlash]

I have a zero turn but the pasture is pretty bumpy so I'm not sure how it would do. I am going to try it this afternoon.

 

[zoomzoom]

I have a zero turn but the pasture is pretty bumpy so I'm not sure how it would do. I am going to try it this afternoon.

Do you have a cultipacker or roller? I roll my lawn and use the cultipacker in the field. Both work well at taking out the bumps although the cultipacker leaves the grooves. When I use my ZTR in the field, I just follow the same pattern I used for the cultipacker so I'm riding with the grooves.

 

[joel]

At one time I had a yard service & I bought a 20 year old snapper that was a trade in. I bought it to cut rough lots that I did not want to damage my new mowers on, it out lasted at least one of my new mowers. One day it would not crank, so I took it to the repair shop I bought it from, the guy did not remember selling it two years before. He could not believe it ran that long, said the pistons had zero compression. He never seen a mower wear out totally, before stopping to run. 22 years was more like 30 with all the rough cuts that little push mower went though.

 

[PopPopT]

He never seen a mower wear out totally

LOL!! Yeah, few people really wear them out. I kinda think most buy a new one when they have a problem they don't wanna fix, sometimes relatively minor ones.

I have a 16 year old Craftsman push mower from Lowe's that we bought after Hurricane Katrina. Didn't use it heavily right afterward but used it very heavily in subsequent years, sometimes mowing acres weekly. And it still does run. We did get a new one this year, and it is a whole lot easier to push. Then again, the new one hasn't mowed through swamps and rock piles, been dropped and crunched in more ways than I'd like to admit, and otherwise abused. LOL!! (Stuff happens!) I'll keep it around for rough places that I don't wanna take the new one, like the edges of the pond which is a very steep bank with lots of pretty good sized rocks and always the potential for the handle breaking and it goin' in the drink. I suspect it'll last me as many years as I wanna use it but if it doesn't, it doesn't owe me a thing. It was maybe $150 brand new. Still, momma likes the new one, and you know the ol' sayin'... "Happy wife, Happy life!"

 

[UrbanHunter]

I have a cub cadet but not zero turn. Haven't had any problems with it other than I can't stand the new safety feature of your rear has to be in the seat or the engine is killed. I'm not huge and if I bounce a little on a bump, it stalls the engine (just momentarily but annoying and I'd say not good on the engine.) One of the other things we considered when looking was who could work on it if it needed it. We have a small local CC dealer who we purchased it from and would take it to. We did look at other brands but I liked this one.
BP, I also went with stihl with our last 2 chainsaws.

Could you put a tie-down between the seat and the frame? Think of it as a no-stall seat belt

 

[Meerkat]

Late last summer hubby got a John Deer Mower tractor. He said it cuts fine and he can hook up his trailor on it attachment. We still have to use push mower in tight places. 17 HP,wide cut,Also bought grass catcher that was expensive! We use composter, like grass for composting.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/John-Deere...fcd2719b46901d065b7211fd6d1cae4c&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

[The Lazy L]

I used a Allis Chambers garden tractor I bought used from Grandpa. I spent more time turning around then I spent mowing.

Then I used a walk behind self propelled mower. Took a hour to mow. When the “transmission” went out I used a push walk behind former self propelled mower, took just over a hour to mow.

Now I mow with a zero turn Hustler. If I take my time I’m done mowing in a 1/2 hour.

 

[joel]

I had a 36 inches zero turn walk/ride mower made by Exmark. You could attach a two wheell patform to stand on, so it was not a true rider, more of a stander.

 

[Amish Heart]

We just bought a Deer X380 54inch ride 'em mower today. Will be brought over next week.

 

[PopPopT]

We use composter, like grass for composting.

I haven't done a lot of composting, I really should make an effort. But I do really like using grass clippings as a mulch, which kinda breaks down over time anyway.

Doing something a little different in the garden this year so don't know if I'll use as many of them as last year but I still like them around the asparagus and garlic patches. Last year, they worked really well mulching my row / patch of onions, too, really helped keep the weeds down, plus, it seemed to keep more moisture in the soil, which the onions liked. Planning some drip irrigation this year, too, and don't know if the two will play well together. Don't know why not.

 

[PopPopT]

Could you put a tie-down between the seat and the frame? Think of it as a no-stall seat belt

Yup. Lots of people do that. Our new Gator will go a whoppin' 12 mph if you don't have the seatbelt clicked. So I think a lot of people just click it and sit on top of it. I am guilty of not putting it on when just puttering around the place as we would rarely get to 12 mph just with the chores. But if we go down the road to the neighbors, we put it on like it's supposed to be. I honestly don't know what the top speed is but I've had it close to 50 mph and just didn't wanna go faster than that. Even cars only go 30 to 35 on this little road. But I did have to see just what it would do. Actually, I still don't know for sure, but at 50, I was gettin' a little uncomfortable, even with a windshield, a seatbelt, and rollover bars.

 

[phideaux]

We just bought a Deer X380 54inch ride 'em mower today. Will be brought over next week.

Your gonna love that mower.
We had the X500 , love it.
Then I run up on a deal on a brand new GX355diesel.
Sold the X500.

They are a pleasure to ride.

Jim

 

[Meerkat]

I haven't done a lot of composting, I really should make an effort. But I do really like using grass clippings as a mulch, which kinda breaks down over time anyway.

Doing something a little different in the garden this year so don't know if I'll use as many of them as last year but I still like them around the asparagus and garlic patches. Last year, they worked really well mulching my row / patch of onions, too, really helped keep the weeds down, plus, it seemed to keep more moisture in the soil, which the onions liked. Planning some drip irrigation this year, too, and don't know if the two will play well together. Don't know why not.

Pops we haave a tumbler and stand alone composter. I like the stand alone one best far as how compost does. I turn it with a pitvhfork for many years but haven't done so in past couple years but a couple times. I've got lazy. Its all work and no play lately. But soon as beach calms down I'm going to it. Nice ride and beach.

 

[Alaskajohn]

LOL!! Yeah, few people really wear them out. I kinda think most buy a new one when they have a problem they don't wanna fix, sometimes relatively minor ones.

I had an old craftsman that I got about 1984/1985 and it lasted me until 2010. When I moved to Alaska we suddenly had to deal with mowing twice a week on with some decent hills with often very thick wet grass, so I got a new one with the big back wheels. Nothing wrong with the old craftsman so I donated it to a charity. I actually don't recall ever having to fix it except for a carburetor adjustment. Just regular oil changes, tune ups and simply cleaning it when it got dirty. I kind of miss the old craftsman products before they went south.

 

[VThillman]

My brother and I had a Craftsman mower/tractor for several years. It was low maintenance and durable. But Craftsman has gone away. My brother has gone away too, to the other side of the veil. Miss him considerably more than I do the mower.

 

[Meerkat]

I had an old craftsman that I got about 1984/1985 and it lasted me until 2010. When I moved to Alaska we suddenly had to deal with mowing twice a week on with some decent hills with often very thick wet grass, so I got a new one with the big back wheels. Nothing wrong with the old craftsman so I donated it to a charity. I actually don't recall ever having to fix it except for a carburetor adjustment. Just regular oil changes, tune ups and simply cleaning it when it got dirty. I kind of miss the old craftsman products before they went south.

We had one of those same year or close.It was still running whe nwe gave it to the lawn mower junk man. Rode like a Cadilac. cut many of fields with that.

 

[Cascadian]

I almost put this in the rants. However I chose to focus on the positive we got our mower today, yay!

So here's what happened. I decided to pick it up today instead of Saturday. I wanted to take the rottie pup who still gets car sick. So we gave her a nausea pill from the vet and begin the hour wait. So the pup and I go and pick up the mower. I get home and the first thing the wife does is start yelling about how they didn't subtract the down payment. I roll my eyes and wait for her to figure it out. So I unload the mover and skim the manual. I started it up and the blades won't engage. However they will engage if I have the back up mow safety feature on. So I read a little closer. Yep I did it right and it doesn't work. Son of a you know. So I call yep it's broke. So load it up and my wife goes with. I left the pup who puked in the suburban anyways.

So we get there and the guy says it's probably the module so him and another guy put a new one on while it was still on the trailer. Guess what it didn't fix it. He says he will have to wait until Monday to get an answer from cub cadet. But I can take it home and just mow with the reverse thing on. I said no thanks, I paid for a working mower I am leaving it. So I unload it and we head out. 5 minutes later the guy calls that it is fixed. It seems a connector came loose. I thought well that explains why it suddenly quit working. We turned around and went back, loaded it up and left again. I almost forgot by this time my neck was killing me. Probably from when I turned my head around like Lynda Blair when the puppy puked. So my wife was driving now.

Finally as we came through the gate I heard it beep as it started to close I glanced over and said the gate is closing! It was too late it closed behind the suburban and before the trailer. My wife stopped as I got out I said it's toast, meaning the gate. She thought I meant the mower and almost started crying. Anyway no idea why the gate closed but it just figures. I think she hit it on accident. We don't keep a remote in the suburban. We grabbed it out of the car a tossed it in the center console.
By the way this is a way G rated version. But hey we picked up our mower, twice. Yaaay.

 

[Spikedriver]

I used a Allis Chambers garden tractor I bought used from Grandpa. I spent more time turning around then I spent mowing.

Then I used a walk behind self propelled mower. Took a hour to mow. When the “transmission” went out I used a push walk behind former self propelled mower, took just over a hour to mow.

Now I mow with a zero turn Hustler. If I take my time I’m done mowing in a 1/2 hour.

The Hustlers are good mowers. My dad has had two, actually three now, since his second one burned up in the shed fire. I've used his quite a few times and it's solid. With the Kawasaki engine, it's pretty bulletproof. Not cheap though - I think the one dad's insurance bought to replace the one that burned, was around 5 grand...

 

[PopPopT]

By the way this is a way G rated version. But hey we picked up our mower, twice.

The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a flat tire, a hole in the gas tank, a bladder that needs emptied two extra times, going back to check if the stove is turned off, going back again to see if you remembered to lock the door the second time, a broken gate and dog puke to clean out of the car...

Sometimes we gotta laugh, or we'll cry.

Hope the mower has all the bugs worked out and works fine for ya for many years.

 

[Meerkat]

I almost put this in the rants. However I chose to focus on the positive we got our mower today, yay!

So here's what happened. I decided to pick it up today instead of Saturday. I wanted to take the rottie pup who still gets car sick. So we gave her a nausea pill from the vet and begin the hour wait. So the pup and I go and pick up the mower. I get home and the first thing the wife does is start yelling about how they didn't subtract the down payment. I roll my eyes and wait for her to figure it out. So I unload the mover and skim the manual. I started it up and the blades won't engage. However they will engage if I have the back up mow safety feature on. So I read a little closer. Yep I did it right and it doesn't work. Son of a you know. So I call yep it's broke. So load it up and my wife goes with. I left the pup who puked in the suburban anyways.

So we get there and the guy says it's probably the module so him and another guy put a new one on while it was still on the trailer. Guess what it didn't fix it. He says he will have to wait until Monday to get an answer from cub cadet. But I can take it home and just mow with the reverse thing on. I said no thanks, I paid for a working mower I am leaving it. So I unload it and we head out. 5 minutes later the guy calls that it is fixed. It seems a connector came loose. I thought well that explains why it suddenly quit working. We turned around and went back, loaded it up and left again. I almost forgot by this time my neck was killing me. Probably from when I turned my head around like Lynda Blair when the puppy puked. So my wife was driving now.

Finally as we came through the gate I heard it beep as it started to close I glanced over and said the gate is closing! It was too late it closed behind the suburban and before the trailer. My wife stopped as I got out I said it's toast, meaning the gate. She thought I meant the mower and almost started crying. Anyway no idea why the gate closed but it just figures. I think she hit it on accident. We don't keep a remote in the suburban. We grabbed it out of the car a tossed it in the center console.
By the way this is a way G rated version. But hey we picked up our mower, twice. Yaaay.

Sorry be glad when yall can laugh about it.

 

[Aklogcabin]

Does it have a place to put a cold one ?

 

[PopPopT]

Does it have a place to put a cold one ?

My John Deere zero turn has a couple of places to put a drink. None of them will stay cold, though. I'd have to strap on a cooler of some kind if I wanted that. With branches of various kinds and wind gusts, it's kind of a crap shoot whether or not a water bottle would actually stay in either of those holders anyway. Maybe if I had that pristine level lawn they show in their commercials. Yeah, right, I have yet to meet anyone who actually has a lawn like that...

 

[Neb]

My John Deere zero turn has a couple of places to put a drink. ...

Maybe if I had that pristine level lawn they show in their commercials. Yeah, right, I have yet to meet anyone who actually has a lawn like that...

You don't want to.

There is often a Karen behind that lawn.

Ben

 

[Cabin Fever]

Does it have a place to put a cold one ?

My homemade riding mower has room for a case of brewskis.

 

[VThillman]

My homemade riding mower has room for a case of brewskis.

View attachment 68384

Leinies!

 

[Cascadian]

Does it have a place to put a cold one ?

Yep