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Old 07-31-2018, 05:44 PM   #61
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You can get a Lowes/Home Depot John Deere and I believe there is a mulching kit available for them. Also, I watch Craigslist for slightly used
John Deere tractor. You can get a great mower at a bargain. I am not a fan of Troy Built although I have a Troy built Tiller that requires more maintenance than most tillers.

VW
Troy-Bilt certainly isn't the quality brand it was 25 years ago. I have a Troy-Bilt 33-inch wide-cut walk-behind mower that I bought in 1992. I mowed 3 hilly acres with it for nearly 25 years -- it still fires on the second pull.

I think a lawn tractor is a little overkill for 3/4 acre. A model like this one you can get for about half the price of a good lawn tractor.
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Old 08-07-2018, 05:16 PM   #62
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No way do you need to spend $3K for mowing one acre. I have used a Craftsman 42" for the last eight years on almost four acres and it is still going strong. To buy something like it new today would cost me about $15-1600 tops, especially now that we are getting closer to the end of the season for most retailers and deals will be abundant. Zero turns will always cost more and I don't see the big advantage to them for the typical homeowner.
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Repair for $300
Old 08-07-2018, 06:45 PM   #63
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Repair for $300

I'd say that most people that want to cut their grass and spend as little as possible would go ahead and fix their 8 year old mower for $300.


People that have $3K laying around and want to buy a new toy should just go ahead and buy it. Both alternatives will get the job done.
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Old 08-07-2018, 07:02 PM   #64
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I have an Airens 15-42 zero turn I bought used probably 20 years ago.
I paid a grand for it. The motor was pretty much worn out. It still ran ok,but the ring was shot,and it was hard to keep oil in it. I found a NEW Motor for under 400 bucks (An 18,it had a 15) It was easy to bolt in. It's been a heck of a lawn mower,and I can't imagine going back to a non Zero turn. If the grass isn't too high,and not too damp I can cut faster than i could run.
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Old 08-08-2018, 04:57 AM   #65
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zero turn

Big box stores beat up their suppliers, John Deere included, to make cheaper products. A JD at HD is NOT the same as a regular product line JD. For example, HD sells a 'D' series JD for about $1600 vs an 'X' series at the tractor supply store for about $3000. The HD version has cheaper trans, engine and other things to roughly cut the price in half. Many complaints about big box John Deeres. Apparently the Tractor Supply stores begged JD not to make the cheap version, but they did it anyway to get the big box sales. It does erode the brand, but you get what you pay for.
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Old 08-08-2018, 10:08 AM   #66
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Have a 50" Cub Cadet zero turn for mowing about an acre. Have used many types of riders and tractors previously. It is probably overkill, but it is much faster and a lot of fun. Would never go back to standard riding mower.
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Old 08-08-2018, 11:57 AM   #67
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Brought home a 52" Scag Patriot this morning and just finished the lawn. Still need more "stick time" to operate it efficiently but it's a pretty cool machine.
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Old 08-08-2018, 12:50 PM   #68
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Brought home a 52" Scag Patriot this morning and just finished the lawn. Still need more "stick time" to operate it efficiently but it's a pretty cool machine.
I had a 61" Scag Wildcat Thing was a beast! Please wear your seatbelt until you really understand how fast that machine can go and mow. I was almost pitched forward off of it while mowing about 10-12 mph.
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Old 08-08-2018, 12:56 PM   #69
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That reminds me. I need to get my Ariens 52 inch mower out. My yard is 150 x 220 feet, and I can mow it in maybe 25 minutes. I.also use it to.tow my utility trailer and move my.pontoon boat trailer around the yard.
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Old 08-10-2018, 08:27 PM   #70
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Big box stores beat up their suppliers, John Deere included, to make cheaper products. A JD at HD is NOT the same as a regular product line JD. For example, HD sells a 'D' series JD for about $1600 vs an 'X' series at the tractor supply store for about $3000. The HD version has cheaper trans, engine and other things to roughly cut the price in half. Many complaints about big box John Deeres. Apparently the Tractor Supply stores begged JD not to make the cheap version, but they did it anyway to get the big box sales. It does erode the brand, but you get what you pay for.


Most of this is not accurate from my first hand experience. It may have been more accurate in the past. I bought a D125 from HD which was assembled, checked out, and delivered by the local JD dealer. JD dealer had D120 and D130 models as well as X series when I was shopping. The D125 specs and pricing were between the 120 and 130 models. They now sell E series models.
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Old 08-10-2018, 08:53 PM   #71
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While recovering from hip replacement surgery I have been having my neighbors grand daughter mow my lawn. She is a long-legged 5'9 and barely fits on the neighbors rider. I am 6'6". It doesn't seem like they would be useable for people like me. Anyone that height able to fit on a rider?
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Old 08-11-2018, 08:06 AM   #72
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While recovering from hip replacement surgery I have been having my neighbors grand daughter mow my lawn. She is a long-legged 5'9 and barely fits on the neighbors rider. I am 6'6". It doesn't seem like they would be useable for people like me. Anyone that height able to fit on a rider?
I'm 6'4" and have fit on numerous riders. Most seats are very adjustable.

2 inches shouldn't make that much difference, at least in most things......
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Old 08-11-2018, 08:09 AM   #73
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Most of this is not accurate from my first hand experience. It may have been more accurate in the past. I bought a D125 from HD which was assembled, checked out, and delivered by the local JD dealer. JD dealer had D120 and D130 models as well as X series when I was shopping. The D125 specs and pricing were between the 120 and 130 models. They now sell E series models.
Not to dispute your experience, but I have owned several of the John Deere series over the years. The D series are good daily mowers for smaller yards.
They are not built like the X300,X500 series from John Deere. Walk up to them and look at both. You will see a big difference in quality. Having said that, I think they work fine for most non-commercial jobs.
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Old 08-11-2018, 08:20 AM   #74
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While recovering from hip replacement surgery I have been having my neighbors grand daughter mow my lawn. She is a long-legged 5'9 and barely fits on the neighbors rider. I am 6'6". It doesn't seem like they would be useable for people like me. Anyone that height able to fit on a rider?
I had a Scag that would accommodate your height.
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Old 08-11-2018, 08:56 AM   #75
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No way do you need to spend $3K for mowing one acre. I have used a Craftsman 42" for the last eight years on almost four acres and it is still going strong. To buy something like it new today would cost me about $15-1600 tops, especially now that we are getting closer to the end of the season for most retailers and deals will be abundant. Zero turns will always cost more and I don't see the big advantage to them for the typical homeowner.
I disagree. I have about 1 acre of mowing and my 50 inch Toro zero turn is game changing. Until you have tried it you will never know. Time to cut is cut in half and it is truly fun to drive. I have used a regular lawn tractor and I would never go back. The $3-4 thousand price tag is for a machine beefy enough to last years and years. I am a tight wad (as are many here), but I have no regrets dropping the $4k I spent. Fear not!
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Old 08-11-2018, 09:06 AM   #76
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I disagree. I have about 1 acre of mowing and my 50 inch Toro zero turn is game changing. Until you have tried it you will never know. Time to cut is cut in half and it is truly fun to drive. I have used a regular lawn tractor and I would never go back. The $3-4 thousand price tag is for a machine beefy enough to last years and years. I am a tight wad (as are many here), but I have no regrets dropping the $4k I spent. Fear not!
+1

My last yard was 3 acres. My Zturn Scagg 61" would mow it in 1.5 hours at a very comfortable speed. It would have been 3+ hours with a 65" conventional mower(I'd owned one) at a higher speed that really wasn't comfortable.
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Old 08-11-2018, 09:55 AM   #77
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I disagree. I have about 1 acre of mowing and my 50 inch Toro zero turn is game changing. Until you have tried it you will never know. Time to cut is cut in half and it is truly fun to drive. I have used a regular lawn tractor and I would never go back. The $3-4 thousand price tag is for a machine beefy enough to last years and years. I am a tight wad (as are many here), but I have no regrets dropping the $4k I spent. Fear not!
I agree. I had almost two acres and a small riding mower. When I moved up to a bigger, better machine, it cut mowing time in half, from about 4 hours, to 2. I don’t have a zero turn, but time is money, unless mowing grass is fun for you. Had it not been for my desire to have something that would help teach my grandsons how to drive a car (steering wheel, backing up, . . .), I would have got a zero turn with the biggest deck that I could handle to work on. As it is, I got a 300 series JD for my current acre and it does get the job done pretty quickly. I should have got a bigger deck but I did not realize that I can get the blades off without removing the deck and, I miscalculated in that my other machine had to have the deck removed to plow snow. In this house, I don’t have or need a plow, so I don’t need to remove the deck. To me, get more than you need for the quality benefit and time savings. Face it, a 10hp craftsman is working harder than an 20hp.
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Old 08-11-2018, 11:29 AM   #78
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I'd say that most people that want to cut their grass and spend as little as possible would go ahead and fix their 8 year old mower for $300.
I agree, fixing the old mower is almost always the cheaper option. I have a Honda HR214 self propelled mower that I bought 27 years ago. I've had to replace the cloth grass bag a few times, a couple of control cables, and a new carburetor last year. I was starting to have some issues with the drive wheels and debated buying a new mower. Four new wheels and associated hardware cost me a bit over $100 but a new comparable mower would cost me over $1000. I opted for the new wheels.

I have about one acre of partially hilly yard to mow. I still prefer my self propelled walk behind over a riding mower. For one it's about the only exercise I get, and it only takes about 45-60 minutes to mow so it's not a huge time investment. We also have a lot of tight areas that would be difficult to reach with a riding mower. A riding mower would take up a lot more space and be harder to store. I may get a rider when I'm old-der and can't walk that much anymore, or if my Honda blows an engine or something else major. Otherwise, I'll keep the walk behind.

Self-propelled makes a HUGE difference. My mother-in-law has a city lot and mowing herr little yard with a standard push mower wears me out.
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Old 08-11-2018, 05:08 PM   #79
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Not to dispute your experience, but I have owned several of the John Deere series over the years. The D series are good daily mowers for smaller yards.

They are not built like the X300,X500 series from John Deere. Walk up to them and look at both. You will see a big difference in quality. Having said that, I think they work fine for most non-commercial jobs.


I agree with you regarding the D models vs X300, X500, and also the S240 (I think). I am happy with my D125 but wish I had sprung for the S240 (eg blow that dough) which is a notch below the X models. My point was that the 100 series sold by dealers is very similar to the 100 series sold at big box stores.
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Old 08-11-2018, 07:37 PM   #80
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On a different direction: My cousin has a medium size lot in the city. He's recently bought a Ryobi rechargeable riding mower for $2,499 at one of the big box home improvement stores.

The Ryobi runs 8 mph--one mph faster than my new Ariens zero turn. He wil length cut his yard and the next door neighbor's yard twice before the battery required recharging. Technology may have finally come our way.
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