Any suggestions for a good riding lawnmower?

[Telly]

Sounds good. Mine is equivalent to today's D130. Have started season #7 on it (though last year wasn't much of a season with the drought!).

I sharpened the blades a couple times, and before last season started, replaced them. Lowes had them on the shelf. I change oil and filter at the end of the season, there are about 3 different filters that fit, a Briggs regular, a Briggs 2X life, and a yellow JD-branded one. The owners manual is a bit of a mess, as it covers so many versions, always have to figure out which is mine page by page. And nowhere did they say to oil the foam air pre-filter, which I do, and that is the way it came from the factory.

Only failure has been the original battery, which died when a little over a year old. I brought the battery into the power equipment place, and they gave me a made in the Philippines replacement (!), which is still good today.

When changing the oil filter on mine, it would dump out all over the top of the chassis. So to prevent that mess, I make a tray/chute out of a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, fold it over double, fold up short ~3/4" sides on three sides of it, then slip the middle side up under and behind the oil filter base, and fold the open end down over the edge of the chassis. I usually masking tape it on, as it always seems to be windy when doing this. It directs the oil over and into my catch pan. Easy cleanup then.

Mine has a single-pedal speed/direction control. Press down further with front of foot for forward, step back with heel for reverse. And separate engine throttle and choke levers, looks like they went to a combined throttle/choke setup now. Probably better for people who have no concept of choke (oh, you have to do the Heimlich then, right?)

I hope you let DW wear the cap when she mows

My DW also grew up on a farm, and she could name every piece of equipment they had over the years, who the manufacturer was, and what color combinations the brands used. FIL's last big combine and wagon, and his last big tractor were JD's.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Homebrew: I hope you like your Snapper better than I like mine........ You've hit all the high points - slow, huge turning radius, slow, uneven cut, slow, and doesn't bag more than ~50% of what is cut. Did I mention that it's "dead-dog slow"? It doesn't break, though, which on any other mower would be a selling point. Unfortunately, I'm too cheap to replace something that's still running, and the trade in is zip. I'm hoping to give it to my new son-in-law for his lawn, and then I can justify getting another bagging lawnmower.

Fortunately, now that I'm not in suburbia any more, I only use the Snapper to pick up mulch for the garden and compost pile, and have an Ariens 60" zero turn (28 hp) to mow the 4+ acres or so. Can't say enough positive about the Ariens - dependable, great cut, fast enough that I can mow in 2 hours what takes 7.5 on the Snapper.

 

[Homebrew]

Well, I've only had a chance to ride the Snapper around a little so far. The grass isn't ready to cut and I haven't had a chance to ride it much. Looks like much of what I heard was correct. It is pretty slow, but should be just fine on that end for my 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre. If I were mowing more, not only would I want something a little faster, but also a wider cutting deck.

The bagger seems to do really well. In fact I was surprised to turn around and realize the bagger was comletely full of leaves. It didn't even look like there that many leaves laying on the ground. Do you have the Hi-Vac Snapper? I've read that for bagging you really need the Hi-vac version. Anyway, based on a whole five minutes, the bagger seemed to work well.

I did run the machine over a section of the yard where the grass was a little higher and I have to say I was disappointed witht the cut quality. I knew not expect a fantastic cut, but this was worse than I expected. Granted, I haven't rolled my yard and it is bumpy, but there were stray strands of grass left here and there. I plan to make sure the blades are sharp before going again, but still...

So, based on my five minutes on the machine, I don't know if I'd buy it again, or go another route. I guess if I decided I wouldn't spend a dime extra, then I'd stay with the Snapper. The question in my mind is whether I should have spent more and got something better. For my little yard, I'm going to live with the machine I have...maybe my impressions will improve as I use it.

 

[EllisWyatt]

I got the Hi-Vac Snapper to replace a completly worn out 16 yo Craftsman lawntractor. I could see the difference in the amount of what was picked up immediately, but, like you, decided I would live with the machine. When we bought a bigger property I had learned my lesson. I bit the bullet and spent more (which was difficult for someone whose fingers are tinted green from pinching pennies!), and haven't regretted it.

As an explanation, I generally find mowing to be enjoyable; sort of a Zen thing where I can relax, or check out what garden projects need to be done next, or just unwind - as long as I don't have to spent more than an hour or two doing it.

 

[ls99]

My $0.02

I never had a new mower.

Had a Montgomery Ward circa 1960 vintage, given to me by then neighbor with a blown engine. A $ 170 short block and about an hour or two of labor. Used for over 20 years. Gave it away free when the starter died on it.

Replaced it with a $150 Troy Bilt. This had a faulty carburator allowing the crankcase to fill up with gasoline. An hour of modifying the carb and a $5.00 manual shutoff valve later good machine. Now over a year, runs fine unless like today mowing my camp's grass hit a few rocks and turn blade into pretzel. Tomorrow stock up 3 sets of blades.

Instead of hauling this mower in the pickup, I just saw a Craftsman Hydro on Craigslist. $ 175.- I think I can get it for $150.- Owner claims it needs belts. I'll know better after I get a look see.