lawn mowers-money

504

Well-known Member
45 year old nephew who lives in a group home makes a little side money mowing lawns. His Murry is a total worn out POC. Looking for a cheap 15-18 hp that will last him with out a lot of me driving 50 miles to put the belt back on. We all know that ten different brands are made on the same line with different paint. What is the best color for the money today. And there will be NO zero turns(read the first line)
 
i would vote simplicity 1st get the mid range unit with suspension really ride nice also. have had no issue with them as of this typing. cheap and last years do not equal out usually. i have had very good luck with husqvarna line that was dixon blue. alot of those i sold are going on 10 years of age only see once year to service, but then again alot depends on who driving it no matter what color. i have one fellow that can destroy 13000.00 out fit in a week. 2nd day he had deck broke out from under unit.
 
Used to I would have recommended Husqvarna. No more. I have one 2 years old and it's looking worse than a Monkey Wards I bought used and then used it another many years before it bit the dust. Then got an old Deutz mower. Hated the roller thing, but had that other than wheels on the deck. Too wet here for that mess. Anyway, used it until I forgot to vent the gas tank one Spring day. Refused to pay $400 on a new tank! ...Guess I should have coughed up the money, cause this Husqvarna is literally falling apart.
 
I have really good luck with my Husqvarna's I have 2 use the one year around mowing in the summer 42" deck and 40" snowblower in the winter, but only recommend the Kawasaki engine 15 hp great engine one is a 2001 & other is 2002 model yr. both have 42" decks, electric PTO's and hydros.
GB in MN
 
I work in a mower shop. The only quality ride tractors today that don't cost an arm and a leg are Husqvarna and Deere.

But to qualify that, stay away from Husqvarnas that the model ends in 'A', A stands for automatic. (not hydro, which is 'H') the automatic transmissions have a plastic transmission and it WILL be a disappointment. (Those are like a washing machine transmission in a lawn mower, with a bunch of nylon gears. A lot of exposed cams and linkage ready to plug up with grass clippings, What could they ever have been thinking?) We have had mucho trouble with several units still in the warranty period. And it usually takes 2 visits to the dealer to get good ol' Husqvarna to give the customer a new transmission. We usually are required by Husqvarna to do all the attempted repairs to the old one during the first visit.

Husqvarnas with a shure-nuff hydro are O.K., Even most of the Tuff Torq hydro transmissions they use seem to hold together pretty well.

Also, stay away from the Deeres sold through the box stores. models LA130 and LA145, and some others come to mind, they seem to need deck belts pretty frequently.
 
My Husqvarna is the YTH22V46. It works and cuts very well, but our yard is very rough now after fire crews had to come through a few years back, plus lots of damage from the neighbor's cows over the years. The mower is literally falling apart even though we drive slow. Expected a little more out of this unit.

A neighbor was by the other day and has one about 6 or 8 years old. He asked if I ever lubed the spindles on the deck. Told him they didn't come with zerks. He got down and saw one, but I had forgotten that I'd replaced one where the aluminum spindle housing broke. The replacement had a zerk; originals didn't. His older model had zerks.

One more thing I'm not real happy with is that it's quite difficult to remove the mower deck. If someone wanted to take it off for use in Winter, it's more effort than it "should" be.

And lastly (and this goes for ALL manufacturers now), the cutting height is really low. If I set it below next to highest, blades eat up the ground. On highest setting, if we weren't in a wetlands area, I'd be burning up the grass every time I mowed. There's a way to raise the deck, but no room to. I have MAYBE 1/4" I could raise it before the deck sheaves hit the frame. Think I'm gonna try adding one or two layers of tire tread wrapping around the mower tires to build it up some, and also to help prevent any punctures.

I really like the hydro though! Seat is good, but the brackets could be reinforced better. Still, better for the money than the other choices out there, IMO.
 
Just a note to say I found a 325 JD in the back of the shop I had forgotten about. The grand kids learned to mow with it. It needs the fuel system cleaned and a couple of flat tires but it should make him a good mower. The hood is just like all of them,maybe I can adapt one from the junk pile. Thanks guys.
 

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