***OT Lawn Mower OT***

pgprescott

I'm a Simplicity guy. I was a Deere guy. Both are great mowers. 

saluki2007

Never heard of Simplicity.  I do like the idea of making ball park like stripes.  I can just see it now.  
Me:"I'm going to go mow the lawn"
Wife:"OK"
3 beers later...
Wife:"WTF are you doing?"
Me: "Make yard art.  You wouldn't understand."
Wife: "I do understand that you just put a giant penis shape in the yard."
Me: "Takes a drink of beer.  Makes an acknowledgement nod and keeps on going."

tarheelmatt

Check out a walk behind for that small of space.  You can also get a velke/sulkey if you want to ride. 

GregW

U_tarded said:

Walker makes a great mower they are made in Colorado.  I can't say I've bought one but used ine several times and they are top notch.

I'm currently dreaming of owning a Walker.
 I own a commercial Honda HRC216 HXA Hydostatic drive 21 inch cut. It has developed a shudder in the transmission and slow pulling. It seems to be worse this year compared to last.
The mower is 22 years old. I really can't complain about it, however the transmission is about $400 with me installing. A new commercial like this one is about $1200. Funny that's about what I paid 22 years ago. That tells me its either lower quality or built with slave Chinese labor. My bet is slave labor.

I would love a Walker, however for one residential lot it would never make economic sense. I could pay someone else that had a Walker to cut my lawn for the next 10 years or so and still come out ahead. Powers of logic don't always prevail for me, I bought a Kubota BX 22 with front end loader and backhoe with a 60 in mid mounted mower. It was a beast, but the cut quality was terrible. I bought this to primarily pull a trailer with the children around the neighborhood. In retrospect this was plain crazy.

A Walker is a fine piece of equipment. It cuts with surgical precision. As they say you can circumcise a Gnat with a Walker.

tarheelmatt

Walkers are nice , but very pricy and SLOOOOWWW. 

Stripes can be done with virtually any mower,  not just one brand. 

MotownVol

I have a Deere GT275 mower that I bought in early 1994 for about $4,000.   I still have it.   It is the equivalent of the 500 series today, probably the 535.  My yard is just under 1 acre, but for about 5 years I also mowed my mother in laws 4 rough acres.   The only thing that is cheap is the plastic hood.   Every thing else is a tank.   The Kawasaki motor is incredible.  Go to a Deere dealer and stretch your budget and thank me in 20 years. 

SGH

@saluki2007
I have both of the brands that you inquired about. As long as you don't buy the entry level (cheap stuff) both will serve you real well as a lawn mower. Notice that I said as a lawn mower, not a bush hog. That seems to be where most people have trouble. They buy a mower and try using it as a bush hog for clearing brush and heavy growth. A lawn mower will not stand up to such use. They are designed to cut grass, not clear brush and heavy growth. 
With that aside, here is a Cub Cadet that I bought in 2003. It has 600+ hours on it. The only things I have ever changed is the oil & filter, air filter, blades, battery and deck belt. This has been a great mower. It has exceeded all expectations. The other one is a Deere I bought 3 years ago this month. It has been a dream machine so far. It is very quite compared to the Cub and has a tuning radius much sharper. I would not hesitate to buy either again. Just remember, don't buy the super cheap models. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for to degree. The one exception to this rule that comes right to mind is Yeti. But that's a debate for another time and thread. 

Fred19Flintstone

MotownVol said:

I have a Deere GT275 mower that I bought in early 1994 for about $4,000.   I still have it.   It is the equivalent of the 500 series today, probably the 535.  My yard is just under 1 acre, but for about 5 years I also mowed my mother in laws 4 rough acres.   The only thing that is cheap is the plastic hood.   Every thing else is a tank.   The Kawasaki motor is incredible.  Go to a Deere dealer and stretch your budget and thank me in 20 years. 

That's what's in my Deere LX 277.  A Kowasaki 17hp motor that still purrs like a kitten.

cortguitarman

Go for a zero turn unless you plan on have the mower do double duty for snow blowing/plowing 

saluki2007

Thanks for all the input guys. As usual you never fail. I'm leaning towards the S240 model from Deere. It has the body of the D100 series but the guts of the X300 series. Anyone have experience with this model. The big box stores only sell the D100 series. The S240 is about $500 cheaper than the entry level X series. 

WeberWho

I looked at some of the newer Cub Cadet mowers when shopping around but learned thay they sold out to MTD. Not built like they were a few years ago. Good amount of issue with the newer ones

saluki2007

The X seires and above have the Kawasaki motor the lesser models have a Briggs motor. As far as the cub you have to get into the XT2 series to get a Kohler motor. 

Wolfpack

saluki2007 said:

milesvdustin said:

 Buy once cry once. How many acres are you mowing? Is it hilly, flat, lots of trees or other obstacles? 

It's a little over a 1/2 acre.  Not many obstacles at the moment, but it's a new house/yard.  Will be planting trees and shrubbery around the house over time.  Right now the only thing is the fence in the back yard.  It's mostly flat, but the back yard is sloped and the sides kinda fall off.  Not too steep that I would have to use a pusher though.

For that size get a Honda self propelled- riding mower would barely get warmed up in 1/2 acre. you can cut the whole yard in 45 minutes or less with self propelled. 

Ladeback69

I have had a Cub Cadet zero turn tractor for 9 years now Not really any major problems with it.  Its a 46" cut.  I got mine as a refurbed more that someone didn't like for some reason and I got it for $1900.  Originally sold for $3000.  It had like maybe 5 hours on it when I got it.  I have used my neighbors Deere before I got mine and I like mine better.

saluki2007

I haven't justied the premium for a zero turn. While it would be nice, not sure if the extra $500 and up is worth saving 5 minutes. If my yard was bigger I would thinking about it harder. 

DoubleEgger

tarheelmatt said:

Walkers are nice , but very pricy and SLOOOOWWW. 

Stripes can be done with virtually any mower,  not just one brand. 

The discharge chutes on Walkers clog very easily with damp grass. That's their only fault. Stripes can be done with high lift blades and making sure that you mow the same direction every time. You can rig up a roller behind a mower to make the stripes more pronounced. Stripes are easy with cool season grasses like Fescue but tough to do with warm season grasses like Bermuda, Zoysia, and Centipede. 

Ladeback69

saluki2007 said:

I haven't justied the premium for a zero turn. While it would be nice, not sure if the extra $500 and up is worth saving 5 minutes. If my yard was bigger I would thinking about it harder. 

I have a 1/2 acre and I can do it in 45 minutes.  I like not having to backup as much.

tarheelmatt

Word brah!

saluki2007

Sorry ladeback acidently hit the disagree. 

saluki2007

Sorry ladeback acidently hit the disagree. 

SGH

saluki2007 said:

Sorry ladeback acidently hit the disagree. 

Hit it again and it will remove it. Simple fix. 

DoubleEgger

saluki2007 said:

I haven't justied the premium for a zero turn. While it would be nice, not sure if the extra $500 and up is worth saving 5 minutes. If my yard was bigger I would thinking about it harder. 

Think about overall build quality. $500-1000 divided by 10-15 years divided by how many times you mow per year is peanuts. 

saluki2007

Thanks SGH. Tried doing it on mobile and wouldnt do anything. Was able to do it from ipad though. 

saluki2007

DoubleEgger said:

saluki2007 said:

I haven't justied the premium for a zero turn. While it would be nice, not sure if the extra $500 and up is worth saving 5 minutes. If my yard was bigger I would thinking about it harder. 

Think about overall build quality. $500-1000 divided by 10-15 years divided by how many times you mow per year is peanuts. 

What makes the ZT a better build than one that isnt from a big box store?

WeberWho

What I really want....

shucker

if i only had to pay $500 more for a kawasaki over a briggs that would be a no brainer.  

DoubleEgger

The used commercial ZTs I was referring to earlier generally have thicker decks, better spindles, and higher quality engines. The hydraulics are more robust etc. They have higher lift and therefore provide a better cut. These mowers are built to run all day every day and not be in the shop. For a homeowner, they never see this kind of use and will generally last a lifetime (Or at least a helluva long time) with occasional use. 

Mattman3969

I have a JD D130 that I bought 8yrs ago from Lowes. Other than oil changes all I've to replace was the deck belt.  I mow just a little over an acre 2 times a week and once during late summer.  

blasting

I admire these fancy motors as I smile.  Finally a thread that won't cost me $ (I have no grass)

saluki2007

blasting said:

I admire these fancy motors as I smile.  Finally a thread that won't cost me $ (I have no grass)

I would say I did alright. Went 31 years with out having to buy a mower.