***OT Lawn Mower OT***

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

Word brah!

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. 

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

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.